Targeting multiple local geographic areas
-
I have a local client in the automotive service sector. Actually, I deal with several local, service-oriented businesses, so I am hoping to apply the knowledge gained from this question to several cases. And, I am not concerned with Google Places or Adwords in this case - I have those dialed-in just fine - I am referring to a methodology applicable to organic search results.
While it has been simple enough to target one or two local geographic regions (e.g. cities/towns) for specific key phrases related to my client's industry by adding geo-modifiers to the mix. I need to develop and apply a method to target multiple outlying towns (up to 12 within a 30mi radius) near my client's place of business - without generating pages of duplicate content (e.g. automotive service town-1, automotive service town-2, automotive service town-3, etc.)
Would someone more experienced in this area be willing to shed some light upon my dilemma?
Thanks!
-
I found that post to be very useful in regards to my local ranking questions.
Thanks for the link
-
This is worth a read too:
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/ranking-for-keyword-cityname-in-multiple-geographies
-
Great suggestions! Especially adding testimonials from the specific areas.
You see, I am specifically interested in adding static pages (up to 10 or 12 pages) to target these regions - without sounding redundant to the viewer or the search bots.
Thanks again!
-
You are seeking to have your client's site be considered relevant for multiple geographic areas. A few suggestions:
1. Seek links from those areas. Receiving multiple links from a website or page associated with a specific area can help your page be considered relevant for that area.
2. Allow User-Generated Content to be generated on your site. Forums, response to blog articles, etc. Users will often add plenty of content which will drive content.
3. Add testimonials from users in those areas. "Service was great! John - Beverly Hills, CA". The addition of the location to the testimonial helps to establish relevancy for that area.
4. If there are only a few areas, then feel free to add a list to your content. "We service the Los Angeles, San Diego and Beverly Hills area" is fine. When you list a dozen areas, then it would probably seem spammy to add a list.
-
Thanks for your response. My client has a specific group of core services (key phrases) that need to be featured. They only thing I can think of, is to create multiple versions of the same content for each area targeted and add geo-modifiers to the static urls and related on-page areas. However, I was hoping to find alternative and effective methods which would avoid spinning the content.
-
I would create further sub pages providing that your static URLs are not overly long in length already.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Multiple H2 with no direct links to content and invisible body text - is this an issue?
OK, so we've lost pagerank and I think it's because of the way our site works (and we operate it). We have a videofolio, which shows on most of our pages, showcasing our work. Over time, we have tended to unpublish these pages and created new videofolio pages to show on our home page and relevant pages. The videofolio is a set of pages, each with a title, body text and a place to insert a link to the video, which is played through a videofolio showcase on our website (www.curveball-media.co.uk). Each is set a category, e.g. film, and when the user clicks the tab for 'film', the thumbnails pop up and the user can play the video. We have to work it this way as it's the only way to remove the videos from showing on our home page and to show new content instead. Simply deselecting a category still allows the videos to be seen when the 'all' category is selected by the user. Last week, I found a way of bringing back these unpublished pages by removing the 'all' tab from the videofolio. Then I turned each one into a blog like structure instead. Essentially, instead of the video link being played through the videofolio, we deselected a category (e.g. animation, film etc) and left the page floating. The only way you can access it without being attached to a videofolio category is through the direct link. By turning off the 'all' category and deselecting the page from any other categories, we were able to properly SEO these pages. NB: If they are created for use with the videofolio, you can have only extremely limited body text and no H2, as this is the text that appears when you hover over the video thumbnail. That's just the nature of the template. What I didn't anticipate is that now the code on the home page shows all these now (un)published pages and their corresponding H2 tags. Without a category selected, there is no way to get to these pages unless I create a direct link. I plan to do this through a blog post. In the home page code, the entire videofolio page shows, including the body text and link to the video. **This text doesn't show on the home page though, i.e. the user never sees this text. ** 1. Is it an issue to have so many similar H2 tags on the homepage? 2. Is it an issue that the code has text which is essentially invisible on the home page? 3. Is it an issue that the content is not linked to through the home page visibly? Thanks!
