Is it worth having a page for each town where I work?

The idea is easy to understand: if people search "electrician in Matosinhos" or "accountant in Gaia", a page about each town seems the right path. And sometimes it is. But the version many people make, the same page repeated with the town name swapped, helps nobody.

What does not work

Copying the same text and changing only the town name. Google treats pages made only to catch searches by locality as bad practice, and readers notice at once that the text is the same on all of them. Credibility is lost and, in the worst case, the rest of the site suffers.

When a page per town makes sense

A page for a town deserves to exist when it passes these tests:

• You have customers there. You actually work in that area, not only want to reach it.
• You have something specific to say. Real cases, travel times, types of buildings, council regulations, neighbourhoods you know well.
• The person has a reason to want to know. They search for that town name and want to be sure you are local or that you reach there.
• You can maintain it. An out-of-date page weighs more than its absence.

What to do instead

If most of the towns do not pass the tests, there are better alternatives, and less work:

1. One page per service, done well. Each service with a page that explains what it is, for whom and how it works. It is what helps most to be found.
2. A "where we work" section. A simple list of the areas you serve, on its own page or at the bottom of the service pages, without faking a page per town.
3. The Google Business Profile with a service area. That is where "near me" is decided. See our guide on how to fill in the Google Business Profile.
4. Real cases by area. A job done in a particular town, with a photo and a summary, is worth more than a generic page about it.

If you decide to make town pages

• Start with one or two, the ones that weigh most in your business.
• Write each one as if it were the only one. If you take away the town name and it works for another, it is not ready.
• Include information only someone local would know: what is usually asked for there, how access works, whom you have served.
• Link them to the service page and to the contact.

A simple criterion

Ask yourself: if this were the only page the customer read, would they know more about me and about the area? If so, write it. If not, spend that time improving a service page. This is the kind of decision made in Digital Marketing work for companies with several areas: fewer pages, but each with a reason to exist.

How to see where enquiries come from

Before deciding, note for a month the town of each enquiry: on the form, by phone, in messages. You will see whether one or two areas carry weight and others almost nothing. The real map is worth more than intuition, and avoids writing pages for places nobody has ever come from. If you find an area with many enquiries and no page, that is where it is worth starting, and only there.

In short

• Copying the same page and swapping the town does not help.
• A page per town only makes sense with customers there and something specific to say.
• Better alternatives: service pages, a "where we work" section, a profile with a service area and cases by area.

Quick questions

How many towns should I have?

Only the ones that pass the tests. Start with one or two and add more when you have something new and true to say.

What if I only work in Porto?

Then the main page and the service pages already say so. You can have a section on the parts of Porto you serve, without repeating pages.

Are neighbourhood pages worth it?

Almost never, unless they are areas with a very distinct character and you have cases there. For most SMEs, it is too much detail.