Before we start talking about a way to properly create location pages for local SEO we need to talk more about local search optimization and global search optimization. Surely you know the difference. But still, we need to cover all the basics before we begin. If you have any questions or doubts we will show you where you can find the answers. SEO is something everybody can learn and do. It’s not rocket science. With that being said it’s important to know that this is not easy. You need to learn and educate yourself always because things change often in this field.
Local SEO vs. Global SEO
Surely you know the difference between Local SEO and Global SEO and if you don’t we left you where you can read more about it. The main question is usually which one is more important. Truth be told they are both important but which one will be more important for your website – only you can know that. If you want to attract the attention in your area local search optimization is something you need to focus on and that’s why you need to create location pages properly.
Location pages
We will explain in a few words what are location pages but if you have any more questions left you can always check out Link Department and find all the answers there. Now let’s get back to location pages or as some call them local landing pages. Google calls them doorway pages. We use them to target location-specific terms. The only reason they are created is to generate specialized location terms.
According to Google
“ Doorways are sites or pages created to rank highly for specific search queries “. This is what Google has to say about them. That’s all great but there is one problem. Those doorway pages can lead to multiple similar pages when you type keywords in your search engine and by that we mean Google. It can happen that all of them lead the user to the same place which is not as convenient as you can surely understand.
Key elements of location pages
- NAP (Name, Adress, Phone Number)
- Office hours (people need to know when they can visit you)
- Photos
- Description of business location
- Useful CTA (call to action – like reserve an appointment or similar)
- Directions (besides having an exact location you should leave your customers some explanation so they can find you easily)
- Include Google Map (so they can see and use it to come to you)
- Schema (explain to your customers exactly what your business does)
- Title
- Meta Description
- Internal links
- Fast load speed (because people do not want to wait for a page to load forever)
- Monitoring and managing your reviews
Creating location pages
Creating location pages is not an easy thing. As you can see there is plenty of work and stuff you need to add. Don’t skip anything. All those elements are important if you want to be specific and attract customers. Also to make it easy for them to find you. The first time you do this will be the hardest. Later on, you will know it and you will be able to do it like a pro. Now before we finish let’s explain some things that are not so obvious for our key elements text above.
Description of business location
The key element of this is to uniquely describe each location according to the services you are offering, your products, or your menu. As you can see this one is hard to explain in general because it is completely different from a restaurant and a book store. If you are having a hard time with this you can always hire an SEO expert or a company to help you with this. Outsourcing SEO is perfectly fine. After all, you have a full business to run. You can deal with every little detail. Sometimes you will need help.
Meta Description
Meta Description is very important. After all, this is something Google reads too. This little box is something you should never leave empty. So find a good source and see how you can write your meta description the best you can.
Monitor and manage your reviews
Nowadays everything is online, especially since 2019 which was the year the pandemic first hit. You will surely have a lot of online users and they almost always read reviews before they interact with a business. Including online reviews on your location page can be a very smart move.
Things you shouldn’t do when creating location pages
- publishing fake addresses on local landing pages is a big no
- if you do not have all the information about the business (for example you are still waiting for a phone number) hold off creating a landing page – surely it can wait a few days until you have all the information
- stuffing local landing pages with blocks of zip codes, city names, or keywords can be bad for you too
We hope that this text helps you to understand how to create location pages better and that we left you enough resources to continue your research. If we forgot to mention something and you have more questions a quick check of a Link Department blog will answer all your questions. Remember if you encounter any problems and you feel stuck – that is a perfect time to hire an SEO expert or an SEO company. This is what they do and they can help you with your local SEO and all other SEO strategies. Don’t think for a second that you alone have to do everything.