Do they help or hurt?

Local SEO can be successful for so many types of businesses.

Whether you’re a brick-and-mortar business or a service-based business, you know that many prospective customers begin their journey with search.

And if you want their business, you have to show up.

To get started, (preferably) run a local SEO audit on your site to help develop a local strategy.

This will be your roadmap to ticking all the boxes and attracting customers near you.

One thing you’ll notice during this process is that there are certain content types that are meant to increase visibility to users looking for products and services in their area.

This also means that it will actually show up in the right place at the right time, which can require a fair amount of content.

This may raise questions such as:

• How can I create such unique content On the exact same subject?
• do i have to copy and paste Would you like to change the same information to the city name?
• What’s the best way to target your customers? No punishment for duplicate content?

So let’s take a look at six different types of content you’ll want to duplicate and whether to make it your own or just wash it off and reuse it.

1. Service area page

Service area pages are key real estate for local-based keywords such as city, state, region, and metropolitan area.

As a service-based business, these pages tell customers the exact region in which they do business.

If you’re brick and mortar, the location page could be a good alternative.

If your business serves a large area or has multiple locations, you may want to use the same template for each page.

don’t do it

This is your chance to speak directly to your customer’s needs and tell search engines exactly where they want to live in map results.

Use this golden opportunity to make a difference. By putting the same information on every page, you’re sending conflicting signals to search engines about which pages are really important.

If a user is searching for a specific term in this area, make it clear that your website is the best choice to meet their needs or help answer a specific question.

Unique content tips:

• talk about the services you offer Each specific service area is unique for that customer.
• please think about it The problem you are trying to solve for your customer who live in that area.
• if your Service mix changes depending on location, this is the place to highlight those changesListing your service on this page will also add the head and short tail keywords you are targeting at that location.
• this page Opportunity to link to specific city or subway landing pageswhich we will discuss later.
• surely Add a local schema to help search engines understand all the important information Information about your business, such as your name, location, hours of operation, coordinates for the areas you serve, services, and linked social accounts. If you have multiple locations, create a unique schema for each location and place it on the appropriate service area page.
• Include a Google Map linked to your Google Business ProfileThis sends a signal that this website provides a direct link to the subject area referenced on this page.
• Don’t forget information about your business NAP, business hours, email address, related images, etc.Bonus points if these images are geotagged.

2. City-specific landing pages

In the previous section, we briefly discussed city-specific landing pages.

This type of page allows you to target the metropolitan areas and cities you serve.

This is especially useful if there is no physical location within the area.

The purpose of this page is to drive organic traffic from a specific city or metropolitan area, so you need to make sure your content is unique and targets the keywords you defined in your strategic plan.

This can be made specific as [your service] + [city].

Search engines are looking for the best sites to provide their customers with the most relevant search results, so this content should scream “I’m in that business!”

Unique content tips:

• Talk about an individual service or product What you offer in this area and why they are important.
• Try to include surrounding cities and suburbs in content. This allows you to expand your local reach.
• Local landmarks help Validate your knowledge of the area.
• don’t forget Include office or location address Serving target cities.
• Local reviews, testimonials, job stories Helps build trust.
• don’t forget to concentrateTreat this as a landing page for customers in your target city. This could be a one-shot to convert customers or keep them on your site.

3. Articles and blogs

In the current social culture, everyone loves a good article or blog, especially if it relates to the situation they are going through at the moment.

The resource section of your site is a great place to speak directly to your customers’ specific needs while showing yourself as an authority in your field.

The best thing about writing articles and blogging as part of your strategy is the flexibility you can have to dive into any topic and apply it to your service or product.

Don’t get bored doing the same thing over and over again.

Shake off that creative hat and have fun.

Unique content tips:

• Get hyperlocal! Talk about what’s going on in your neighborhood or area.
• Be relevant and timelyCreate content that your users are interested in in the moment. This ranges from social issues to events and promotions. Listen to what your customers care about.
• Deploy your long tail keyword strategy hereUse resource pages to create content for targeted keywords that may not fit in the main areas of your site.
• be creative and Leverage checklists, top 10 lists, infographics, and video content to attract your local audience.
• Not sure what to build? Use a keyword research tool or Google Trends popular in the area you are targeting

Google Trends screenshot, February 2022

4. NAP information

NAP (name, address, phone number) may not be a complete page of content, but it is very important for local SEO.

This is when consistency is important and should be the same across the board.

The required level of detail is as deep as using “St.”. Or “Street” in the address.

This is important as it is how search engines validate your presence on the internet.

If they can match your name, address, and phone number with other sources, it will show the relationship between your website and other mentions of your company.

This information should be displayed in the footer, metro page, and about us page of your website.

Help customers and search engines connect the dots.

5. Reviews and testimonials

Reviews and testimonials build trust and confidence with your customers.

According to BrightLocal, 77% of users always or regularly read reviews when browsing local businesses.

Don’t be afraid to use the same reviews and testimonials on different pages of your site.

The key here is to update this content regularly.

This can be done manually or through plugins that pull reviews directly from the source.

6. Directory list

Web directories are still very relevant for local SEO.

We’ve all heard about the most popular directories like Google Business Profile and Bing Places, but there are many others that are used so often that we may not even be aware of them.

These include local search directories, map sites, affiliate/review sites, and chambers of commerce.

Each directory may be given the opportunity to create a profile that includes NAP information, service listings, and business descriptions.

No need to create a new description or list of services for each directory.

As with NAP, consistency is key.

You want search engines to be able to connect the dots from your directory site to your website, making sure they know you’re in the same business.

To save you a little time, you can sign up for a listing service that pushes your business information to the most popular directories.

As you experiment with these different types of content, you’ll find ways to integrate other marketing efforts like social and video content into your local SEO strategy.

Consistency across platforms will further connect the dots across your marketing portfolio and create a comprehensive user journey.

Please do not duplicate this content.

Use the sip model to provide a little more information at each step.

let’s start

Planning content for your local SEO efforts may seem daunting at first, but with the right planning in place, it’s worth the effort.

Check out SEJ’s Local SEO Guide to start your journey.

This will get you on track to crafting a strategy, planning the right content, driving traffic, and boosting your rankings.

Other resources:

Featured image: limart/Shutterstock