Multi-location SEO without doorway pages

Real locations, real pages

A multi-location business has more than one place customers visit or that serves an area: several dental practices, a chain of gyms, a group of estate agency branches. Each real location can have its own Google Business Profile and its own page on your website.

The key word is "real". Google's guidelines for representing your business require a profile to represent a real location that's staffed during stated hours. Virtual offices or unstaffed addresses don't qualify.

One Business Profile per location

Each branch needs its own profile with:

• The same brand name, without location keywords stuffed in. Google's guidelines allow a branch to include a location descriptor only when it's genuinely part of the business name on signage, such as "Sunshine Opticians Wimbledon".
• The branch's own address, phone number and hours.
• Categories that match that branch's services.
• Photos of that branch's premises and team.
• The website link pointing to that branch's page, not the home page.

For ten or more locations, Google offers bulk verification through Business Profile Manager, which makes managing many profiles easier.

A proper page for each branch

Each branch page should be useful on its own. Include:

• Address, map and directions, including parking and public transport.
• Opening hours, with branch-specific exceptions.
• Phone number and email for that branch.
• Team members at that branch, with photos and roles.
• Services offered there, especially where they differ between branches.
• Accessibility information: step-free access, accessible toilets, hearing loops.
• Reviews from customers of that branch.
• Local details: the area it serves, nearby landmarks people use to find it, local partnerships.

If two branch pages would be identical apart from the address, you haven't written enough about either.

Structure on your website

A simple pattern works well:

• A locations hub page listing all branches, ideally with a map and a search by postcode.
• One branch page per location at a consistent URL, such as /branches/leamington-spa/.
• Links from each branch page to relevant service pages.
• Links from service pages to branches where the service is offered.

Avoid putting every branch in the main menu if you have many. A "Find a branch" link is clearer.

Local signals for each branch

Consistent details

Each branch's name, address and phone number should match across your website, Business Profile, directories and trade body listings. Track them in a spreadsheet, especially as branches open, move or close.

Reviews per branch

Reviews are attached to each profile. Encourage each branch to ask its own customers. Managers can reply to their branch's reviews, ideally with central guidance on tone.

Local links and mentions

Encourage branches to get involved locally: sponsoring a local team, joining the town's business association, taking part in events. These build each branch's prominence.

Handling changes

Opening a branch

Create the profile and page before opening, with clear opening dates. Google lets you set a future opening date on a profile.

Moving a branch

Update the address on the existing profile rather than creating a new one, so reviews stay attached. Update the website, directories and signage at the same time.

Closing a branch

Mark the profile as permanently closed. Redirect the branch page to the nearest open branch or to the locations hub, and say on that page that the old branch has closed.

Central consistency, local character

Multi-location businesses need a balance. Brand, tone and core service information should be consistent. But each branch page and profile should feel local, with its own people, photos and details. Copying one branch page and changing the address creates thin, near-duplicate pages that help nobody.

A worked example

A group of five veterinary practices in Kent had a single "Our practices" page listing all addresses, and Business Profiles for only two practices.

The group created profiles for the other three, each verified with the practice's own phone number and hours. It built a page for each practice with the vets and nurses who worked there, the specific services available (one practice had an in-house laboratory, another offered hydrotherapy), parking details, out-of-hours arrangements and reviews from that practice's clients. Each page linked to the group's service pages, and each service page listed which practices offered it.

Pet owners could now find their nearest practice and see who they'd meet. Each practice became eligible to appear in local results for its own area.

Questions