Blog and Topical Authority

Hello everyone,

I have a website where I sell products in 22 different cities, and I also have a blog section. I'm trying to figure out the best way to organize my blog content in a way that builds topical authority while linking all the content about the different cities.

Currently, my blog is organized like this:

• example.com/blog
• example.com/blog/category (categories for specific topics)
• example.com/post1 (individual blog posts)

My main dilemma is how to organize the posts related to each city. Should I:

1. Create 22 separate categories for each city (e.g. example.com/blog/miami, example.com/blog/new-york), and then create pillar content within each city’s category to link to relevant posts?
2. Create a single category for all cities (e.g. example.com/blog/cities), and somehow link the posts from all cities in one central pillar content piece?

The challenge with option 2 is that creating a single pillar content piece that links to 22 different cities seems difficult and may not be as effective for SEO or user experience.

What would you recommend for structuring the content to both create a clear content hierarchy and help establish authority for each city?

Thank you in advance for your insights!