Website for multiple locations: when to restructure

Key takeaways

A business with several locations needs one genuinely useful page per branch, each with its own address, hours, team, reviews and directions, linked to its Google Business Profile. Thin pages that only swap the town name do not help. Restructure when the site has no place for locations, or treats every branch as one.

• 1 useful page per physical location, linked to its Business Profile.
• Each page needs unique detail: team, hours, directions, local work.
• Avoid near-identical pages that only swap the town name.
• Restructure when locations are buried or mixed into one page.

How should a multi-location business structure its website?

A multi-location business should keep one website with a dedicated page for each physical location, reachable from a 'Locations' menu item and linked from each branch's Google Business Profile. Each page should carry unique, useful detail about that branch rather than repeating the same text with a different town name.

• Signs your business needs a new website
• Local SEO for a small business website

What should each location page include?

Everything a local buyer needs to choose and visit that branch.

• Full address, phone number and opening hours.
• A map and directions, including parking or public transport.
• Photos of the premises and the local team.
• Services available at that branch, if they differ.
• Reviews and examples of local work.
• LocalBusiness structured data for that address.

• Schema markup for small business websites

What about service areas without premises?

Be careful. Pages for towns you cover but have no presence in can be useful if they show real local work, response times and reviews from that area. Pages that repeat the same content with the town swapped risk being treated as doorway pages, which Google's spam policies warn against.

When does adding locations require a restructure?

When the site was built for one location and has no place for more: the address is hard-coded in the header, contact forms send everything to one inbox, and the homepage talks about one town. Adding the second or third branch then needs changes to templates, forms and navigation, which is a redesign of those parts.

• Adding new services: when your website needs restructuring

How should enquiries be routed?

To the right branch. Put a branch choice on the form, or place a form on each location page that goes to that branch's inbox. Track enquiries by location so you can see which pages and branches perform.

• Track every website enquiry to its source

Should each branch have its own website?

Usually not. Separate websites split your authority, multiply maintenance and create brand inconsistency. One site with strong location pages is easier to rank and manage. Separate sites make sense only for genuinely separate brands.

How should location pages be linked together?

Through a 'Locations' page that lists every branch with its address, a short description and a link, reachable from the main menu and the footer. Each service page can also list the branches that offer that service, so buyers find the nearest one from wherever they land.

Link location pages to each other only where it helps, for example 'Also near you' for branches in neighbouring towns. Avoid footers stuffed with dozens of town links, which help neither buyers nor search engines and make the site look like it is trying too hard.

• Add a Locations page linked from the menu.
• List branches on relevant service pages.
• Link neighbouring branches where useful.
• Avoid footers packed with town links.

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern in UK healthcare: a clinic group opens a third site, but the website lists all three addresses on the contact page and every Business Profile links to the homepage. Creating a page per clinic with its practitioners, hours and parking, and linking each profile to its page, makes the local listings and the site work together.

• See client work
• Website Design & Development for UK businesses

Multi-location checklist

Apply this whenever you add a branch.

• Create one page per physical location.
• Add unique detail: team, hours, directions, reviews.
• Add LocalBusiness structured data for each address.
• Link each Google Business Profile to its location page.
• Route enquiries to the right branch.
• Avoid thin town-swap pages for areas without presence.

Next step

If you are adding locations, we will review your site structure with you in 30 minutes and tell you whether location pages will do or the templates need changing.