Online Marketing for Multi Location Businesses LOCAL SEO FOR MULTI-LOCATION BUSINESSES AND FRANCHISES
SEO for Multi-Location Businesses – What is the Best Strategy for Local Search?
Local Businesses Must Be Marketed Locally!
The first thing that we need to agree on is the fact that a franchisee, licensee, dealer, distributor or agent is a “Local Business” and in order for this local business to be successful in a geographically delineated marketplace the business must be marketed locally.
It cannot be overlooked that even though the individual location may be part of a national organization, each physical location is truly a stand-alone local business and is competing directly in their local marketplace and therefore must be marketed as an individual business in order to maximize their online exposure, enhance lead generation and ultimately ensure their long-term success.
This is evidenced by research that shows the number of searches that have “local intent” is increasing rapidly (currently over 60%). Local intent simply means that instead of searching for the generic phrases “in-home care” or “senior housing advisor”, people are actually searching for more geographically targeted phrases such as “best in home care agency Northbrook, IL” or “senior housing advisor Dallas TX”. When you think about it, it makes perfect sense. The search engines want to return results that are most relevant to the searcher’s query. If you live in Chicago and you need in-home care for your elderly parent, why would you search simply for “in-home care”, when a more targeted search with local intent (i.e. best in home care agency 60618) is more likely to provide you with the results you are looking for?
Why most multi-location businesses fail at local SEO
Most multi-location organizations fail at local SEO because they choose the wrong strategy or are simply afraid to relinquish enough control to empower their location owners to become successful. It’s a double edge sword. On one hand the organization wants to control everything that the location owner does, while strictly limiting the way that their products or services are presented, promoted and sold. And on the other hand, these limitations are, in many cases, holding back many of the organization’s “top-producers” from directly growing their businesses and limiting the revenue generating abilities of the location owner. If your business revenue model is based on fees and royalties, as are many franchise and license agreements, it would seem to be in the best interest of the organization to empower their location owners to grow their business, expand market share and become more successful. Unfortunately that is not always the case.
By employing proper local SEO strategies for each of your locations, the resulting increase in targeted traffic and online lead generation would serve as a positive motivator, increasing each location owner’s enthusiasm and satisfaction while providing the organization with an excellent marketing tool to share with other potential parties interested in your business opportunity.
Don’t believe what the mega-providers are selling you – we have proof!
Most of the franchise “experts” and multi-location “gurus” will have you believe that a centralized approach using location pages or microsites is the perfect solution for your organization. They will also do their best to talk you into using pay-per-click ads on search engines and display advertising on social platforms as the go-to solution to promote your individual locations.
Don’t Fall for this Trap
The reason they want you to engage in pay-per-click advertising is because it is “idiot-proof”. Anyone can rank in search if you bid enough for your keywords.
What they don’t tell you is the fact that 70-80% of search engine users are ignoring the paid ads and are only focusing on the organic results.
Look at it this way –
- Pay-per-click advertising gives you immediate ranking, however a vast majority of search engine users ignore these ads AND the minute you stop paying for your ads, your ranking stops.
- Organic SEO provides long-term value for your brand, products and service by employing on-page and off-page strategies that will rank your website for your geographically targeted keywords resulting in qualified local lead generation opportunities and delivering a solid ROI.
We have proven time and time again that professionally developed marketing websites that are structured properly and promoted at the local level consistently outrank cookie cutter corporate location pages and microsites, period. If your current website or SEO provider is telling you otherwise, it might be time to talk to us to get the real story.
Whether you are a rapidly expanding franchise or multi-location organization, a recent startup or established industry leader, our professional team is ready to guide you through the process.
Contact us today to see how we can help maximize the online marketing efforts of your multi-location organization.
Get a free advanced SEO analysis Results driven search engine optimization is essential to the long-term success of your multi-location organization.
Local marketing websites for your location owners are key components to the success of any local marketing strategy. Creating dedicated local websites that are relevant to your local customers drives targeted traffic, improves local lead generation and enhances revenue while building long-term value in your brand. It also builds trust with your locations’ customers. Marketing local websites presents an incredible opportunity to grow and reach local customers like never before.
Most Multi-Location Businesses Fail at Marketing SEE HOW WE CAN HELP GENERATE TARGETED TRAFFIC AND LOCAL LEADS
Multi-Location Consulting Your strategy needs to be different...
Regardless of your industry, properly managing your brand while employing effective online marketing strategies that engage consumers at the local level can be extremely challenging.
Multi-Location Websites Your websites need to be different...
Location pages or cookie-cutter microsites full of duplicate content are not the answer for your multi-location business. We give your location owners to tools they need to succeed.
Multi-Location Marketing Your marketing needs to be different...
See how our multisite marketing strategy gives your location owners the tools they need to generate quality local leads and increase revenue, while still protecting your brand
Get a Free Consultation Schedule a free 30 minute consultation to see how we can help.
Responsive Website Design Desktop.Tablet.Mobile – One Site for Every User
Responsive web design is the process of building websites that adapt and resize automatically to smart phones, tablets and desktops.
In case you haven’t realized it, mobile web browsing has now surpassed desktop browsing in popularity. Responsive web design has removed the need for a mobile website because responsive sites have the ability to scale up and down, regardless of device, including those that have yet to be invented. The industry has adapted, and adapted well. Google has taken steps from encouraging businesses to design responsive websites to downright punishing those that don’t.
Brand Protection Local Marketing Websites That Enhance Your Brand
While each franchise or licensed business opportunity has its own set of unique sales and marketing challenges, most multi-location organizations impose tight control on location owners and enforce strict guidelines on how their product or service is presented, marketed and ultimately sold.
Our multisite marketing strategy gives your location owners the tools they need to generate local lead and increase revenue, while still protecting your brand.
Inbound Marketing Don't Interrupt Buyers - Attract Them
Inbound marketing refers to marketing strategies that bring visitors in, rather than you having to go out to get the attention of a prospective client, customer or lead. Inbound marketing earns the attention of consumers, makes your company stand out from the crowd, be easily found online and drives targeted traffic to your website by producing interesting, relevant content.
This is in direct contrast to outbound marketing, where marketers attempt to go “out” and find customers.