Site Structure
How to architect a local SEO website, Location Landing Pages, service silos, internal linking, and schema.
"Each location gets its own unique service page. This isn't the same content where you just switched out the words Dallas and Plano.", Mike Merlino, Nov 2024
Location Landing Pages (LLPs)
Every city you serve gets its own dedicated landing page:
/plumbing-services-tampa-fl/
/plumbing-services-st-petersburg-fl/
/plumbing-services-clearwater-fl/LLP Requirements
- [ ] Unique H1: Service + City (e.g., "Plumbing Services in Tampa FL")
- [ ] Unique content, minimum 800 words, NOT duplicated across cities
- [ ] Local signals: neighborhoods, landmarks, zip codes
- [ ] Embedded Google Map for that specific location
- [ ] Local schema markup (LocalBusiness + Service)
- [ ] Internal links to service-specific pages
- [ ] GMB link/CTA
- [ ] Local testimonials from that area
- [ ] Geo-tagged images with NAPW
Multi-City Menu Structure
For businesses serving 5+ cities:
Services ▼
Plumbing Services
Drain Cleaning
Water Heater Repair
Locations ▼
Tampa FL
St. Petersburg FL
Clearwater FL
Brandon FLOr use a city hub page:
/service-areas/ → links to all city LLPsLLP Content Rules from the Calls
The Nov 2024 call gave detailed guidance on how LLPs should be structured and linked:
First Paragraph Rule
The first paragraph of every LLP must clearly state:
- Who the business is, brand name
- What they do, primary service with exact keyword
- Where they are, city/location
This eliminates entity confusion for search engines. Google needs to immediately understand the relationship between the business, the service, and the location.
Unique Service Pages Per Location
If a business operates in Dallas and Plano, the structure is:
/plumbing-dallas-tx/ → Dallas LLP
/plumbing-dallas-tx/drain/ → Drain Cleaning for Dallas
/plumbing-plano-tx/ → Plano LLP (unique content)
/plumbing-plano-tx/drain/ → Drain Cleaning for Plano (unique content)Each city gets its own service sub-pages. This is not optional, you cannot just swap city names in duplicate content. Google recognizes thin geo-duplicates.
Service Silos
Organize services into content silos, each major service gets a pillar page with supporting pages:
Silo Rules
- Pillar page covers the broad topic (1,500+ words)
- Supporting pages go deep on subtopics (800+ words each)
- Supporting pages link UP to pillar
- Pillar links DOWN to all supporting pages
- Cross-silo links are limited and intentional
Why Silos Work
Silos prevent entity pollution, a term Mike used repeatedly in the Nov 2024 call. When everything stays topically contained within its silo, Google can clearly interpret what each section of the site is about. The moment you start mixing service topics or city signals within a single page or section, you confuse the algorithm.
"If you could build your site in a way where you keep them and only show them what you want them to see, then that's better, because you're not confusing the algorithm and you're neatly siloing everything.", Mike Merlino, Nov 2024
Multi-Menu Architecture (Advanced)
For businesses targeting multiple cities with separate GMBs, the multi-menu approach reduces entity pollution further. Instead of one navigation with all services and all cities mixed together, you create separate nav sections per location.
The multi-menu system means there is no navigation path that crosses from a Dallas page to a Plano page. Each city exists in its own navigation context. This prevents Google from associating content across city silos.
When to use it: Any site with 3+ separate GMBs targeting distinct geo areas.
Internal Linking Rules
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Every page links to 3-5 related pages | No orphan pages |
| Anchor text is descriptive | Not "click here", use keyword-rich anchors |
| Breadcrumbs on every page | Home > Services > Plumbing > Drain Cleaning |
| Footer links to top pages | Service categories + location hub |
| Blog posts link to service pages | Every post includes 2-3 service page links |
Anchor Text Rules (from Nov 2024 Call)
Anchor text is one of the most misused elements in internal linking. The rules:
- Main keyword as anchor, use the exact match keyword as the anchor text when linking to a service page
- No ambiguity, the anchor text tells Google exactly what the destination page is about
- Topically consistent, don't use a drain cleaning keyword to link to a water heater page
- First sentence priority, the highest-value internal link placement is the first sentence of a blog post or LLP
"Remember the anchor text, where you're linking to, make everything in sequence, segmented, siloing. Want everything topically on point and relevant.", Mike Merlino, Nov 2024
PAA Blog → Service Page Link Flow
Every PAA-based blog post must link to the relevant service page in the first sentence. This is not optional:
Blog: "How Much Does Drain Cleaning Cost in Tampa?"
↓ First sentence internal link
Target: /plumbing-services-tampa-fl/drain-cleaning/If the blog is targeting a specific city, it links to that city's LLP or service sub-page, not the generic service page.
Schema Markup
Every page gets appropriate schema:
| Page Type | Schema Types |
|---|---|
| Homepage | LocalBusiness, Organization, WebSite |
| Service page | Service, LocalBusiness, FAQPage, BreadcrumbList |
| Location page | LocalBusiness (specific to that location), Service, BreadcrumbList |
| Blog post | Article, FAQPage (if PAA), BreadcrumbList |
| About page | Organization, Person (owner), BreadcrumbList |
| Contact page | LocalBusiness, ContactPoint, BreadcrumbList |
URL Structure Best Practices
✅ /plumbing-services-tampa-fl/
✅ /drain-cleaning/
✅ /about/
✅ /blog/how-to-fix-a-leaky-faucet/
❌ /page-id-123
❌ /services/plumbing/tampa/fl/drain-cleaning (too deep)
❌ /PlumbingServices (no capitals)Keep URLs:
- Lowercase, hyphenated
- 2-3 levels max from root
- Keyword-rich but not stuffed
- City included on location pages only
Service Page Optimization (Nov 2024 Call)
Each service page must make three things immediately clear:
- Brand name, in the H1, first paragraph, and page title
- Primary service, exact keyword, not a variation
- Location, city name early in the content
Mike's guidance from the Nov 2024 call: search engines and AI models both scan the top of a page to understand the entity relationship. If they can't determine WHO → WHAT → WHERE from the first paragraph, the page is underperforming.
Service Page Checklist
- [ ] H1: Brand Name + Service + City
- [ ] First paragraph: WHO + WHAT + WHERE complete
- [ ] Exact match keyword used in H1, first paragraph, and at least 2-3 H2s
- [ ] Minimum 800 words of unique content
- [ ] FAQ section with PAA-structured questions and short answers
- [ ] Schema markup (Service + LocalBusiness + FAQPage)
- [ ] 3-5 internal links to related pages
- [ ] Link to GMB listing in the CTA section
- [ ] Branded images with NAPW overlay
Site Architecture Audit Checklist
Run this audit on any existing site before doing any off-page work:
- [ ] Every city served has its own LLP
- [ ] LLPs are unique, not duplicated with swapped city names
- [ ] Each service has a pillar page with supporting sub-pages
- [ ] No orphan pages (every page has at least 2 internal links pointing to it)
- [ ] Breadcrumbs on all pages
- [ ] Schema installed on all page types
- [ ] URL structure is 2-3 levels max
- [ ] Navigation is siloed, city pages don't mix with service pages in navigation
- [ ] Blog posts link to service pages in the first sentence
- [ ] Footer includes links to top service pages and location hub
Related SOPs
- Brand Identity, Structure supports identity signals
- PAA Strategy, Where PAA content sits in the structure
- Magic Blog Post, Blog links into the service silo
- GMB Optimization, Each LLP links to the corresponding GMB