SEO services in Pennsylvania

Local SEO and the map pack in Pennsylvania

How is local SEO different across Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania had 13,002,700 residents at the 2020 census, spread across 67 counties. Residents search in a few large metros, several mid-size cities, and hundreds of boroughs and townships where a handful of businesses compete for each map pack.

Google ranks local results on relevance, distance, and prominence. Distance works against you in a dense city and for you in a small town. A larger city with more competitors shrinks the area where any one business can hold the top 3.

Large metros: plan by neighborhood

In Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, "the city" is not a useful target. A dentist does not rank across a city of 1.6 million people from one office. The plan starts with a grid scan around your address to find where your top 3 area ends, then adds pages for the neighborhoods just past that edge.

Which Pennsylvania rules affect local marketing?

This is a summary, not legal advice.

Attorney advertising: Rule 7.2

Pennsylvania's Rules of Professional Conduct cover lawyer advertising in Rule 7.2. The parts that touch a website, a Business Profile, or an ad most often are:

• Name and contact information. Every communication about legal services must include the name and contact information of at least one lawyer or law firm responsible for it (Rule 7.2(k)).
• Office location. Advertisements must state the city or town of the office where the lawyers who will do the work principally practice (Rule 7.2(h)). This is one more reason a virtual office address is a bad idea for a law firm.
• Endorsements. Paid endorsements must be disclosed, and endorsements by celebrities or public figures are not allowed (Rule 7.2(e)).
• Paying for recommendations. A lawyer may pay for advertising but may not pay someone to recommend the firm (Rule 7.2(b)). We apply the same standard to review requests.

Our page on local SEO for law firms covers how these rules shape a profile and a review process.

Contractors: HICPA registration

Pennsylvania's Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act (HICPA) requires contractors who do at least $5,000 of home improvement work a year to register with the Office of Attorney General. The registration costs $100 every two years. Three points matter for marketing:

1. The number goes on your ads. The Attorney General's office says contractors must include their registration number in their advertisements, contracts, estimates, and proposals. We read that to include your website and your paid ads.
2. Registration is not a license. The Attorney General states that registration is not an endorsement of a contractor's skill. Do not describe it as a state license in your profile or on your site.
3. Trade licensing is local. Pennsylvania does not issue a statewide plumber license. Philadelphia and Allegheny County run their own plumber licensing programs.

What this means for Local Services Ads

Google screens every Local Services Ads advertiser. Its published requirements include a license check at the state level where local law requires one, plus insurance and a verified Business Profile. For lawyers, Google checks the state bar license of each lawyer in the firm. For trades, Google asks for a license, or a business registration where a license is not required. Because Pennsylvania licenses some trades by city or county instead of statewide, have your HICPA registration and any local license ready before you apply.

What does the Local SEO program need from a Pennsylvania business?

The program requires:

• a verified Google Business Profile at a real physical address
• at least 10 reviews
• a rating of 3.5 stars or better

Details are on the Local SEO services page and the packages page. If you are deciding between ranking work and ads, read local SEO vs. Google Ads. To see what a scan of your own area looks like, read how to read a map grid report.