: Is it helpful or harmful to create SEO filler pages? I'm not sure exactly what these "filler pages" are called, so I couldn't do a proper search. If I have a business, say a plumbing/heating

@BetL925

Google has a specific guideline against creating filler pages. They call it "doorway pages".


Doorway pages are typically large sets of poor-quality pages where each page is optimized for a specific keyword or phrase. In many cases, doorway pages are written to rank for a particular phrase and then funnel users to a single destination. Whether deployed across many domains or established within one domain, doorway pages tend to frustrate users.

Therefore, Google frowns on practices that are designed to manipulate search engines and deceive users by directing them to sites other than the one they selected, and that provide content solely for the benefit of search engines. Google may take action on doorway sites and other sites making use of these deceptive practices, including removing these sites from Google’s index.

Some examples of doorways include:


Having multiple domain names targeted at specific regions or cities that funnel users to one page
Templated pages made solely for affiliate linking
Multiple pages on your site with similar content designed to rank for specific queries like city or state names



Note that their last example specifically matches the example that you gave.

If you can tailor the site experience for users from these specific neighborhoods, then it doesn't sound like a bad idea to me. You would have to:


Get content that would be interesting specifically to the targeted users.

feature testimonials from customers in that neighborhood
put information that is specific to that neighborhood such as any delivery charges
give deals, discounts, or coupon codes that can be used by customers from that neighborhood

Differentiate the page from other neighborhood pages

Make sure that a significant portion of the content on each page is unique to that page (more than half)
Make sure that the portion that is "above the fold" looks different from page to page
Pictures specific to each page can really help

Avoid funneling users to a single other page.

Avoid phrases like "click here to continue to our home page"
Ensure that there are multiple links, forms, or calls to action on that page, similar to how your homepage is built.

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@YK1175434

Nowadays, it sounds like a terrible idea. Please be aware of:


Using keywords in URL is old-fashioned and more spammy than helpful for SEO
Reuse content which is present in several pages will most probably lead to a penalty by search engines


Here are tips to optimize your site:


Create your homepage with a <title> and a <h1> like Plumbing and heating on New York City (the best keywords for this page)
Create a good page to optimize the Plumbing keyword and another for the Heating keyword
Sign in to Places for business from Google and optimize your page with keywords (pay attention to respect guidelines)
Sign in to sites which present local businesses like Yelp
Leave some good comments from blog about New York City by posting a link to your site

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