Suburb pages and SEO, and the Perth suburb page trap
It is the most frequently recommended local SEO tactic in Australia and one of the most reliable ways to hurt a new site.
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Quick answer
A page for every suburb you serve, built from one template with the suburb name swapped, matches what Google's spam policies call doorway abuse: pages targeted at specific regions or cities that funnel users to one page. A suburb page is only worth building when you have a real presence or real work there and something specific to say. For most service businesses, a strong service page and a well-set Google Business Profile service area do more.
Key takeaways
- Google names pages targeted at specific cities or regions that funnel to one page as doorway abuse.
- Scaled content abuse applies whether pages are written by people or generated.
- A Google Business Profile can list up to 20 service areas, within about two hours' drive.
- Build a suburb page only if it would still be useful with the suburb name removed.
Why every suburb page looks like an easy win
The pitch is obvious enough: forty suburbs, forty pages, forty chances to rank. Build a template, swap the suburb name, publish. It's cheap, it fills a site map, and it looks like local relevance.
What Google calls a doorway
Google's spam policies define doorway abuse as sites or pages created to rank for specific, similar search queries, which lead users to intermediate pages that aren't as useful as the final destination. Their examples include having multiple pages targeted at specific regions or cities that funnel users to one page.
The same policies define scaled content abuse as many pages generated primarily to manipulate rankings. Google's March 2024 announcement made clear that applies whether the content is produced through automation or human effort, so writing forty near-identical pages by hand doesn't change anything.
The search volume usually isn't there
In the keyword research behind this site, SEO searches naming a Perth suburb showed no measurable monthly volume. Your industry will differ, so check before building: if the suburb versions of your service barely get searched, the trade is a quality risk across the site for almost nothing in return.
Location page or doorway page?
| Genuine location page | Doorway page | |
|---|---|---|
| Why it exists | A real office, team or body of work in that area | To rank for the suburb name |
| Content | Specific to the place: staff, jobs done, access, local detail | A template with the suburb name swapped |
| How many | A handful | One for every suburb in the region |
| Where it leads | Useful on its own | Funnels visitors to the same contact page |
| Proof | Local reviews, photos, projects | None |
What decides local visibility instead
For a service-area business, local visibility is decided mostly in your Google Business Profile. Google's service area help lets you list up to 20 service areas, says the overall area shouldn't extend more than about two hours' driving time from your base, and doesn't allow a radius around your business. Set it accurately, then write about the suburbs you genuinely work in as prose on your main service page.
The suburb page test
- You have an office, staff or a regular presence in this suburb.
- You've done real work there you can describe or show.
- You can write something true and specific about the place that no other page on your site says.
- The page would still be useful with the suburb name removed.
- The suburb is inside your Business Profile service area.
- People actually search for your service in this suburb.
If a suburb fails any of these, it doesn't get its own page.
What to do with suburb pages you already have
- List them with their dataSearch Console clicks and impressions, and any enquiries, for each page.
- Keep the few that pass the testRewrite them with genuine local detail.
- Merge the restFold any useful detail into your main service page.
- RedirectPermanently redirect each removed suburb page to the service page it was copying.
Common questions
Are suburb pages bad for SEO?
Templated ones are. Pages targeted at specific cities or regions that funnel users to one page match Google's doorway abuse examples. A page for a suburb where you genuinely operate, with specific content, is a different thing.
What's the difference between a location page and a doorway page?
A location page exists because you have a real presence or real work there and says something specific about it. A doorway page exists only to rank for the place name.
How many service areas can I add to a Google Business Profile?
Up to 20, within about two hours' driving time of your base. Google doesn't allow a radius around the business.
Can I use one template for every suburb page?
A shared layout is fine. A shared text with the suburb name swapped is the doorway pattern.
What should I do with existing duplicate suburb pages?
Keep the few with genuine local substance, merge the rest into your main service page and permanently redirect them.