Local SEO for multiple locations: a page for every branch
Run one website with one page for each location: its own address, hours, phone and what differs there, linked from that branch's Google Business Profile and from a plain list of all your locations. Keep the brand's name and category the same everywhere, and don't make pages for towns where you have no branch.
Key takeaways
- Google ranks each branch's listing on its own, by how well it matches the search, how close it is and how well known it is.
- Each Business Profile should point to a page about that location, never to the homepage of every branch.
- Pages that differ only by the town's name are what Google's spam rules call doorway pages.
- A store locator that only works through a search box or a map hides the branch pages from Google's crawler.
Why does each location need its own page?
Someone searching "brunch near me" sees one of your branches, not your brand. Google picks it by relevance, distance and prominence, and it judges each listing by the information it finds. Google's profile rules ask for a website that represents that individual location, and a branch whose listing sends people to a homepage covering five addresses leaves them hunting for the right hours. If you run a restaurant group or tours from more than one meeting point, the location page is where a guest checks they have the right one.
How do you set up local SEO for multiple locations?
1. Give every branch its own page
Use one site and a path per location, such as /locations/riverside/ and /locations/high-street/. Google's profile guidelines ask for a website that represents each individual location, so put that branch's address, phone and opening hours on its page. Keep the path once it is live, since profiles, menus and printed cards will link to it.1
2. Link each Google profile to its own location page
In each branch's Business Profile, set the website to that branch's page. Google's guidelines ask for a site that represents the individual location and refuse links that send people to some other landing page. Our free Google Business Profile audit shows what each listing links to.1
3. Keep the name and category the same at every branch
Google wants a chain's locations to share one name and one category when they offer the same thing, unless the sign outside really differs. Write the name on each page exactly as it appears on the profile; the glossary covers NAP consistency.1
4. Write what is different about each location
Say what a guest can only learn there: the terrace at the riverside branch, the gluten-free bakery counter on the high street, which tour departs from which pier, where to park. Google lists pages targeted at cities that funnel people to one page, and substantially similar pages, as doorway abuse. Swapping the town's name into the same paragraph is exactly that.2
5. Give each page a title that names the branch
A title like "Riverside branch | Kava Coffee" tells the reader and Google which branch they are looking at. Google's guidance warns against boilerplate titles repeated across pages, since they make two results impossible to tell apart.3
6. Mark up each page as its own local business
Add LocalBusiness structured data to each location page, with that branch's address, hours, phone and its own page as the url. Google asks for the fully qualified URL of the specific business location there. The free schema generator writes the code, and the glossary explains schema markup.4
7. List every location on one page with ordinary links
Make a locations page that links to each branch with a normal link, and link it from the menu and footer. Google can generally only follow a link that is an <a> element with an href. A finder that shows branches only after someone types a postcode or drags a map can leave them unfound.5
8. Use each branch's own phone number
Put the number that rings at that location on its page and its profile. Google asks for a local number over a central call centre wherever possible, so the caller reaches the people who can answer.1
Checklist
- One page per location, at a permanent path
- Each Google profile links to its own page
- Same name and category at every branch
- Something written that only applies to that branch
- A title that names the branch
- LocalBusiness markup with the branch's own url
- A locations page with plain links to every branch
- The branch's own phone number
Questions
Should each location have its own website?
Usually not. One site with a page per location keeps the brand together, and Google's spam rules name several sites with slight variations aimed at the same searches as doorway abuse.
Can I make pages for nearby towns where I don't have a location?
Pages aimed at towns that only funnel visitors to the same page are doorway abuse under Google's spam policies. Make a page for a place where guests can actually find you.
Should my Google Business Profile link to my homepage or a location page?
To the location page. Google asks for a website that represents the individual location, so a customer lands on the right address, hours and phone.
Can all my locations use one phone number?
Google asks for a phone number that connects to each individual location and prefers a local number over a central call centre where possible.
How do I add schema markup for several locations?
Put LocalBusiness markup on each location page, describing that branch with its own address, hours, phone and page url. Google's department property is for departments inside one business, not separate branches.
Do I need a different Google Business Profile for each location?
Yes, one for each real location, and never more than one for the same location. Keep the name and category the same across them.
Sources
- Google Business Profile Help, Guidelines for representing your business on Google · read
- Google Search Central, Spam policies for Google web search: doorway abuse · read
- Google Search Central, Influencing your title links in search results · read
- Google Search Central, Local business (LocalBusiness) structured data · read
- Google Search Central, Make your links crawlable · read
- Google Business Profile Help, Tips to improve your local ranking on Google · read
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