Location Page Optimization: Complete Checklist

Location page optimization is one of the essential pieces of your local SEO strategy. They help you rank out from your competitors and are usually a top result in local searches, so it’s important to optimize them correctly. In this post, we’ll walk through what makes a good location page, how to get started with optimizing yours, and some best practices for making sure that your customers find you when they search for products or services near you.

How visible does your business appear in local search engine results? Finding it difficult to reach customers in your area? This comprehensive checklist for locator page optimization (SEO) will help optimize your site to attract customers near you and increase the number of qualified visitors.

There’s no need to worry if you don’t yet have a location page. This checklist will provide a guideline on what to include on your site’s location page.

Whether your business is brick-and-mortar, service-area business (SAB), single location or multi-location, a local location page can help centralize your SEO efforts to provide local customers with a snapshot of your business location.

If you already have a page for your location and are ready to optimize it, please jump to where you will find the complete checklist. For more details, let us first explain a page and how it can help you rank in Google’s Local Pack.

What is a “Location Page”?

A location page, also known to be a city landing or service area webpage, is a page that contains all your business’s important information for customers as well as search engines. It includes details about your location, such as the NAP (Name, Address, Phone number), product or service offerings, reviews, directions and hours of operation, to name just a few. 

You can have your business in a brick-and-mortar, SAB or another type. You will find the same components on your location page regardless of whether you are a brick-and-mortar business or a SAB. Your location page’s optimization strategy will vary depending on the location. 

For instance, a multi-location brick & mortar business will need to be more creative in building location pages than a single SAB.

The location pages allow customers to find information relevant to their business quickly. They also act as ranking factors when searching for specific locations. The following are the top ranking factors for the Local Pack in Moz’s State of Local SEO Industry Report.

1. Google My Business elements – keywords in category, name, etc.
2. Google reviews (count, sentiment, owner responses, etc.)
3. Locate the searcher close to the business
4. Address physical in the search city
5. Consistency of Citations (on primary data sources like directories, aggregators, and platforms).

SEO Elements For Websites: 

6. Local listing engagement (clickthrough rate (CTR), Clicks-to Call, Online Bookings, etc.
7. Organic user behavior (CTR, bounce rates, time on the site, etc.
8. Quality/authority for inbound linking to the Domain

Example Google’s regular local 3-pack, also known as the Local Pack (or Map Pack),

In the same study, these are the top-ranking local search factors:

1. On-page SEO elements
2. Organic user behavior
3. Google My Business elements
4. Quality/authority of all inbound links to the Domain
5. Consistency among citations
6. Google reviews

    7 .Local listing engagement

    8. Address physical in the search city

    9. It is close to the place of business.

   10.Social media engagement, such as comments, shares, likes, etc.

These ranking factors are important to remember when going through the checklist and optimizing your page. Let’s move on to the main reason why you came here.

The Complete SEO Checklist for Location Page Optimization

This complete checklist can be used to help with location page optimization. Each component can enhance your website’s user experience for those searching for more information and search engine robots.

Follow each step carefully, or jump directly to the section you need:

1. Featured Identical NAP Details
2. Use Specific Keywords
3. Include Hours of Business
4. Feature Reviews
5. Give Directions & Share your Location
6. Use the relevant CTA.
7. Apply Schema
8. Add Relevant Intra & Extra Links

Before diving in, check that your location page (and the rest) is mobile-friendly. Google has introduced mobile-first Indexing to all websites since September 2020. This means Google can only crawl and index the mobile version. Google won’t index a page on your site if it isn’t mobile-friendly. This means that you won’t get organic traffic.

Get the Local SEO Checklist

Details for Feature Identical NAP

NAP details should be the first information on your location page, and name, Address, and Phone are referred to as NAP. Google and other search engines use businesses’ NAP information to determine how they rank in geo-specific queries. Your searcher’s proximity to your business is the third-most important ranking factor for Local Pack. Be sure to maintain consistency across your NAP details on your location page and website, Google My Business (GMB), listings and other online directories. There are many factors to consider depending on your business type.

Single-location brick & mortar business: Your website should have one page that displays your NAP details.

