Located in a small town or city? Looking for customers outside your immediate area? Appealing to surrounding areas with local content is a great way to build recognition in your area and boost your local SEO. But what if “local” just isn’t enough?
If you need to expand beyond your town limits and appeal to surrounding towns, counties, or cities, implementing an “areas served” content and digital marketing plan can help!
Beyond Local: Appealing To Surrounding Areas
If you’re attempting to attract local residents to swing by your dispensary, you’re probably hosting events, writing about local goings-on and attractions, and maintaining a location page that clearly shares your address and info. (If you’re not, it’s time to get those things under control! They can all help raise your local profile and help you show up in the local-pack. Schedule a strategy session to get help.)
These are all important—and you should continue to do these activities. When it’s time to expand beyond your current boundaries, though, you’ll also want to expand digital marketing campaigns and your website.
First, consider the nearest surrounding areas. Which of the towns near you is home to your target demographic? Of course, you can target every nearby town, however, it’s good to draw up a list and prioritize the areas you want to market to first.
Creating “Areas Served” Content
Next, you’ll want to start building pages for all the locations you identified. Think about how you brand your dispensary and what search terms people are using to find you. Then, identify similar search terms for corresponding towns. For example, if many of your customers are searching for “City A dispensary” to find you, do some keyword research on “City B dispensary” to see if it’s a good fit.
Once you have the keyword for your pages, you’ll want to generate original content that lets City B (and C and D…) residents know about your great dispensary and how easy it is to get to from City B.
When you create your new “area served” page, you’ll want to optimize it using your keyword. Create a page title and a meta description that use the keyword. Find an appropriate image for your page and use the keyword in your title and alt text.
Once your page is ready to go live, make sure there’s a link on your homepage. This can be under your about menu, for example. It doesn’t have to be prominent, but you do want Google to find it and index it.
Must-Have Info
Any “areas served” page that you create should have your contact info, a link to your live menu, and a strong call-to-action. Remember, you want to compel these potential customers to give your dispensary a shot! Make sure the link to your deals page is obvious, too.
Level Up with Blog Posts and Social
Increase the chances of being found by City B and City C residents with blog posts featuring local info relevant to those cities. In your CTAs, make sure to include the link to your new “areas served” page!
You can also expand your strategy to Instagram by using specific hashtags that relate to City B and City C. Just make sure you’re following our Instagram best practices to avoid getting flagged or having your account shut down.
Don’t get stuck in a rut! Expand your reach with an “areas served” content and SEO strategy. We’d be happy to do it for you!
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