If you run a service-area business — plumbing, electrical, roofing, pest control, landscaping — you’ve probably been told to build “city pages.” A page for every town you serve, each targeting “[service] in [town].”

The advice is correct. But the execution is usually terrible, which is why most service-area sites are invisible in Google’s map pack. Here’s how to do it right.

What doesn’t work (stop doing this)

• Twenty near-identical city pages where only the town name changes
• Pages that only list services and a phone number
• Stuffing the town name into every other sentence
• Pages with no internal links, external citations, or evidence you actually work there

Google recognizes this pattern within milliseconds. At best these pages don’t rank. At worst they drag down the authority of your whole domain.

What does work

A strong city page has four things that a weak one doesn’t:

1. Local proof

Real jobs you’ve completed in that town. Photos, customer reviews that name the town, nearby landmarks you’ve worked near. “Last month we re-piped a 1920s triple-decker in Roslindale” is worth more than 500 keyword-optimized words.

2. Local specifics

What’s different about serving this town? Old housing stock? Specific building codes? Seasonal concerns? Write content that would only make sense for someone actually working in that community.

3. Local authority

Link to local news coverage, the town’s building department, the chamber of commerce. Outbound links to authoritative local entities help Google understand you’re legitimately part of this place.

4. Local technical setup

LocalBusiness schema with the correct serviceArea. Google Business Profile with service areas matching your pages. Internal links from your homepage to your city pages (not the other way around).

How many city pages?

As many as you can genuinely support with real proof. Ten excellent pages beat fifty thin ones. If you’ve never actually worked in a town, don’t make a page for it yet — focus on the towns where you have real evidence to share.

The 90-day plan

Start with your top 3 revenue towns. Write 800–1,200 words each with real proof. Add schema, add photos, add reviews. Build internal links. Give it 60–90 days. If those three rank, expand the playbook to the next 3–5 towns.

Local SEO isn’t technically hard. It’s disciplined. The shops that dominate their service areas are the ones willing to do the research and restraint. Not the ones shipping 50 templated pages in a weekend.