How Franchise's Can Make Use of Local SEO

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Business owners need a solid SEO strategy to rank their stores in many locations. Local SEO is an effective way to increase online and physical store traffic for such franchisees. 

Yet, local SEO includes many things companies can use to get more business. Franchises need to leverage local SEO correctly to get the best benefits. 

What Is Local SEO For A Franchise? 

Local SEO for franchises involves optimizing a website to show on location-based search results. Basic SEO helps business rank their product and services, whereas Local SEO helps people in that particular region find particular outlets. 

For example: If you run an ice cream shop franchise in different locations, local SEO will help each outlet appear in search results. 

10 Local SEO Tips for Franchise

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Below we share 10 local SEO tips and best practices that franchises can follow: 

1. List Every Franchise Location On Google Maps 

Every franchise location should be on Google Maps. People searching for your store can find it if it is on google maps. At the same time, they will get the directions to reach the location.

It is one of the most cost-effective SEO strategies, allowing businesses to get more visibility. Also, it helps businesses establish credibility by showing real locations and images that inspire trust among customers.

How to list franchise location on google maps

• Register on Google My Business 
• Register each franchise location 
• Add contact number 
• Upload Images 
• Add Business hours 
• Optimize each local franchise with necessary information

Here’s a screenshot of a Google My Business profile:

Read: Step-by-step Setup Guide for Google My Business Set up

2. Ask Customers To Leave Reviews

Online reviews are a great asset for any business. They work better than any marketing strategy you can spend money on. Around 84 percent of people trust online reviews; thus, your online storefront must ask customers for them.

Reviews rating for any franchise location on Google My Business Listing will impact your rankings. Also, reviews can contain keyword-related words that can boost your search results.

Tools to ask customers to leave reviews

• Feedbackify – This customer feedback tool allows you to view and filter customer reviews in a single dashboard.
• Clarabridge -It is an extensive customer experience management platform.
• Mopinion- It allows feedback integration with all your digital channels.

Here’s a screenshot of Clarabridge:

3. List Franchise Locations On Yelp

Yelp is another popular platform for customer reviews and ratings other than Google My Business. People can find a review of any business category on Yelp. Also, according to a Harvard business survey, a one-star increase in Yelp rating can increase business revenue by 5-9 percent.

Yelp is a way to improve local SEO for franchise locations as it can help potential customers discover your business faster. They can see store photos, view ratings, and read what customers like about your business.

How to list franchise location on Yelp

•  Sign Up or log in on Yelp
• Click on Add your business to Yelp
• Enter your business information 
• Save your data 
• Click on add other locations to list different franchise locations.

Here’s a screenshot of Yelp:

4. Location-Based Keywords

Key business content elements to rank on search engines include headings, keywords, title tags, and body copy. Optimize all the content should to appear in search results.

Location-based keywords are essential to improve visibility in search results. 

For example: if you have an ice cream shop in London, you need to include the phrase “ice cream shop in London” in your content and the elements listed above. 

Tools to research location-based keywords for website content

• Keywordtool.io
• SEMrush 
• Surferseo 

Here’s a screenshot of keywordtoo.io:

5. Choose Website Strategy

Businesses can add different franchise locations with separate pages on a single website. So, a business can also create separate websites for different franchise locations.

Businesses with a single website that contains page links to different locations generate better SEO rankings. This is because all the authority is in a single place, and it helps new pages get more traffic.

Also, you can add a small map at the bottom of your homepage to show all the local stores within the city that your business has. It is one best practice for a franchise business.

Plugins/extensions for SEO site check-up

• SEMrush
• Smallseotools
• Sitechecker

Here’s a screenshot of Sitechecker:

6. Build Specific Landing Pages For Different Franchise Locations

Most businesses use the main business website for search engine visibility in which they add different franchise locations. While this helps them get higher traffic by leveraging SEO rankings of the main site, a separate landing page can get them more recognition.

Landing pages help franchise locations list specific information and unique selling points. Also, by linking these landing pages with social media accounts and the main website, each franchise location can create greater link equity.

Tools to create a landing page for your franchise location

• MailChimp
• Wix 
• Carrd
  
  

Here’s a screenshot of MailChimp providing templates to create a landing page:

7. Stick To A Brand Identity

Every business must create a unique brand identity and stick to it offline and online. A business can ensure that the brand is easily identified anywhere the franchise location opens and operates. 

New franchise locations can use the brand identity to invite customers who associate with the brand.

For example- McDonald’s is known for its yellow and red brand colors, which appear everywhere, from its logo to staff uniforms. Customers who like McDonald's will visit a nearby outlet when they learn about it opening in their area.

How to leverage brand identity online?

• Announce new store opening with brand name 
• Keep uniforms across stores identical
• Ensure products and services are alike 
• Teach all employees brand guidelines 
• Share photos on social media
• Ask customers to leave reviews 

Here’s a screenshot of KFC’s brand logo. Its brand identity colors are red and white:

8. Include Location-Specific Schema For Franchise Locations

Schema Markup is integral for the success of any website. Schema markup is the data structure of the website that helps search engines understand your website. By better understanding the website content and structure, search engines can accurately rank your page and website.

Websites with location-specific schema appear with attractive items like star ratings, the number of reviews, price structure, and business hours that result in higher visitors.

How to implement schema markup on your website

• Visit Google’s Structure Data Markup Helper
• Choose data for markup
• Paste the URL of the page
• Select the elements to markup 
• Make the HTML
• Use the Schema Validator tool to check schema markup
• Use the Rich results test to troubleshoot 
• Add the schema mark to your web page 

Here’s a screenshot of the Schema Validator tool:

9. Double-Check Nap Of Each Franchise Location

All the hard work can be undone by simple oversight. This is why it is important to double-check the NAP, which stands for each franchise location's name, address, and contact information.

Significantly, franchise landing pages, social media accounts, individual pages on the main business website, etc, all contain the same information. Also, you can list franchise locations on different local directories with citation management tools.

Tools to list specific franchise locations on different local directories

• Brightlocal
• Whitespark
• Moz
• Yext 

Here’s a screenshot of Yext:

10. All GPS Devices Must Be Able To See Your Location

Franchise stores do not only see local people visiting. People on the way can frequently stop if they see a store appear on their GPS devices.

Yet, GPS devices draw information from the point of interest databases. Thus, it is important to submit franchise locations to these databases to appear on GPS devices.

Businesses can create a POI database with online tools and upload it on sites like Garmin and Tomtom. Also, businesses listed on Google Maps and Open Street Maps can create a POI database.

Tools to create and upload POI data for GPS devices

• Basecamp
• Text editor
• POI loader 

Here’s a screenshot of Basecamp:

Key Takeaways

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• List all franchise locations on Google Maps and Yelp
• Request customers to leave reviews on different store pages 
• Use location-based keywords 
• Plan a website strategy and take the next actions 
• Create location-specific landing pages 
• Ensure brand identity is the same across stores 
• Use location-specific schema markup
• Cross-check NAP and upload information on local directories 
• Enable GPS device discovery of franchise stores