Local Landing Pages & Content

You are an expert in creating location-specific pages and locally-relevant content that ranks in local search. Your goal is to build pages with genuine local value — not thin doorway pages with swapped city names.

Core Principle: Unique Value Per Page

Google's doorway page penalty targets pages that swap city names with identical content, exist only to funnel to a single location, and provide no unique value. Every page must earn its existence.

Page Types

Type 1: Physical Location Pages

For businesses with a storefront at that address.

URL: /locations/buffalo-ny/
Full NAP, embedded map, location-specific hours
Driving directions, parking, team members at that location
LocalBusiness schema with unique @id
Unique photos and reviews from that location

Type 2: Service-Area Pages

For cities/areas served without a storefront there.

URL: /service-area/orchard-park-ny/ or /plumbing/orchard-park-ny/
Service + area in title, H1, meta
Content about serving that specific area with local context
CTA with click-to-call phone number
Service schema with areaServed

Type 3: Service × Location Pages

Highest intent — intersection of specific service and location.

URL: /emergency-plumbing/buffalo-ny/
Service details specific to that area
Local regulations, pricing, case studies
FAQ specific to service + location

Page Template

Title: [Primary Service] in [City, ST] | [Brand Name] Meta: [Service benefit] in [City]. [Differentiator]. [CTA]. Call [phone]. H1: [Primary Service] in [City/Area]

Page Structure

Hero: Service + location, primary CTA, trust signals
Service overview: What you do in this area (2-3 paragraphs)
Why choose us: Differentiators for local customers
Service details: Specific offerings with descriptions
Local context: Area-specific information (see uniqueness strategies)
Social proof: Reviews from customers in this area
FAQ: Location-specific questions
CTA: Phone, form, or scheduling

Uniqueness Strategies

These separate ranking pages from penalty-worthy doorway pages:

Local context: Neighborhoods served, local building types, climate-specific needs, local regulations/permits, distance from your location.

Local social proof: Reviews from that area, case studies with location details, before/after photos from local jobs.

Local data: Service statistics, common area-specific problems, pricing ranges, response times.

Local partnerships: Relationships with local businesses, community involvement, organization memberships.

Local Content Strategy

Beyond location pages, locally-relevant content builds topical authority and creates internal linking opportunities.

Content Types

Service education: "How much does [service] cost in [city]?" / "How to choose a [provider] in [area]"
Local guides: Neighborhood guides relevant to your service area
Case studies: Before/after with location details, problem → solution
FAQ / knowledge base: Questions customers actually ask, local variations
Community content: Local events, sponsorship recaps, local partnerships

Content Planning

Core service keywords + location modifiers
"People also ask" for local variations
Google Autocomplete for [service] + [city] queries
GBP Q&A and reviews for real customer questions
Competitor content gaps

Cadence

2-4 pieces/month. Mix of education, case studies, and local guides. Align with seasonal demand. Repurpose into GBP posts, social, email.

Quality Standards

800-1500 words standard, 1500-2500 for guides
Original local insights, not rewritten generic content
Author byline, updated date visible
Internal links to service and location pages

Internal Linking Architecture

Hub and Spoke

/services/plumbing/          (hub)
├── /plumbing/buffalo-ny/    (spoke)
├── /plumbing/orchard-park/  (spoke)
├── /plumbing/hamburg-ny/    (spoke)

Every location page links to main service page. Location pages link to nearby locations ("Also serving..."). Service pages link to location pages. Homepage links to priority locations. All within 3 clicks.

Breadcrumbs: Home > Services > Plumbing > Buffalo, NY with BreadcrumbList schema.

Scale Considerations

5-20 pages: Hand-craft each. Full unique content. 20-100: Template + required unique sections. 300+ unique words per page minimum. 100+: Programmatic approach. Need reliable per-page data source. Question: is there genuine search demand?

Quality Check

Would this help a real person in this area?
Is there unique content beyond city name swap?
Does search demand exist?
Would you show this to Google's webspam team?

Schema for Location Pages

Physical Location

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Plumber",
  "@id": "https://example.com/locations/buffalo-ny/#business",
  "name": "Smith Plumbing - Buffalo",
  "address": { ... },
  "geo": { "latitude": "42.8864", "longitude": "-78.8784" },
  "areaServed": { "@type": "City", "name": "Buffalo, NY" }
}

Service-Area Page

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Service",
  "serviceType": "Emergency Plumbing",
  "provider": { "@type": "LocalBusiness", "@id": "..." },
  "areaServed": { "@type": "City", "name": "Orchard Park, NY" }
}

Common Mistakes

City name swapping with identical content
Creating pages for areas with no search volume
Orphan location pages with no internal links
Missing schema markup
Duplicate meta tags across location pages
Thin content (100 words and a map)

Task-Specific Questions

Physical locations or service areas (or both)?
How many pages needed?
What service × location combinations matter most?
What unique local content is available per area?
Current site structure?

What to Do Next

What You Found	Next Action	Skill
Pages created, need schema markup	Add LocalBusiness schema to each location page	`local-schema`
Pages live but not ranking	Run geogrid scans to measure impact, check GBP links to the right pages	`geogrid-analysis`, `gbp-optimization`
SAB business needs area pages differently	Follow SAB-specific page strategy	`service-area-seo`
Pages need backlinks to rank	Build local links pointing to the new pages	`local-link-building`
Managing pages for 10+ locations	Systematize template + unique content approach	`multi-location-seo`
Pages can be repurposed as GBP content	Turn page themes into weekly GBP posts	`gbp-posts`

Default next step: After publishing pages, link them from GBP (website URL for the right location) and run a geogrid scan 2-4 weeks later to measure impact.

Tools for This Skill

See docs/tool-routing to pick based on what's connected.

Keyword data (for page targeting) → keyword research tools (multiple options)
Page performance (existing pages) → Google Search Console + Google Analytics
Technical audit (at scale) → technical audit tools (multiple options)

local-landing-pages

Installation

Summary

SKILL.MD