Consequences of not including locality in URL structure

Question

We have medical providers listed on a website. The providers can list multiple business locations, and may change their business location at anytime.

I have thought a lot about the URL structure, and have read that it is advantageous to use localized URLs like

/country/state/city/provider-slug

However, when I have a provider listed in multiple locations, it means the provider would need 2 or more URLs to have the multiple locations reflected properly, unless of course both locations are in the same city (which they often aren't).. This creates a duplicate content issue doesn't it?

The problem of updated locations is also an issue, as I would need to build redirects from the old URL, which presents an issue with storing the old URLs etc.

Anyway, on each provider page I say something like "Provider in City, State" on the page, but I'm wondering if this is enough.. Will NOT having the localized URL structure present a huge problem for my SEO?

Answer 1

Having locality in the URL structure helps in your case, but if it is too complicated, there is another solution. Put your localization info in the title meta tag and include it in a <h1> tag on your page. This will help with your SEO.

This creates a duplicate content issue doesn't it?

It would be considered as near duplicate content if both pages where not distinctive enough. You would not be penalized since both pages are on your site, but it is not good SEO practice.