How To Create Great Location Pages for SEO

When your business has more than one location serving customers, location pages are your opportunity to stand out in each market. With individual location pages, your customers can immediately connect with details about specific services in their community. 

Google localizes search results based on the context of the query and the user’s IP address, a system that inherently favors pages focused on a specific region. In this guide, I’ll explain what a location page is, the elements to include, and how to optimize the page for users and search engines. When executed according to best practices, detailed location pages can improve online visibility and connect customers with your local business.

What Is a Location Page?

A location page is a web page focused on a single location of a multi-location business. When each location of your business has a dedicated page, you can rank for keyword searches related to a specific neighborhood or city.

In its simplest form, a location page details the address, phone number, and operating hours of the business. However, location pages can provide a more enriching experience with photos, reviews, staff bios, and other unique content and serve as local landing pages.

 When you enhance location pages with these details, they can:

• Send trust signals to Google. The information on your location page confirms the accuracy of details found in your Google Business Profile and elsewhere on the internet. This consistency tells search engines your business is credible and gives them the confidence to rank you higher in the SERPs.
• Improve search visibility. Location pages are a key component of local search engine optimization (SEO). With the right target keywords, you can match a location page to queries so you can reach customers looking for offerings in a particular area.
• Enhance user experience. Potential customers use the information on a location page to decide whether you’re a good fit for their needs. A well-executed location page can establish legitimacy and motivate customers to visit or pick up the phone.

10 Must-Haves for Creating Location Pages

A location page offers geographical information, and it’s also an important tool for conversions. Focus on creating compelling content so readers can learn about local products and services. If you follow SEO best practices, local rankings will fall into place. I’ve included tips below to get started, as well as some location page examples from businesses with multiple locations for inspiration.

1. Local Keywords

To get your location page in front of the right audience, research local keywords to help search engines match the page to geo-specific queries.

Start with keywords related to your business category, products, or services. A pediatric dentist might target “dentist for kids” and “family dentist.” You’ll also need to tie the keyword to a city or neighborhood, creating phrases like “Beacon Hill bakery.” However, make sure the intent behind the keyword is clear. If someone is searching “best yoga studio in Boston,” they’re likely looking for a comparison article or listicle-style piece, so it wouldn’t be helpful to target that phrase on a location page.

A primary keyword typically includes a business name, city, and keyword. Include this phrase, or variations of it, in these places on your location page:

• Page title and meta description
• Headers and body content, as naturally as possible
• Image alt-text
• Schema markup

2. Unique Content

You might be tempted to use the same copy for each location page on your site and simply switch out the address and phone number. However, it’s best to align the page to Google’s new helpful content system and make it as unique and useful as possible. You can still use a template and some standard verbiage, but the copy should be specific to each location. You should also customize photos, driving directions, and parking information.

I like the location pages from Filson, an outdoor outfitter brand. If you click through to the company’s individual location pages, you’ll see they follow a similar format across each location page with a map, address, and operating hours. However, there’s also a block of distinct copy. 

Often, unique copy is simply a matter of describing the neighborhood or building location and some of the offerings within the store. For example, the location page for the New York Filson store mentions it’s a 6,000-square-foot site near Union Square, while the Washington, DC store page talks about its historic Logan Circle location.

Similarly, look at the wealth of information provided by Powell’s Books for their flagship location in Portland. If you click through to the Powell’s City of Books landing page, you’ll see they’re helping customers navigate the busy downtown to get to their shop. There are also details about parking garages and rates, bike rack locations, and transit stops. A helpful map lets customers see all of this information at a glance.

3. Staff Highlights

Another way to customize location pages for SEO is to introduce the team that keeps your day-to-day business running. This section helps to distinguish between locations, providing a glimpse into the personality of that location.

Here are some ways to highlight your team members:

• Include the name of the manager and an email address.
• Introduce the front desk staff who handle inquiries and bookings.
• Include bios of key staff, particularly if credentials are important in building authority (i.e., head chef, physiotherapists).

4. Social Proof

Customers look for social proof before deciding to do business with a company. Here are some ways to show your business is trusted:

• Online reviews. Pick some stellar reviews from Google, Yelp, or another review site to highlight on your page. To be effective, reviews must be location-specific and refer to a customer’s experience at that particular site.
• Testimonials. If you know a customer is satisfied, ask for a testimonial. You can add this endorsement to your landing page with the customer’s photo and date of service for added credibility.
• Case studies. A case study is an in-depth look at how your business helped a customer. It describes the customer’s pain points and how your solution made a difference.
• Trust seals. Include seals from the Better Business Bureau, your local chamber of commerce, or industry associations to show your business is reputable.
• Media coverage. Did your location generate some love from a blogger or journalist? Include a link to the article. If multiple news organizations have shouted out this particular location, highlight tehm with an “In the News,” carousel.

