Local SEO for Multiple Locations

As businesses grow to maximize their reach worldwide, you need to increase your business’s visibility in multiple locations organically. You must implement SEO (MLS) at various locations to achieve this. This means you must optimize your website to show its presence in multiple locations.  The process is similar to franchise SEO services, with a few additions.

Multiple Location SEO (MLS) is implemented for service-based businesses like restaurants or retail chains where you must set up physical stores at various locations. MLS aims to set up an online business and drive more traffic to your business as per the local requirements of the people.

Before we start, here are some facts about the local SEO for multiple locations:

• Over 1.5 billion monthly searches contain “near me,” indicating local intent.
• 96% of users learn about local businesses online
• 70% of consumers use Google Maps to look for nearby businesses

• Local searches lead to conversions 80% of the time.

Considering the facts, we can say that if you run a business in multiple locations, executing SEO campaigns per the local businesses’ needs will increase business profits. So, let’s learn more about local SEO for multiple locations.

What do you mean by Multi-Location Local SEO?

A local business is recognized in two ways – 1) appears in location searches in Google, 2) shows your business on Google map in geographic-based searches(also known as local pack)

 Like any other SEO project, for multiple-location local SEO, what matters most is optimizing the local business. Now, the question is, what kind of website optimization is required?  The first thing you need to implement is to allocate a dedicated service page for each location. For example – if your business is ranked higher for searches in “ New Jersey”, it must show a higher ranking for searches in “New York.”. To do that, you need to optimize the website for each location page. Let’s see how to do that!

Best Practices of Local SEO for Multiple Locations

 Getting a higher ranking for each location is a tricky task. What may work for one location might not work for another one.  Here are some key points to implement the best strategies to achieve higher Google ranking for region-specific marketing:

Optimize Each Location’s Google Business Profile (GBP)

For businesses with multiple locations, having a Google Business Profile for each location is essential. Start by creating a Business Location Group to manage all profiles centrally. This allows for bulk updates and streamlined management. Each profile should link to its respective webpage on the main site. Adding a location-specific phone number and maintaining consistent business names without geo-specific keywords are necessary. Use only relevant categories, and ensure every profile includes accurate, detailed business information. Regular updates, review management, and local keyword optimization can improve visibility and search rankings significantly.

Know Your Target Areas

Determine which locations to focus on by assessing where customers are most likely to visit. Include all physical business locations and consider nearby service areas. Perform keyword research to find terms with high search volume and reasonable competition, such as “restaurants in NJ” or “dental services in Campa Valley.” Use tools like Google Search Console to identify potential areas and analyze competitors to select locations where ranking is feasible and strategically impactful.

Write Location-Specific Content

Each location page should include unique content tailored to that area. Essential details include the address, phone number, business hours, embedded maps, location-specific services, and local promotions. Avoid duplicating content across pages and instead incorporate localized keywords and customer reviews. Enhance credibility with testimonials, images, and unique offerings for each location to make the pages more relevant to search queries.

Leverage Location Pages for Non-Physical Locations

If a business lacks a physical presence in certain areas, create localized pages on the website targeting those regions. These pages should include content that aligns with the city or region, helping the business rank organically. For instance, a SEO Company in India can target nearby areas like Delhi, Mumbai with dedicated pages using localized keywords. While these pages may drive less traffic, they often convert better and improve visibility in target areas.

Set Website for Multi-Location SEO

While doing MLS, having a clear URL structure for location-specific pages is important. Subdomains and subdirectories are used to create the different business profiles. With uniformity in design, location-based preferences are considered to provide an enriched user experience. Each page should be optimized with geo-specific keywords in titles, meta descriptions, and headers. With structured data, you can add context to the content for the search engines. This will ensure all the pages are crawled by submitting an XML sitemap to Google.

Improve your Reach on Third-Party Platforms

Once the Google Business Profile is set, the next step is creating listings on platforms like Bing Places, Yelp, and others. Doing this will improve your visibility and consistency and build trust among the target audiences. You can avoid inconsistencies that can harm search rankings by maintaining updated listings.

Manage Local Citations

Citations play a critical role in local SEO. Ensure your client’s business information is consistent across all online directories, such as Yelp, Bing, and Yahoo. Regularly audit citations to identify inaccuracies and use local citation tracking tools to streamline updates. Consistent and accurate citations enhance Google’s trust in your business, boosting rankings.

