How can I do a Geo-targeted SEO for a lawncare services client?

[wealthyminds]

Hi All!

I am managing an SEO project for a new client, http://1800lawncaredallas.com and the optimization is yet to begin. It is a brand new website.

The client serves only in particular locations in Texas. How can I optimize the site for these cities without making it look spammy or over-optimized? Is there a checklist that I can follow to optimize these pages?

Thanks!
Rk

[danwebman]

Look at Google Geo Tagging and Ensure that your pages have location pages with What services/products they provide.

[OlegKorneitchouk]

Does the business have a B&M location? If so, create a Local Business page in Google+. There, you can set all of the areas that you service.

Another great way I get my clients ranking for specific towns is to create pages for each. E.g. [nearby town] Landscaping & Lawn Maintenance

Then populate those pages with things specific to that town: mention clients/testimonials from that town, include pictures, personal comments (maybe they have different lawn styles), directions to your office.

[SSFCU]

In addition to setting up a Google Local page, have you visited GetListed.org and claimed those location listings?

[jbbattag]

Do not hesitate to really hone in on locations in Adwords and customize ads for towns and areas! I saw my CTR go up drastically on some of my websites that were highly dependent on location targeting. Tie that in with a google Local listing with some nice reviews and business will be booming!

[bricktech]

I found this guide on the Moz Blog really useful... Top 20 Local Search Ranking Factors: An Illustrated Guide

Plenty of stuff to think about and some really great tips, and need-to-knows. Hope this helps.

 

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Radhakrishnan,

You're receiving some good advice here. I'll add some points.

1. First, determine if the business model is truly local. In order to qualify, it must have a unique physical address (no virtual offices or P.O. boxes), a unique local area code phone number and make in-person contact with customers.

2. From your description, I'm assuming that this is an SAB (a service area business). In this case, you are permitted to create just one Google+ Local page per physical location. You can also build citations on other local business directories for this physical location. What you cannot do is build them for cities where the client has no physical office.

3. Instead, for these location-less cities where your client travels to serve his customers, you must rely on organic SEO in a effort to gain organic visibility for these other cities, because you are unlikely to gain true local rankings for any city in which the business isn't physically located. Your core effort will be the creation of city landing pages on the website for each service city. Each page must be totally unique and awesome (no cutting and pasting from one page to the next. I recommend you read:

The Nitty Gritty of City Landing Pages for Local Businesses

4. Beyond simply creating the city landing pages on the website, you'll be employing other SEO techniques to promote them, such as earning links and social mentions. You may also want to encourage the client to continue blogging about his various service cities. Locally optimized videos can also be really powerful.

5. BrickTech has linked to my article illustrating the top 20 local search ranking factors. Beyond this, you can go straight to the source by reading the entire Local Search Ranking Factors annual report at: http://moz.com/local-search-ranking-factors

There is a ton to do for any local business! These steps should get you started, and just remember with the development of city landing pages, the content must be unique and terrific to avoid stamping the website as low-quality/spammy.

Hope this helps!