Local SEO is one of the most underrated and yet highly valuable forms of digital marketing available today. We see far too many small businesses failing to claim their GMB (Google My business) profiles – which is bad news for them, but can also be a blessing in disguise for your business.
In this article, we’re going to talk about SOP (service area pages) and how you can use them to help bolster your local SEO efforts and ultimately outshine the competition. Let’s get stuck in…
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What is an SOP (service area page)?
A service area page (as the name suggests) is a web page that highlights the products / services that you offer in a specific target area. So, broadly speaking, a New York City SEO company could have a landing page dedicated to New York, with other internal pages that target the specific boroughs and neighbourhoods within.
That said, SOPs are even more valuable for businesses that offer physical services within a set area, such as plumbers, pest control experts, cleaning and roofers services.
Why are SOPs so valuable for local SEO?
SOPs can greatly benefit your local SEO efforts because in creating dedicated service area pages, you are actively letting Google know the specific areas that you can facilitate, focusing on a variety of highly targeted local keywords (e.g., Commercial pest control services in Greenwich Village).
However, there’s a big difference between creating a service area page purely for the sake of your local SEO, and providing your website visitors with genuine value. It’s not enough to create a page, add some keyword-rich content, and hope for the best. Instead, you should create highly targeted local-centric content that serves a purpose. Here’s an example to elaborate further on that point:
- Using the Pest control services in Greenwich Village example, your SOP for that specific area could share industry-expert advice that applies to that area alone. Is the rodent problem particularly bad there? What are the biggest pest problems that local businesses face? Are there any region-specific laws or health & safety standards enforced by the local council? The more information you can provide on a specific area, the more value you add for your potential customers, the greater your conversion rates will be, and ultimately, the more authority you will hold in the eyes of Google.
In other words, don’t just create an SOP for the sake of spamming a few specific keywords; create the page with intention and speak to residents in each specific region about their pain points – and how your products / services are perfect for them!
When claiming and filling out your GMB account page, you can also list your various service areas on that page. This level of synchronicity, coupled with highly valuable service area pages with keyword-rich content is the key to bolstering your local SEO and dominating the rankings.
Conclusion: People First Service Area Pages
Remember, creating SOPs for the sake of your SEO alone is a waste of time. If you are going to do it, do it with intention! Focus on high-value information that speaks to the target demographic and you will have a far greater chance at outshining the competition online!
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