Local SEO for Multiple Locations: How to Guide

Many people think that big brands have it easy when it comes to traffic and organic rankings but this isn’t the case.

Many people think that big brands have it easy when it comes to traffic and organic rankings but this isn’t the case. Every brand, big or small requires SEO to increase traffic to their site and achieve brand visibility on search engines.

SEO can become more complex when it utilised for multiple locations (more than one physical store). Companies that use selective keywords that are location specific will have higher conversion rates than those of non-geographic keyword searches.

 

Have a single domain

Google emphasised the importance of a single domain for all locations but having separate URL’s for each geographic location to enhance your SEO efforts. For example, if you are running a business consultancy firm in Victoria with head office in Melbourne and regional offices in Mount Eliza, Bendigo and Geelong, you should have different pages for each location with geographic keywords in the URL alongside unique and relevant content. Content can vary from a map of the local area to pictures of local landmarks.

 

Using a subdomain or subdirectory

The debate of using a subdomain or subdirectory is still an ongoing one. Nobody has been able to prove which one is effective for rankings. It all boils down to personal preference. Since most webmasters use a CMS system, such as WordPress or Joomla, it is easier to manage URLs using subfolders. For example www.yourdomain.com/Victoria-lawyers/Geelong-Lawyers. When you create separate web pages for each location, you can focus on elements such as Heading 1(H1), page titles, Meta descriptions, and geographic specific content. If you don’t make adjustments to the content on each of these location pages Google will penalise you for echoic content.

 

List in Google My Business (also known as Google Places and Google+ Local) for each location

For each location, list your business in the Google My Business directory. This Google tool displays your business on a Google map when related keywords are searched by potential prospects.

 

Local SEO for Multiple Locations checklist

Just like you would conduct local SEO for one location; do the same for Local SEO for multiple locations too. In a nutshell, for each location, you should separately:

i. Upload unique content

ii. Use subdirectories/subdomain with a clear navigational structure

iii. Configure Google Webmaster Tools

iv. Create Google+ Local page

v. Use breadcrumb navigation

vi. Display address and telephone number clearly

vii. Use filters in Google Analytics for city-specific traffic

viii. Use schema.org mark-up

ix. Conduct on-page SEO like meta titles, description and geographic-specific content

 

Digital Animals understands the importance of SEO specific tactics that perform for multiple site locations and has helped many businesses perform local SEO for multiple locations. Contact us now for a structured and dynamic SEO approach that aims to increase organic traffic flow, search engine rankings and assist with high quality content creation. Please contact us here or by phone 1300 90 58 20.