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | curveballmedia0 -
Pagination on a product page with reviews spread out on multiple pages
Our current product pages markup only have the canonical URL on the first page (each page loads more user reviews). Since we don't want to increase load times, we don't currently have a canonical view all product page. Do we need to mark up each subsequent page with its own canonical URL? My understanding was that canonical and rel next prev tags are independent of each other. So that if we mark up the middle pages with a paginated URL, e.g: Product page #1http://www.example.co.uk/Product.aspx?p=2692"/>http://www.example.co.uk/Product.aspx?p=2692&pageid=2" />**Product page #2 **http://www.example.co.uk/Product.aspx?p=2692&pageid=2"/>http://www.example.co.uk/Product.aspx?p=2692" />http://www.example.co.uk/Product.aspx?p=2692&pageid=3" />Would mean that each canonical page would suggest to google another piece of unique content, which this obviously isn't. Is the PREV NEXT able to "override" the canonical and explain to Googlebot that its part of a series? Wouldn't the canonical then be redundant?Thanks
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Don340 -
Multiple product hierarchies (creation of refurbished products section) - best solution?
Hi all, I'm in discussion with a client who wishes to introduce a 'refurbished' products section to their website. This section will effectively replicate the structure of the 'brand new' products section. Unusually the key difference will be the fact that the 'refurbished' products section will feature significantly more products than the 'brand new' section, in the region of four times as many. As a guide the website currently stocks approximately 200 products across 8 core product areas. We have recommended that the two sections should be combined in order to prevent the creation of two separate product hierarchies. With 'brand new' / 'refurbished' products segmented via filter functionality. However the client is set on having two separate product hierarchies, i.e. a 'refurbished' section within a completely separate directory. Just wanted to crowd source opinion, in additionally to gaining insight if anyone has experience of a similar request. What solution did you implement? My feeling is that there is a high likelihood over time of the 'refurbished' section growing in authority and starting to outrank the 'brand new' products section. Not to mention a key missed opportunity to group and build authority / content within one product hierarchy. All thoughts and opinions much appreciated!
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | 26ryan0 -
How to Best Target Two Keyword Phrases for a Business Directory
Our client has medical centers all over the US and we rank really well for the term "DIALYSIS CENTER" as well as all the major markets "DIALYSIS CENTER LOS ANGELES", etc. We need to add in a Second Keyword Phrase of "CKD CENTER" (which is an alternate term for the same medical center). Should we change all the TITLE, H1, etc that we have done to a COMBINED term of "CKD DIALYSIS CENTER" or "DIALYSIS CKD CENTER" and all the local market variations? We can't create 2 pages for one business in the directory, but we're not sure the right way to make sure that the pages are now targeted for 2 terms. Thanks in advance for any help & advice!!!!
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | ErnieB0 -
Multiple Domain Names Point To One Site
I spoke with a potential client yesterday and for legitimate reasons they have multiple domain names, all very closely related in name to each other pointing to one site. His main site. So for example this is how things look, mainsiteva.com, mainsitedc.com, mainsitepa.com, mainsiteca.com, mainsitega.com, mainsitela.com ALL forward to mainsite.com This is being done because they used to have different sites for different geographies. Will google look at this as some form of manipulation?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | WebbyNabler1 -
Looking for a good example of local pages done right
I am looking for a company or two that serves customers in multiple regions and has their site set up in the best possible way to target those areas. I would like, if possible, to see an example of a company that has an address in each area served, and one that only has one base location, but travels to serve customers.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | webfeatseo0 -
How to optimise a local business directory?
Hey All, I've a new client who is a local business directory designed to promote local businesses across the UK but starting in it's home town of Brighton in the UK. I'm a little stumped to know how I can start to optimise this site as most of the pages being created are from very different businesses and focus on different subjects. I realise this is going to be a long haul but wondered if there are any tips you guys know of. My client domain is: call-us-first.co.uk Thanks Steve
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | stevecounsell0 -
Always include the targeted keyword in the alt tag?
Studies show that using the targeted keyword in the alt tag helps to rank better for a keyword. But what if the keyword doesn't exactly describe the image, would you still use it in the alt tag? For example, say you have an image of the brain, but the article is about cognitive behavioral therapy -- an accurate description would say 'human brain' but an SEO alt tag may say 'cognitive behavioral therapy'--which would you use?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | nicole.healthline0