5. NAP: Name, Address, Phone Number

If you’ve used the right keywords, your page will match with location-based queries such as “Orlando massage therapy” or “orthodontists in Denver.” But before Google displays your content, it checks that your business is indeed located where you say it is. It does this by confirming your name, address, and phone number (NAP) in several places — your location page, Google Business Profile, and online directories. The more you can demonstrate the accuracy of your NAP, the more confident Google is in ranking your location.

To help your page clearly communicate its local information: 

• Make sure each location has its own NAP clearly indicated on the location page. Avoid embedding the NAP in an image — it must be crawlable.
• Ensure consistency with your Google Business Profile and any online citations or directories.
• Embed a Google Map or provide directions on your location page to confirm your location.
• Make sure each storefront has its own Google Business Profile and that the profile links back to the individual locations page.

6. Location Photos

Use original, high-quality images to enhance your SEO location pages. Exterior photos help customers who aren’t familiar with your store to recognize it when they visit. Well-lit interior photos can make your premises more welcoming and encourage customers to stop by. A spa, for example, may want to convey the sumptuousness of its amenities through photos. You could also embed a video or a 360-degree virtual tour.

Follow these best practices to optimize your images:

• Use descriptive keywords in the image file name.
• Incorporate image alt-text.
• Resize and compress images for optimal page load times.
• Specify a set width and height for mobile friendliness.

7. Services/Product Offerings

Some businesses have flagship locations or sites offering unique products and services. Highlight these attributes on your SEO location pages to intrigue customers and showcase a local value proposition.

Filson, for example, notes that its Eagan Outlet Store offers products no longer sold in other locations or online. Powell’s Books’ Beaverton location page emphasizes its inventory of children’s and science fiction books, board games, and gifts.

Similarly, Texas-based Houndstooth Coffee has eight website location pages and calls attention to features at each of its cafes. For example, the location page for its Sylvan Thirty cafe in Dallas mentions a 360-degree coffee bar, a dedicated cocktail and spirits bar, and special events room rental options.

Additionally, a location page should include copy to organize top products and services by type. For example, a local HVAC page may have a section for types of cooling and heating services. If a particular service or product is more popular in a specific region, add a paragraph of text to target that keyword ranking.

8. FAQs

FAQs are an opportunity to include location and service keywords on your page. This type of content also improves user experience by anticipating questions your customers may have.

FAQs can vary based on the specific nature of the business. Here are a few ways to source FAQs for your location page: 

• Filter queries in Google Search Console to those that contain “?” or the regex “how|what|when|where|why”.
• Pour over the Q&A section of your Google Business Profiles.
• Ask which questions your customer service team gets asked most frequently.
• Research the Q&A section of competitor GBPs.
• Inspect competitor location pages.

As location pages continue to gain notoriety in SEO, they’ll become more competitive. Create a helpful FAQ section to add value and avoid generic, low-value content.

9. Local Business Structured Data

While Google is pretty good at understanding a page’s content, it’s a best practice to use schema markup to communicate important details. Schema, or structured data, is a type of code placed in the page HTML that adds context for crawlers. Structured data for a local business is nested within the LocalBusiness property. 

For example, you can use schema to mark up the following content:

• “@type”- Business type (such as food establishment, store, dentist, or health and beauty business)
• “OpeningHoursSpecification”- Operating hours
• “priceRange”- The price of available services. This can be nested within individual types of services.
• “reviewRating”- Google sometimes shows the aggregate ratings for a location in search results. While this part of structured data is often inflated with review gating or a lack of third-party reviews, it’s a good fit for businesses that commonly receive reviews, such as restaurants.

Structured Data for a local business can also support entity optimization for Google’s Search Generative Experience, which seeks to interpret a brand’s overall offerings.

10. Call to Action

If you’ve crafted compelling location pages for SEO, you’ve hopefully convinced customers to pick up the phone and schedule an appointment or plan a visit to that location. To help encourage conversions, include calls to action throughout the page. You can include these calls to action in services content, the NAP section, or in a “Contact Us” form at the bottom of the location page. 

Where To Share Your Location Page

When you’re ready to publish your SEO location page, create a descriptive URL that makes sense for search engines. Here’s an example:

https://example.com/locations/georgetown/

Don’t orphan your location pages — make sure you link to them strategically so Google can find them. You may wish to link to a location page from:

• The location’s Google Business Profile (Yes, each location needs its own profile!).
• Your website’s main navigation menu. This can be in the form of a dropdown.
• A “locations” landing page linked from your website’s main menu.
• Your website’s store locator tool.
• Another location page. It’s helpful to note nearby locations to give customers options — they may prefer a store closer to work or be willing to drive further to get to an outlet store.
• Your website’s footer.
• Your website’s sitemap.

Location Pages Are Crucial for Ranking in Local Results

If you’re ready to build rich location pages to drive traffic to your storefronts, reach out to the local SEO experts at Victorious. We can support your efforts with our local SEO services, including keyword research, content creation, page optimization, and Google Business Profile enhancement. We can even make things easy and manage your location page SEO for you. Get started today with a free consultation.