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How to Represent Multiple Locations on One Website

interactrv
Business Tips

Your website is a complete digital storefront, designed to bring in buyers to both your online and physical stores. It’s a central location where your customers can find anything and everything they want, without having to click away and browse other websites, including those of your competitors.

If you have multiple RV locations, a single website that represents all your locations can help to build your business, expand your audience, and overcome common challenges associated with serving customers across locations. It can also give your customers the simplified, modern shopping experience they expect.

Create a Dedicated Page for Each Location

Just because you incorporate multiple locations into a single website doesn’t mean you can’t create a dedicated page for each location. In fact, doing so is best practice. Consider the following benefits of having separate location pages within your website and a few tips of what to include on each location page.

Benefits to Separate Location Pages Within Your Website

Having separate location pages within your website allows you to unify all your locations under a single, consistent branded experience. It lets you better leverage SEO to bring more buyers to your website and location subsites. Plus, it’s more cost-effective for you and easier for shoppers to understand.

  • Brand Recognition

  • Having separate websites for each of your locations can lead to minor (and major) differences between shopping experiences that can confuse customers and blur brand lines. The simple fact of having separate websites raises the question about whether each location is housed under the same brand umbrella. When every location page is housed within one central website, your pages carry a consistent look and feel (not to mention brand message) across your various location subsites.

  • SEO Benefit

  • At first, having separate location pages might seem like the better SEO strategy. More pages mean more opportunities for customers to find your business, right? In actuality, a single website with multiple location pages is the better predictor of SEO success. That’s because Google and other search engines can identify multiple websites that share the same content and similar structure and lower each of your location pages on search rankings, even if they match customer searches. You also won’t be competing for clicks against yourself. More websites lead to more competition for clicks among customers and more potential for confusion when your customers find your separate sites.

  • Cost Savings

  • A single website is just simpler and less expensive to run. You don’t have to buy separate domains or pay for separate website builds. From a logistics perspective, a single website also means less SEO management. You don’t have to input multiple keywords on multiple sites or take steps to ensure that they don’t compete against each other.

  • Customer Convenience

  • Most customers have specific inventory requests. They want what they want, and they want it as conveniently (and as close to them) as possible. Having multiple location pages housed within a single website allows your customers to see all your inventory across all your locations. It’s a great way to give customers everything they want in a single online location, while still being able to differentiate between locations and inventory availability at each location.

What to Include on Each Location Page

Location pages can help your customers find what they’re looking for and improve the visibility of your inventory. While having separate location pages means you can customize each page to specific customers, interests, and content, there are a few essentials elements to include on each page.

  • Location-Specific Content

  • Including location-specific content can help drive shoppers to your location pages and improve their experience when they get there. Make sure that your location pages represent and reflect their various regions in overall theme and the images you use. Write content that is specific to your region and the audiences you’re trying to attract.

  • Customer Convenience

  • Most customers have specific inventory requests. They want what they want, and they want it as conveniently (and as close to them) as possible. Having multiple location pages housed within a single website allows your customers to see all your inventory across all your locations. It’s a great way to give customers everything they want in a single online location, while still being able to differentiate between locations and inventory availability at each location.

Incorporate Local Keywords for Each Location

Of course, location-specific content goes beyond just giving your shoppers a better experience. It contributes to helping local customers find your business. For SEO purposes, including location-based keywords that are specific to your geographical region can improve your visibility on search engines and drive more local shoppers to your stores.

Strategies for Enhancing Local Search

Consider the following strategies to enhance your local search results on your individual location pages.

  • Use Keyword Tools

  • Implementing keywords into your website content—those words that local consumers are using to find what they want online—is a great way to increase your website traffic. A keyword tool can help you research the words that local shoppers are using and how much competition those keywords have—i.e. the number of other websites with businesses in the area that are also implementing them.

  • Integrate Keywords Naturally

  • Overstuffing your pages with obviously unnecessary keywords (including keywords that rank high in your local area) will annoy customers who can see through phony attempts at providing helpful content. Search engines can also sniff out websites that are trying to “trick to click” with too many keywords and may lower your site in search engine ranking results.

  • Analyze Competitor Sites

  • As part of your local SEO strategy, visit your local competitor’s websites to see what they offer. What keywords and backlinks are they implementing to attract local customers? How is their website experience overall? Are your competitors’ websites and their content optimized for local search? See what they’re doing well and what they can improve, then make adjustments to your website and SEO strategy to drive more local customers to your site.

  • Update Your Google Business Profile

  • Make sure that you update your Google Business Profile on each location page, so you can stand out to local customers looking for you. A properly maintained Google Business Profile will improve your visibility in local search results and help you stand out among shoppers who use tools like Google Maps to find businesses.

Simplify Navigation and Location Search Filters

Modern shoppers want the ease and convenience of finding everything in one place. The impact of Amazon and similar online shopping experiences have dramatically altered the expectations placed on other online retailers. When online shopping experiences don’t stack up, modern customers are more likely to take their business elsewhere. The simple solution of incorporating all your locations into a single, streamlined shopping experience goes a long way toward giving modern shoppers the experience they expect. But the small details customers encounter along their shopping experience make a big difference too. User-friendly navigation can empower your website visitors to easily find what they’re looking for and easily make progress toward a purchase.

Best Practices for Intuitive Navigation

Consider the following best practices for designing intuitive navigation and search filters on your website.

  • Make Your Search Bar Stand Out

  • A prominent search bar can help your shoppers quickly find what they’re looking for without having to search around your homepage. Make your search bar stand out on every page of your website, so customers can search at any point in the shopping journey.

  • Implement Auto Suggestions

  • Customers don’t always know the exact names of inventory items or even how to spell sometimes-complex inventory item names. Implement an auto suggestion feature in your search functionality to help customers quickly search for the right terms.

  • Implement Search Filters

  • Give your shoppers the ability to narrow down their searches with criteria that can separate relevant inventory items from those that won’t be considered. These can include new and used filters, makes and models, as well as popular RV features.

  • Have a Clean Website

  • Too much clutter on your location pages can bog down the shopping experience. Implement clean visual cues to help shoppers progress toward a purchase, while avoiding unnecessary distractions along the way. Clearly label your menus and navigation and avoid too much copy and design clutter.

  • Test and Optimize Your Website

  • Test your website often for ease of navigation. Pay attention to how users interact with your website and respond by simplifying navigation, cutting out clutter from menus, and ensuring that your web design is responsive for mobile use.

Conclusion

If you have multiple RV locations, your website can be a one-stop-shop for all your visitors to find everything they’re looking for. By creating a dedicated page for each of your locations, incorporating local keywords, enabling easy sorting of your inventory, and simplifying navigation for search, you can give shoppers they experience they expect. With the right website, you can effectively represent all your locations within a single site to continue to build your business, expand your potential audience, and attract more customers to your physical and online stores. If your website feels lacking or disjointed in any way, now is the time to evaluate your online shopping experience and update your website strategy. To learn more about how you can build a better website experience for your shoppers, visit Interactrv.com.