Is this setup necessary or even beneficial?

uffda · May 7, 2015

I have a family member who owns a small business and asked if I could help set up a website for them. Unfortunately I don't know anything about local SEO (not that they're asking for it, they're currently just listed in the phone book). When looking around for other local small business websites I came across this one: http://capstonepaintingct.com/

At the bottom of the home page they have individual links to each city they service like this:

http://capstonepaintingct.com/andover-ct-painting

Within each city page, they have links to several additional pages for each city all the pages are the same except for the header that says "painting in Andover ct"

http://capstonepaintingct.com/services/andover/interior-painting-in-ct
http://capstonepaintingct.com/services/andover/exterior-painting-in-ct
http://capstonepaintingct.com/services/andover/commercial-painting-in-ct
http://capstonepaintingct.com/services/andover/general-repairs-in-ct
http://capstonepaintingct.com/services/andover/powerwashing-in-ct

and a few more, and they have this setup for about 60 cities in Connecticut.

Is this setup beneficial for local SEO at all? I'm guessing they're just trying to nail down every possible longtail they can, these pages definitely aren't for content; for example the power washing page contains nothing but a title and a single picture of a power washer spraying a sidewalk and no other text. This business is currently ranking number 6 for me on the first page so clearly they've got something going for them. Ahrefs says they've only got 3 backlinks, though I know backlinks aren't necessarily good for local SEO.

uffda · May 8, 2015

No one knows about this?

Avid Learner · May 9, 2015

I'm interested in the answer.

As a noob, addressing the question you pose, I will say that the list of cities is distracting/ugly/poor usability, even if it were "SEO friendly". The page they land for each city on gives the impression that it is someone else they are subcontracting to (even though it looks like one of the two owners are the main contacts).

They are far better off, IMHO, from a customer sales perspective, in providing a map that color codes the territories each owner covers. How one then accommodates Local SEO for each of those cities, someone else will have to answer.

UPDATE:

Found this link on a similar topic (multiple copies of a site with minor modification for each city served - i.e. microsites).

Code:

http://www.localvisibilitysystem.com/2014/03/03/microsites-for-local-seo-the-pros-and-cons/

sully1975 · May 11, 2015

My guess is you walk a path of what could be considered gateway or doorway pages. Most people now argue against them as they are near identical pages with scant content. Possible penalizing can occur.

Some possible ways to spruce up each page is a listing of the township's information such as construction, zoning, etc.... Possibly a current weather conditions is what I have seen on other people's pages.

Photos work well, real stuff instead of stock. A before and after portfolio of their work. A blog explaining painting to a pedestrian level, color wheels, etc...

sully1975 · May 11, 2015

Citations are important and I see that they have two area phone numbers which complicate things.

Here is a resource guide from one of the local search specializing companies here on BHW. It may point you in a better direction than I can.
http://www.marketerscenter.com/online-marketing-resources.html

adventgeek · May 16, 2015

uffda said:
I have a family member who owns a small business and asked if I could help set up a website for them. Unfortunately I don't know anything about local SEO (not that they're asking for it, they're currently just listed in the phone book). When looking around for other local small business websites I came across this one: http://capstonepaintingct.com/

At the bottom of the home page they have individual links to each city they service like this:

http://capstonepaintingct.com/andover-ct-painting

Within each city page, they have links to several additional pages for each city all the pages are the same except for the header that says "painting in Andover ct"

http://capstonepaintingct.com/services/andover/interior-painting-in-ct
http://capstonepaintingct.com/services/andover/exterior-painting-in-ct
http://capstonepaintingct.com/services/andover/commercial-painting-in-ct
http://capstonepaintingct.com/services/andover/general-repairs-in-ct
http://capstonepaintingct.com/services/andover/powerwashing-in-ct

and a few more, and they have this setup for about 60 cities in Connecticut.

Is this setup beneficial for local SEO at all? I'm guessing they're just trying to nail down every possible longtail they can, these pages definitely aren't for content; for example the power washing page contains nothing but a title and a single picture of a power washer spraying a sidewalk and no other text. This business is currently ranking number 6 for me on the first page so clearly they've got something going for them. Ahrefs says they've only got 3 backlinks, though I know backlinks aren't necessarily good for local SEO.

This may lead to doorway pages. xD

Is this setup necessary or even beneficial?

uffda

Regular Member

uffda

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Avid Learner

Regular Member

sully1975

Power Member

sully1975

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adventgeek

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