Marketing a business can seem straightforward. After all, you are promoting a single entity. However, this process can be a bit more complicated for franchise companies.
While a franchise can be considered a single brand, it consists of several branches operating simultaneously across multiple locations. Therein lies the complexity. Geography often influences people’s behavior and buying decisions and, therefore, requires different marketing approaches.
The same principle applies to search engine optimization (SEO) for franchises.
Let’s explore the intricacies of SEO on a franchise and local level and how you can excel at doing both.
Included in this blog:
• What Is Franchise SEO?
• What Is Local SEO?
• Differences Between Franchise SEO vs Local SEO
• Local SEO for Franchise Businesses: 5 Tips
Understanding Franchise SEO and Local SEO
SEO has become a mainstay in many businesses’ marketing strategies, ensuring that their brand appears on top of search engine results pages (SERPs) and in the minds of their target audience.
Franchise businesses use SEO in two main ways: one more general and the other more local.
Let’s explore what each specific strategy entails.
What Is Franchise SEO?
Whether the goal is driving localized traffic or helping customers find individual locations, Franchise SEO is the tool multi location businesses use to improve overall brand visibility online. It refers to the general SEO efforts of a franchise brand, one with multiple locations.
Essentially, this strategy aims to boost the visibility of the entire franchise while ensuring that its individual locations do well on search engines.As a result, franchise SEO services need to operate on at least two levels: a general or national level for the entire brand and a level specific for each of their branches or localities.
What Is Local SEO?
If you’ve ever looked up “restaurants in [location]” or “restaurants near me,” you’ve likely pulled up web pages for businesses using local business SEO strategies.
A local SEO strategy improves a business’s visibility in local search results. It is especially important for companies serving a specific geographic area, such as retail stores, restaurants and service providers.
Local SEO is also a crucial part of franchise SEO and marketing. Since franchise branches operate locally, they will need to use these SEO strategies to target audiences at a hyperlocal level and connect with their immediate community.
The Importance of a Multi-Location Strategy
Franchises face the unique challenge of maintaining a strong, unified brand presence while building strong connections with local audiences.
A comprehensive multi-location strategy can help your franchise achieve and balance local and overall business goals. This approach combines franchise and local SEO elements to create a strong online presence that benefits your overall brand and its individual locations.
Leaning too much on one side or the other can affect your brand identity and your audiences’ perception of your business. Focusing too heavily on franchise SEO can lead to a disconnect with local audiences, while leaning too local might not create a strong, unified brand.
A multi-location strategy is crucial for franchises managing multiple branches across different regions. It helps these businesses achieve long-term success and maximize their market potential.
“By expanding their presence to multiple locations, franchises can increase brand visibility, reach a broader customer base, and capture a larger market share,” said Nanette Taripe, Demand Generation SEO strategist at Thrive Internet Marketing Agency.
“A strong multi-location strategy can help franchises establish a dominant market position and deter competition, setting the stage for continued growth and success.”
Franchise SEO vs Local SEO: What Are the Differences?
As we have established, a multi-location strategy that leverages both franchise and local business SEO is vital for long-term and sustainable growth for your business.
While both a franchise and local SEO strategy are essential, they have some significant differences. How do local SEO vs SEO for franchises differ? Let’s break them down below:
Link Building
In franchise SEO, link-building efforts usually focus on acquiring high-quality backlinks that boost the overall domain authority of the entire franchise brand. This process could mean obtaining these links for each franchise location and the brand as a whole.
Depending on the scale of the business, link-building on a franchise SEO level requires a national or global approach.
“Consistent brand mentions and links from authoritative industry sources should be prioritized to strengthen both the local and overall brand presence,” said Don Gruspe, Demand Generation SEO strategist at Thrive.
These backlinks and mentions build trust and recognition for the entire brand, positively impacting all franchise locations.
Local business SEO takes a different yet related approach. It focuses primarily on acquiring high-quality, relevant backlinks from websites within your geographic area and industry.
