I have a client that wants listed in about twenty surrounding small towns surrounding Dayton , Oh

[MarkBolin]

Is this ok to do?. It will be alot of keywords. we are talking about 20 different communities surrounding Dayton, Oh.

[EGOL]

Sure, its OK to do - if your client really has a history and a presence in each of those communities.

Let's say that your client does high-end landscaping.  You could create a website with one page for each community where he has done at least one highly visible project and - with owner permission -  feature them in a fantastic photo gallery.  The great photos will be a testament to his work, demonstrate his reputation in each community and instill confidence and trust in potential clients.

Get professional photos and offer them to the clients for use on their website with a possible link to the photo gallery.

Be sure that you have genuine content.  I would not make a site that has twenty pages of yada, yada, yaday, yada Oakwood..... yada, yada, yaday, yada Shiloh.....  yada, yada, yaday, yada Riverside.....  You will be filtered for doing that.

[AlanBleiweiss]

In addition to EGOL's suggestions, I'd offer that you definitely don't want to seed eveyr town name in the sidebar or footer of every pages on the site.  Keep it clean as EGOL describes - unique content for each town. And if you can get town specific links pointing to the relevant town pages, that will help.

[Gab-Goldenberg]

Saying you need a history there is like saying you have to have existed to start a new business, which is illogical. By that reasoning, a new business could never get started, nor could businesses ever expand their geographic scope of operations.

A more relevant issue is having the resources to market yourself in 20 new communities. (I think this is what EGOL was getting at about having a presence in each town.) First, that means you're limiting your ability to get word of mouth to work for you. Second, it means you'll need to get links for at least 20 places. That's a lot of networking/resources ... Wouldn't it be smarter to go for a handful of surrounding towns to start? It's more manageable, and gives you better odds with WOM.

[MBayes]

We have several clients that need this type reach.  Using an "in your Area" navigation link, and then as stated bt EGOL  and bookworm,  doing a community page for each city works pretty well.  So one page listing the communities, and a page linked to that page with each cities information.

The only other point I would make is you will need to add some serious link's and citations to the site, and the individual pages will need some attention as well.  Reviews from customers noting the city are very helpful as well.