Local landing pages, often overlooked and underestimated, are the unsung heroes of local SEO. They’re more than just digital placeholders with your business details; when used strategically, they can give your local search rankings a significant boost. Let’s dive into why creating separate local landing pages for various locations is a game-changer and what you need to know to make it work.
Local SEO Location Landing Pages: The Unsung Heroes
You might think of location landing pages as the wallflowers of your website—plain, unassuming, and often forgotten. You set them up with your basic business information: name, address, phone number, and hours. If you’re feeling fancy, you might throw in a Google Map for directions. Some generic copy might find its way onto the page, but who reads that anyway? And if you have multiple locations, you just copy-paste the same content and change the location name. Sounds familiar, right?
But here’s the secret: this seemingly simplistic approach can actually work wonders for local SEO. Why? Because for local businesses, your primary customer isn’t the person reading your location page; it’s Google. Yes, you read that correctly.
What Google Wants from Location Pages
So, what exactly does Google want from your location pages? Let’s start with the basics:
The Purpose of a Location Page
Location pages typically come in four flavours for retailers:
- Location Detail Page: This represents your business’s physical location, complete with the street address.
- Location Service/Department Page: Here, you focus on specific services or departments offered at that physical location.
- City Page: This is all about showcasing the city where your various locations reside.
- State Page: If your business operates in multiple states, this page represents the state-level overview.
Depending on your industry, you might also consider County Pages or regional distinctions specific to your country. These are the main types, and for most local businesses, that’s plenty to think about.
For service area businesses (SABs), it’s a similar setup, but you’ll want to create additional City Pages for the areas you serve. These pages can help you target specific queries in the Local Organic search engine results pages (SERPs) and make your Google Business Profile (GBP) more relevant for those areas.
Why Location Pages Matter for SEO
Location pages, despite their simplicity, pack a punch in the world of SEO. They’re tailor-made for two types of search queries:
Brand Queries: These are your golden queries—searches like [Starbucks], [Starbucks near me], or [Starbucks Pleasanton]. Google loves showing location pages for brand queries. If you don’t have a page for a specific location, Google might show your homepage or another relevant page. But ideally, you want your location page front and centre.
Non-Brand Local Queries: These are the queries where you can snag customers who may not know your brand yet. Queries like [pizza], [pizza near me], or [best pizza in Pleasanton] fall into this category. Single-location businesses can often get away with ranking their homepage for these queries. But if you have multiple locations, individual location pages are your ticket to the top of organic search results.
The Power of Links
Besides being landing pages, location pages are also excellent sources of external links. Local business directories and other sites often link to these pages, contributing to your website’s overall authority. This link mojo can spread throughout your site, improving your SEO.
Location Pages and Local Pack Rankings
If you have a Google Business Profile (GBP), linking it to a location page is a crucial ranking factor for Local Packs. We’ve conducted tests where changing the link from a location page targeting the desired city had a direct impact on Local Pack rankings. So, ensuring that your GBP links to the right location page is essential.
Elements of a Well-Optimised Location Page
To make your location pages shine, focus on these elements:
Name, Address, Phone Number (NAP): Ensure that your business’s name, address, phone number, and hours are consistent with the information on your GBP. Exact matches between location pages and GBP info tend to perform better.
Structured Data: Use LocalBusiness schema to mark up all NAP elements. If your brand includes multiple related entities, delve into Organisation schema to help Google understand the relationships. And don’t forget breadcrumbs marked up with Breadcrumb schema.
Targeted Meta Data: Craft title tags and H1 headings that incorporate the business name and location. For example, “Starbucks Pleasanton, CA” is a solid choice. Testing additional targeting elements like “Starbucks Coffee in Pleasanton, CA” can help refine your strategy.
Engagement Boosters: Consider adding calls-to-action (CTAs) to your location pages. Features like online appointment scheduling and online ordering can send positive signals to Google about the page’s usefulness.
Advanced Location Page SEO
If you’re looking for an edge, consider these advanced tactics:
Optimised Copy: Start with basic copy but make it unique for each location. Test this approach at a small scale before committing more time and resources. Relevant phrases can bolster your page’s performance.
Link to Nearby Locations: Multi-location businesses should link to nearby locations from their location pages. This not only aids customer convenience but also gives Google more reasons to crawl these pages.
Use Topically Relevant Media: Images and videos relevant to your business can enhance your location pages. Analyse top-ranking pages for your target queries and ensure your visual content is as good, if not better.
Link to Product/Service Category Pages: Location pages that link to category pages tend to perform well. Choose the categories you want to emphasise and add those links.
Add Local Reviews: Incorporating customer reviews from your target area can boost your page’s performance. Regularly updated reviews give Google a reason to visit your page frequently.
Meet The Team: Consider showcasing your local team if applicable. Adding employee faces can enhance user trust.
The Kitchen Sink: Additional content elements such as philanthropy efforts, local sponsorships, hiring information, pricing details, business licenses, and social proof can all improve user engagement.
Use Google Merchant Center Data: If you’re running product listing ads (PLAs), leverage data from Google Merchant Center to feature products with high impressions and click-through rates on your location pages. These are products people are already interested in.
What Not to Do With Location Pages
After years of experimentation, we’ve learned a few things about what to avoid with location pages:
Unnecessary Location + Service Pages: Be cautious with creating location + service/department pages. They may not significantly boost organic traffic and can even cannibalise existing searches.
Location Pages With No Location: Don’t create location pages for cities where you have no actual locations. Google prefers showing location pages with clear local intent.
Beware Thin Content: Thin content on location pages, especially for service area businesses, can lead to manual actions. Test different content approaches to find what works best.
Only Create Pages with Clear Local Intent: Before investing in location pages, check if there’s local intent for your target queries. You may not need a location page for every query, saving you time and resources.
In essence, local landing pages are more than just an afterthought—they’re your ticket to dominating local search. By optimising them effectively, you can outperform your competition, attract new customers, and skyrocket your local SEO rankings. So, don’t underestimate the power of these unsung heroes in the world of online marketing.
