Local Search Trumps National Search?

[POPCreative]

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[MiriamEllis]

Hi Alex,

I'm going to write from a Local SEO perspective because this is what I know, but I hope you'll get lots of feedback from traditional SEOs as well to your good question.

Yes, for some years now, Google has been localizing more and more results. If you are searching from a Miami-based device for any term which Google perceives to have a local intent, they will typically show you results that are geographically local to you. Google does not handle all terms this way. For example, if your website is about Abraham Lincoln or scotty dogs, searches for these things are unlikely to trigger local results. But, if you are searching for shoes, furniture, cell phones, etc., then it is quite likely that Google will presume that you are looking for a local resource and will localize the results to you. This is the case for countless terms that Google has deemed to be local, and for good or ill, this has put national, non-local business owners at something of a disadvantage.

Simultaneously, if you are in Miami and your national client is in Denver, you will both be seeing different results. In other words, you will be seeing results that are local to Miami and he will be seeing results that are local to Denver. Because of this, there are no 'standard' results or firm rankings.

In sum, what you are experiencing is a common phenomenon. I would expect that national business owners struggle to build enough authority so that they might be included in these perceived local results, overcoming Google's bias. Given this, I'll leave off here in hopes that some of our expert traditional SEOs can explain if/how they are overcoming this bias. I hope my explanation has helped you to see that you are experiencing something quite real and quite common.