4 Smart Franchise SEO Tactics for Managing Multiple Locations

Today’s post fires off 4 smart franchise SEO tactics for companies managing multiple locations.

Steer clear of superfluous website mistakes.

The #1 mistake we see with multi-location franchise SEO is the creation of unique websites for every single location. This not only throws your brand in competition with itself, but creating potentially dozens of superfluous sites also consumes valuable time and money that could be spent building your bottom line instead.

The best approach uses one main business site (e.g. YourBusiness.com), which hosts individual location pages on subdomains (e.g. City.YourBusiness.Com) or subdirectories (e.g. YourBusiness.com/City) – Google has said there’s not much difference between the two when it comes to franchise SEO.

Each location page needs:

• Address
• Phone Number
• Hours
• Embedded Google Map
• Location-specific specials or services
• 300+ words of unique content that contains city-based keywords
• Links to directories (more on these later!)

Grow your online presence with ancillary web assets.

Your website will always be your primary web asset, but that doesn’t mean it should consume your entire focus. Growing your online footprint beyond your own site is a great franchise SEO strategy that helps the overall brand as much as it does individual franchise locations. Generally speaking, the more sites you can have featuring, discussing, or promoting your brand, the better, particularly in competitive markets.

Naturally, this means maintaining a presence on all of the major social media platforms (more on that later), but that’s not all there is to it. Specifically, you’ll need to make sure your business appears in all local directories, and that all relevant business data is accurate therein. You can find these directories manually, search for lists that others have compiled online, or get in touch with a member of our team at 866-311-7189 for our top picks.

When updating directories, make sure you pick a consistent data entry style/naming convention and stick to it. This is sometimes referred to as the “NAP” (Name, Address, Phone number). For example, if your company is called “Franchise SEO Wizards,” make sure individual locations are all listed in the same format when relevant city information is included, such as “Franchise SEO Wizards [City].”

You can learn more about managing local directories and otherwise expanding your visibility in local search at https://clicktecs.com/local-search-optimization/.

Create dedicated location pages.

This practice is essential for getting prospects to see your company when searching in local geographic markets. Individual, properly-optimized location pages tells Google that your location is unique and deserves a distinct spot in local search results.

Without dedicated location pages, users may be redirected to the corporate website. And while this isn’t the end of the world (most corporate sites will at least direct users to maps or link bays where they track down their local store), it’s certainly not optimal for franchise SEO. And it adds a few unwanted steps to them getting help with whatever local issue they need solved, which can cost you business.

Give us a call at 866-311-7189 to discuss how best to optimize your individual location pages.

Leverage your franchisees on social media.

Encouraging your franchisees to set up and manage individual location pages on social media is a great way to bolster your web presence and win more local searchers. Besides, your franchisees will already need to be running unit-specific Facebook business pages so to optimize their online reputation management, audience engagement, and promotional reach.

Of course, you will need to disseminate and enforce brand standards, as we all know consistency is key in the franchising world. Consider circulating memos on appropriate voice and best practices, and even sending out content templates or intra-franchise “stock images” to maximize brand consistency.

Ready to learn more about multi-location franchise SEO? Book a free consultation to learn more at https://clicktecs.com.