SAB ranking/getting calls from too far away

[JS Girard]

We have a client (mobile mechanic) getting calls from way outside their service zone.

This is not a move issue, they still get normal call, google is just ranking them over an unusually large area. I've checked and double checked and the base optimisation is actually targeted fairly tightly at his home town (though the service area covers a couple towns over, obviously). There's a good flow of reviews and I suspect it's mostly a problem where the areas he's popping in have relatively little competition, and as soon as Google "widens the net", our client overshadows all other competition even though they are over 50 miles away on the other side of a river and major metro area.

Aside from slapping an obvious area keyword in the name to make it clear where they operate (which has been my go-to approach in the past, but Google is getting increasingly pissy over name changes in Quebec), I genuinely can't think of any other way to try and limit the unwanted calls.

Anyone used to deal with this sort of problem?

 

[ElizabethRule]

Sounds like a good problem to have! Ranking too well.

It took me a while to reply to this thread, but did you find a way to mitigate these calls?

The location keyword in the name sounds like your best bet.

My other thought would be for the business owner to build a relationship with anyone in their field who does service that area, so he can refer out to them for a small fee. That way, he is still making money on the calls he is fielding.