on-page optimization for multiple locations

[denverseo]

Here is the deal. Out west towns are pretty spread out so local SEO is usually for only one area, three at most(city, county, state). However out east in NJ, towns are stacked up against each other. I am working with a business that has more than 10 locations, all within a 35 mi radius that their site needs to be optimized for. Got any creative ideas?

One idea i had is optimizing a directions page with directions from each town/county listed but this isn't as targeted as I'd like a landing page to be

thanks

[Robert_Charlton]

This is not untypical of metro area searches out west. What you need to do depends on how competitive the keyphrase searches with location names are. In my experience with such searches, if the site is well optimized for your core terms, then simply getting the location names on the page somewhere can suffice. Eg, Areas Served: OnesVille, TwosVille, Threesville, etc....

If there's heavy competition for your search phrases in some localities, though, then you're going to have to get more specific on the page, maybe even use your page title or inbound anchor text to strengthen your search position, not always easy to do.

Keep in mind that if a location descriptor is used in a search but isn't on your page, you're not likely to rank for it, so find creative ways to include all the variants (eg, NJ, New Jersey, Allsville County, etc).

[earlpearl]

I have used something that works pretty well. It may not be the be-all and end all but it picks up traffic and conversions. BTW, I grew up in Jersey in one of those small densely populated towns, immediately surrounded by other small densely populated towns. Currently I operate a regional business in another, not quite as densely populated area.

The site is pretty well optimized for its main business terms. That is important. The level of optimization is important vis a vis showing for town names.

In lieu of mapquest or any other automated map/directions system I have content driven directions to the business.


For directions to a site I'll combine a group of towns and/or a county name and give directions sort of like this:

From Verona, Cedar Grove, Montclair, Caldwell, West Orange: Take Rte 23 to the blah blah exit.

I'll repeat this for as many town names as I can with a sample starting point for a main road to the site.

Ultimately the directions will follow from one set...or I'll repeat them all the way through.

What that does is pick up searches for the product/service/business that are combined with geo terms for the town/county, Northern/Central Jersey, etc.

In fact of searches that hit my site for combinations of business terms/geo terms these types of town/county/region descriptions have been roughly equaling 15% of all the relevant geo/business terms.

If there are better solutions......Please share.

Dave