Are Local Landing / City Pages Good for SEO?
SEO City Page Examples That Work
Local City SEO pages are designed to enhance a business's visibility in specific geographic locations, especially when the business is unable to rank in the Google 3-Pack due to proximity issues (when their physical location is not geographically close to a target market). Implementing location landing pages can significantly enhance your SEO effectiveness and improve your rankings in organic searches.
In this article, we'll explore how local seo city landing pages benefit SEO efforts and provide examples where we have helped clients create city pages to illustrate their impact on online search visibility. Let's uncover the role of local city landing pages in improving online visibility and attracting local customers.
What defines a city page, and what purpose does it serve?
A city page is a web page tailored to target a specific city or area, (especially for local service-area businesses), providing local information about a business's products or services. The purpose of a city page is to optimize for local search, provide relevant local information for that market, improve user experience, enable targeted advertising, and facilitate business expansion into new markets. Businesses can create local city pages to help them rank in surrounding cities when their Google Business Profile is not geographically close enough to rank in the map results.
What are the typical features and content found on city pages?
City or local landing pages aim to provide comprehensive information about the business's offerings in a specific location, tailored to meet the needs of local customers and improve local search visibility.
Typical features and content found on city pages include:
City name in title and headings
Business address and contact info
Operating hours
Directions and maps
Unique localized content (Learn more about how to create unique localized content for a local seo city page »)
Testimonials and reviews (especially from clients in that geographic area)
Local keywords
Local Images and/or videos
Clear call-to-action
Links to relevant pages
Why are city pages important components of local SEO strategies?
City pages play a crucial role in local search engine optimization (SEO). By creating dedicated pages for each city or area where the business operates, it increases the chances of appearing in local search results when users search for products or services in that area.
What are the Benefits of City Pages for SEO?
Are City (or Location) Pages Good for SEO?
When done thoughtfully, Local SEO city pages can help a business rank better in organic search results for location-based queries (service+location keywords) --even when they do not have a physical location within the geographic area being targeted. This is often the case with service area businesses like home services companies, professional consultants, managed IT providers, etc.
Take a look at some examples of local SEO landing pages that have performed well in gaining exposure in their target geographic areas.
Case Studies: 3 Local Landing Page Examples
Example 1: Poetic French Bulldogs Targets Markets Where They Hand-Deliver Puppies
Poetic French Bulldogs, a reputable breeder of French Bulldogs, sought to expand its market reach beyond its local area. Recognizing the potential of better targeting specific markets where their flight nannies already deliver puppies, they devised a strategy to utilize custom City Pages to reach potential customers in these markets where they hand-deliver their puppies.
Challenge:
The primary challenge for Poetic French Bulldogs was to effectively penetrate new markets where they could physically deliver their puppies. While they had a strong online presence, they needed a strategy to increase visibility in specific cities and regions to attract potential buyers.
Strategy:
Poetic French Bulldogs decided to leverage localized city or "geo" pages to target their specific delivery markets. They created dedicated pages for each target city, optimizing them with relevant keywords such as "French Bulldog puppies for sale in [City Name]" and including lots of unique local content including:
Images of the target city
Embedded map of the target city
Custom Google MyMaps showing local dog park locations
Links to Local Resources for dog owners such as grooming facilities, animal hospitals, and the local chapter of the AKC.
Information on how local delivery works mentioning the specific local airport to which their dedicated flight nannies fly.
These pages not only provided information about available puppies but also highlighted the breeder's commitment to quality and customer satisfaction.
Results: Growing Visibility in Organic Search Results
Example 2: IntegriCom Targets Cities Surrounding Atlanta-Metro
IntegriCom, a leading managed IT service provider, aimed to expand its client base beyond its immediate vicinity. Despite not having physical locations in surrounding cities, as a "service area business", they recognized the potential to serve these markets remotely. However, traditional Local SEO efforts, particularly Google's 3-pack map results, were not feasible due to geographical limitations. To overcome this challenge, we worked with IntegriCom to devise a strategic approach leveraging City Pages to target surrounding cities allowing them to appear in organic search rankings.
Challenge:
The primary challenge for IntegriCom was to establish a visible presence in nearby cities where they did not have physical offices. Limited geographical proximity prevented them from appearing in Google's 3-pack map results, necessitating an alternative approach to local SEO.