Effective strategies include creating profiles on reputable local business directories, like industry-specific sites, general local directories or chamber of commerce pages. You can also collaborate with complementary local businesses for link exchanges or developing joint content.
“Tailoring these strategies to your industry, such as a construction company partnering with local real estate blogs or creating guides on local building regulations, can further enhance effectiveness,” said Michael Deffely, Senior SEO strategist at Thrive.
“Prioritizing building relationships and providing value to your local community is key, as the quality and relevance of backlinks are more important than quantity for local SEO success.”
Content
The content strategy for prioritizing SEO for franchises follows a similar vein as franchise link-building. Franchise SEO content is usually more general, while still remaining high-quality. It primarily aims to establish the brand as an industry authority.
This content could include blog posts, industry news and general informational articles that address common customer questions and showcase franchise offerings. These types of content allow your business to maintain consistency and boost organic visibility.
On the other hand, local SEO content strategies should focus on creating localized content that enhances search rankings and resonates with the local audience.
A key component would be local SEO service pages dedicated to each service you offer, localized for each area you serve through area-specific keywords. For example, an HVAC company employing local SEO services would have a page entitled “AC Repair in [City], [State]” to rank for local searches. You can also use these location-specific keywords on blog posts and other content on your website.
When developing your content strategy, your brand must demonstrate a deep understanding of the local area. You can even partner with local institutions and businesses to expand your reach and create more relevant content for your local audience.
This approach allows you to connect better with your audience and make your brand more approachable and appealing to the community.
Local SEO Strategy for Franchises: 5 Tips To Consider
Implementing franchise SEO services requires focusing on local SEO to ensure they adequately engage local audiences and gain visibility in local search results. To identify any gaps or missed opportunities across individual location websites, you may want to run a franchise SEO audit. The insights derived from your audit can then be used to ensure each one is optimized to drive local traffic, improve rankings and boost overall franchise visibility.
After launching your franchise SEO audit, here are some tips to keep in mind when planning your strategy or working with a local SEO service provider:
1. Create Dedicated Landing Pages
Landing pages are a requirement in local SEO for franchises. These pages allow you to highlight specific service locations and target location-specific keywords. Instead of having a single page listing all your franchise locations, create individual pages for each one to boost your local search rankings.
2. Keep Your NAP Consistent
NAP refers to your name, address and phone number. It’s crucial to keep this information consistent across all platforms, including online directories and social media profiles. Inconsistent NAP information can confuse search engine crawlers and affect your rankings.
3. Find and Use Location-Based Keywords
Thorough keyword research is crucial to any SEO strategy, and local SEO is no exception. When doing SEO for a franchise, include local search terms and keywords that identify specific locations.
For example, instead of just targeting “best burgers,” target “best burgers in [City].” Include these keywords in your blog posts, landing pages, meta descriptions and other important website elements.
4. Set Up Your Online Business Profiles
Online business profiles are another way to boost your local SEO performance. Platforms like Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business), Bing Places and social media pages can improve your local visibility and allow you to collect customer reviews.
Make sure to fill out all relevant sections and add graphics and images whenever possible to make your profiles look more professional and credible.
Screenshot from Google
5. Get Featured on Local Directories
Local directories like TripAdvisor, Yellow Pages and industry-specific directories provide valuable backlinks to your website that improve your local SEO. Getting listed on these platforms increases your chances of improving your local search rankings.
Remember to be selective. Use industry- or location-specific directories to find your target audience more easily. Stick to reliable platforms to boost your credibility and add value to your online presence.
Get Tailored Franchise SEO Services
Understanding and developing strategies for local SEO vs. SEO for franchise businesses can be pretty challenging. However, these efforts are essential to boost your company’s visibility on search engines and reach your target audience.
Dedicated SEO services help minimize the guesswork and time spent refining your SEO strategies for each franchise location.
At Thrive, our expert SEO team will help you conduct thorough SEO audits and craft strategies to raise your search engine rankings. We manage your marketing campaigns from start to finish, allowing you to focus on running your business while.
Contact us today to learn how we can help you launch franchise SEO campaigns that deliver quality leads and boost brand awareness.
