What's your opinion on stores with multiple locations around the country that sell the same products?

[GrowBrilliant]

Is there a way to capture local SEO traffic by only having one website/page for our product pages or do we have to have a website for each location even though the content is identical?

We do have a location finder where we list each location. But we want to generate local traffic in the cities we are in to our product pages through SEO, but it's difficult because they all sell the exact same product. We know Google doesn't like duplicate content.

[MibuKotaro]

Hello Zachary,

I would suggest just building out your location pages. Optimize the Title Tag and Meta Description to focus on your keywords and that particular location and then build your content in terms of the location history and information. If the site is strong enough with the products it should rank well for those products and the location should help out with local keywords.

Also make sure that the Google Local Pages are complete verified and are driving reviews and information. If you have multiple physical locations that will also help drive local traffic. In the information section ensure you talk to a degree about your products and services with each location and ensure it is different text.

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Zachary,

Almost across the board, Local SEOs will recommend the single site approach for the multi-store scenario. Recommend that you check this article out:

http://moz.com/blog/local-landing-pages-guide

...and that you do a close study of how REI.com handles their multi-location business on their website. Especially look at the effort they put into making each location landing page on their website unique. Hope this helps!