Service Areas
Create local landing pages — one per town or city you serve — to rank for location-specific searches and expand your map-pack coverage.
Overview
The Service Areas collection is for location landing pages: “Pest Control in Westerville”, “Pest Control in Gahanna”, and so on. Each one targets people searching for your service in a specific place, and links to the service pages you offer there so ranking signal flows between them.
Make every area page genuinely unique. Google treats near-duplicate location pages as “doorway pages” and can penalize them. A few pages with real local detail (the Area Introduction and Local Highlights below) beat a dozen templated copies. If you can't write something specific about an area, don't publish a page for it yet.
Basics Tab
The core information: the area-specific title, the area name, a short description, a hero image, and hero call-to-action buttons.
| Field | Required | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Yes | The page title, written for the specific area. Displayed as the page heading and used to generate the slug. | Pest Control in Westerville, OH |
| Area Name | Yes | The town, city, or area this page serves. Used in headings, schema, and links. | Westerville |
| Description | Yes | Short description for preview cards and SEO. Max 300 characters. | Trusted pest control for Westerville homes and businesses — same-day service. |
| Hero Image | No | The main banner image at the top of the area page. | (upload: westerville-hero.jpg) |
| Hero CTAs | No | Up to 2 call-to-action buttons in the hero. The first is typically a link button, the second a phone button. | Get a Free Quote → /contact |
Local Content Tab
This is where the page earns its rankings. The Area Introduction is required and should be genuinely specific to the place; the other fields add the local detail and internal links that make the page useful and distinct.
| Field | Required | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Area Introduction | Yes | A UNIQUE, area-specific opening. Write real local detail — mention the town, local pest pressures, neighborhoods served. This is the single most important field: it is what keeps the page from being treated as a thin, duplicate "doorway" page. | (rich text) "Westerville homeowners deal with carpenter ants every spring, especially in the older tree-lined neighborhoods near Hoover Reservoir…" |
| Services Offered | No | Link the services available in this area. This connects the area page to each service page so ranking signal flows both ways — the internal-linking win. | (relationship: Ant Control, Termite Control) |
| Local Highlights | No | Neighborhoods, landmarks, or area-specific notes you serve. Concrete local detail that makes the page genuinely unique. | Uptown Westerville, Hoover Reservoir, Alum Creek |
| Why Choose Us Here | No | Area-specific reasons to choose you (local reviews, response time, familiarity with the area). | "Same-day service across Westerville", "500+ local 5-star reviews" |
| Additional Content | No | Any extra area-specific content not covered above (rich text). | (rich text editor) |
| FAQs | No | Area-specific frequently asked questions. | Q: Do you service all of Westerville? A: Yes, including… |
| Call to Action | No | Customize the CTA heading, description, and button. | Ready to protect your Westerville home? |
| Related Areas | No | Link to up to 4 nearby area pages, shown as cards to help visitors and search engines find neighboring locations. | (relationship: Columbus, Gahanna) |
Services Offered is the internal-linking win: linking an area page to the services you provide there passes ranking signal to those service pages (and back). Under-linked service pages are a common, fixable cause of lost rankings.
SEO Tab
Full control over search-engine optimization and structured data for this area page.
SEO Settings
| Field | Required | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meta Title | No | Override the page title for search engines. Defaults to the page title. | Pest Control Westerville OH | Caudill |
| Meta Description | No | The search-result snippet. Max 160 characters. Defaults to the description field. | Same-day pest control in Westerville, OH. Family-owned, 5-star rated. |
| Meta Image | No | Image for social sharing. Defaults to the hero image. | (upload) |
| Keywords | No | SEO keywords for this area page. | pest control westerville, exterminator westerville oh |
| Canonical URL | No | Set only if the same content exists at another URL. | (usually left blank) |
Structured Data (Schema.org)
These fields generate the LocalBusiness / areaServed markup that helps search engines connect this page to the places you serve.
| Field | Required | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Type | No | Schema.org service type for structured data. | PestControlService |
| Area Served | No | The towns, ZIP codes, or counties this page covers. Powers the LocalBusiness / areaServed markup that helps you show up for local searches. | Westerville, 43081, 43082 |
| Price Range | No | Price range indicator for rich results. | $$ |
If you're unsure about the Schema.org fields, at least fill in Area Served with the towns and ZIP codes this page covers — it's the most impactful one for local search.
Sidebar Fields
| Field | Required | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slug | Yes | The URL path segment. Auto-generated from the title as you type; editable. | pest-control-westerville-oh |
| Status | Yes | Draft, Published, or Archived. Only Published pages appear on the live website. | Published |
| Featured | No | Promote this area on the homepage or area listings. | (checkbox) |
| Show in Menu | No | Add this area to the website navigation menus. | (checkbox) |
| Display Order | No | Controls order in lists and menus. Lower numbers appear first. | 1 |
Creating Your First Area Page
- Go to Service Areas
Click "Service Areas" in the left sidebar.
- Click "Create New"
Opens a blank area page form.
- Fill in the basics
On the Basics tab, enter the area-specific title, the area name, and a short description. Upload a hero image and add 1-2 CTA buttons.
- Write the local content
Switch to the Local Content tab. Write a UNIQUE Area Introduction (required) with real local detail, add Local Highlights, and link the Services Offered in this area.
- Optimize for SEO
On the SEO tab, add a meta title and description, and fill in Area Served with the towns and ZIP codes this page covers.
- Configure sidebar settings
Set the status to "Published", check "Show in Menu" if you want it in the navigation, and set a display order.
- Save
Click Save. The area page goes live after the next website rebuild.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is a Service Area different from a Service?
A Service describes what you do (e.g., Ant Control). A Service Area describes where you do it (e.g., Pest Control in Westerville) and links to the services you offer there. Use Services for the “what” and Service Areas for the “where”.
How many area pages should I create?
Only as many as you can write real, specific content for. A handful of genuinely unique area pages outperform many near-identical ones — and near-identical location pages risk a doorway-page penalty.
Why link Services Offered?
Internal links pass ranking signal between your own pages. Linking each area page to its relevant services strengthens those service pages — an easy, free on-site win.
What is Area Served used for?
It generates Schema.org markup telling search engines exactly which towns and ZIP codes this page covers, which helps you appear for local searches in those places.
Can I link to nearby areas?
Yes — use the Related Areas field to link up to 4 neighboring area pages. They appear as cards and help visitors and search engines discover your other locations.