Local SEO Optimization Tips For Geo-Targeted Location Service Pages
As a business owner with a physical location, it’s important to have a strong online presence to attract local customers. One key strategy for achieving this is local SEO optimization, which involves targeting specific geographic locations in your website’s content and structure.
One common question that arises when it comes to local SEO is what type of location pages should be created for optimal results. Should you focus on cities, towns, or counties? In this blog post, we’ll explore the advantages and disadvantages of each approach and provide tips on creating effective geo-targeted service pages for your business.
The Difference Between Cities, Towns, and Counties
Before we discuss the best practices for creating location pages, let’s first define the difference between cities, towns, and counties. A city is a large and densely populated area, often with its government and services. A town is typically smaller than a city and may or may not have its government. A county is a larger region made up of multiple cities and towns.
Targeting Cities in Your Location Pages
One approach to local SEO optimization is to target cities in your location pages. This involves including the city’s name in your URL, title tag, H1 tag, meta description, and page content. For example, if your business is located in Los Angeles and offers personal injury legal services, your page structure could look like “domain.com/personal-injury-lawyer-los-angeles.”
Advantages: Targeting cities can be beneficial as Google tends to give more prominence to cities over towns or counties in their search results. If someone searches for a specific city plus your primary keyword (e.g., “personal injury lawyer”), your website will likely appear in the top results.
Disadvantages: While targeting cities may bring in more traffic, it may limit your reach to a larger audience. Only some people needing your services are located in a specific city, so you could miss out on potential customers.
Targeting Counties/Towns in Your Location Pages
Another approach is to target counties or towns in your location pages. This involves including the name of the county or town in your URL, title tag, H1 tag, meta description, and page content. For example, if your business operates in Broward County, Florida, your page structure could look like “domain.com/personal-injury-lawyer-broward-county.”
Advantages: Targeting counties/towns can be beneficial if there is a high search volume for that specific location. It can also help you attract customers specifically looking for services in that area.
Disadvantages: As mentioned earlier, Google tends to give more prominence to cities over towns or counties. Your pages may rank lower, and you may miss out on potential customers.
Targeting Cities and Counties/Towns Together
Can you have the best of both worlds? Yes! You can target cities and counties/towns together on your location pages. This involves including both names in your page content rather than having separate pages for each one.
Advantages: This approach allows you to target multiple locations without creating a separate page for each one. It also helps you stay geo-relevant and can attract more traffic.
Disadvantages: While this approach may seem like the perfect solution, it may not be as effective as targeting cities alone. Google’s algorithm is complex, and it’s difficult to say which approach will yield better results.
Best Practices for Creating Geo-Targeted Service Pages
Now that we’ve covered the different approaches to creating location pages, here are some best practices to keep in mind:
1. Follow Google’s lead: When it comes to local SEO, it’s important to follow Google’s lead. Look at how they display information in their search results and use that as a guide for creating your location pages.
2. Research search volume and cost per click: Before deciding which locations to target, research the search volume and cost per click for different cities, towns, and counties in your service area. This will give you an idea of what areas are worth focusing on.
3. Include relevant information on your pages: While targeting specific locations is important, make sure to include relevant information about your services. This can include details about past cases in the area, customer reviews, and other relevant information to help potential customers decide.
4. Keep it natural and relevant: When creating content for your location pages, ensure it flows naturally and is relevant to the location. Avoid stuffing keywords or creating pages that only target specific locations.
5. Use a logical page structure: As shown earlier in this post, the best structure for location pages is brand name + primary service + state/city/town. This allows for a clear hierarchy and makes it easy for users and search engines to understand.
In conclusion, when it comes to local SEO optimization for geo-targeted location service pages, it’s important to focus on cities over towns or counties. Use Google’s search results as a guide, and include relevant information on your pages while keeping the content natural and logical. With these tips in mind, you’ll be on your way to attracting more local customers through your online presence.