Why would a domain rank well in some markets and poorly in others?
-
We are having an issue with our SERP results. Basically here is what’s happening.
We offer training in 47 cities. Our main sales page is [http://example.com/product/city-name]. Whenever we change our location preferences in Google, and that URL format is the landing page for our main 3 keywords, we rank no worse than 15. Most of those are on the first page. However, if that is not the landing page in the SERPs, we rank poorly. Depending on which keyword is used, one of three URLs will ALWAYS appear instead of the desired city-specific landing page, and we rank somewhere between pages 6 and 9. The other landing pages, depending on which keyword is used, are http://example.com (home page), http://example.com/product (without the city), or http://example.com/product/san-francisco (regardless of how close this is).
Out of the 141 keywords, there have been between 9-25 keywords that have this issue. Having all 3 of these keywords in the top 10 for each city is the number one priority from our CEO. We have noticed if a page starts moving down the ranks, once it goes past 15, the landing page changes.
Anyone have any ideas what could be causing this, or how to fix it? Any insight into this is much appreciated!
-
Thank you for the response, we will look into that!
-
Could be that you used the same or mostly similar content on the city pages so Google isn't showing them. It also could be that your main product page is the one where all the links are pointing and none on the city pages, and probably in the menu or even the footer of this product page you have the city name pages linked as well and Google is simply weighting all the factors and determining the stronger page that may only show the city name once is more relevant than the city page which would be better optimized.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Do any Local Rank Trackers Report This Way?
I'm having trouble finding a local rank tracking service with useful reporting. I've tried several and for the money, have gravitated toward's Whitespark's service as for $25/month I can track unlimited locations. But their report is indicative of what I've seen time and time again in my 18-year experience as a Software Developer and Internet Marketer. Whomever is making the design decisions isn't a Seasoned (Local) SEO, and/or probably hasn't done their homework well enough by talking to seasoned SEOs. Their Summary Report looks like this (see attachement). When I'm doing Local SEO I'm looking at a lot of reporting data but among that, probably the most important is: How many of the listings moved up into position #1-3 on Local Finder which is also usually the Local 3-Pack (sometimes a 2-pack explaining the discrepancy in the first two rows between the number in the #1-3 column.) I also want to know how many listing moved UP into the #4-10. And vice versa, what fell out of #1-3 and #4-10. The problem with the format of this report, if a listing falls from #2 to #5, it will be a decrease in #1-3 and an INCREASE for #4-10. This would give me the false impression that a listing that was below #10 came into the #4-10 when in actuality the increase in #4-10 was because of a decrease in #1-3!! One situation is positive the other is negative. What I want to know is how many listings (totals without getting out the calculator): moved up into #1-3 (White Spark does this via the Increase column in the Local 3-Pack row) moved up into #4-10 moved down out of #1-3 to #4-10 moved down out of #1-3 to below #10 moved down out of #4-10 to below #10. Does anyone know of local tracking services that give you this kind of data in this way? XQppQKs.jpg
Local Listings | | Consult19010 -
Subdomains or separate domains for dealers?
We are setting up websites for our dealers. We are considering whether it is better to set them up as independent domains (i.e. www.dealer-state-brand.com) or as subdomains (dealer-state.brand.com) Any thoughts?
Local Listings | | bcmull0 -
Which Rank Trackers Include Local 3-pack Rankings?
Granted the Local 3-pack is heavily influenced by the distance between the user and the business, when you actually include the city name in the search, the local 3 pack result doesn't center the map at the city in the search and not the user's location so it is much more consistent despite the searcher's location. So my personal opinion is that it is worth tracking local 3-pack when you use a keyword such as "Home Inspection Seattle Wa" With that said, which rank tracking services includes the local 3-pack in their tracking results, other than of course Bright Local?
Local Listings | | JCCMoz0 -
2 Domains
Hi, one of my clients owns a dental practice. The business is split into 2 parts. One is general dentistry and the other in cosmetic dentistry. They are both aimed at different markets. The question is, should we have 1 website with all the details for the business under, or could we have two domains and promote both sites differently. Does anyone see any issues with the address being the same etc? Thanks Ade
Local Listings | | popcreativeltd0 -
Organic and Local ranking changes UK
Hi, Has anyone seen any major fluctuations in local and organic rankings over the last week? I'm recording some significant changes, cannot fathom why at the moment other than Pigeon is still maybe rolling out... Dan
Local Listings | | SEOBirmingham810 -
Tips for attributing specific rises in rank to increases in traffic
I'm curious how people attribute a rise or fall in a specific keyword to increases/decreased in traffic on a large website that ranks for a wide variety of keywords. I'm specifically interested tracking how small moves on the front page, especially the top positions and in competitive keywords affect (or don't affect) traffic/CTR. I'd like to be able to attribute specific changes in rank to their impact on traffic. I'm thinking about this more for internal testing and optimization rather than for reporting as a way to try to hone resources on what has the largest impact. Things I'd like to know more about: How to measure the difference in traffic/CTR for a term that moves from 2nd to 3rd position in SERPs. 3rd to 1st. 4th to 5th. 1st to 2nd. etc. etc. The same fluctuations, but in a local listing. The effect of moving above or below a local listing, or a listing with some other kind of extended result (sitelinks, news article, etc.) How to measure the impact of an appearance or disappearance of authorship on click through rate, especially for positions 2-5 in the SERPs. The same would go for a video snippet. Measuring changes resulting from any other type of change I'd love for as many people as possible to answer, with as specific or broad of an answer suits your experience and expertise. Feel free to answer only some of the questions, or provide related information. Links to articles, anecdotes, case studies, hunches, and hard numbers are all appreciated and welcomed. I look forward to hearing from people!
Local Listings | | Oren.0 -
My website is not ranking on google.
My website is not ranking on google. I use a SEO company and it has been more than 2 years and there has not been any improvement. I would like some pointers. My website is http://www.myperfectsmilesdentistry.com. Any help is appreciated
Local Listings | | ragster0