Optimizing Your Homepage for Multi-Location Service Businesses: A Thoughtful Approach
When it comes to optimizing a website for a business that offers services across multiple locations, finding the right focus for your homepage can be a challenging task. Let’s dive into different strategies, particularly in the context of a plumbing business operating in a wide service area.
The Dilemma of Local SEO for Multi-Location Services
Let’s take the example of a plumbing company located in Miami. If this business solely served Miami, optimization would be straightforward; the homepage could easily be targeted with the keyword “plumber in Miami,” while additional service pages could incorporate variations like “plumbing service in Miami.”
However, if your plumbing business extends beyond just Miami, covering several towns within a 40-mile radius, your SEO strategy needs to adapt. The question arises: should you optimize your homepage for the largest town you serve, or should you take a different approach altogether?
Considerations for Your Homepage Optimization
1. Targeting the Main Town:
While it might seem logical to optimize your homepage for the biggest town in your service area, it could backfire. If this town is comparatively smaller and less relevant to your entire business, Google may interpret your homepage as being focused only on that specific location. This could hinder your visibility in other towns where you actually provide services, as search engine results prioritize content that directly relates to geographic queries.
2. A Generic Homepage Approach:
Alternatively, you might contemplate a more generic homepage. Instead of focusing on a specific location, craft a catchy tagline—such as “Experts in Plumbing Solutions Since 1999″—that highlights your experience and reliability. From this neutral starting point, you could create location-specific service pages with equal importance, allowing you to rank for keywords like “plumbing in [Town Name]” without signalling a preference to Google for any particular area.
Weighing Your Options
So, where do you go from here? Let’s break down two primary strategies and consider a third option that might provide a more balanced solution:
Option A: Optimize the homepage for the main town where your business operates, then develop separate service and location pages for the other areas. While this might help establish your presence in the main town, you risk limiting your site’s visibility in larger markets with higher search volumes.
Option B: Design a generic homepage that showcases your core services and locations equally. This keeps the focus broad, allowing all location pages to