No-Nonsense Marketing Tips From A Franchise Marketing Agency

Today’s post skips the lengthy preamble and cuts straight to 3 no-nonsense franchise marketing tips, courtesy of our established franchise marketing agency. Read on or call now for a free quote and consultation.

1.  Optimize Google My Business With A Franchise Marketing Agency

In a 2018 study of the top ranking factors, Google My Business (GMB) signals swept the #1 spot in all tests. Today, GMB is one of the most popular review aggregators, and one of the first places users look for business contact information. Its prominent position on the SERP, with a dedicated sidebar and Google Maps listing, makes it even more valuable than the coveted #1 SERP franchise marketing agencies traditionally fight over, at least in terms of local marketing.

If you’ve not yet partnered with a franchise marketing agency, start optimizing your GMB today by implementing the following tips:

• Ensure all franchise information is accurate, comprehensive, and up to date (e.g. address, name, phone number, website, description, category, attributes, etc). According to Neil Patel research, errors here account for over 40% of all GMB page problems.
• Add a picture—A Synup study found that “listings with photos are 2x as likely to be considered reputable and get 35% more clicks.” Ideally, include a profile picture, cover photo, and video when possible.
• Ask for reviews (and respond to them)—One study found that 90% of people read reviews before purchasing; another 2016 report suggested that 53% of consumers search for local businesses at least once per month. Google My Business actively encourages user to ask for reviews, and our franchise marketing agency recommends responding to all customer feedback, both positive and negative. A simple “Thanks!” will suffice for positive reviews, while negative reviews give you an opportunity to publicly address (or, in some cases, deny) posted concerns.
• Leverage GMB messages to speak directly with customers, answer questions, and address concerns. Studies show that direct messaging has comparable conversion rates to mobile advertising.

2.  Assess Your Local Website With Our Franchise Marketing Agency Checklist

If a Google search brought you here, that means you’re researching franchise marketing, and you probably already know how important website design is for your online ranking.

In short, business owners whose websites were not built or optimized by franchise marketing agencies often run afoul of Google penalties, which restrict visibility for webmasters engaging in practices that are against Google guidelines. This has nothing to do with active “blackhat” exploitation practices—anyone can blunder into these Google penalties by failing to optimize their website.

For example, messy websites that are tough to navigate and slow to load often receive Google penalties as a way of maintaining a certain standard with all the top SERPs; Google wants to provide the best possible search experience, which means keeping subpar websites out of their top spots. In this example, the webmaster did nothing overtly wrong—they’re not spamming keywords or using bad links to try to game the system—they just didn’t know better.

The best way to stay above board with all your franchise website architecture is to partner with a franchise marketing agency, but using our checklist is a close second.

Some of the following franchise website criteria have appeared in Moz’s SEO Local Search Cheat Sheet and the Search Engine Journal, while others have been acquired through independent research and decades of experience.

Begin with our local website content checklist:

• Does your franchise website have well-structured pages with clear, unique selling propositions and obvious calls-to-action?
• Is the contact info on the contact page or location landing pages 100% accurate? Does it include accurate hours, maps, and written driving directions?
• Do you have unique pages dedicated to 1. every location of your multi-location business; 2. every key service and product offered; and 3. every public-facing practitioner or expert (if applicable)?
• Did you embed unique reviews and testimonials in location landing pages?
• Does each page contain a unique title tag, trimmed to no more than 50-60 characters?
• Did you include links/”buttons” leading to social media assets, local business profiles, and review profile pages?
• Does your website contain high-quality, accessible media (e.g. compressed photos with alt tags; video with transcriptions)?

Next, move onto our technical checklist (if these terms get a bit too technical, don’t hesitate to contact our franchise marketing agency for a layman’s walkthrough!):

• Is there usable navigation and strong internal linking structure?
• Is the franchise website fast and mobile-friendly?
• Are secure HTTPS URLs in use?
• Are proper HTTP redirects in place?
• Is there proper URL canonicalization?
• Is the header tag structure and usage consistent?
• Are all URLs short, optimized, and readable by human beings?
• Does each page contain a unique meta description, edited to around 160 characters?

3.  Cultivate Quality Reviews For Better Search Engine Visibility

Do online reviews really matter? It’s a highly subjective question with support on both sides, and a different answer depending on how you look at it.

On one hand, a 2016 study published in the Journal of Consumer Research found very little correlation between product reviews and objective quality measurements. For instance, take this charming 2-star review on Shakespeare’s classic work, Hamlet:

Thanks a lot, Kate!

On the other hand, despite the dubious quality of many negative reviews like Ms. Bishop’s, plenty of statistics suggest that positive reviews influence consumers all the time. For instance, Hosting Tribunal curated the following findings:

• Online product reviews can increase conversion rates by more than 270%
• Customers willingly spend 31% more on businesses with great reviews
• 72% of customers won’t take action until they’ve read reviews
• A single business review can lift conversions by 10%
• 91% of millennials trust online reviews as much as friends and family

So what’s the verdict? When it comes to franchise marketing, reviews matter, regardless of how you feel about their impact on consumer perceptions and buyer behaviors. That’s because the quantity, diversity, and velocity of reviews directly affects your franchise website visibility. This is borne out by conclusive research from the Moz team.

Back in 2018, Moz conducted an ambitious correlation study investigating the most important Local Search Ranking Factors. Weighed alongside 8 other important metrics, like citation signals and social media engagement, review signals ranked #3 with an influence level of 15.44%.

Thus, according to Moz research, reviews are more influential for local search ranking than on-page signals, citation signals, behavioral signals, personalization, and social signals. Google My Business signals still rank number-one, but review signals are nearly tied for the number-two position, barely 1% less influential than link signals occupying that spot.

You can learn more about how to cultivate positive reviews on our Online Reputation Management page—or by calling 866-311-7189 and starting a free consultation.

Get A Free Quote From A Franchise Marketing Agency

Hungry for more franchise marketing tips? Our franchise marketing agency can talk shop all day.

Call 866-311-7189 or fill out the contact form on the ClickTecs Contact Page to book your free consultation with our franchise marketing agency.