Should my website have a separate page for every town I serve?
Usually not, if the pages would say the same thing with the town name swapped. Google's spam policies list pages targeted at specific regions or cities that funnel visitors to one page as an example of doorway abuse, and say sites that violate its policies may rank lower or not appear at all. A pitch for dozens of near-identical town pages is a warning sign, not a plan.
What Google's policy says
Google's spam policies define doorway abuse as sites or pages created to rank for specific, similar searches that lead people to pages less useful than the final destination. Among its examples, Google lists having multiple domain names or "pages targeted at specific regions or cities that funnel users to one page", and creating substantially similar pages that are closer to search results than a clear, browsable structure.
The same page describes scaled content abuse: many pages generated mainly to manipulate rankings rather than help people, however they are made. It says sites that violate its policies may rank lower in results or not appear at all. That is Google's position on its own results.
Why the pitch is a warning sign
As general advice, these signs in a proposal deserve a hard look:
- A count of towns or pages sold as the product, rather than a reason each page exists.
- Sample pages that read the same apart from the town name.
- Pages for towns you do not actually serve.
- A promise to rank you in every town, which the related answer on spotting an SEO scam covers.
- No answer to the question: what does a customer in that town learn here that they cannot learn on your main service pages?
What usually serves a customer better
For most small service businesses, the website can say plainly which area you cover, and a customer in any of those towns can tell at a glance whether you come to them. The related answer on how many pages a small business website needs suggests adding a page only when there is something real to put on it, and the related answer on helpful content covers Google's questions for judging that.
A business with a second office is a different case, which the related answer on adding a second location on Google covers. For how nearby customers find a business at all, the related answer on what local SEO is covers where local searches show you.
Sources
Related answers
- How do you spot an SEO scam?
- What is local SEO?
- How many pages does a small business website need?
- What does Google mean by 'helpful, people-first' content?
- How do you get a second location on Google when your business opens another one?
- What should you ask before hiring an SEO or GEO agency?
SEO for service businesses
Get found on Google by the people already looking for what you sell, in the places you serve, and see which searches turned into inquiries.