Adding a place to a query changes more than the wording. The results shift towards businesses with a physical presence, map listings often take the top of the screen, and the intent moves from learning to finding somebody nearby. That is why a page that ranks well for a query nationally can be nowhere for the same query with a town attached, and why treating place words as a variation to sprinkle in produces pages that rank for neither.
Two kinds of place query
Some carry a place explicitly. Others carry it implicitly, because the search engine knows where the person is and answers accordingly, which is why the same query gives different results in two cities without anybody typing a place at all. The second kind is invisible on a keyword list and shows up only when you check positions from different locations, which is one of the main reasons a checked position needs a location recorded beside it.
When a place deserves its own page
When you have something genuinely different to say about that place: an office, staff, cases, prices, rules that differ there. When you do not, a page per town is a set of near-duplicates that split your own signal and read as filler to anybody who lands on one. The honest test is whether you could write the page without a find-and-replace. If not, one page covering the area is better.
Where the ranking actually comes from
For anything with local intent, a lot of what decides visibility sits outside the page: a verified business listing, consistent details, and genuine proximity to the searcher. That is a different discipline from choosing queries, and no amount of on-page work substitutes for it. Knowing that boundary saves people from rewriting a page that was never going to be the deciding factor.
Recording place with the position
If any of your queries have local intent, positions without a location are not comparable. Two readings taken in different cities are two different measurements. Write the location down with the reading, the same way you write the device, or the series will show movement that is really geography.
Questions people ask about geographical keywords
What are geographical keywords?
Queries carrying a place, either explicitly in the words or implicitly through the searcher's location, which shifts the results towards nearby businesses.
Should I make a page for every town?
Only where you have something different to say about that town. Pages generated by find-and-replace compete with each other and read as filler.
Why do my rankings differ by city?
Because location is part of what the search engine uses to answer. It is why a checked position needs a location recorded against it to be comparable.
Is a business listing part of this?
For local intent, yes, and it often matters more than the page. Verified details and proximity carry a great deal of the result.