Multi location stategy

[Anward]

Hi, I would to get some advice on how to generate some links for my cleaning business in order to build high rankings across numerous locations for search phrases such as "house cleaning in [location]" and "domestic cleaners in [location]" etc etc. I'm hopefully on the right lines with my domain and url structure, and have set up numerous pages for each location (i.e. www.domain.com/cleaning-in-location) ticking as many of the on-page optimization boxes as possible (basically as per the whiteboard friday on mult-location businesses).

I was thinking that for each location page I could set up a 'Things and places we like in [location]' in an attempt to showcase influencers' businesses, in the hope of receiving links and social mentions specific to each location page. Although this is a lot of work I was thinking that I should set up separate twitter and facebook accounts for key locations and start engaging with a local audience? From a local search perspective, is there more value gaining links from bloggers/websites physically in location_A to www.mydomain.com/cleaning-in-location_A?

[Dezzign]

Hi Kathryn, I wouldn't bother with the multiple social account approach as any effort invested in this area would be better spent building up the overall social presence of you main accounts.

If your page is correctly optimised for that area and you have great content, then your job is 90% finished. A good strategy is to link out to an authority site in that area such as the local chamber of commerce. Just link to an authority site or page about that area with a PR5+, even a Wikipedia page about the history of that town or suburb is fine. A contextual link about half way down the page works best.

Also, try to get some Schema markup on your page that at least specifies the suburb you're trying to rank for. If you run your suburb page through the Google's Structured Data Testing tool and the results are pulling in address details from your main suburb, then you're sending mixed signals to Google.

When it comes to building links to these inner suburb pages, I wouldn't be worried about where they come from, as long as they're good links. Getting good local links would be optimal, but any good links will boost the authority of that page and help it rank better.

As you mentioned, talking about the local attractions isn't too bad, but I would focus more on structuring my 600+ words of content on scooping up all the LSI keywords associated with your primary keyword. So towards the end of the content I would talk about cleaning tips or how to clean specific areas of your home, etc.

And whatever you do, don't over optimise the area keyword. If you have 600+ words of content, and a couple of images, then your area keyword should only be in your body content twice! A partial match keyword in the H1 heading will also work better too. Hope this helps a little.

[Anward]

Hi Richard, thats really helpful thanks! Hadn't heard of LSI keywords either.

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Kathryn,
I believe you'll find this article helpful:

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

[ftfay]

Kathryn,

All the advice so far is solid, and live by the link provided by Miriam. I would also suggest ensuring a few items.

• Solid directory management practices (Moz's new tool looks like a great start) will certainly help, including areas served on pages where possible (Google +, Yelp, etc.)

• Connect with and get links from local BBBs, Chambers of Commerce, and other local non-directory type business listings.

• If your cleaning services are commercial, and you have any .edu or .gov customers, see if you can gain any links from these sites. A blog article, a news item thanking you for a contribution, anything. Highly local, and a lot of value.