What is a doorway page? Definition and why Google penalises them

A doorway page is a page that exists only to rank for specific, similar search queries and then funnels the visitor on to another page, the real destination. Google treats doorway pages as spam and names them explicitly in its official spam policies. In this article you will learn what a doorway page actually is, why Google penalises them, how to recognise one, and how to build legitimate local pages without crossing the line.

What is a doorway page exactly?

Google defines doorway pages as “sites or pages created to rank for specific, similar search queries” (Google Search Central). The goal is not to genuinely help the visitor on that page, but to capture as many queries as possible and then funnel the traffic to one central destination.

So the hallmark is twofold: the page is built for the search engine rather than for the reader, and it acts as an intermediate step instead of an end destination. With pages like these, Google explicitly asks whether they are an integral part of the user experience, or whether they only serve to shuttle visitors to the useful part of the site. If you want to understand the basics of findability, read what SEO is.

Why does Google penalise doorway pages?

Doorway pages appear on the list of practices that breach Google’s spam policies. According to Google, it detects these practices through automated systems and, where needed, manual review that can lead to a manual action. Sites that violate the policies can rank lower or stop appearing in the results entirely.

The reasoning is logical. Doorway pages pollute the search results: the searcher expects a relevant answer, but lands on an empty in-between page that immediately sends them somewhere else. That is a poor experience, and Google specifically wants to show results that genuinely answer the question. As far back as 2015, Google announced a dedicated update targeting doorway pages.

Examples of doorway abuse

Google itself gives a few examples of doorway abuse:

• Multiple sites or pages with slight URL and homepage variations to maximise reach for a specific query.
• Multiple domain names or pages targeting specific regions or cities that funnel the visitor to one central page.
• Pages generated to shuttle visitors to the actual, usable part of a site.

In B2B, the classic case is a series of near-identical city pages: “SEO Ghent”, “SEO Antwerp”, “SEO Bruges”, which only swap the town name and all lead to the same service page. Pages like that also brush up against duplicate content and thin content, two risks that often show up together.

Where is the line?

This is where the nuance sits, and it matters. Local or regional pages are not spam by definition. The line is drawn by intent and value. A page becomes a doorway when it has no reason to exist on its own: no unique content, no genuine local use, just a template with a swappable town name that pushes the visitor straight on.

A legitimate local page, by contrast, offers real, unique value for that place: a local team, cases from the region, specific context, concrete information that is relevant to whoever is searching there. The rule of thumb: if you can replace the town name with another one without the rest of the page becoming illogical, it is probably a doorway.

The table below puts the two side by side on the characteristics that make the difference in practice.

This test is deliberately strict. In practice we see that pages which just cross the line are almost always on the wrong side of several rows at once: no content of their own, no role of their own, and infinitely scalable with a script. That pattern is exactly what Google detects.

When does this matter for B2B?

Honest advice: for most B2B companies, spinning up dozens of city pages is a bad idea. It costs time, produces thin pages and risks a spam penalty, while it rarely brings in local traffic that actually converts. Your narrow audience seldom searches on town plus service alone.

You are far better off putting that energy into a handful of strong pages that genuinely answer your decision maker’s questions. If you do want a local presence, do it with a limited number of pages that offer genuine local value. With SEO we always steer on customers and revenue, not on a pile of pages that only exist to capture queries. That is exactly how you make a site rank sustainably instead of risking a penalty. You can read more about that approach on the pillar page about SEO.

Common mistakes and how to do it right

The most common misstep is a city page generator: a template you fill with a list of town names, spitting out hundreds of URLs in a few minutes. It feels efficient, but in one go you build an entire layer of thin pages that Google can read as doorways. A second mistake is cramming the town name into the title and subheadings while leaving the body copy identical: that is no different from the template trap above.

If you want to do it right, reverse the order. Start with the question of whether there is genuinely something to say about that region: a local team, a client nearby, a project you delivered there. If there is not, do not build the page. If there is, write from that content instead of from the keyword. That way every page stays an end destination with its own reason to exist, which is precisely the opposite of a doorway. The same logic applies, incidentally, to service pages you want to duplicate per sector: unique content first, scale second.

Frequently asked questions

Is every city page a doorway page? No. A city page with genuinely unique, useful local content is legitimate. It becomes a doorway when it is an empty template page that only swaps the town name and funnels the visitor on.

What is the difference with a landing page? A good landing page is a real end destination that helps the visitor and prompts action. A doorway page is an intermediate step that exists only to rank and pass traffic along.

How do I know whether my pages are doorway pages? Ask yourself whether every page offers its own, unique value. If you can replace the town name or the keyword without the page becoming illogical, it is probably a doorway.

What happens if Google finds doorway pages? Your site can rank lower or, in the case of a manual action, disappear from the results entirely. The best move is to avoid them or replace them with pages that carry real value.

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