Local SEO Help: URL Structure Causing Cannibalization & Ranking Drop?

[Yasirsuelman]

Hey SEO pros — I need your take on a local SEO issue that might be caused by duplicate intent or URL structure.
I manage SEO for a local alloy wheel repair business that only serves one city. We originally had a well-performing service page at:

• example.com/alloy-wheel-refurbishment/

Later, we added a “more geo-specific” version at:

• example.com/alloy-wheel-refurbishment/city-name/

But after publishing the /city-name/ page, our rankings for “alloy wheel refurbishment city-name” completely stalled — neither page ranks, and impressions dropped hard. I suspect keyword cannibalization or confused intent.
We’re now considering consolidating into a flat, focused URL like:

• example.com/alloy-wheel-refurbishment-city-name

My questions:

1. Has anyone seen ranking drops after adding a /service/city/ page for a business that only targets one location?
2. Would 301 redirecting both older pages to a new flat URL help regain lost authority and intent clarity?
3. For a single-city business, is it better to avoid subfolders entirely?
4. Bonus: What’s the best way to cover nearby suburbs (e.g., “Alloy Wheel Refurbishment Shawlands”)? Should we create short area pages like example.com/alloy-wheel-refurbishment-shawlands with hyper-local content, or is there a smarter way?

Just trying to stop bleeding, avoid duplicate intent, and move toward a clean, scalable local structure.
Appreciate any tips or real-world insights

 

[fisicx]

Trying to rank for a city name like that is almost always doomed to failure. Local ranking comes from your content not the URL.

The services you offer is the same at all locations so Google isn't going to be interested in city pages. Try blogging about the work you did at each location but it would have to be real customer stories - with pictures. You can then categorise by location and service and combine with reviews.

It does however take a lot of work to get it right and needs to be something each location does repeatedly. No point in doing it for a week then giving up.