If you’re a local service business, you might think your SEO strategy should focus solely on your immediate city or zip code. But here’s the truth: your potential customers aren’t just in your backyard—they’re in the neighboring cities, suburbs, and areas where you’re already working or willing to travel. And with the right local SEO strategy, you can show up in those searches, too.
Why Ranking Outside Your Zip Code Matters
Let’s say you’re a landscaper based in Naperville, IL. You likely service nearby areas like Aurora, Plainfield, and Lisle. If your SEO is only optimized for “landscaping Naperville,” you’re missing out on people searching for:
- “landscaping company Aurora IL”
- “best landscaper in Plainfield”
- “yard cleanup Lisle”
Those are all leads you could be getting.
How Local SEO Expands Your Reach
At Purple Pig Marketing, we use a city-focused SEO strategy to help our clients rank not only in their home base, but in surrounding cities that are part of their actual service area.
We do this by:
- Creating City-Specific Pages: These pages are optimized for each city you service and include relevant keywords, content, and internal linking.
- Targeting the Right Keywords: Through our keyword research, we identify high-volume, high-conversion keywords for each city. For example, “emergency plumber Schaumburg” or “tree trimming Elgin.”
- Optimizing Google Business Profile: We make sure your service area is listed correctly and help generate reviews that mention the cities you want to target.
- Building Local Citations: We get your business listed in trusted online directories for each of the cities you serve.
What About Google’s Proximity Bias?
Yes, Google tends to prioritize businesses that are physically located near the searcher. But with proper optimization, you can still show up in surrounding cities—especially when the search includes the city name. That’s why our strategy focuses on:
- Building strong content for each target location
- Increasing domain authority with quality backlinks
- Making sure your NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) is consistent everywhere online
Results You Can See
We’ve helped clients go from ranking on page 5+ to page 1 for dozens of neighboring cities, bringing in real, qualified leads. One recent client saw a 5,000+ spot increase in Google keyword ranking in just three months.
Want to Rank in More Cities?
That’s what we do. We create SEO strategies that help small businesses dominate their local market—and the neighboring ones too.
