Build a city page only when it has real local content. A stack of city pages with the same text and a new name swapped in is what Google calls doorway abuse. Until you have real local content for an area, one strong service-area page does the job better.
What does Google say about city pages?
Google’s spam policy lists this among its examples of doorway abuse: “Having multiple domain names or pages targeted at specific regions or cities that funnel users to one page.” It also calls them “substantially similar pages”.
Ten copies of your services page, with “Shelby” swapped for “Ontario,” fit that description. Don’t spam. Write content.
What earns a city its own page?
Local content that only someone who works there could write:
- Jobs you’ve done there, with photos and a sentence on each.
- Local details only you would know. Which office handles permits, where to park, what changes with the season. A customer wants to know you know their town.
- Reviews from customers in that city. Get their OK first.
- Who services that area, and how soon you can get there.
Picture a real city page for a lawyer. It might open with two cases finished there. Then a line on the specific laws or regulations a reader should know. Then a testimonial from a client.
If you have that for a city or area, it’s a useful page.
What’s the alternative?
One service-area page:
- The areas you work, listed in plain text.
- Examples of your work, each tagged by area.
- Your services, linked from the same page.
- A clear way to get in contact.
Put that page in your main menu, where a visitor can find it.
Then match your Google Business Profile to it. Google lets a business that travels to customers list up to 20 service areas, by town or ZIP code (Google). Here’s how to set up a service area and hide a home address.
When a city earns it, give it a page. Once you’ve done work there, write about it. Grow the site the way the business grew.
How does a city page go wrong?
- Same text, new name.
- Stock photos in place of your own work.
- A claimed office you don’t have there.
- A list of 40 areas in the footer, each linking to a near-empty page.
- The same three reviews pasted onto every page.
Google’s Business Profile rules point the same way. A business that travels to customers gets one service-area profile, not one per town (Google).
What should a real city page show?
The same thing every good page shows: proof of work and a clear way to hire you. See how to show customers you’ve done work like theirs.
Before you write one, ask a simple question. Would someone in that town learn something they couldn’t learn on your main page? If yes, write it.
Want a site built around real work? See how R7 builds a website.
FAQ
Are city pages bad for SEO?
Not by themselves. Pages that copy the same text with a new town name are what Google’s spam policy calls doorways.
How many areas can I list on my Google Business Profile?
Up to 20 service areas, by town, ZIP code or other area, within about two hours’ drive of where you’re based.
Should I make a separate Google Business Profile for each city?
No. Google allows a business that travels to its customers one service-area profile. List the cities as service areas.