Do location pages still work?
Yes, when each page contains something genuinely local. No, when it is one template with the suburb name swapped. The test is whether the page would still be useful with the place name removed - if it would read identically for anywhere, it adds nothing.
Why they exist at all
Proximity heavily influences local rankings, so a service-area business is weaker the further a searcher is from its address. An area page is how you build relevance where you have no proximity.
What makes one real
Jobs you have actually done there, with photos. Conditions specific to that area - the housing stock, the water hardness, the age of the pipework, the streets that flood. Response times from your base. A named person who covers it. Reviews from customers in that area.
That is a page. Anything less is a doorway.
What gets you ignored
Fifty pages generated from one template with the town name substituted. Search engines have discounted these for years, and AI systems skip them faster, because a page that adds nothing beyond what the model already knows is not worth citing.
How many to build
One at a time, for the areas you genuinely want work in, starting with where your grid report shows you weak but the work is worth having. Five real pages beat forty thin ones, and cost less to maintain.
The short version
- Remove the place name - if the page still reads the same, it is thin
- Include real jobs, local conditions, response times
- Five real pages beat forty templated ones
- Prioritize where your grid is weak and the work is worth having
Related questions
How long should each be?
Long enough to say something true. Often 400 to 700 words.
Should I target areas I don't serve?
No. It generates calls you decline and dilutes your relevance.
Can I reuse the structure?
Structure yes, sentences no.
Keep reading
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Want this checked on your own business?
The free visibility check shows what AI assistants say about you today, where you sit on the map grid, and the three fixes worth doing first.
