Local Search for Franchises - What You Need to Know

Local Search for Franchises - What You Need to Know

Local SEO is the new storefront – investing in search impacts your organic search rankings, and content marketing and paid advertising campaigns. It’s also a huge part of online searches in general, as according to this infographic 46% of all searches on Google are local, 50% of consumers who conducted a local search on their smartphone visited a store within a day, and 34% who searched on a computer/tablet did the same. Further, 78% of local-mobile searches result in offline purchases. As you can see, mobile is important, as more and more customers are using mobile phones and tablets to find local businesses while they’re out-and-about. Mobile phones make up 50% of global web traffic, so it important to be sure that the information you want these mobile searchers to find is easily discoverable and clearly understood. It also goes without saying that traditional advertising media (like newspaper and magazine ads), while still being a good place to start, is declining. Instead of picking up the morning paper, 80% of adults are turning to the internet for local news and information on local businesses.

We know it can seem daunting at first, but if you take it one step at a time, diving into local search as a franchise will prove to be worth the time and resources when you start raking in revenue and driving sales. This case study about The UPS Stores shows just how beneficial this investment can be.

Local Search for Franchise Challenges and Solutions

While it is important to have a main website for the franchise, it is equally as important to have pages – or even microsites – dedicated to each specific location. Yes, “index-pages” containing the bare minimum of a contact number or address work if you do not have the resources to devote to a complete CMS overhaul, these are often not enough for the end-user searching for your services.

Investing in location-specific, easily discoverable microsites with original content and on-brand design can be the best tactic when it comes to local SEO for franchises. Using keywords relevant to the geographical location of each franchisee and creating new content such as specials unique to the location can be great ways to bring your brand to life and seem more active at the community level while increasing search engine rankings.

Franchise-level brands have large amounts of data across the many locations that needs to be managed daily. There must be a balance between managing that data while also emphasizing the customer experience through personalization and localized content. When it comes to localization, multi-location brands need to pay special attention to the business locations’ keywords. This will allow you to create content that engages and converts local searchers into customers.

On the topic of content, we must reiterate a point – content is king. As with any other website or page, a local SEO strategy for franchises can benefit greatly from specific and highly relevant local content. Think things like local testimonials, links to client pages, local news and case studies. While also giving you the bonus of engagement and relevancy, you’re also ensuring that your location signals are boosted and you rank higher in SERPs.

As Google algorithms are introduced and search trends continue to morph and become more prominent, developing and implementing a comprehensive local search strategy is imperative to your franchise’s success. Of course, this is only the tip of the SEO iceberg, but there are many resources out there (and many more to come) that will empower your business and help you rise above your competition. Just let us know how we can help!