How visible are your company’s local search results? Are you having trouble reaching out to local customers? This comprehensive checklist for optimising your existing location page for search engine optimization (SEO) will help you advertise and increase the number of qualified visitors to your website. Don’t worry if you don’t already have a location page!
If you don’t already have a location page, don’t worry! This checklist will guide you through the necessary elements to include on your website’s location page.
A location page can help you centralise your local SEO efforts and provide a great experience for local consumers who want a quick overview of your company’s location details. Whether you’re a brick-and-mortar business, service area business (SAB), single-location or multi-location company, a location page may assist you in organising your local
If you already have a location page, check out the comprehensive checklist for location page SEO. If you want to rank in Google’s Local Pack (Google Map Pack), or if you don’t know what this is, let’s take a look at what a location page is and why it’s so important if you want to rank in Google’s Local Pack
What is a Location Page?
A location page, also known as a city landing page or service area page, is a highly focused web page that contains all of your company’s information for customers and search engines. This includes your location’s NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) details, product or service descriptions, business hours, reviews, and directions to name a few. Your location page will have the same features, whether you run a brick-and-mortar business or a SAB. However, the way you optimise your location page will depend on the number of locations you have. A multi-location brick-and-mortar company, for example, would approach building location pages differently than a single-location
Ads may be created using your store’s Google My Business listing, which has been verified and approved. Ads can also appear on websites that include sponsored listings or content. These sponsored advertisements are programmed to display at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs) for a specific area-specific keyword phrase when the user searches for it in their local region
- My Company adds the following Google My Business elements (keywords in the name, category, and so on)
- The number and sort of reviews on Google are good indicators of the company’s reputation. (n) The owner responses, positive and negative comments, as well as usage data are examples of quantitative criteria that can be found in Google reviews.
- The proximity of searcher to corporate location
- The search’s physical address is in the city.
- Consistency of citations (on primary data sources such as directories, aggregators, and platforms)
- On-page SEO elements
- Customer experience surveys have shown that when consumers see listings from people in their immediate social network, they are more inclined to buy.
- CTR, bounce rate, time on site, and other organic metrics
- The number of incoming links to your domain’s name is a good indicator of the quality and authority of inbound connections.
The following are the top-ranking elements for local organic search results, according to a recent study:
- On-page SEO components
- Behaviour of a user that is considered to be organic
- Google My Business elements
- Domain authority and quality of inbound links
- Consistency of citations
- Google reviews
- Local listing engagement
- Physical address in the city of search
- Proximity to the place of business
- Social media engagement (such as likes, comments, and shares)
Keep the following ranking factors in mind as you go through the entire checklist and improve your own location page. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s get down to business!
The Complete Checklist for Location Page SEO
This entire list should serve as a starting point for improving your own location page. Each element can assist in enhancing the user experience for visitors seeking additional information and search engine robots that crawl and index your location page to rank in search engine results pages (SERPs).
If you’re new to the world of escrow, start at the beginning. Read through each step or skip to the sections that are relevant to you:
- The two firms have identical NAP details.
- Use Keywords that are Specific to the Location
- Include Content that Reflects the Local Culture and Language
- Include Business Hours
- Feature Customer Reviews
- Provide Directions & Share Your Location
- Include Location-Specific Images
- Use a Relevant CTA
- Apply Schema Markup
- Add Relevant Internal & External Links
It’s critical to ensure that your location page and the rest of your website are mobile-friendly before diving in. In September 2020, Google implemented mobile-first indexing on all websites, which means Google will only crawl and index the mobile version of a web page. If a web page on your site is not mobile-friendly, Google will not index it
Are you ready to get started on a thorough Local SEO strategy? The Local SEO Checklist is available for download to help you get started!
1. Feature Identical NAP Details
The first things you should include on your location page are your NAP details. The acronym NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone Number. Google and other search engines take a company’s NAP information into account when determining where it should rank in geo-specific queries. Because the searcher’s proximity to your location is a major ranking factor for the Local Pack, ensure that your name, address, and phone number (NAP) details are correct and consistent across your location page, website, Google My Business (GMB) listing, and other online directories. Depending on your business
Single-location brick-and-mortar business: Make a website page dedicated to your NAP information.
