Most local service businesses serve 15 to 30 cities. Their website has 5 pages. Maybe 7 if someone talked them into a blog.
That's not a website problem. That's a math problem. And it has a dollar amount.
The gap is simple multiplication
Take a plumber who offers 8 services across 20 cities. That's 160 specific searches where customers could find them — "drain cleaning in Baytown," "water heater repair in Deer Park," "sewer line service in La Porte."
Their 5-page website covers maybe 3 of those searches. The other 157? Those calls go to whoever does have a page for that service in that city. Every single day.
A roofer with 6 services in 15 cities? That's 90 searches they're invisible for. An HVAC company with 8 services in 25 cities? 200 searches. A window company with 5 services in 10 cities? 50 searches — and at $12,000 per job, even one missed opportunity hurts.
"But I show up in my city"
Maybe. For your company name. That's branded search — people who already know you. The money is in unbranded search: "plumber near me," "emergency AC repair in Humble," "roof replacement in Spring." That's where new customers live. And Google serves those results based on page-level relevance, not your homepage.
No page for "drain cleaning in La Porte"? You don't exist for that search. Period.
What a real local website looks like
Here's what the math produces when you actually build for it:
- 5 services × 10 cities = 50 location pages + 5 service pages + 200 FAQ pages = ~270 total pages
- 8 services × 20 cities = 160 location pages + 8 service pages + 640 FAQ pages = ~830 total pages
- 6 services × 15 cities = 90 location pages + 6 service pages + 360 FAQ pages = ~470 total pages
Every one of those pages targets a specific search. Every FAQ page answers a question real customers are typing into Google. Every page has structured data that tells Google exactly what service you offer and where.
Compare that to 5 pages with a "Service Areas" bullet list that nobody — including Google — takes seriously.
What an agency would charge for this
Traditional web agencies charge $85 to $200 per page. At those rates:
- 270 pages = $23,000 to $54,000
- 470 pages = $40,000 to $94,000
- 830 pages = $70,000 to $166,000
Those aren't made-up numbers. That's what custom content, proper SEO, schema markup, and professional design cost at agency rates. Per page. And most agencies won't even take the project because it's too much work.
The break-even math that matters
Forget the page count for a second. Think about job value.
- Plumber at $350 per service call: 13 extra calls pays for the entire site build.
- Window company at $12,000 per job: less than 1 job. One replacement and you're profitable.
- HVAC at $10,000 per install: less than 1 job.
- Roofer at $15,000 per roof: less than 1 job.
- Landscaper at $50/week recurring: 2 weekly customers and you've covered it — and they keep paying you every week.
With 200, 400, 800+ pages each targeting a specific search in a specific city, picking up 13 calls over the course of a year isn't optimistic. It's inevitable.
The uncomfortable question
How many cities do you serve? Now, how many does your website actually mention?
Multiply your services by your cities. That's how many pages you should have. Whatever you have now, subtract it. The difference is the number of searches where your competitors are taking your calls.
Every day that gap exists, it's costing you money. That's not a sales pitch. It's arithmetic.