Some businesses do not stay in one place: electricians, cleaning companies, service technicians, consultants, physiotherapists who visit homes. They serve several towns, and the question is how to communicate it without seeming generic and without promising what is not delivered.
Say clearly where you work
On the website, in a visible section, write the areas you serve, concretely: "Porto, Matosinhos, Maia and Gaia", not "the whole North region". If there are areas you go to on fixed days or with a different lead time, say so. The customer wants to know whether they can call you.
Set the service area on the Google Business Profile
If you go to customers, instead of them coming to you, the Profile lets you set the service area, and hide the address, if it is a home or a space with no walk-in service. Keep it real: only the areas where you actually work. Read the Business Profile guide and how to show up in near me searches.
Do not invent offices
- Do not use addresses that are not yours to seem present in every town. It can lead to the profile being suspended and destroys trust.
- Do not say you "have a local team" if you do not.
- Do not present photographs of one place as if they were of another.
Organise the diary by area
If you travel, a diary by area saves time and money: Monday and Wednesday in one place, Tuesday and Thursday in another. Explain this to the customer: "This week we are in your area on Tuesday and Thursday". It helps booking faster, and gives the person a reason to choose the day.
Show cases from each area
A job done in a town, with a short description and, if you have permission, a photograph, is worth more than a generic page about it. It shows you are local, or that you reach there and how. Ask customers in each area for a review, as in how to ask for reviews without being pushy.
Avoid repeated pages per town
A page per town only makes sense when there is something true and different to say about each. Copying the same page and swapping the name does not help. See whether a page per town is worth it. A "where we work" section, with real information, solves most cases.
Say what changes with distance
- If there is a travel cost, explain it before the customer asks.
- If the lead time is different in more distant areas, say so.
- If there are areas you do not serve, say that too: it saves everyone's time.
Measure where enquiries come from
Record the locality of each enquiry for a few months. You will see where there is demand, where there is none and where it is worth reinforcing. In Digital Marketing, communication by area is decided with this map, not with intuition.
The map of areas
Make a table with the areas you serve in the rows and three columns: enquiries in the last six months, travel time and any case or customer you can show. Fill in what you know. Areas with many enquiries and good logistics are those that deserve prominence on the website; areas with few enquiries can stay on a simple list. Areas where you have no proof or where the cost is high deserve a conversation: is it worth serving them? Review the map every six months, and update the website and the profile when it changes.
In short
- Say clearly the areas you serve, concretely and truthfully.
- Use the Google profile's service area instead of invented addresses.
- Diary by area, cases from each area and reviews from local customers.
- A "where we work" section avoids repeated pages per town.
Quick questions
Can I hide the address on the profile?
If you work at the customer's premises and do not receive people on site, it may be the right choice, with the service area indicated. In all cases, the information must be true.
Should I charge for travel?
It is your decision. What matters is to explain beforehand and simply, so the customer has no surprises.
What if I want to serve a new area?
Try it with one case or one local partner, measure the enquiries and only then announce it more widely.
Want to see the real map of your customers?
The exploratory call is a 30-minute conversation, at no cost. We see where your enquiries come from and how to communicate each area. You keep the written summary.
Book an exploratory call