Multi-location bricks-and-mortar businesses: Create one web page per location. If your store locations are small, you might want to create a subfolder of your website that addresses them.

Example: 

Fong’s Pizza Iowa, for example, has four locations. There are three in Des Moines and one in Cedar Rapids. Each site has its page beneath the Locations subsection of its website. Each page can rank higher in location-specific searches. For example, suppose Fong’s Pizza is located in downtown Des Moines, and you search for it. In that case, the DSM – Downtown location page should show up in your search results rather than their Ankeny site page. I’m much closer to their downtown Des Moines office. If you want to optimize your local SEO, make sure that the URL path contains the location name (e.g. www.yourdomain.com/locations/des-Moines).

You might consider creating a website and store finder tool if there are more than a few store locations. Local search results can be more competitive if you don’t make a page for each site. Home Depot is an excellent example of such a strategy. They have a store locator tool for customers, and each store links back to its indexable place page for search engines. You can link to each location’s GMB listing in search results.

SAB with office location: Please include your business name, telephone number, and service areas on the location page. If you have a physical office, be sure to include its Address. If you are not available to work in your office during working hours, hide the Address from other users.

 The users won’t be able to see your Address, but search engines like Google and others will be able to verify it. Consider building a location page for each of your most popular service areas. Miller Pest & Termite has their location pages using this tactic. They also include a Service Areas menu in the navigation menu. This subfolder contains information about popular service areas broken down by state or city.

SAB without office location: Provide your business name, telephone number, and service area on the location page. A better alternative is to hide your registered Address from the public if you do not own an office.

2. Use video, audio, and images.

Video, audio, and images are the most essential elements of any location page. They help you to show your clients what they’ll experience if they visit your business.

You can use images to show the location and the surrounding areas, including nearby attractions and landmarks. If you have any photos from events that were held at the location, use those too!

Use videos where possible: hire a videographer or ask owners of businesses in your area if they have footage of their establishment that they’d be willing to share with potential customers. If there aren’t any videos already available for public viewing—or even if there are—you should consider creating some yourself!

3. Use Location-Specific Keywords

Next, add location-specific keywords within your content. This can be done in your meta tags, title, meta description, and URL paths. This signals search engines that your site’s location page applies to a specific location. The following example illustrates:

Wendy is an experienced wedding cake baker. She has two brick-and-mortar locations in Des Moines (Waukee). She should only have one page for each site and make sure to include keywords specific to her place on each page.

Single-location brick-and-mortar business: Add your business address in your meta tags.

Multi-location bricks-and-mortar businesses: Make sure to include the cities of your locations in your content.

SAB that includes a location for your office: In your meta tags, and URL path, you can add your site to your content. You should highlight your service area as well. SABs ranking in Google’s Local Pack is less likely to be ranked outside their Address. For instance, a carpet cleaner serving Waukee (Iowa) with a site in Des Moines won’t be given top marks in the Local Pack Waukee for “carpet cleaner near me.”

SAB without an Office Location: If you have an office, add your service areas to your content using your meta tags and URL paths.

4. Include location-Specific Content

Similar to step 2, you must include location-specific material on your location page. It is best to avoid pasting the same content over multiple locations. You can search and replace specific keywords by searching, which could result in duplicate content. We recommend that you avoid this. Instead, ensure that each location has its scope. Some examples of location-specific content are services offered or brands sold near areas, menus (for eateries) and a unique sales proposition (USP).

Single-location brick & mortar business: Your products or services are listed in the store, along with names of nearby companies or markers. This will allow visitors to find your location and your USP.

Multi-location bricks-and-mortar businesses: Add your products or your services to each page. Also, add the names and place markers of nearby companies.

SAB located in an office: Include your services and USP.

SAB without an Office Location: Include your Services and USP.

5. Include business hours

Users will find it frustrating if they have to go to a location after looking up a business’s hours and find out that they are closed. Include your business hours on your page, so your customers don’t have to do the same thing. These hours should correspond precisely to your GMB listings.

Single-location brick and mortar business: Add store hours to the location page.

Multi-location bricks-and-mortar businesses: Be sure to indicate the hours of each location.

SAB that has an office location: On your page, include your office hours. If you also provide 24/7 service (e.g. Garage door company offering 24/7 service. If your company offers 24/7 service, you should have this information on your GMB listing and location page.