Encourage and Respond to Reviews

Reviews are essential for building trust and improving search rankings. On your website, you must encourage customers to provide feedback. By using calls-to-action in receipts or follow-up emails, you can establish a relationship with the customers, thus building a clientele of happy customers. Incentives like giveaways can also motivate reviews. Monitor and respond to positive and negative reviews to demonstrate excellent customer service. Tools like Synup can help manage review campaigns for multi-location businesses efficiently.

Implement a Link-Building Strategy

Develop backlinks for each location page by targeting local directories, guest posting, and collaborating with nearby businesses. Prioritize high-impact locations and create internal links to boost authority. Use location-specific keywords like “Dayton Roofers” for better relevance. Integrating PPC campaigns with location-specific pages can also drive traffic and brand awareness.

Develop a Content Strategy for Local SEO

Focus on creating high-quality content highlighting your client’s expertise in each location. Use long-form content for in-depth coverage and shorter, localized pieces to engage specific audiences. Address customer questions, promote local events, and update content regularly to maintain relevance. Incorporate reviews, local keywords, and unique offerings to enhance the effectiveness of location pages.

Avoid Common SEO Mistakes

Regularly audit your strategies to prevent pitfalls such as outdated sitemaps, incomplete local business listings, or poor review management. Ensure keyword targeting aligns with local markets and use tools like AgencyAnalytics for multi-location rank tracking. Consistent maintenance and regular audits are essential for sustained SEO success.

Main Challenges of Multiple Location SEO

Local SEO for multiple locations means you are trying to reach directly to the customers. However, the nature, intent, and purchase patterns change from one location to another. Therefore, to optimize the website for location-specific needs, you need to consider the challenges of MLS.

Managing Multiple Locations

Handling multiple locations involves managing unique SEO tasks for each, such as optimizing Google My Business Profiles (GMB), local citations, and reviews. Each location has distinct competition and customer needs, requiring tailored strategies. Balancing localized content with consistent branding while preventing self-competition in search rankings demands coordination and efficient resource allocation.

Tip: 

Knowing the customers’ needs at each location will help you create optimized content for multiple locations. Also, the buying capacity and interest of the local customers should be considered. 

 Ensuring Brand Consistency

Consistency in branding across all locations strengthens recognition and trust. Core elements like logos, taglines, and messaging must remain uniform while incorporating localized content that resonates with each community. Effective coordination between central and local teams, supported by regular audits, ensures cohesion without compromising on localized relevance.

Instead of paraphrasing the content for multiple locations, optimizing it by maintaining brand uniformity is better.

Differentiating Local Offerings

Customizing products or services for each location enhances customer satisfaction and local appeal. Seasonal items or region-specific offerings show community understanding. Highlighting these differentiators on web pages and GBP listings boosts local SEO. However, maintaining brand integrity while personalizing requires a strategic balance.

To compete with local competitors, you must add new elements for each location, such as discounts on most picked items, combo off on most selling products, monthly subscription plans, etc.

Navigating Local Competition

Each location faces unique competition, from national chains to local businesses. Conducting localized competitor analysis helps identify gaps and refine strategies. Tailoring content, promotions, and customer engagement to local dynamics ensures visibility, differentiation, and a stronger competitive edge.

Tip:

Focus on creating competitive product quality by developing a unique selling strategy instead of looking at the competitors’ business. Competition analysis is important, but recognizing the brand’s strength will help you win in the long- run.

Quick Tips to Setup Local SEO Campaigns For Multiple Locations

By now, it’s clear that setting up the Google My Business profile and optimizing the webpages for multiple locations are the necessary steps. Apart from this, the following tips will help you set up a successful SEO campaign.

• Create location-specific content by maintaining the same domain for multiple locations.
•  Focus on link building to boost the search engine ranking for each location, which means each must be optimized according to Google ranking criteria.
• Maintaining consistent citations- name, address, and phone number must remain the same for a business.
• Encourage users to review each location and provide genuine feedback. 
•  Instead of keyword stuffing, use long tail keywords to maximize reach

The Forward Path

Managing multiple location pages and creating keyword-specific landing pages can be challenging, but it is essential for achieving organic rankings across various locations. What’s the solution? Partner with a professional agency like IndeedSEO, a leading SEO Agency India, experts in executing successful multi-location SEO campaigns.

Our team of skilled SEO specialists and content creators ensures your business achieves higher Google rankings through tailored content optimization strategies for each location.

Take the first step without thinking too much —schedule a call with our team to discuss your business needs and launch an effective local SEO strategy for multiple locations.