The scalability barrier is a constant for search marketers because franchises frequently have many locations. More locations require managing more content and landing pages, which increases the likelihood of encountering technical SEO problems. When these difficulties are added to an outdated CMS, franchisee-generated content, and tracking problems, they can become even more difficult.
Franchise SEO: What is it?
The goal of franchise SEO is to increase the visibility of franchise websites on search engines. Franchise websites are those that advertise a single brand nationally while also providing localized pages for several franchise locations. Scaling keyword research, developing localized landing pages, and eliminating duplicate content are some tactics.
In general, franchise SEOs must always consider scalable strategies, the caliber of local pages, and technological challenges that are frequent on these kinds of sites. Some of the preferred methods for managing a franchise website are described here.
Best practices for franchise SEO
Optimizing keyword research
In order to launch your franchise SEO campaign, you must first determine and monitor the keywords that are most beneficial to your company. By tracking your primary keywords, you can keep an eye on the following:
- Changes to particular keywords’ visibility
- Aggregate rankings to assess your website’s overall SEO health
The problem most franchisees have is that they cover a lot of different geographic areas with their vast range of service offerings. For instance, a national plumber might provide 50 high-priority markets and 20 various services (water leaks, sump pumps, etc.). As a result, measuring your site’s exposure across all of these distinct service/geographic combinations can be very challenging when it comes to keyword research.
Segment and localize your keyword tracking
There is no such thing as a “national” ranking for franchisees. Even geographically specific queries like “commercial cleaning” have a local focus by default. Without you need to tell Google where you are, a search for a query like this will return results that are local to your location. You won’t gain much insight into how visible you are when actual users conduct a search by monitoring your keywords at a “national” level.
The majority of rank-tracking tools will have some sort of location option that will let you keep tabs on a certain term in a certain region. You may often provide the precise ZIP code of the area you want to track using various tools.
Make pages that are location-based
Making sure that you have developed location pages for each area you service is another crucial component of a franchise SEO plan. As a result, your website will have the chance to show up for geo-specific queries involving your primary keywords. In many industries, Google organically localizes the results, so these pages might also show up for broad-based keywords that don’t include geographic modifiers.
Sadly, the majority of franchises drastically underinvest in this sector. Most local landing pages have rather generic material that doesn’t provide users with anything in the way of adding value. This frequently entails broad descriptions of a certain region. Even worse, it’s common for these pages to use identical themes with only the location name changed.
Your location pages should ideally have the following components:
- Title tags and information that are tailored to that place
- Particular area-specific on-page material
- The location, contact details, and phone number (if a physical address exists)
- Reviews related to that particular location
- External connections to relevant regional resources
Frequently asked questions :
What is franchise SEO?
Franchises need local SEO, just like every other local business does, to get found online and draw in more customers. That involves using SEO best practices to optimize franchise location websites and add company listings to regional and local directories.
What makes franchises successful?
The reason a franchise succeeds is that its brand is well-known and because its services are reliable. This is why running a successful franchise requires having a defined business process.
Is owning a franchise stressful?
This is a challenging job with a lot of stress, long hours, and frequent weekend work. When you own and operate your own company, you always have a lot of work to do. It is especially important to remember this when dining at a restaurant that is typically open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
