The Practice of Creating Location-Specific Service Pages: Is It Still Relevant in Modern SEO?
In the process of developing a website for a family member who works as an electrician, I’ve encountered a common trend among trade service providers: the creation of dedicated web pages for each suburb they serve. These pages often contain identical content and imagery, with only the suburb name changed to target different local areas. While this approach has been prevalent in the past, I am curious about its current effectiveness and relevance in today’s SEO landscape.
Historically, having separate pages tailored to specific locations was considered an effective strategy to improve local search visibility. It allowed businesses to target multiple suburbs individually, potentially increasing their chances of ranking in local search results and attracting nearby customers. These pages typically included location-specific keywords, which helped search engines associate the service with particular geographic areas.
However, my recent observations suggest that many of these location-specific pages have not been updated or optimized further in quite some time. This raises the question: Does Google still give significant weight to this practice? Is creating numerous similar pages for different suburbs still considered a best practice, or has SEO evolved past this tactic?
In the current SEO environment, search engines focus heavily on providing users with valuable, relevant, and unique content. Duplicate or near-identical pages can now be perceived as low-quality, potentially harming a website’s overall ranking. Instead, modern strategies tend to favor comprehensive, well-structured location pages that serve multiple areas with unique and localized content, reviews, and testimonials. Using dynamic or template-based content with added value for each location can be more effective than creating multiple identical pages.
If local SEO is a priority, it may be more beneficial to develop a single, robust ‘Locations’ page that outlines all service areas, complemented by Google My Business listings, localized schema markup, and personalized content for each suburb. Alternatively, creating a smaller number of well-optimized pages that offer detailed and unique information for each neighborhood or suburb can yield better results than numerous duplicate pages.
In conclusion, while the practice of creating separate pages for each suburb was once a common and effective strategy, it is arguably less so today. To maximize SEO benefits, focus on quality, relevance, and unique value within your location pages. Consulting with SEO professionals or keeping abreast of the latest best practices can help tailor an approach that best suits your specific needs and goals.