We are often asked if it is possible to rank on the front page of Google for specific towns or cities even though a business does not have a physical brick and mortar office or building in the town. It is possible, but it is not easy. Remember, Google wants to provide the most relevant search results to users. If you are a Lakewood, Colorado dentist with a location in downtown Lakewood it makes sense that your business would show up for Lakewood specific dental search results. It does not make as much sense that you would show up for Aurora which is on the other side of Denver.
Some wonder if it is possible to rank for “Denver dentist” or “Denver Invisalign”. The answer is yes because Google knows the city of Denver is very large and many medical professionals get patients from all over the city.
If you are hoping to rank for small towns that are close to your city, it is very possible that you can do so. It is all about the competition. If all the small town dentists have an antiquated website or have no Internet presence at all, there is a good chance you can rank #1 for specific towns.
If there is a practice in that small town and they do a great job with their Internet presence, it is going to be very difficult to outrank that practice. That being said, if you properly optimize your page and get some high quality links that point back to your small town landing page, you can definitely rank in the top 3 and potentially in the #1 spot.
What is interesting is the “directional” keywords. If you are in Wake Forest, NC can you rank for North Raleigh orthodontist? It is possible to do so, but is much easier if you have a North Raleigh location. This is why so many businesses try to expand into different areas. Unfortunately, not all business professionals have the money to open a new office in high rent areas.
Some try to get a Mail Boxes, Etc or simply mailing address to rank in Google Search. Remember, Google knows what is a physical location and what is not. If you want to rank for small towns or cities in your area, we strongly suggest building out great landing pages with unique and valuable information. If you do this, properly optimize the page and get some high quality links, you will find that the page ranks near the top of Google search. Reach out to us at jesse@wojdylosocialmedia.com if you are looking to rank your business in small towns around your physical location.