Local SEO: Limiting the Competition

Pitting a worldwide brand against a local fashion store in the heart of Melbourne may as well be the biggest mismatch in business history. You’re free to raise David and Goliath as an example on how underdogs can outwit the big guys. However, when the big guys are just as witty as the underdog (or even wittier), it’s impossible to call such a situation a “fair fight”.

This is one of the rationales behind the idea of limiting online marketing competition to a local scale. For instance, search engines like Google have taken steps to give local businesses the competitive edge and the chance to enjoy the fruits of their success. Local SEO gives them this opportunity by ranking local businesses, provided geotags (geographic location) are present in the search query.

Try searching for “restaurants in Melbourne” on Google. It should show you a map overview of restaurants in the city and their name and reviews. While McDonald’s is considered a restaurant by many, you’ll less likely need a search engine to look for one in the city. Most search queries want restaurants that have yet to ride the mainstream wagon.

This is just one of several benefits of local SEO. Local businesses won’t have to slug it out with brands the size of Earth in terms of reputation (unless they plan to enter the international market).