Positioning a website on local queries such as “activity + city” is a recurring problem for many digital professionals. Is it necessary to create hundreds or even thousands of local pages? Is there a real risk of duplicate content? What techniques should be used to achieve results while remaining in Google’s good graces? Here’s an expert overview of the best practices to adopt in 2025.
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1. Creating local pages: between quantity and quality
On the scale of a few regions, departments or towns, it is now possible to generate a large number of local pages that index well and generate qualified traffic, provided certain essential rules are respected:
- Pages designed first and foremost for the user: each page must respond to a real intention and offer localized, relevant information (concrete examples, local opinions, visuals specific to the area, specific services, etc.).
- Intelligent geographic architecture: structure your site on a regional level > Département > City or catchment area (districts / arrondissements), adapting the internal network. Larger cities benefit from a reinforced network, while smaller towns are linked to their nearest geographic hub.
2. Combating duplicate content: mastering content-spinning
The risk of duplicate content is real, especially when the volume of pages explodes. However, there are several tried-and-tested techniques for limiting this risk:
- Professional content spinning: using an experienced copywriter or AI tool, it’s possible to generate text variants for each local page, while maintaining a low similarity rate. The idea is never to copy and paste, but to produce a unique version, both in terms of content and form.
- Personalize content: use location-specific data (testimonials, visuals, specific features, local achievements, dedicated FAQs…) to make each page truly unique and relevant.
- Similarity rate via AI: if you only have a few cities (-50), you can make 5 versions of the text and ask L’ai to rewrite each version (x10) with a similarity rate of less than 10%.
- Use these pages to exchange local backlinks: with, for example, a generic Block “Recommended business partners” and you drag in the exchanged links. Or “Notre sélection d’espace de coworking sur cette ville” (Our selection of coworking spaces in this city) and contact all the coworkers for a link exchange to get in the rankings.
- Local news: In key cities, check whether local media have news rss feeds, for example, to bring up blocks of information about the city in question.
3. Progressive, natural deployment
For us, this is a critical point, as is launching a site in several languages. Massively publishing hundreds of local pages at once is to be avoided. It’s far more effective to schedule publication over time, according to the site’s natural growth. This progressive rhythm is not only better perceived by Google, but also allows you to adjust and improve pages as you go along, according to feedback and performance.
Next, you’ll need to monitor the indexing and positioning of these pages in Google Search Console… but that’s another, more global issue.
4. Internal networking and accessibility
Thoughtful internal meshing improves the discovery and indexing of local pages, while offering the user fluid navigation. Pages should be accessible via the menu, hub pages or geographic listings, without being hidden from view. Good meshing also reinforces the authority of the main pages and encourages the transfer of popularity.
5. On-site and off-site optimization
- Differentiated layout: even if the structure remains similar (header, content, call-to-action), each local page must be distinguished by its content and certain visual elements (photos, videos, local testimonials…).
- Push pages via networks and netlinking: each new local page can be enhanced by sharing on social networks or by the creation of external links (local partners, directories, blogs in the region…), which accelerates their indexing and positioning.
6. Leverage AI and internal resources
Artificial intelligence can be an invaluable ally in generating localized content on a large scale, as long as it’s well managed (human proofreading, provision of unique information). And don’t forget to exploit your company’s internal data: customer reviews, feedback, achievements, photos, etc., all of which reinforce the authenticity and relevance of your pages.
Our expert vision:
Creating high-volume local pages without risking duplicate content is entirely possible today, provided you focus on quality, personalization and natural deployment. Rely on a solid geographic architecture, personalized content and the exploitation of all your resources (AI, internal data, netlinking, social networks) to build an effective and lasting local presence on Google.