Local SEO in 2 locations

[studio9uk]

I am developing our new business website and we are looking to rank for local keywords to the county I am in at the moment. However, in around 6 months I will be dividing my time between this county and another one. As the website has not been finalised yet, how would you recommend that I set up the website to enable us to rank for the new county in 6 months without losing the rankings for the one we are in at the moment. Is it worth getting a virtual address for it and a new google business page to enable it to rank better in the search results? Also, what page structure would guarantee us to rank properly.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Jennifer Neon]

That's good to know that your business is doing well. So yes here are some suggestions for ranking your site on multiple locations:

Make Pages For Each Location

Many site owners take this as a tedious task and try to avoid it but I will suggest not to avoid this. Instead of doing the mistake of ranking your same web pages for multiple locations by fitting all the locations on the same pages, create dedicated pages for each location.

The answer can be clearly seen when you perform a Google search for a query you'll see location-based pages on the SERPs in top results.

Structue Your URLs Logically

Organize your site in a manner so that it is easy to navigate by your users. Have a look at the following example:

• xyz.com/locations/<list of locations>
• xyz.com/locations/portland/store#1

Make user-friendly URLs with geo-specific words.

Optimize Each Page With Location-Based Keywords

Optimize every page with location-based keywords. Feed your meta descriptions and title with location-based search queries so that the search engines can find them relevant with what a user is searching and rank you on top of the SERPs.

Optimize Your Content

Content is what makes your site rank on top of the SERPs. Once you've have structured your site, it's time to add some localized content.

Add content that describes your services, FAQs, customer reviews and testimonials, etc.

Create Google My Business Account

Google My Business will give you the power to control how your business appears on the SERPs, along with locations on maps. Optimize your profile for each location and show your presence on the SERPs Also, you can use the same account to manage all your locations.

Local Business Listing

Build a local business listing in local directories for both of your locations. Show the presence of your name, address, and phone number to Google.

 

[studio9uk]

That's good to know that your business is doing well. So yes here are some suggestions for ranking your site on multiple locations:

Make Pages For Each Location

Many site owners take this as a tedious task and try to avoid it but I will suggest not to avoid this. Instead of doing the mistake of ranking your same web pages for multiple locations by fitting all the locations on the same pages, create dedicated pages for each location.

The answer can be clearly seen when you perform a Google search for a query you'll see location-based pages on the SERPs in top results.
View attachment 340

Structue Your URLs Logically

Organize your site in a manner so that it is easy to navigate by your users. Have a look at the following example:

• xyz.com/locations/<list of locations>
• xyz.com/locations/portland/store#1

Make user-friendly URLs with geo-specific words.

Optimize Each Page With Location-Based Keywords

Optimize every page with location-based keywords. Feed your meta descriptions and title with location-based search queries so that the search engines can find them relevant with what a user is searching and rank you on top of the SERPs.
View attachment 341

Optimize Your Content

Content is what makes your site rank on top of the SERPs. Once you've have structured your site, it's time to add some localized content.

Add content that describes your services, FAQs, customer reviews and testimonials, etc.

Create Google My Business Account

Google My Business will give you the power to control how your business appears on the SERPs, along with locations on maps. Optimize your profile for each location and show your presence on the SERPs Also, you can use the same account to manage all your locations.

View attachment 342

Local Business Listing

Build a local business listing in local directories for both of your locations. Show the presence of your name, address, and phone number to Google.

Thank you so much for such an in-depth response. If I want to rank for national keywords such as UK e.g. UK Web Designer as well as a location such as Oxfordshire Web Design should I just add a location page for each? What should I set my main homepage page to?

 

[Jennifer Neon]

Thank you so much for such an in-depth response. If I want to rank for national keywords such as UK e.g. UK Web Designer as well as a location such as Oxfordshire Web Design should I just add a location page for each? What should I set my main homepage page to?

Sorry to get back to you so late. So you've to add organization schema on your homepage with your contact details, address, and everything. Also, you can add a drop-down menu that helps you translate your page in the local language.

Here's a link that will help you more with the organization schema:
https://jsonld-examples.com/schema.org/code/organization-markup.php

 

[studio9uk]

Sorry to get back to you so late. So you've to add organization schema on your homepage with your contact details, address, and everything. Also, you can add a drop-down menu that helps you translate your page in the local language.

Here's a link that will help you more with the organization schema:

Ok, so to rank for the national keyword, we should just add the schema onto the homepage and rank the homepage for a local and national keyword instead of having a dedicated landing page for the national keyword?

 

[Jennifer Neon]

Yes, absolutely.