SEO for Multiple Locations (Beginner’s Guide)

1 year ago 97

To pull customers from definite geographic locations with integrated search, you’ll request to commencement implementing SEO for aggregate locations. But however exactly tin you do this?

Let’s get started.

Multiple determination SEO (MLS) is the process of optimizing your business’s integrated hunt beingness for aggregate geographic locations. It whitethorn dependable complicated, but it’s akin to regular SEO, with a fewer additions.

MLS is peculiarly important for businesses similar restaurants, service-based businesses, oregon retail chains that person aggregate stores with their ain established presence. 

The benefits are that it enables your concern to scope a larger audience—both successful the online satellite and the offline world. 

So however bash you get started? 

In Google, determination are 2 superior ways to look for geographic-based searches, either arsenic portion of the regular integrated results oregon the representation battalion (also known arsenic the local pack).

Infographic of representation  battalion  and regular   integrated  results connected  Google SERP

Let’s instrumentality a look astatine however to optimize for these for aggregate locations.

How to look successful the localized integrated results

The archetypal happening I look astatine is the website’s structure. 

If you person aggregate carnal locations, it’s a bully thought to acceptable up location-specific landing pages. But lone if determination is hunt request for these pages and lone if you person a carnal determination successful those places.

But however tin you enactment retired what the hunt request is? Simple—you tin usage Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer.

Let’s accidental you ain a canine walking concern successful the U.S. and you privation to optimize it for the carnal locations successful New York City and Chicago. How bash you do it?

If we unfastened Keywords Explorer, plug successful “dog walking services,” and caput to the Matching terms report, we tin spot Chicago is simply a cardinal determination without adjacent looking astatine the keyword list.

Matching presumption     study  for "dog walking services," via Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer

Let’s dive into the keywords a spot much and look astatine each the fashionable locations for canine walking services.

List of canine  walking locations with highlights, via Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer

From the supra list, we tin spot that these are the astir searched for areas for canine walking services:

  • Chicago
  • Reston
  • NYC
  • Boston
  • Minneapolis 

Using this recently acquired knowledge, we tin acceptable up landing pages for our Chicago and NYC stores arsenic a priority, knowing that determination is hunt request for these peculiar locations.

When mounting up your caller landing pages, it’s a bully thought to commencement with the URLs. 

They should look thing like this: 

  • yourwebsite.com/dog-walking-services/chicago/
  • yourwebsite.com/dog-walking-services/nyc/

Tip

If you spot a determination look successful Keywords Explorer successful abbreviated form, e.g., “NYC” alternatively of “New York City,” it’s usually champion to spell with the astir searched for version.

Once we person acceptable up these pages, we tin populate them with each the important accusation astir that peculiar location. 

The important details to see are what’s known arsenic your “NAP”—the name, address, and telephone fig of that business’s location.

Once you person added this, you tin physique retired the determination landing page(s) with further details of the business. This volition assistance physique spot with your customers.

It’s a bully thought to enactment yourself successful the shoes of your customers erstwhile doing this and deliberation astir what accusation they would beryllium funny in.

If we instrumentality a look astatine 1 of the landing pages successful the SERPs for “reston va canine walking,” we tin spot that it’s reasonably good optimized.

Reston VA Dog Walking landing page, via Paw Pals

It includes adjuvant accusation for customers, such as: 

  • The opening hours.
  • Certifications and awards it has won and associations it is part of.
  • Holiday docket and pricing details.
  • Google standing widget.
  • Other areas served” list.
  • Contact form. 
  • Google map embed.

The NAP details are astatine the bottommost of the page, with a interaction signifier and telephone fig successful the apical right-hand corner.

NAP and opening   hours example, via Paw Pals

Although these elements are for a canine walking site, you tin spot that these elemental elements are reproducible for galore businesses. 

The lone other accusation I would person added to this landing leafage is much item astir the unit providing the services.

With a speedy cheque of this leafage utilizing the Rich Results Test, I tin spot that it doesn’t person immoderate determination schema markup.

Schema is simply a further summation that you tin marque to your multiple-location landing pages. 

Without going into excessively overmuch method detail, I urge checking retired this guide that shows you however to optimize for aggregate locations utilizing schema.

Once you are done, it should look thing similar this successful the Rich Results Test:

Multiple locations schema example, via Google Rich Results Test

How to look successful the local pack

Once you person acceptable up your location-based landing page(s), it’s clip to see the different elements of your online presence, specified arsenic however to look successful the section battalion results.

For location-based searches, Google typically shows the local pack astatine the apical of the leafage up of the integrated results.

If we hunt for the operation “brewdog manchester”—(a fashionable trade brew marque + a metropolis successful the U.K.), we tin spot the section battalion supra the integrated results.

Local battalion  example, via Google.com

If we hunt for the aforesaid keyword operation connected Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer, the SERP overview shows america the details of the section battalion and breaks retired the aforesaid results successful an easier-to-scan format.

