Local SEO targets a hyper-local, region-based audience, such as Staten Island, within a specific neighborhood or radius. The search intent is highly transactional, using keywords with “near me” or “Staten Island” mentioned within them. Furthermore, local SEO focuses heavily on the Google “Local Pack” for visibility, which further depends on NAP consistency across local directories such as Yelp. Success in local SEO is driven by proximity to the searcher, local citations, and the number of local reviews.
Regular or traditional SEO, on the other hand, targets a broader audience across a nation or a region. The intent of keywords for regular SEO can be informational, investigational, or transactional. Regular SEO focuses almost entirely on the company’s website and ranking depends on the overall domain authority, high-quality backlinks, and strong technical optimization.