In this article · 6 sections
- What Google is concerned about
- The recipe for good programmatic pages
- 1. Real, page-specific data
- 2. Unique written content where it matters
- 3. Only create pages you can genuinely serve
- 4. Strong internal linking
- 5. Unique titles and meta descriptions
- 6. Structured data
- Measure similarity
- Quality control
- Avoid
- FAQs
- How many location pages should I create?
- Can AI help write location content?
Taxi operators create route pages ("Ludhiana to Delhi taxi"), agencies create city pages ("website design in Jalandhar"), and stores create category-location pages. Generating many pages from templates and data is called programmatic SEO. Done well, it captures thousands of specific searches. Done badly, it creates near-identical "doorway pages" that Google may ignore or penalise.
What Google is concerned about
Google's spam policies warn against doorway pages (many similar pages created to rank for variations that funnel users elsewhere) and scaled content abuse (mass-produced pages with little value). The test: does each page offer something genuinely useful and different?
The recipe for good programmatic pages
1. Real, page-specific data
Each page needs facts unique to that location or combination: - Route pages: distance, travel time, toll info, popular stops, fares, best times - City pages: local industries, areas served, distance from office, local projects (real ones), local FAQs - Product-location pages: actual stock, delivery times, local pickup
2. Unique written content where it matters
Templates are fine for structure, but add a meaningful unique section per page: local insight, real examples, specific advice.
3. Only create pages you can genuinely serve
Don't create 500 city pages if you only serve 30 cities well. Fewer, better pages outperform many thin ones.
4. Strong internal linking
Hub pages (e.g. "All routes from Ludhiana") linking to individual pages, and related pages linking to each other. See internal linking.
5. Unique titles and meta descriptions
Generated from data, but readable and within length limits.
6. Structured data
Service, LocalBusiness, BreadcrumbList and FAQ (where real) per page.
Measure similarity
Before launch, compare pages: if two city pages are 90% identical apart from the city name, they're too thin. Aim to substantially reduce overlap through real data and unique sections.
Quality control
- Check a sample of pages manually
- Watch Search Console for "Crawled – currently not indexed" on generated pages. It's a signal they're seen as low value. See indexing problems
- Prune or merge pages that get no impressions after several months
Avoid
- Swapping only the city name
- Fake local addresses or fake reviews
- Auto-generated text that says nothing
- Thousands of pages for keyword variations ("taxi Ludhiana", "cab Ludhiana", "car rental Ludhiana") with the same content
FAQs
How many location pages should I create?
As many as you can make genuinely useful: start with your most important 10–30 and expand based on results.
Can AI help write location content?
It can help draft, but facts must be accurate and local insight real. See using AI to write safely.
Joboo Web builds city and route pages with real local data and unique content. Talk to us.