Local search results question

[AL123al]

Hello,

I wonder if anyone can help. I have a client who is based outside the main city that he is wanting to rank in. The address on his website is his own home which is about 20 miles from the city. However, he services the city and the surrounding area.

His ranking for the very competitive keyword is on page 2 and won't budge. We have made his Google+ page show the servicing area to include the city. We add new content regularly. The onsite SEO is strong and the city name is in the Title and H1 tags. We have lots of local consistent citations for him. This usually results in movement in the SERPS in my experience. But after 3 months this keyword is stuck whilst his other less competitive keywords are moving up. He is ranking 1st for the local area to his home address for the competitive keyword.

So my question is -  is this purely a result of his local address. Does Google rate him less local than his competitors who have addresses in the city even after we do a lot of citation building etc for him? Will it be possible to rank him for the city? I know 3 months isn't long but still would expect to see some difference. Anyone got any thoughts?

[SamuelScott]

Unfortunately, I have news that might be a little disheartening. Google's main goal is to provide users with good search results. How many people would consider going to a local business that is located 20 miles away when there are countless others very close? Obviously, few of them. So, Google will reflect that fact.

But all is not lost! Read this great guide to local SEO on Moz -- specifically, point number two on physical address. I'll summarize:

because of Google's bias toward physical location, these businesses are unlikely to ever appear in the local pack of results. As things presently stand with Google, the best hope for these types of business owners is to begin developing city landing pages that showcase their professional association with these other cities, whether this involves windows they wash on the skyscrapers of Dallas or lectures they give at a Denver hospital. The goal here is to gain additional visibility in the organic results for these other geographic terms.

There are some exceptions that may overcome Google's bias. If you search for a niche business model in or around a major city, or search for any business model in a rural location, you may see listings in the local pack of results that stem from several cities. For example, if there is only one gas station serving a large radius in a rural area, it may pop up as a local result for any of the towns in that region. This scenario, however, tends to be the exception rather than the rule.

In sum, it is generally wise for local business owners to set the goal of earning local pack rankings for searches related to their city of location, and organic rankings for any other geographic terms they feel are important.

Good luck!

[AL123al]

Thanks Samuel.

Reading the link you included about city landing places makes sense. Without a physical address in the city though it will be hard to get my client to outrank as quoting from the article:

And, don’t expect to outrank your competitors who have physical locations in your service cities. Google will generally favor businesses with physical locations in a target city over businesses that simply serve there.

It may be worthwhile having an address in the city too to make any real impact?

[MiriamEllis]

Hey There!

Samuel has provided good advice and resources. Very nice! In answer to your recent question, yes, it would definitely help if the client were physically located in his desired city, and sometimes, clients will ask if they can swing this with a virtual office, a Regus office or P.O. box. This question comes up all the time, because the temptation is so great, and in such cases, it's up to the Local SEO to tell it like it is. Some people get away with this for a time, but chances are, they will eventually get caught. Linda Buquet just started a great thread at her forum on this:

http://www.localsearchforum.com/google-local-important/26844-busted-warning-attorneys-regus-non-compliant-offices.html

Might be useful to have that link on your browser when you talk about this with the client

[AL123al]

Thank you for the clarity.

[MiriamEllis]

You've very welcome!