Service area pages: when to write one and what to say

The short version

Test each area against four questions: do you have finished jobs there, is there anything specific about working there, do you work differently there, and is anyone on your team based there? An area with two or more yes answers can carry its own page. The rest belong on one regional page. Keep your coverage the same everywhere it appears.

Copied town pages

If you cover a region, it is tempting to create a page for every town in it, each with the same wording and the town name swapped. It feels like casting a wider net.

Google's starter guide asks for content that is helpful, reliable and original, written for people rather than to manipulate search results. Pages that repeat each other word for word with one place name changed do not fit that description. A homeowner reading one learns nothing about whether you actually work in their town, and if they open two, the pattern is obvious.

There is a legal edge too. If a page implies you have a base, a team or a track record in a town where you have none, it may mislead, and the Fair Trading Act applies to websites as much as to adverts.

The four-question test

For each area, ask:

1. Jobs. Do you have finished projects there that you can show, with the owners' agreement?
2. Conditions. Is there something about the area you know and deal with, such as wind zones on exposed coasts, steep sections, clay soils or a particular era of housing?
3. Working pattern. Do you work differently there, such as set days, a minimum job size or a longer lead time because of travel?
4. People. Is someone on your team based in the area?

Two or more yes answers suggest enough for a page that says something real. One or none means the area is better listed on a regional page. The service area planner runs this test across all your areas and produces a spreadsheet.

What to put on an area page

• An opening that says what you do there. "We build and renovate homes across the Kapiti Coast from our base in Paraparaumu."
• Finished projects in the area, linked to their full pages.
• Local details from the test above, written plainly. If coastal sites need different cladding fixings, explain it briefly.
• How you work there, including travel, scheduling or minimum job sizes.
• Coverage within the area: which towns and how far inland or along the coast.
• A way to ask for a quote, using the same form as the rest of the site.

Write a new title and description for each page. If you cannot think of a different description for two area pages, that is a sign they should be one page.

What to put on a regional page

The regional page lists every area you cover that does not have its own page. It should say plainly that you work there, link to any projects nearby and explain anything about travel. A single honest page is more useful than ten thin ones.

Keeping coverage consistent

Your coverage appears in several places: the footer, the contact page, area pages and your Google Business Profile. They should agree.

Google's Business Profile guidelines say that service-area businesses should hide their address from customers if they do not serve them at that location, and that a service area should not extend farther than about two hours' driving time from where the business is based, though larger areas may suit some businesses. If your website claims coverage your profile does not, or the reverse, people and search engines get mixed messages.

Structured data and area pages

Google's LocalBusiness structured data describes a business at an address, and lists the address as required. Marking up each area page as a separate business with an invented or borrowed address misrepresents the business. Mark up the business once, accurately. If you do not publish an address, the Business Profile guide explains your options.

Te reo place names

Use place names the way your clients do, and spell te reo Māori names correctly, with macrons where they belong: Ōtautahi, Whanganui, Taupō. If you use both names, say so on the page rather than creating two pages for the same place.

When to revisit

Look at your area pages each time you finish a job in a new place. A regional listing can become its own page once you have the jobs and the local detail to support it, and a page that never gained any can be folded back into the regional one, with a redirect from its old address.