Location pages that rank: what to include and what to leave out
Swapping the city name in a template is not a location page. A checklist built from pages that hold the map pack.
Key takeaways · Local · 6 min read
- A location page should be impossible to reuse for another location
- Staff, parking, landmarks and photos carry more weight than keywords
- Each page needs its own structured data and a tracked phone number
The swap test
Take your location page and replace the city name with another. If the page still reads correctly, it is a template, and search engines treat it as one. A real location page contains details that would be wrong anywhere else.
What to include
From pages that consistently hold top-three map positions in our sample accounts, the common elements are these.
- Name, address and phone number exactly as they appear on the business profile
- Hours, including holiday changes, in structured data
- The people who work there, with photos and roles
- Parking, transit and accessibility notes
- Landmarks and directions a local would give
- Services offered at that location specifically
- Reviews from customers of that location
What to leave out
Lists of every nearby suburb, paragraphs repeating the city name, and stock photos of other places. These read as filler to visitors and are discounted by search engines.
How to measure it
Give each location its own tracked phone number and tag the website link in its business profile. Track rankings on a map grid rather than from a single point, because local results change every few blocks.
For a six-office dental group in our sample data, this approach moved top-three grid coverage from 19% to 64% in a year.
A real location page contains details that would be wrong anywhere else.
Written by
Hannah Whitfield
Local SEO lead. Has managed listings for groups from two locations to thirty-four. Keeps a spreadsheet of every directory that still matters.
Illustrative photos. Figures and examples in this article are sample content.
