Including a location page is a massive part of a local SEO strategy. 

Many website owners are not aware that SEO can be broken down into two different types: local and national. Local SEO will primarily target keywords at the local level using a location page strategy. An excellent keyword example for a local SEO long-tail keyword would be the combination of City+Service. 

National SEO takes a different approach and requires more time before ranking on the search engine results pages. Broadly, national SEO includes primary services without additional attached location keywords. If you are in the restoration industry, you can think of this as the primary service keywords, water damage, mold damage, or fire damage. 

Local and national SEO keywords can be ranked using a blog or specific pages associated with the keyword. Although you can rank geography-based, long-tail keywords in blog posts, creating a location page for your main service keywords in particular locations is a better practice.

What is a location page? 

What an SEO professional will call a location page Google calls a “doorway page.” As mentioned earlier, a location page for service areas is used to get more website traffic for long-tail, location-specific terms. 

When the Algorithmic Global team creates a new location page, they target a client’s most lucrative service. An example of this for a restoration website would be to create a location page for water damage in the largest services area. For those who don’t know, restoration contractors love water damage leads! Then we build pages for water damage services in various cities, towns, or counties.

A location page strategy is excellent for services-based businesses

Location pages are powerful for service companies that serve a particular area. Often, a service-based company will offer their services in several cities and want to get leads in all of their surrounding locations. 

An example would be a roofing contractor that is located in Dayton, Ohio. A good idea for the Dayton roofer would be to create location pages in the cities surrounding Dayton within a thirty-mile radius. When you start building your location page strategy, make sure you focus on the most populated surrounding cities for the most success.

The 5 elements to include on a location page

1. NAP 

When you create a location page, you need to ensure that your NAP is located somewhere on the page. NAP stands for Name, Address, Phone Number. 

The NAP that you include on your location page must match the NAP on your Google My Business profile and other citations that you have built out. NAP management is an essential part of local SEO—it needs to be consistent across your online platforms. 

2. Location-based content 

No matter what kind of page you are building, adding photos is an excellent type of content to help break up the text. For your location page, you will want to add content unique to the location you are writing about in the main text. Some content ideas will be photos of national parks, museums, monuments, and any other landmarks that distinguish the target of the location page. 

Other types of content that you will want to include on your location page will be images of your offered services. A roofing contractor might add pictures of a finished asphalt roof or a before and after roofing image. When you include unique content on your location page, the user will know what to expect when hiring you for services. 

3. Embedded Map

Including an embedded map is an essential addition to a location page. An embedded map is so powerful that you should consider including one on every single page. Include an embedded map in your website’s footer to ensure it’s on every page of your website. 

When you included an embedded map using Google Maps API, it will help customers understand how close your business is to where they are and offer a quick way to get directions. 

4. Schema Markup

Schema Markup is a technical SEO technique to help users find information on a specific business within search engine results. When it comes to local SEO, schema markup will help you get an edge over the competition because many websites have still not implemented schema markup.  

When the schema code is correctly implemented on a location page, a search user will easily find your business and a list of other similar businesses in the same area. 

There are many different types of schema markup that you can deploy on your website to help a searcher find your services. 

Here is a list of varying schema markup values to ensure you are getting the proper visibility for your local business: 

• Organization 
• Reviews
• Breadcrumbs 
• Site navigation 
• Service Area

5. Reviews

Reviews are incredibly influential on whether a customer decides to use your local business or not; therefore, it’s best to include them on your location pages. On every location page you build, have an embedded review slider that updates all business reviews across multiple platforms. When a new customer hits your location page, they will see the positive feedback of your services from past customers. 

Positive reviews will: 

1. Add more keywords for Google to crawl
2. Increase local ranking 
3. Help build trust 

Positive reviews are one instance where more is better. The more reviews your local business has, the more likely a user will find you when they search for a service+city. 

Before you start creating location pages

In 2015, Google put out a blog post on what they indicate to be a doorway page. One of the key takeaways from this blog post dealt with Google’s negative view of if the location page includes duplicated content already on the site to capture more traffic. Duplicate content is something that every SEO should try to avoid. 

Using a location page strategy, or as Google calls them doorway pages, takes a lot of time and work because you have to create location-specific content that will be useful to the intended user. 
When you partner with a digital marketing agency like Algorithmic Global, you will get a tailored marketing strategy that includes a unique algorithmic marketing approach. Our professionals understand the importance of a location page strategy and its effect on your local SEO campaign. Contact us today if you are interested in a local SEO campaign!