Local SEO for Multiple Locations: Site Structure Tips from Reddit

Introduction — based on Reddit discussions

This article synthesizes and expands upon a detailed Reddit thread where SEOs, agency owners, and in-house marketers debated the best way to set up websites for businesses with multiple locations. Below you’ll find the community consensus, where people disagreed, practical tips that surfaced repeatedly, and additional expert recommendations to make your multi-location SEO strategy scalable and effective.

Reddit consensus: core principles

Across the thread several clear, repeatable principles emerged:

• Keep location pages on the main domain (subfolders preferred over subdomains or separate domains) to consolidate authority.
• Create one well-optimized page per physical location with unique content that includes NAP (Name, Address, Phone) consistency and local signals.
• Use Google Business Profiles (GBP/GMB) per physical location whenever you have a distinct storefront or office — these are critical for local pack visibility.
• Avoid thin, templated “doorway” pages that just swap city names without unique value; these can be demoted or ignored by Google.
• Implement LocalBusiness structured data (JSON-LD) on each location page for clearer local signals to search engines.

Areas of disagreement on Reddit

Not every commenter agreed. The main debates were:

• Subdomains vs subfolders vs separate domains: Most leaned toward subfolders (example.com/locations/city) for SEO consolidation, but a few argued subdomains or microsites can work for large, distinct brands or franchised territories where local teams need autonomy.
• Service-area businesses (SABs) — page per city vs service-area pages: Some advised building a full location page for every town; others warned against duplication for businesses that operate from a hidden address and serve large areas, suggesting a single service-area page or carefully crafted regional pages instead.
• How much unique content is necessary: Debate on how deep the uniqueness needs to be — some suggested substantial local content (photos, staff bios, local reviews); others said pragmatic small additions (local testimonials, map, hours) can suffice if scaled properly.

Practical site structure recommendations

Combining the community input, here are pragmatic recommendations you can implement today.

URL structures that scale

• Preferred pattern: example.com/locations/city or example.com/city/service. This keeps everything on one domain and is easy for users and search engines to understand.
• Alternative for strong service focus: example.com/service/city if service pages are primary conversion drivers.
• Avoid separate domains per city unless there’s a compelling legal or branding reason; they dilute link equity.

Location page template elements

Each location page should include:

• Full NAP with consistent formatting across the site and external listings.
• Google Maps embed and a static map image.
• Hours of operation, payment methods, and parking details if relevant.
• Locally-relevant content: nearby landmarks, neighborhood pages served, team/staff bios, case studies, and customer testimonials from that area.
• Schema (JSON-LD) for LocalBusiness including address, geo coordinates, telephone, and opening hours.
• Unique images of the location, team, or local projects — avoid stock photos.
• Local CTAs and tracking: phone tracking numbers per location (if necessary) and page-specific conversion events.

Content strategy and avoiding duplicate/doorway pages

Many Redditors warned against mass-generated city pages with only the city name swapped. To avoid penalties and poor user experience:

• Make each location page meaningfully different — even small differences like unique FAQs, locally framed case studies, and neighborhood-specific trust signals help.
• If you must scale (hundreds of locations), use a hybrid approach: build full pages for priority locations and condensed but useful pages for smaller markets, ensuring none are empty shells.
• Use canonical tags where appropriate, but only when pages are genuinely duplicates — don’t canonicalize just to hide poor content.

Google Business Profile and citations

Redditors emphasized that website structure alone won’t win local rankings. GBP management and citations are equally important.

• Create and verify a GBP for every physical location. For SABs, use the service-area setup and follow Google’s guidelines.
• Ensure consistent citations across core directories (Yelp, Bing Places, Apple Maps, industry directories). Divergent NAPs create confusion for Google.
• Encourage location-specific reviews and respond to them. Reviews are both a ranking and conversion signal.

Technical SEO and performance

Technical debt on big multi-location sites compounds quickly. Key technical tips from the thread:

• Keep page load fast — use CDN, optimized images (lazy loading where appropriate), and a lean template.
• Build a location sitemap and submit it to Google Search Console; if you have hundreds of pages, partition sitemaps logically.
• Use structured data (LocalBusiness, FAQ, Service) and validate with Rich Results Test.
• Monitor crawl budget — prune or noindex thin or low-value pages instead of leaving them crawling forever.

Tracking, measurement, and local rank tracking

Measure each location’s performance separately:

• Set up goals and phone call tracking per location. Use UTM parameters in local ads and directories.
• Use rank tracking by ZIP code or city center rather than sitewide averages.
• Track GBP insights for views, searches, and actions per location.

Expert Insight #1 — scalable content templates that don’t feel templated

Community guidance often focuses on uniqueness, but it lacks a clear implementation path for large rollouts. Here’s a scalable method:

• Design a modular page template where core blocks are standard (header, contact CTA, map), but localize 4–6 dynamic blocks per location: a 150–300 word local intro, 2 local testimonials, 1 staff bio, 1 localized case study, and 3 local links (partners/press). Programmatically inject these blocks from a lightweight CMS or database to maintain uniqueness while keeping maintenance low.
• Automate schema generation per page so each page serves unique JSON-LD with specific geo coordinates, hours, and staff lists.
• Audit a sample of pages regularly to ensure automated content quality remains high — automation is a tool, not a substitute for human checks.

Expert Insight #2 — backlink and local authority strategy

Redditors touched on backlinks but didn’t drill into tactics. For multi-location businesses, local authority builds trust and visibility:

• Pursue local partnerships: sponsorships, local news coverage, and community events for location-specific backlinks.
• Create geographically targeted resources (neighborhood guides, local industry reports, or location-based case studies) that local sites will cite.
• Leverage localized PR: a single well-placed press mention for a location can outperform dozens of directory links in relevance.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

• Thin doorway pages: Don’t mass-create pages with only a city name. They harm UX and risk Google action.
• Inconsistent NAP: Audit citations and correct inconsistencies with services like Moz Local or manual outreach.
• Duplicated content across locations: Use unique images and local copy; if duplication is necessary (service descriptions), add local context to the top of the page.
• Misused hidden addresses for SABs: If you don’t have a customer-facing location, follow Google’s service-area business rules and avoid pretending there’s a storefront.

Final Takeaway

Local SEO for multiple locations is less about a single “right” URL structure and more about consistency, user value, and signal consolidation. The Reddit thread reinforced a pragmatic approach:

• Keep location pages on the main domain using subfolders for best consolidation of authority.
• Build each location page with real, local content and LocalBusiness schema.
• Manage a GBP per physical location, maintain consistent citations, pursue local backlinks, and measure each location separately.

Combine these community-backed tactics with the expert insights above — a modular content template and a local backlink strategy — to scale without sacrificing quality.

Read the full Reddit discussion here.