Strategy:
IntegriCom devised a streamlined strategy, beginning with the identification of nearby cities suitable for remote service delivery. We then created optimized City Pages for each city, tailoring content to each location, crafting compelling, localized content to resonate with target markets including:
Images of the target city (sometimes using. images from the public domain when we could not take our own)
Embedded map of the target city
Mentioning local landmarks in the copy (i.e. From the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame, to historic downtown, to the North Georgia Premium Outlet...)
Including testimonials from clients located within the targeted city
Optimizing the page for [Service Name] + [City Name]
Results: Climbing in Organic Results
To see an example of how one of Integricom's local city pages appear in search results, Google "managed it provider dawsonville ga" to see how IntegriCom's Dawsonville GA local landing page is climbing in the organic search results -- providing visibility for their business in a market that they service, but are not physically located within.
Example 3: Local Expansion: Beach to Bayou's Success with City Pages
Beach to Bayou, a trusted home inspection company based in Rosemary Beach, Florida, sought to expand its client base beyond its immediate locality. However, being geographically distant from surrounding cities posed a challenge to traditional local SEO efforts, particularly in ranking within Google's 3-pack map results.
To overcome this obstacle, we worked with Beach to Bayou to devise a strategic approach leveraging City Pages to target nearby cities and improve organic search rankings.
Challenge:
The primary challenge for Beach to Bayou was to establish visibility in nearby cities where they did not have physical locations. Geographic distance hindered their ability to appear in Google's 3-pack map results, necessitating an alternative approach to local SEO to attract potential clients in these areas.
Strategy:
We created optimized City Pages for surrounding cities, tailoring content to each location, crafting compelling, localized content to resonate with target markets including:
Images of the target city (sometimes using. images from the public domain when we could not take our own)
Embedded map of the target city
Mentioning local landmarks in the copy (i.e. From the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame, to historic downtown, to the North Georgia Premium Outlet...)
Including testimonials from clients located within the targeted city
Optimizing the page for [Service Name] + [City Name]
Results: Climbing in Organic Results
To see an example of how one of Beach to Bayou's city pages appears in search results, Google "home inspector niceville fl" to see how Beach to Bayou's Niceville FL landing page is climbing in the organic search results -- providing visibility for the business in a market that they service, but are not physically located within.
Are City (or Location) Pages Ever BAD for SEO?
There are some potential pitfalls of poorly done local city pages for SEO which can include:
Duplicate Content Issues: City pages often contain similar or identical content, especially if they target locations within close proximity. This can lead to duplicate content issues, which may harm SEO performance and result in lower search rankings. That's why it is very important to create unique localized content for local seo city pages.
Thin or Low-Quality Content: Some city pages may lack substantial or valuable content, offering little more than basic information such as address and contact details. Thin or low-quality content can diminish the page's relevance and authority in the eyes of search engines, affecting its ability to rank well.
Keyword Stuffing: Over-optimizing city pages with excessive use of location-based keywords can appear spammy and unnatural to both users and search engines. Keyword stuffing can result in penalties from search engines and have a negative impact on SEO performance.
Lack of Local Relevance: If city pages fail to address the specific needs and interests of local audiences, they may struggle to attract organic traffic and engage users effectively. Pages should include content tailored to each location's demographics, culture, and preferences.
Poor User Experience: City pages should be easy to navigate, mobile-friendly, and provide a positive user experience. Poorly designed or slow-loading pages can frustrate visitors and lead to high bounce rates, signaling to search engines that the page may not be relevant or useful.
Being Mistaken for Doorway Pages: Location pages can be mistaken for doorway pages, which can negatively impact your site, if they are primarily created to manipulate search engine rankings rather than provide genuine value to users. Doorway pages are typically low-quality, thin content pages created solely to rank for specific keywords and redirect users to a different destination, often without providing meaningful content or value.
To mitigate these pitfalls, focus on creating high-quality, unique, and relevant content for each local city page, while ensuring technical optimization and a positive user experience across all pages.
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Liz Eisworth is the founder and lead designer of SangFroid Web located in Alpharetta, GA. As an experienced website designer and SEO strategist, Liz designs custom WordPress websites, optimizes websites for SEO, and leverages Local SEO / Google Business Profiles for business owners who are looking to improve their online presence to earn more traffic and leads. She built her first website for a business in 2003 and her first WordPress website in 2006. Learn more about Liz »
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