Are you looking to improve your Local Listing ranks using Local SEO? Franchise organizations have to face unique challenges when it comes to local SEO.
They must maintain a consistent brand identity across all locations while optimizing each location individually.
If you’re a local business looking to improve your SEO, you’re in luck. There are many things you can do to help your website rank higher in search results.
This article will give you 11 of the best local SEO strategies to market any franchise organizations.
Here while you read :
Is Local SEO needed for Franchise Business?
You might be wondering why a Franchise (an already established brand) needs local SEO in the first place. Well, local SEO plays a key role in helping the target customers to find your location.
Local SEO ensures that all the customers in your store’s vicinity are targeted and know about your store, thereby increasing in-store visits and sales.
Let’s take an example to understand why local SEO is needed for a Franchise Business. When you do SEO for your business, you list it on My Google Business, Yelp, etc.
You mention your store’s location on your websites and get listed in local publications and the marketplace.
When you do this, you are making sure that your business reaches your local audience.
For example, if you open a new outlet of your Coffee Franchise in Chicago and have implemented local SEO on it, then anyone searching for “best coffee places in Chicago” or “Best coffee places near me” will automatically be able to see your store.
And because of SEO, they can see your store’s location, which will drive customers to your store directly.
So SEO helped you majorly in two ways: First, it helped you appear in search results, and secondly, it drove customers to your place because of the availability of your store’s location. Thereby increasing your sales.
The 11 Franchise Local SEO Marketing Strategies For Franchisors
1. Use Google Business
Google’s service, the Google My Business application, is one of the most important things for every business, but when you are trying to attract an audience in a certain region within a specific niche, things get even harder.
Putting your business on the map and letting people discover you easily is one of the best ways to maintain your status within your area.
You can also optimize your Google My Business with relative keywords and make sure that when someone searches for something in a specific area, you come up first on the search results, and people will come to you if you have good optimization, reviews, and many more other things that attract people.
2. List Your Locations
Today, searching for a storefront on Google is one of the most convenient methods to locate one.
The search engine displays a map of available alternatives and allows users to acquire GPS instructions to the one they choose in only a few clicks.
You must register your locations if they do not yet display in Google’s map results.
You can use Google My Business to register your business to Google Maps or use other search engine resources to put your business on the GPS of those browsers.
The more you are visible, the more customers you will get.
3. Include Locations on your Website
You should include the location of your franchise stores on your website by creating a “locations” page. You can add stores address, working hours, phone numbers, etc., on the website.
And to make this more interactive, you can also go ahead and add a map showing the store’s location. This will help you in ranking by using keywords specific to your location.
4. Use Correct NAP
NAP refers to the name, address, and phone number, and it is very crucial to use it in the correct format for local SEO. Also, make sure you use this in a similar format for each website.
5. Focus On Location-Based Keywords
Focusing on location-based keywords on your pages is one of the most effective strategies to boost your exposure in local search results.
In crucial parts like title tags, headers, and body content, you’ll want to indicate your location, the sort of business you’re in, and anything geo-focused.
You can also use local landmarks, surrounding tourist spots, and regional names as target keywords.
As a result, your establishment may appear if someone searches for a restaurant near the Statue of Liberty.
This is a wonderful franchise SEO technique because it aids your company’s exposure in search engine rankings.
While many customers use Google Maps and help to identify local businesses, they also rely on search engines when they need to find something quickly.
6. Have One Single Branding For Different Locations
When it comes to franchise SEO, some franchises make the mistake of diverging from established branding.
Colors, logos, and brand identification make major franchises easier to spot.
You risk confusing clients and deterring them from visiting your place if you don’t confirm the established branding.
Branding is equally crucial for your online presence and should be consistent with your shop.
Stick to the same color scheme across your website, and ensure the colors you choose to indicate your business.
You should also stick to your brand’s overall theme and feel.
7. Build Local Backlinks
Building local backlinks can help you immensely increase your reach. But this might be more complicated than it actually seems because you have to look for local businesses for collaboration, and at the same time, you also need to avoid competition.
Try collaborating with local schools and events within your area to make the best out of this.
For example, you can offer free lunch to the students in return for a blog post announcing your collaboration.
8. Build A Marketing Strategy
You must develop a marketing strategy focusing on the population residing in a different location.
You can use variation in your blog posts by pointing out something specific to a certain area instead of general topics.
For example, if you own a hair salon, you can write blogs on how the weather of that particular place affects the quality of your hair.
9. Try To Get Your Customers To Leave Reviews
Online reviews are the lifeblood of a company’s online reputation.
So much so that 84% of individuals believe internet evaluations are just as trustworthy as personal recommendations.
With this in mind, if your shopfront lacks reviews, potential consumers will be hesitant to use your services or come to your store since 72 percent of buyers will not make any purchasing decisions until they’ve read reviews.
The number and quality of reviews on a franchise’s Google My Business listing directly influences its map pack ranking.
That is why having a review collecting system in place is critical, whether inviting consumers to leave a review after a purchase in-store or sending a follow-up email after a service is performed or paying an invoice.
You also need to respond to all reviews you get to create a better impression.
Google even helps you understand this better by signaling that reviews are a milestone for any business online and that you should have as many reviews as possible, with positive ones outweighing the negative ones.
10. Get Your Business Listed On Other Platforms
Other than Google My Business, you can also get your business listed on Yelp, Apple maps, or TripAdvisor.
Here’s how the apple map listing looks:
Here’s how the yelp listing looks:
You can also find niche directories or go for seasonal publications to list your business and drive traffic your way.
11. Optimize Website Title Tags With Local Keywords
Another good way to drive traffic is by optimizing the title of your blog posts.
For example, “Home inspection Chicago,” using this, you are directly tying your page to Chicago, which will make the results more likely to show up in your local area.
Wrap Up
Franchise organizations have a unique opportunity to dominate their local markets by leveraging the power of local SEO.
By following the strategies outlined in this article, you can ensure that your franchise organization is visible online and attracting new customers.
FAQ
Is local SEO or paid search better?
It depends on your specific business goals and needs. Local SEO will be the better option if you want to generate more leads and sales from your local market.
However, the paid search would be better if you aim to reach a wider audience or target customers outside your locality.
Ultimately, the best approach for your business will depend on your specific goals and needs.
What are the local SEO factors?
Many factors contribute to local SEO, but some of the most important include having your NAP (name, address, and phone number) listed correctly and consistently across the web, claiming and optimizing your Google My Business listing, having good reviews, and maintaining a blog with fresh, relevant content.
Additionally, ensuring your website is optimized for local SEO keywords is essential.
Why do all small businesses need local SEO?
The most important reason is that it can help them to be found by potential customers who are searching online for the products or services that they offer.
Local SEO also helps improve a small business’s visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs), leading to increased website traffic and, ultimately, more customers.
What is the difference between SEO and local SEO?
SEO is the process of optimizing a website for Google search to earn higher web traffic levels and improve the site’s visibility.
Local SEO is focused on optimizing a website for local search results. Instead of targeting general keywords with global appeal, local SEO focuses on more relevant keywords to a specific geographic area.
Local SEO is also geared towards gaining higher rankings in local search results instead of global search results.
Amit Gupta is an experienced expert in digital marketing and co-founder of DrFranchises. With more than 11 years of knowledge in franchise digital marketing, SEO, email marketing, and social media marketing, Amit has helped many brands achieve incredible success online. As a passionate entrepreneur and owner of 7 franchises, he continues to study franchise models, looking at costs, revenue, and profitability to guide brands toward profitable growth. When he’s not working on digital marketing, Amit enjoys spending time playing with his beloved dog.