Greater Manchester contains ten boroughs, and the mistake almost every business makes is treating nine of them as suburbs of the tenth. Stockport, Bolton, Oldham, Rochdale, Bury, Wigan, Salford, Tameside and Trafford have their own centres, their own identities and, in several cases, populations larger than standalone cities elsewhere in England.
Manchester is contested; the boroughs are not
Manchester city centre is among the most competitive local search markets outside London. Stockport, Bolton and Wigan are not. For most businesses the better commercial return comes from holding a leading position in a named borough than from placing poorly in Manchester.
This is counter-intuitive to owners who see Manchester's search volume and assume that is where the money is. The volume is real; the probability of capturing it is not.
Salford is not Manchester
Salford is a separate city with its own council, its own identity and, at MediaCity, a substantial broadcast and digital cluster. Businesses in Salford marketing themselves as Manchester lose the local advantage without gaining the Manchester one.
Trafford and the affluence gradient
Altrincham, Sale and Hale sit at the wealthier end of the conurbation and behave quite differently from Oldham or Rochdale in what converts — credentials and evidence over price positioning. The same service can need a materially different page depending on which side of the conurbation it is sold in.
Transport shapes the catchment
The Metrolink network means customer catchments here follow tram lines more closely than straight-line distance. A business near a stop draws from further along the line than its physical radius would suggest, which is worth reflecting in which areas you claim to serve.