Local battalion  item   successful  SERP overview, via Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer

Setting up a Google Business Profile is the cardinal to appearing successful the section battalion results. 

To bash this, caput implicit here to get started.

Google Business commencement  page, via Google Business Profile

Once you person acceptable up your main determination and it’s verified, you’ll request to acceptable up your different locations.

To bash this, click connected Add business successful your Google Business Profile:

Google Business Profile; adding aggregate  locations example, via Google Business Profile

Then click connected Add azygous business.

Adding a azygous  business, via Google Business Profile

When you person filled retired each of the applicable accusation for your antithetic locations, you volition person created your Google Business Profile. The concern locations should commencement to amusement successful the section battalion erstwhile Google has verified your illustration and the different locations.

If you person much than 10 locations to add, you tin bulk import them by clicking connected the Import businesses fastener instead.

You’ll past beryllium prompted to download a template. Once you person downloaded and filled successful the information, it volition look thing like this: 

Sample information  CSV bulk upload

After you’ve filled everything out, it’s conscionable a question of uploading the record by selecting Select record and past requesting bulk verification.

"Select file" option, via Google Business Profile

Once you person completed these steps, you tin negociate your aggregate businesses done your Google Business Profile.

The optimization doesn’t halt erstwhile the supra is done—in fact, you person lone conscionable started.

It’s an ongoing process of maintaining and optimizing your illustration likewise to however you would optimize your website.

If you person less than 10 locations and didn’t bash the bulk upload, you’ll archetypal request to double-check that you person filled retired each of the Google Business Profile accusation for your locations.

This means you should person checked the following:

The much accusation you springiness Google, the amended your chances of ranking higher successful the local pack.

If you haven’t already, you volition request to adhd high-quality photos of your business. You tin bash this by logging into Google Business Profile and past returning to the hunt results. 

At the apical of the SERP, Google volition amusement a mini dashboard wherever you tin update and negociate your concern profile. To update your photos, click connected Add photo.

SERP dashboard for Google Business Profile

You tin adhd 3 types of photos: Logos, Cover Photos, oregon Business Photos. These are the requirements for the photos:

  • Format: JPG or PNG
  • Suggested size: Between 10 KB and 5 MB
  • Recommended resolution: 720 px tall, 720 px wide
  • Minimum resolution: 250 px tall, 250 px wide
  • Quality: Photo should beryllium successful focus, well-lit, and person nary important alterations oregon excessive usage of filters

Tip

Include interior shots of your business. And if you are a edifice owner, it’s a bully thought to see photos of your menu.

Updating your Google Business Profile is important for customers astir vacation dates. 

Google is truthful acrophobic with the accuracy of its results it volition occasionally telephone you to corroborate your concern opening hours during these periods. 

I contacted Google to corroborate whether this is inactive portion of its checks, and it confirmed that it was.

Now that you person successfully added your locations, you tin commencement to measurement your performance.

You tin bash this by returning to the hunt results and clicking the Performance icon.

SERP dashboard with "Performance" icon highlighted, via Google Business Profile

Once you person done this, it volition instrumentality you to an overview screen. 

You tin click done the tabs to look at:

  • Calls
  • Messages
  • Bookings
  • Directions
  • Website clicks
Performance leafage   and analytics, via Google Business Profile

From this screen, you tin get an knowing of however your concern is performing locally.

If you privation to show the show of your section landing pages, you tin bash this successful Ahrefs’ Site Explorer.

Let’s spell backmost to the BrewDog illustration and ideate that we wanted to cognize the postulation show of its apical bars successful the U.S.

To bash this, we tin plug BrewDog’s website successful the Top pages study and past adhd a URL filter that contains “/bars/usa/” like so:

URL filter for USA bars, via Ahrefs' Site Explorer

This volition alteration america to filter the top-performing landing pages by Traffic.

Top U.S. BrewDog bars by integrated  traffic, via Ahrefs' Site Explorer

From this, we tin spot that Cleveland is the apical determination successful presumption of integrated traffic.

Using Site Explorer, we tin look astatine each the cardinal metrics for our determination pages, such as:

  • Traffic.
  • Position.
  • Top keyword.
  • Number of ranking keywords the page has.
  • Estimate the worth of the determination page’s integrated traffic.

Lastly, if you privation to way positions, you tin usage a keyword tracking instrumentality similar Ahrefs’ Rank Tracker

Here’s an illustration of maine entering a ZIP codification to way successful the U.S.: 

ZIP codification  selector example, via Ahrefs' Rank Tracker

Rank Tracker tin way keyword rankings connected a country, state, city, oregon ZIP code basis.

Final thoughts

Having an online beingness for aggregate locations is indispensable if your concern relies connected customers from circumstantial areas.

Maintaining the profiles and landing pages tin beryllium a challenge, though. Optimizing for aggregate locations takes time. But if you enactment successful the effort now, you’ll payment from it successful the long run.

Got much questions? Ping maine on Twitter. 🙂

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