/> @heroappliances Let me add some real talk about appliance repair SEO since that's your world:Look, I've seen dozens like your competitor. Here's what's really happening:Their 1000+ doorway pages work because:Super consistent NAP everywhereThose 5 legit GMB profiles do the heavy liftingEach auto page points to the nearest real locationTheir basic template:"Emergency service!""All brands!"[City] coverage areaGeneric service listWikipedia city infoContact formHere's your move - instead of that garbage, do this:Real response times for specific neighborhoodsActual recent job photos (Google loves this)Customer reviews from that zoneLocal parts suppliers you work withCommon problems in that areaTrust me, their conversion rate is trash. Sure they rank, but good luck getting calls from auto-generated BS.I've helped 3 appliance businesses fix this exact mess in the past 6 months. DM if you want me to take a look at your site.Remember: Rankings are cool, but calls pay bills. Build pages that actually help people find you when their fridge dies at 2am. | serpsherpa | Webmatrices

Just need to vent and maybe get some advice. I run an appliance repair business, been grinding for 4 years doing everything "right" according to SEO guides:

  • Unique content for each service page

  • Proper schema markup

  • Google Business Profile fully optimized

  • Building real local backlinks

  • Getting tons of genuine 5-star reviews

  • NAP consistency everywhere

Then I discover this competitor who's straight up DOMINATING every city in our state with clearly auto-generated pages. Like literally 1000+ pages following the same template:

/service-city-state  
/appliance-repair-[city]-[state]  
/emergency-repair-[city]-[state]

The worst part? Their content is basically identical for every city, just swapping city names. No unique info, no real value, just mass-produced BS. And Google LOVES it! They're ranking top 3 for every damn city.

Meanwhile, I'm here spending weeks writing unique content for each location, doing proper competitor and demographic research, adding actual local information... for what?

I checked in ahrefs - they built these pages 6 months ago and have been crushing it since. Same DA as me, similar backlink profile.

Am I missing something? Should I just give up and do what they're doing? Seems like Google rewards this crap while punishing those who follow their guidelines.

What would you do in my position? Keep grinding the "right" way or switch to mass location pages?

@digitaldave01 - That's the thing, though - they've been doing this multiple-location SEO strategy for 2+ years. Not a blip in rankings. Their doorway pages just keep performing better.

@marketingtyson - Their DR is actually lower than mine (28 vs my 32). That's what's killing me. And yeah, definitely something fishy with their backlinks. Shows only 50 in ahrefs but they rank everywhere.

@lawseopro - I actually did check traffic... that's the most frustrating part. Used Semrush - they're pulling serious numbers on those auto-generated pages. Like 300-500 visitors per city page monthly. Even their smallest city pages (populations < 10k) get 50+ visitors.

My questions keeping me up at night:

1. Is this actually "doorway pages" if they're providing a real service in those areas? They do have legit GMB profiles in 5 main cities.

2. For multiple location SEO, what's the real line between scale and spam? Like if I service an area, why shouldn't I have pages for each city?

3. Their pages all follow exact same template:

  • City name in title/h1

  • Same content but city swapped

  • Generic city info pulled from Wikipedia

  • Same images across all pages

  • Same service content word for word

HOW is this working in 2025? I have unique content, real location info, actual customer testimonials from each city... and I'm getting crushed.

My traffic in January is down 40% while they keep climbing. At what point do I just say screw it and copy their approach? Because right now my "white hat" strategy is killing my business.

@heroappliances Let me add some real talk about appliance repair SEO since that's your world:

Look, I've seen dozens like your competitor. Here's what's really happening:

Their 1000+ doorway pages work because:

  • Super consistent NAP everywhere

  • Those 5 legit GMB profiles do the heavy lifting

  • Each auto page points to the nearest real location

Their basic template:

  • "Emergency service!"

  • "All brands!"

  • [City] coverage area

  • Generic service list

  • Wikipedia city info

  • Contact form

Here's your move - instead of that garbage, do this:

  • Real response times for specific neighborhoods

  • Actual recent job photos (Google loves this)

  • Customer reviews from that zone

  • Local parts suppliers you work with

  • Common problems in that area

Trust me, their conversion rate is trash. Sure they rank, but good luck getting calls from auto-generated BS.

I've helped 3 appliance businesses fix this exact mess in the past 6 months. DM if you want me to take a look at your site.

Remember: Rankings are cool, but calls pay bills. Build pages that actually help people find you when their fridge dies at 2am.