SEO written from your real business.

Is AI-written content bad for SEO?

No, not by itself. Google's spam policies are about pages made to rank that give readers little value, "no matter how it's created".¹

Google's own wording for the problem is scaled content abuse: "many pages are generated for the primary purpose of manipulating search rankings and not helping users".¹ AI makes that easy, which is why so many AI marketing tools lead with page counts. But the issue is the purpose and the value, not the tool.

Google's guidance on helpful content asks a question every owner can answer about their own pages: does it "provide original information, reporting, research, or analysis"?² A page about drain cleaning that could be on any plumber's site doesn't. A page that says which neighborhoods you clear tree roots in most often, and why, does.

What should go on a service page?

Things only your business knows: real jobs, real prices, the towns you serve, and your customers' own questions.

Five facts only you have

Before writing, collect at least five facts from your own records for the page. For a local service business that often means:

• What the job involves when you do it, step by step.
• Your real price range, or what changes the price.
• The towns and neighborhoods you actually cover, and how quickly you get there.
• A recent job like it (with the customer's permission).
• Photos of your own work, not stock pictures.

If you can't find five, the page isn't ready. That's useful to know.

Your customers' questions, word for word

The best headings are the questions customers actually ask you, in their words: on the phone, in emails, at the door. "Do you have to dig up the yard?" is a better heading than "Our trenchless solutions". Answer each one in its first sentence, then add the detail.

Where to find them

Your sent emails, your call notes, your review replies, and the questions your front desk answers every week.

Real reviews, with source and date

Show reviews that match the service on the page, with where and when they were written. Don't add review-star markup for reviews about your own business: Google's guidelines say such pages aren't eligible for review stars.³ Show them because they help people decide. Our guide on asking for reviews the right way covers how to get more of them honestly.

Should I make a page for every town I serve?

Only for towns where you have something true to say. A town with no real facts gets no page yet.

A set of town pages where only the town name changes is close to what Google describes as doorway abuse: pages "created to rank for specific, similar search queries".¹ A town page earns its place with things that are different there: jobs you've done there, reviews from customers there, local conditions that change the work, your response time and any travel charge.

The town-name test

Take two of your town pages and blank out every town and neighborhood name. If what's left reads the same, they're the same page. Fix one with real facts, or merge them.

Our checklist What a city page needs before it goes up lists the facts to look for.

A simple checklist

1. Five real facts per pageFrom your records, not the open web.
2. Customers' questions as headingsIn their words, answered in the first sentence.
3. Real reviews, with source and dateNo self-awarded star markup.
4. No town page without town factsAsk about jobs there first.
5. Run the town-name testBlank the names; compare what's left.
6. Read your own page before it goes liveEvery time.

If you'd rather have it done

This is how our minions work on a website: they write from your Minion Mind, the shared record of your jobs, prices and customers, show you a preview, and wait for your yes before anything is published. They read your Search Console and Analytics (read only) for a monthly report. See how a minion takes on a job. Comparing options? Read Digital Minions or an AI SEO tool.