Local SEO Strategies for Seasonal, Multi-Location Service-Area Businesses

How should a seasonal, multi-location service-area business-operating only during part of the year, without physical storefronts, and serving numerous regions across multiple states-approach local SEO at scale?

The business currently maintains Google Business Profiles (GBPs) at the state level only.

What strategies or pitfalls should be considered for optimizing visibility, given the lack of physical addresses and limited operating months?

Answer

Google Business Profile (GBP)

When it comes to service-area businesses, the service areas you list on your GBP have almost no influence on search rankings or proximity relevance. Instead, Google primarily relies on the verification address (even if hidden) tied to each profile as its main proximity signal. It’s crucial to verify which addresses are being used for each GBP and assess whether those locations are helping the profiles appear for relevant local searches. For example, if the hidden address is far from the actual service area, you may see poor ranking performance in your target regions.

To address seasonality, you can set special hours in your GBP to indicate when the business is temporarily closed, and mention your operating months in the business description.

Website Structure

Your website should include individual pages for each service location, organized under a main locations section, with each page grouped by state. Every location page should be optimized for the main keywords relevant to that specific city or area, rather than just at the state level. The approach may vary based on your industry and the competition in each market.

If you offer multiple services or cover many areas, consider creating dedicated pages for each service area and service type as subfolders under each location. For businesses with fewer services, a single location page may be sufficient. Be sure to clearly display your open months on your homepage and all location pages, and add notices for periods when you’re closed. Also, link each GBP to its corresponding location page.

Citations

It’s also recommended to build citations for each location, ensuring each citation links to the appropriate location page on your website. While citations may not be as critical as they once were, their importance can vary by industry, so look for relevant industry-specific directories as well.