Google ranks pages, not websites. When someone searches for 'electrician in Wakefield', Google looks for a page that is specifically relevant to that search. A website that mentions Wakefield once, in passing, on its services page does not qualify.
If you cover three towns and want to generate enquiries from all three, you need content that specifically targets each one. That means location pages — individual pages on your website dedicated to your work in each area.
How to Build Location Pages That Actually Rank
One page per location, with a specific URL
Each location page needs its own URL that includes the place name. yoursite.co.uk/plumber-sheffield, yoursite.co.uk/plumber-rotherham, yoursite.co.uk/plumber-barnsley. The URL structure is one of the signals Google uses to understand what the page is about. Generic URLs — yoursite.co.uk/areas — do not carry the same relevance signal.
Unique content on each page
The most common mistake with location pages is duplicating content and simply replacing the town name. Google identifies this as thin content and ranks it poorly. Each page needs at least 400 words of genuinely relevant content: which services you provide in that area, how long you have been working there, specific examples of jobs you have done locally, and the specific postcodes you cover. The more specific the content, the stronger the relevance signal.
Include local landmarks and context
A page about your work in Harrogate that mentions working across the town centre, the Stray, and the surrounding villages reads as more locally relevant than a page that just mentions 'Harrogate' repeatedly. References to local geography, postcodes, and neighbourhoods strengthen the local relevance signal Google needs to rank you for searches in that specific area.
Add a local testimonial where possible
A customer review from someone in the area you are targeting — 'John fixed our boiler in Chapeltown, great service' — adds local relevance and trust simultaneously. If you have Google reviews from customers in specific areas, quoting them on the relevant location page strengthens both the page's credibility and its local relevance.
Link location pages from the main navigation or a coverage area page
Location pages that are buried and unlinked — orphan pages — are indexed slowly and rank poorly. Each location page should be linked from a main areas or coverage page on your site, and the most important locations should be accessible from the main navigation. Internal links carry PageRank. A location page with no internal links receives very little of it.
How many location pages do you need?
Build location pages for every area where you want to generate enquiries. For a trade covering a city and its surrounding towns, that is typically 5 to 10 pages. Prioritise the highest-population areas first — they have the most search volume — then add lower-population areas over time.
Do not build location pages for areas you do not genuinely cover. If someone searches in Doncaster and finds your page, calls you, and you tell them you do not actually work in Doncaster, that is a conversion failure that wastes both your time and theirs.