Difference Between Local SEO and Technical SEO
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a broad area which concerns the improvement of a website’s visibility on search engines. Local SEO and Technical SEO are 2 key branches of SEO. While they both strive to help improve a website’s performance and rankings, they concentrate on the different aspects. To help in this optimization process, local seo audit tools play a crucial role in assessing and improving local search performance. Now let’s closely examine what’s the difference between Local SEO and Technical SEO.
What is Local SEO?
Local SEO targets improving a website’s visibility in searches of location based queries. If you have entered in a field of business that is localized – for example, restaurants, stores, or service providers – it’s essential for you to be present in the only place it matters – in person.
Key Features of Local SEO:
- Optimize your Google Business Profile (GBP)
- Make sure that the business information represented is accurate (NAP)—name, address, phone number—(etc.).
- Local Keywords
- Look for keywords where the intent of the person is local, for example “dentist in Chicago.”
- Local Citations
- Register your business with sites like Yelp, Yellow Pages or the local forums. Rank tracker for local seo helps you monitor how well your site ranks for location-based queries over time.
- Customer Reviews
- Ask happy customers to leave positive reviews on platforms like Google and Yelp.
- Localized Content
- Create content that should be localized, such as blog posts around community events or news.
- Mobile Optimization
- Make sure your website is mobile friendly — most users do a local search on a smartphone.
- Geo Targeted Advertising
- Target customers in a particular location using Google Ads or Facebook Ads.
- Event Marketing
- You can host, or participate in local events, in order to increase visibility and engagement with the community.
- Voice Search Optimization
- Include conversational keywords in your content to rank for queries such as ‘best coffee shop near me’
- Local Landing Pages
- Make dedicated pages for each place you serve with in detail service and contact information.
Benefits of Local SEO:
- This will increase visibility for location based searches.
- It pushes more foot traffic to physical locations.
- It improves trust with reviews and accurate business listings.
What is Technical SEO?
Technical SEO is all about the parts of a website that affect search engine crawling, indexing and ranking on the backend. This ensures that the website is good technically and performs better as possible.
Key Features of Technical SEO:
- Website Speed
- Optimize images and serve those faster, reducing server response times.
- Mobile Friendliness
- Check to see your site works alright across all devices.
- Crawlability and Indexing
- To figure out crawling issues and fix them, use tools like Google Search Console.
- An XML sitemap is similar to a list of files on your website, which search engines will use to crawl your pages.
- Structured Data Markup
- Schema markup is a way to help search engines better understand your content.
- HTTPS and Security
- Protect user data and improve rankings by ensuring to secure your site with HTTPS.
- Fixing Broken Links
- Check regularly for broken internal/external links (404 errors).
- Canonicalization
- Use of canonical tags will help to prevent duplicate content from occurring.
- Core Web Vitals Optimization
- Metrics to focus on are Largest Contentful Paint (LPC), First Input Delay (FID) and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS).
- URL Structure
- Make sure that URLs are clean, helpful, and optimized with main keywords.
- Custom 404 Pages
- Create useful branded 404 pages so users don’t get lost or will take them back to your website in case they end up in broken links.
- Browser Caching
- Caching allows you to reduce server response times, and speeds up page load for repeat visitors.
- Fixing JavaScript Issues
- Make sure JavaScript doesn’t prevent search engines from crawling or indexing your important content.
Benefits of Technical SEO:
- Improve the whole website performance.
- Faster & secure websites improve user experience.
- Make sure your search engines can crawl and index your site.
Key Differences Between Local SEO and Technical SEO
| Aspect | Local SEO | Technical SEO |
| Focus | Optimizing for location-based searches. | Improving the technical foundation of a website. |
| Primary Goal | Appearing in local search results and maps. | Enhancing crawlability, speed, and performance. |
| Target Audience | Local customers in a specific area. | General online users and search engines. |
| Key Components | Google Business Profile, local keywords, citations, reviews. | Website speed, mobile-friendliness, structured data. |
| Tools Used | BrightLocal, Google Business Profile, Moz Local. | Google Search Console, Screaming Frog, GTmetrix. |
| Example Query | “Plumber near me.” | “How to improve website speed?” |
How Both Work Together
Local SEO and Technical SEO are two distinct things, but they do overlap and they complement each other. For example:
- The best way to get ranked on local searches is by having a technically optimized website (it’s fast, secure and mobile friendly).
- Latecomers to the local SEO party, local SEO elements (like adding structured data—schema) are also great for technical SEO because they help search engines better understand what type of business you’re writing for.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- For Local SEO: Not optimizing for mobile or inconsistent NAP information.
- For Technical SEO: Not taking care of website security (HTTPS) and slow page loading speeds.
Tools for Local SEO and Technical SEO
| Tools | Local SEO | Technical SEO |
| Google Business Profile | Optimizes local search presence. | – |
| Moz Local | Tracks and manages local citations. | – |
| Screaming Frog | – | Crawls and audits technical issues. |
| BrightLocal | Monitors local rankings and reviews. | – |
| GTmetrix | – | Analyzes website speed. |
| Ahrefs | Tracks local and global backlinks. | Analyzes technical SEO gaps. |
Conclusion
SEO is actually a combination of Local SEO and Technical SEO. However, Technical SEO ensures that your site is technically sound for all the Search Engines and Users, whereas Local SEO basically drives customers to the physical location through local search. When you combine these strategies you will achieve greater visibility, better rankings and overall performance.
Do you want to know how to implement these strategies? If you need some help with expert SEO services, let us help you!