SAB without office location: Include service hours on your page.

6. Include Testimonials and Customer Reviews for Feature

Testimonials are a powerful way to show off your brand. Whether you’re an online retailer or a local business, testimonials can be an excellent way to generate credibility and trust with potential customers.

Ratings and reviews are another great way to show off your brand by allowing satisfied customers to share their experiences with others who haven’t yet tried you. Ratings and reviews are also an excellent opportunity for new customers because they’re often one of the first things people look at before browsing through Yelp or Google Reviews.

If you don’t have many reviews yet (or any), then look at how other businesses like yours get more reviews by offering free products in exchange for honest feedback!

Google reviews from customers are also one of the top-ranking elements for the Local Pack (and local search results) because Google favors fresh content. Positive thoughts build credibility and trustworthiness for your potential customers. On average, users will review ten reviews. And create a reputation strategy to get more customer reviews. A review widget can be used to embed Google reviews onto your location page.

Single-location brick-and-mortar company: Feature Google customer reviews on the location page by embedding a widget.

Multi-location brick mortar businesses: If you have GMB listings for each location, display customer reviews from each GMB listed on its associated location pages. For example, suppose your site is in Ankeny (Iowa) and Des Moines (Iowa). In that case, you can feature your Ankeny GMB customer reviews on the Ankeny location webpage and your Des Moines GMB user reviews on the Des Moines location webpage.

SAB location with an office: Feature Google customer reviews on your location page using an embedded widget.

SAB without office location: SAB with office location details.

7. Share your location & provide directions.

Giving your customers instructions is crucial, much like including your opening hours on your map page. Also, let them know where you are so they can find you. To make it easier for clients to discover you, list local businesses or highlight landmarks. This widget has a location pin that users may click to get driving directions and can be put on your website.

Single-location brick & mortar business: Place a Google Maps link on your website and add directions to help customers find your business.

Multi-location bricks-and-mortar businesses: Place a Google Maps Widget on each location page. Also, include directions specific to that location for customers.

SAB with an Office Location: Embed a Google Maps widget on your location page. Add a pin in your office address for a location indication. A radius can be added around the hook to identify your service area.

SAB without an office location: Embed an embedded Google Maps widget on the location page that uses radius to indicate your service areas.

8. Include location-specific photos

Before your customer’s visit, images and videos can preview the business’ location. Customers can quickly familiarize themselves and their surroundings, establish expectations, and gain trust. Location-specific ideas include pictures of the staff, interior and exterior photos, and photos of products sold. You should also optimize photos for SEO.

Single-location brick-and-mortar business. Add interior and exterior photographs, images of products in demand or available, and team pictures.

Multi-location bricks-and-mortar businesses: For each location, add interior and exterior photos, images of available or popular products, and team photographs.

SAB location with photos: Include interior and exterior images and pictures showing your staff performing their services.

SAB is available without an office. Add photos of staff members performing services.

9.Use a Relevant Call To Action

You should set clear goals or desired actions for every website page. The same goes for your location page. Your location page can include a pertinent CTA that will prompt visitors to take a specific action (e.g. Get Directions, Reserve Table, Request an Appointment etc. )

Single-location brick & mortar business: To persuade your visitors to take any action, include a pertinent CTA on your site’s location page.

Multi-location brick & mortar business: Each page should include a CTA that aligns with the location’s goal.

SAB with an Office Location: Include a pertinent CTA for your services. (Talk to a Technician or Schedule Service ).

SAB without an address: SAB with an address for details.

10. Schema Markup

Schema marking, a structured data language, is a way to format your data so that Google can better understand your identity and activities. Schema markup is a way to format your data to help Google understand who you are and what you do. Merkle, free and open-source, is great for generating schema markup.

Single-location brick & mortar business: Use LocalBusiness markup type on the location page.

Multi-location bricks-and-mortar businesses: If you don’t have an address, or if you have one, the Schema App explains how to mark up your locations.

SAB that has an office location: You can use the Organization page to show your site.

SAB without office location: SAB with office location details.

