In a recent SEO Office Hours video, Google addressed whether businesses can show different product prices to users in different U.S. states, and what that means for search visibility.
The key point: Google only indexes one version of a product page, even if users in different locations see different prices.
Google Search Advocate John Mueller stated in the video:
“Google will only see one version of your page. It won’t crawl the page from different locations within the U.S., so we wouldn’t necessarily recognize that there are different prices there.”
How Google Handles Location-Based Pricing
Google confirmed it doesn’t have a mechanism for indexing multiple prices for the same product based on a U.S. state.
However, you can reflect regional cost differences by using the shipping and tax fields in structured data.
Mueller continued:
“Usually the price difference is based on what it actually costs to ship this product to a different state. So with those two fields, maybe you could do that.”
For example, you might show a base price on the page, while adjusting the final cost through shipping or tax settings depending on the buyer’s location.
When Different Products Make More Sense
If you need Google to recognize distinct prices for the same item depending on state-specific factors, Google recommends treating them as separate products entirely.
Mueller added:
“You would essentially want to make different products in your structured data and on your website. For example, one product for California specifically, maybe it’s made with regards to specific regulations in California.”
In other words, rather than dynamically changing prices for one listing, consider listing two separate products with different pricing and unique product identifiers.
Key Takeaway
Google’s infrastructure currently doesn’t support state-specific price indexing for a single product listing.
Instead, businesses will need to adapt within the existing framework. That means using structured data fields for shipping and tax, or publishing distinct listings for state variants when necessary.
Hear Mueller’s full response in the video below:
