1. Set the geographic boundary before reading the board
The U.S. Census Bureau records Salisbury as a census-designated place in Essex County, Massachusetts. Its 2020–2024 ACS five-year population estimate is 5,656, with a margin of error of 592. That is a population estimate for Salisbury CDP, not a measure of legal demand, search activity, competition, leads, cases or revenue. A dashboard review should therefore distinguish Salisbury from Essex County, the rest of Massachusetts and any metropolitan area your firm serves. A keyword or call assigned to one geography cannot automatically represent the performance of another.
Recommended approach
Ask for a written geography definition for every tracked service-and-city target. Review whether a result is labeled Salisbury, Essex County or a broader Massachusetts target. If the firm handles matters from outside Salisbury, keep those areas visible rather than combining them with the CDP. Treat the Census population as context for scope-setting only, never as a forecast.