Multi-location brick-and-mortar company: Create a web page for each location. If you only have a few store locations, create a location folder on your website.
For example, Fong’s Pissa in Iowa has four locations: three in the Des Moines metro area and one in Cedar Rapids. Each location is featured on its own page beneath the Locations subfolder of its website. This increases the likelihood that a particular site will rank better in location-based search results. For example, if I’m looking for Fong’s in Des Moines and I’m closer to their downtown location, rather than their Ankeny one, the DSM – Downtown location page should appear in my search results. Try using the city name of the site’s location (e.g., www.yourdomain.com/locations/des
If you have more than a few shops, consider developing a store finder tool and unique webpages for each location. If you do not have individual webpages for each shop, you may miss out on additional clicks in local search results. Home Depot is an excellent illustration of this method; they created a store finder tool for consumers that directs them
SAB with an office location: On the location page, include your company name, phone number, and service areas. Include both the address and if you have an office. Hide your address from consumers if you do not staff your office during office hours. You may use this to check your address with Google and other search engines while still keeping it private to visitors.If you have a lot of popular service areas, consider creating location pages for each one. Miller Pest & Termite, for example, utilises this approach on its own location pages. The Service Areas subfolder in the navigation menu contains popular service areas categorised by state and city.
There’s no need for an SAB if you don’t have a physical address: include your business name, phone number, and service areas on the location page. If you don’t have an office, consider using your registered address instead of saying “no office.”
2. Use Location-Specific Keywords
Include location-specific keywords in your content, meta tags (title, meta description, h1), and URL path. This indicates to search engines that your location page is relevant to a certain area. Consider the following scenario:
Wendy is a wedding cake baker with two physical locations in Des Moines, Iowa, and Waukee, Iowa. Her target and location-specific keywords should be featured on each page, and she should make use of subheadings to highlight specific products or services.
Single-location brick-and-mortar business: Include your company’s city in the meta tags and URL path for your content.
Multi-location brick-and-mortar business: Include your company’s cities in the meta tags and URL path for each location page.
SAB with an office location: You may include your office’s city in your content, in your meta tags and URL path, if you have one. However, be sure to also distinguish between service areas. Outside of their city address, SABs are less likely to appear in Google’s Local Pack. For example, a carpet cleaner with a Des Moines address that serves Waukee
SAB without an office location: Include your service areas in your content, in your meta tags and URL path if you do not have an office location.
3. Include Location-Specific Content
You should use your location page to provide content that is contextually relevant. Similar to step two, you should also include locale-specific information on your location page. If you have several locations, don’t copy and paste the same material across each location page and replace the terms with local keywords. This may lead to duplicate content, which you want to
Single-location brick-and-mortar business: Include your goods or services that are available in-store, local businesses or place markers to assist visitors locate you, and your USP.
Multi-location brick-and-mortar business: Include your products or services available in-store, names of nearby businesses or place markers, and your USP for each location page.
SAB with an office location: Include your services and Unique Selling Proposition.
SAB without an office location: Include your services and Unique Selling Proposition.
4. Include Business Hours
There’s nothing more aggravating for a customer than looking for a business’s hours, getting in the car and discovering that they’re closed and that their hours were incorrect on either their website or GMB listing. To avoid having your customers go through this hassle, include accurate business hours on your location page.
Single-location brick-and-mortar business: Make your store hours available on your location page.
Multi-location brick-and-mortar business: Include your store hours for each location.
SAB with an office location: On your location page, include information about your office hours. Make sure you emphasise both the hours of operation and 24/7 service items if you provide round-the-clock service (for example, a garage door company with round-the-clock service technicians). If you just provide round-the-clock service, make sure it’s mentioned on both
SAB without an office location: Put your service hours on your location page.
5. Feature Customer Reviews
Customers’ reviews on Google, are one of the most important ranking criteria for both the Local Pack and local search results, because Google prefers new material. Furthermore, positive evaluations help to enhance your potential consumers’ trust in you. Users will typically read ten reviews before choosing whether or not to do business with you. If you don’t have many reviews
Single-location brick-and-mortar business: Feature Google customer reviews on your location page using an embed widget.
Multi-location brick-and-mortar business: If you have a GMB listing for each location, include customer reviews from each location on its associated location page. If you have a place in Ankeny, Iowa, and one in Des Moines, Iowa, features your Ankeny GMB opinions on your Ankeny site and your Des Moines GMB opinions on your Des Moines site.
SAB with an office location: Using an embed widget, display Google customer reviews on your location page.
SAB without an office location: For more information, see SAB with an office location.
6. Provide Directions & Share Your Location
Similar to posting your business hours on your location page, it is critical to let people know where and how to get in touch with you. Listing nearby companies or prominent place indicators might assist your consumers to locate you. You may also include a Google Maps widget on your website with a location pin and provide visitors with driving directions directly via the button.
Single-location brick-and-mortar business: Embed a Google Maps widget on your location page to provide directions for customers to locate your firm.
Multi-location brick-and-mortar business: Include location-specific directions for customers and a Google Maps widget for each location page.
SAB with an office location: Use a Google Maps widget on your location page. To identify your location and service area, add a pin to your office address and a radius around it.
SAB without an office location: Place a Google Maps widget on your location page with a radius to show the area in which you provide services.
7. Include Location-Specific Images
Images and videos may let your consumers get a sneak peek at your company before they arrive. This helps clients to get to know your location, set expectations, and build trust in you as a business. Interior and exterior photographs, items for sale, and photos of your employees are all examples of location-specific pictures. Make sure you optimise them for search
Single-location brick-and-mortar business: Upload interior and exterior photographs, product images, and team photos.
Multi-location brick-and-mortar business: Add interior and exterior photographs, images of popular or available goods, and team pictures for each store.
SAB with an office location: Take photos of your employees performing services and include them inside and outside the facility.
SAB without an office location: Take a photo of your staff performing services.
8. Use a Relevant CTA
A clear objective, or desired action, should exist for each page on your website. The same is true for your location page. Including a relevant CTA on your location page might help encourage visitors to perform a certain activity (e.g., Get Directions, Reserve a Table, Request an Appointment, etc.).
Single-location brick-and-mortar business: Include a purposeful CTA on your location page to encourage visitors to take action.
Multi-location brick-and-mortar business: Include a CTA that links to the location’s objective for each location page.
SAB with an office location: Include a call to action (CTA) that is relevant to your services.
SAB without an office location: For a complete list of locations, visit the SAB website.
9. Apply Schema Markup
The Google Knowledge Graph is a more sophisticated version of the Bing Ads Knowledge Graph that allows you to create, edit, and manage data. The Bing Ads Knowledge Graph is limited in comparison. To use it, you must first create an account. For example, if you want to be able to end each trip with a photo review
Single-location brick-and-mortar business: For the location page, use the LocalBusiness schema markup type.
Multi-location brick-and-mortar business: For each location page, use the LocalBusiness type. If you don’t have an address on your homepage, Schema App provides additional information on how to markup your locations.
SAB with an office location: Use the Organisation type for your location page.
SAB without an office location: For more information, see SAB with an office location.
10. Add Relevant Internal & External Links
After you’ve completed the first three steps in this comprehensive checklist, add relevant internal and external links. You may also use this method to share more resources with your visitors and showcase your company further. Internal links to particular goods or services, for example, or your firm’s About page, are two options. External links to local social media profiles, local
Single-location brick-and-mortar business: Include links to relevant internal and external sites that highlight your company’s products and services, as well as social media profiles.
Multi-location brick-and-mortar business: Internal and external connections that apply to each site should be included. Internal links on Home Depot’s location pages, for example, are relevant to each location. Their W Des Moines store page offers internal links to a special weekly discount, popular items in the shop, and neighbouring stores.
SAB with an office location: To name a few, include links to your service pages, social media profiles, and directory listings.
SAB without an office location: See SAB with an office location for details.
There are several variables to consider while optimising or developing your location page, especially if you have numerous locations or service areas. You’ll be on the correct road to producing a more friendly user experience and increasing your visibility in local SERPs if you complete this entire checklist for location page SEO.