11. Add Relevant Internal & External Links

The final step in the complete checklist is adding relevant internal and external links. You can then share additional resources with your customers and better showcase your company. This could be used to link to your About page or products. You can also add links to social media profiles specific to your location, local directories, publications that feature your business, or popular directory listing.

Single-location brick-and-mortar business: Ensure to include relevant internal and external links that highlight your business’ products and services.

Multi-location bricks-and-mortar businesses include internal and external links relevant to each location. Home Depot’s site pages contain links that will apply to each specific area. The W Des Moines location webpage includes links to relevant internal pages that lead to special daily offers, product trends, and locations near you.

SAB location with links: Link to your service pages, social profiles, and directory listings.

SAB without an address: SAB with an address for details.

Thinking about many things when building or optimizing your location pages is essential, especially if there are multiple locations. Use this complete checklist for SEO location pages. You will create a more user-friendly experience and increase your visibility in local SERPs.

What are the differences between location pages for brick & mortar and service area businesses in Brick & Mortar?

Local SEO and local location pages

Search engine optimization (SEO), especially regarding ranking for location-specific keywords and targeting long-tail keyword phrases, can be a difficult task for people just starting out in the local search engine optimization field. Optimized correctly, location pages, also known as “local landing pages”, can improve your website’s ranking in search engine results. Find out how to optimize or create location pages using our Complete Checklist for location page SEO.

The most helpful location pages are for service-area businesses and those with multiple brick-and-mortar stores. Both these companies must demonstrate to potential customers and search engines that they serve more locations than one. Every kind of business has a different focus for its location pages. Optimizing location pages for users’ experience and search engine results is essential. However, the type of business will impact the page’s purpose and the best approach to building it.

Location Pages for Brick and Mortar Business

A location page for a brick-and-mortar business makes it as easy as possible for potential customers to find the location. For physical stores, location pages should focus on the names, addresses, phone numbers, and directions. Information such as product and/or service information, reviews, and other pertinent information can be included on the page.

Brick-and–mortar businesses have the edge over service-area firms when it comes to SEO. Local search engine results show business listings and most search terms. This type of business can rank higher on search engine result pages. Users tend to use phrases such as “near me” or include the city name. Google and the other search engines often deliver organic search results that match a user’s location. These usually take them to nearby businesses.

Location pages let users find nearby stores to purchase your products and services. Each page should represent an actual location and allow users access to the nearest store through search engines.

Location Pages to Service-Area Businesses

Because potential customers are not required to visit a physical place, service area pages are different to brick-and mortar locations pages. These businesses may have an office or operation center. However, the main goal of SAP is to make their company visible in the SERPs and notify potential clients about their services. Service-area businesses cannot rely upon search engines to bring customers to their site based on location. They need to concentrate their efforts elsewhere, like the page’s meta tags and content.

To create a great service area page, keyword research is essential. The key to creating a successful SAP is finding and using the right target keywords.

You should have service area pages that include the Address and describe the specific services offered. If you have multiple benefits to offer, break them up into groups and write about them each. This is an opportunity for you to give potential customers your unique selling point for each service and drive them towards conversion.

CONVERT! Here it is! Any page in a service area should give visitors the chance of a conversion. Pages should include a relevant CTA. For example, “Request Service”/”Schedule a Consultation”. This will allow visitors to recognize your hard work and reach you to learn more about your services.

A great SAP will enable your audience to find your business via SERPs, learn more about you, and convert into customers.

SEO practices for building local pages will evolve like all other aspects. Understanding how search engine algorithms change and other parts of the internet affect your business is crucial.

Contact D’Marketing Agency 

Contact us if you want to learn more about our services and how we can help you with your location page optimization.

We will help you find the most relevant keywords for your target audience.

Our SEO professionals will create a winning SEO strategy for your website, including keyword research and content creation.

We will make sure that your website is optimized for conversion, so it generates leads and sales from organic search traffic.

Conclusion: 

Location page optimization is integral to your local SEO strategy and should be treated as such! For your site to get the maximum chances of getting ranked well in local searches, we recommend using a tool like Merchento which allows you to manage all aspects of your business on one platform. It’s easy-to-use interface makes it possible for anyone with basic knowledge of SEO to optimize their location pages effectively without having any coding skills required