7 Franchise Web Development Tips that Franchise Owners Need to Know
Owning and operating a franchise is a great way to expand a small business opportunity, create financial security in a tenuous economy, and even generate substantial passive income over time. Successful small business owners who franchise their business are able to step back somewhat from the demands of business ownership. New, imaginative, and passionate individuals can step up to the helm of the business ship, using their skills and talents to grow individual franchise locations. Now, the work doesn’t stop when a small business owner decides to franchise. Instead, the work simply shifts to include new demands, new requirements, and new marketing strategies.
One of these shifts is in the area of franchise websites and franchise web development. The development and optimization strategies for a franchise website are quite different from the strategies used to market a single small business. For this reason, many franchise owners hire the services of a franchise marketing agency, like ClickTecs. ClickTecs has the resources, experience, and industry knowledge necessary to create a brand new, effective marketing campaign for a new franchise opportunity. Different tactics and strategies will be put into play to transform a business websites into franchise sites.
A successful franchise website starts with these seven basic web development tips for franchise owners. Implementing these strategies will boost a franchise website’s prominence on search results pages and direct interested franchisees to the franchise opportunity.
Constant and Thorough Keyword Research
First, franchise websites must be managed constantly, and effective management requires constant and thorough keyword research. Keyword lists are essentially maps that show what consumers are searching for via search engines like Yahoo or Google. This information changes every day, and staying abreast of the latest keyword trends will ensure that franchise sites are leading consumers directly to the relevant pages. ClickTecs can perform keyword research and niche market studies to decide for what keywords a franchise website should be optimized. This is one of the most important steps of the entire process.
Geographically-Specific Keyword Optimization
It’s also important to consider geography when optimizing and developing franchise websites. Many franchise owners want to expand their businesses locally. Local expansion is beneficial for two reasons. First, the small business can open a franchise in a locale where customers are already familiar with the business name, which drastically reduces the amount of marketing efforts required to generate profits.
Second, many franchise owners need to regularly visit the franchise establishment to ensure that quality, service, customer relationships, and daily operations are up to the franchisor’s standards. If a franchise location opens up hundreds of miles away from the original business location, this task becomes increasingly difficult. Optimizing a franchise website for local keywords will direct local entrepreneurs to the franchise site.
Responsive Web Design
There is no getting around it: responsive web design is the future of web browsing, and it can make or break a company’s reputation. Consumers are browsing on a variety of different devices such as tablet computers, smart phones, and desktop computers. If a consumer visits a franchise website on a tablet, for instance, and finds a poorly laid out website with convoluted content, he or she may automatically assume that the franchise opportunity is of poor quality. This can be devastating for the business.
ClickTecs employs a team of professional web designers who can work with franchisors to optimize and develop a website for various devices. No matter what device a site visitor uses, he or she will see the relevant franchise information displayed in an easily understood way.
Multiple Pages of Information
One common mistake that franchisors make when expanding their businesses is creating a simple, one-page website and leaving their marketing efforts at that. One-page sites can be beneficial for attracting page views, but they are becoming more and more ineffective at generating leads and converting site visitors into interested franchisees.
Investing in a franchise is a massive, life-changing decision, and entrepreneurs cannot be expected to make this decision lightly. If they visit two different franchise websites for two different franchise opportunities, they will immediately begin comparing the information contained on the sites. Multiple pages that answer all possible questions will alleviate an investor’s hesitancy more effectively than a single landing page. ClickTecs can help franchisors develop tiered-page websites that guide visitors through the learning process and lead to profitable conversions.
Content-Oriented Web Design
This, of course, leads to the importance of content-oriented web design. Gone are the days when flashy graphics and web design were enough to keep a site visitor clicking through page after page. Consumers today are looking for content that is thoughtful, interesting, informative, and easy to find. Content-oriented web design presents all the necessary information in a way that consumers can quickly absorb. There is no hunting for answers to questions. There is no need for constant clicking and backtracking to navigate through the website to find information. ClickTecs can help develop franchise sites that are clear and concise.
Specific Landing Pages for Targeted Keywords
While web development and search engine optimization for the main page of franchise websites must use general keywords, it’s also a good idea to diversify keyword strategies through the use of landing pages. Consider a franchise opportunity for pest control in Toronto. Optimizing the main page with keywords for a specific pest, like termites, would be detrimental to the entire site because customers looking for ant, roach, or spider control would never find the main page.
Landing pages, on the other hand, are single pages created for highly specific keywords. The landing page’s sole purpose is to direct consumers to the main page or to encourage consumers to ask for more information. By creating more landing pages, a franchise website can target a wider variety of consumer keyword searches.
Social Media Development and Optimization
Finally, franchise website development should work in tandem with a franchisor’s social media strategy. Social media development and optimization, while not as complex as web development, is an important part of overall marketing success. Many potential franchisees use social media to find new business opportunities, and this method of attracting attention cannot be ignored. ClickTecs can create social media development strategies that mirror web development tactics, and this creates a seamless, consistent approach to marketing that will greatly benefit a franchisor.
Web development is an important first step in franchise marketing. Hiring a marketing agency like ClickTecs, which specializes in franchise web development, will ensure that none of these significant tips are neglected during the most crucial stages of the marketing process.
About the Author : Jamshaid (Jam) Hashmi
A serial entrepreneur with extensive background in franchising and interests in multiple online business channels, Jamshaid (Jam) Hashmi has played an instrumental role in the franchise development and success of a renowned international franchise company. His most recent entrepreneurial interests include launching ClickTecs, a Digital Marketing company specializing in Search Engine Marketing and Social Media Marketing as well as Website and Mobile Application development. In 2007 he co-founded WSI Search Result, an online marketing company that supplies services to Internet Marketing Consultants. A sought after public speaker, Jam has been the featured keynote at many franchise conferences and international summits. He regularly trains ‘C’ Level Executives and supports both new and seasoned business owners on Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media Optimization, Mobile Marketing, Brand Reputation Management and Conversion & Measurement through web analytics. When he’s not scaling the heights of the Internet world, Jam ‘unwinds’ on extreme thrill-seeking adventures from the jungles of the Amazon to the highest summits. His passions include working with NGOs on humanitarian missions to areas around the world affected by disasters and poverty.
