When To Create Localized Folders And Pages For SEO

This week's question highlights the need for a unique folder and local site structure. Read on to find out if this is right for your company.

This week's SEO question comes from Ask Manual, which asks:

Is it possible to implement theme cluster/pillar pages locally? Create business licenses associated with each US page such as State > License Type > Related Documents. Can I create theme collage/vertical pages when starting a website (only a few months old)?"

Great questions, Manuel! I will answer the second question first.

Can you create engaging theme pages for a new website?

It doesn't matter how old your website is and how you organize your content and folders. This can be done when rebuilding a 10 year old domain or starting a new URL.

You should always organize your website in such a way that it helps the end user understand the hierarchy of the site and also displays the resources available in the section.

As a result, it becomes easier for search engine spiders to crawl and understand your pages.

Pro tip: Make sure to include structure in navigation elements, breadcrumbs, internal links, sitemaps, etc. for search engines.

Can you implement basic pages locally?

Now we come to the first question. As a development, I provide a clear answer at the bottom of this post, but I felt it necessary to share the reasons behind my approach before responding.

Your industry with a business license will have different requirements than others, even if they are similar.

If the user experience requires individual pages, then yes, create individual pages.

This applies to many industries, especially regional regulations such as real estate professionals, brick-and-mortar stores, etc.

When making this decision with clients, our rule of thumb is that if an individual needs to be on-site or if local regulations change between regions, local pages will be needed.

There's a good reason to create a unique version for each. Most importantly, the version is unique because services and requirements change.

If these are the same regulations in each region, we create a large Customer Acquisition Phrases page and sometimes location pages to help end users find a local address more easily.

This is because each individual website will have the exact same service or product information. The individual sites we create are customized to map results, and customers simply search for an address. The service is the same, no matter what.

Differences in copy include regulations and restrictions that vary by city, county, or state or when the user experience leads the user to the wrong solution.

If this matches your situation (and business licenses do), then yes, create a unique resource page. I'll stick with the business license because that's what you asked for.

Create a local business license

Business licenses have different requirements and requirements depending on the state. Sometimes, the state may not require a business license for a particular type of business, but the city in which the business is located does.

This alone is reason enough to create the hierarchy you have above.

People looking for state resources will need to know if their state requires it, and you can cite and keep a list of their local city or county requirements to check (which there are also internal links to).

Now, you've given the end user a great experience, answered the follow-up question while providing a fact they didn't know, and given that person more resources. This is a good example of adding to E-E-A-T.

Just be sure to update these pages regularly to ensure accuracy, you'll need to include the "updated" date at the top.

If I were writing this, I would add some typical elements to unify the pages like:

• The unique amount that the company must pay.
• What types of businesses need a license, and which do not?
• Unique requirements like you don't have to file an annual report in Ohio, but you do in other states.
• Which nearby city might be better for certain types of businesses for a reason or two, or whether this city/county/state is best for certain types of businesses and why.

By doing this, you can help those who need a license for multiple locations, who are expanding outside of the state or country, will need a foreign qualification (unrelated to being located abroad), and who can franchise.

This improves the experience so they can segment according to their needs and decide where to open their business.

Maybe the interruption is better than they thought, and only adds 15 minutes to their trip. The benefits outweigh the negatives.

Here's another example using a hotel chain.

Each property has different features, prices, additional fees (taxes, tourism, parking), addresses, managers, etc. This is enough variation to warrant creating a unique page by city, individual city, or state.

You don't want a potential guest to have to guess where to stay, especially after a long day of travel.

You also don't want them to assume that all locations have free parking or are subject to tourism taxes and resort fees. Get a comprehensive page of hotels in the city and individual location pages with similar images from distribution locations.

This way, you can get people to search for hotels in the city and show your locations, which helps guests find hotels faster.

A summary

Your question about business licenses is a good one regarding the need for a unique folder and local site structure.

Yes, I will because each state and region has different requirements. There's enough variety to require a unique page experience.

If it was like finding a registered agent, I wouldn't create unique pages as a service, because there's not enough of a difference.

But having lists of recommended registered agent providers is sufficient, and would justify a structure based on state and city or county.

Thank you for the question, I hope this answer is useful.