The traditional methods of Local SEO for Service Area Businesses have become obsolete.

SABs have been grappling with the daunting task of ranking in cities beyond their main address, a notably challenging feat on Google Maps.

Because SABs don’t have a storefront, they travel to different service areas for their jobs.

Regrettably, their challenges were exacerbated by despicable marketers who constructed 100-page websites of no value for their company.

Google doesn’t care about your blog post, backlinks, or word count.

The only thing Google cares about is a concept called E-E-A-T.

Key Takeaway

Service Area Businesses (SABs) must transition to the new Local SEO method, E-E-A-T.

What is E-E-A-T for Service Area Businesses?

E-E-A-T stands for experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.

Experience: First-hand involvement in your trade (HVAC, plumbing, etc.)

Expertise: Unique knowledge of the nuances of your trade

Authoritativeness: Credibility from residents and industry peers

Trustworthiness: Reliable information and sources

It’s really a simple concept for SABs because it’s about building credibility as a business.

Read Google’s Document on E-E-A-T

How SABs Can Show E-E-A-T

Service Area Businesses can demonstrate E-E-A-T with a software tool called DataPins.

When your business uses DataPins to showcase recent work, the appropriate data is converted into pins.

Pins consolidate the following E-E-A-T signals:

Geo-coordinates
Schema markup
Unique images
Unique captions
Mini-Maps

Of course, DataPins does not use private or privileged information in pins; it only uses information that can be shared with the public.

Ranking Outside Your Main City With Local SEO

Marketing gurus have tried every method to trick Google into ranking SABs in multiple cities.

For example, mass-producing city pages on SAB websites is a common tactic for old-school marketers.

This method violates Google’s guidelines on doorway pages.

The tactic also doesn’t work well because the conversion rate of these pages is low, as visitors notice the spam-like qualities of the page.

New Solution?

The most responsible way to rank cities outside of your service area is with Datapins.

Pins contain geo-coordinates from your jobs, which are then published on your website.

While you won’t outrank businesses on Google Maps with a verified address in those surrounding cities, you can overtake companies without an address.

Best of all, you can convert website visitors with unique photos of real jobs in those areas.

A Superior Local SEO Alternative

For most Local SEO agencies, the answer to every problem is more pages, content, links, and listings.

As you’ve probably noticed, each item comes with a price, often a monthly recurring one.

Spending Less, Ranking More

You now have E-E-A-T prominently displayed on your website, outranking competitors with 500-page websites.

Their service page, “Central AC Repair in Evergreen, CO,” is drowned out by thousands of other websites and does not rank in Google’s Map 3-Pack.

You are ranking in both because you show E-E-A-T.

And you are doing it at a much cheaper price.

Local Link Building Dangers

In most cases, building local links violates Google’s guidelines on link spam.

The exceptions are nofollow links from directories and social media pages when you submit your business citation.

Think about directories like Yelp, Angi, and BBB.
Think about social media profiles like Facebook, Instagram, and Linkedin.

These links are all safe to build for service area businesses.

However, any link that requires an “agreement,” whether for money or not, violates Google’s guidelines.

The Problem With Large Local Websites

Large local websites won’t work well in 2024.

For example, a 500-page plumbing company website undoubtedly features spam.

Unfortunately, the joke is on them as Google has grown more intelligent.

Google’s Helpful Content Update targets contractor websites with this kind of spam.

One-page websites demonstrating E-E-A-T are the best option for SABs in 2024.

Local SEO Strategies That Still Work in 2024

While most Local SEO tactics are obsolete, a few remain essential.

These are Google Business Profiles (GMB) and Google Reviews.

Google Business Profiles

Google Business Profiles remain an essential component of Local SEO.

As a service area business, Google Business Profiles can be frustrating.

However, you must create a Google Business Profile to appear on Google Maps or Google Maps 3-Pack.

SABs tend to rank lower than listings that show their address.

You can solve this by listing your address publicly (as long as it’s an actual address with signage).

Google Reviews

Accumulating Google Reviews also remains an essential Local SEO component in 2024.

The DataPins tool allows you to send automated review requests through text and email.

Reviews are a direct ranking factor on Google Maps and increase conversions.

In addition, Google Reviews can be showcased on your website to convert visitors.

You might occasionally receive a negative review, but most customers expect a few bad ones.

The goal is to acquire as many legitimate reviews as possible to increase your E-E-A-T.

Guide Conclusion

Local SEO for service area businesses can be frustrating when using old-school strategies that no longer generate leads in today’s digital landscape.

While tactics like optimizing Google Business Profiles and acquiring Google Reviews remain essential to ranking locally, most methods, such as mass-producing city pages, increasing word count, and building local links, don’t work.

The answer in 2024 is E-E-A-T, which you can demonstrate with a software app called Datapins.