Digital maketing for franchises has its share of difficulties and nuances. At The Langley Group we have provided successful digital marketing for franchises for Christmas Decor, Inception Lighting, Nitetime Decor, Roofing Franchises, Eyecare Franchises, and others over the last decade. Our efficient methods and knowledge of digital marketing software combine with our low midwest prices allow the franchises we market for online to grow and expand.
Here are three things you should do to better market your franchise online.
1. Have your own website.
Many Franchisees make the mistake of depending on the franchise parent to market for them. This is mistake because you are missing out on the localized marketing and depending too much on what really is an inflated directory, i.e. your franchise parent site, to provide leads to your business. Let me explain. When you have your on website you can create a site that ranks high in your area and on the local map because you have a place to put your local business online. Without a website your are relying on a National website that lists many businesses and does not have a chance to appear on local maps in your area. So when someone searches for your service in your local town your local website could show up in search and on the local map bringing potential clients to your business from the search engines.
Your parent franchise directory can not be depended on to provide you with leads. Think about it, Google is how people find information. If I type into Google your service I am going to get a list of service providers that I can reach out to with one click. Google will return phone numbers that I can call directly, local companies near me that I can click to right away. Why would I click into a National site that lists businesses in every State, city, and town then click a business; 5 or 6 clicks later I may or may not find information that Google provided for me from the outset.
2. List your business as "(Franchise Name) BY (Your Business Name).
How you list your business name matters in order to differentiate you to Google from the Parent Franchise. What I recommended to Christmas Decor many years ago and what we did for our Christmas Decor clients is to start with your Franchise name, then add your business name to it. So you have company names like Christmas Decor by Triple R Lighting where the franchise is Christmas Decor but the company name is Triple R Lighting.
This way Google does not confuse your business with the parent Franchise. Granted, if you have a well known fast food joint you would not list your business in the name but that is probably outlined in your franchise contract at that level.
3. Have a separate webpage for each location you have.
Many businesses make the mistake of having their franchise locations listed on one page. This makes it difficuly for Google, a robot (albeit a very very smart robot that is learning at every moment), to determine what phone number and address is correct for your business. Google needs to be able to tell where your locations are, do not put them all on one webpage and think that Google will sort it out. Google will not choose between two differeing pieces of information. It will simply not use either and choose a different company's information that is more likely to be correct to display on their search engine.
Each location should have it's own landing page. On that page should be the Name, address, phone number, hours, and specific unique content for that franchise location. You should also use Schema Markup for the data on these location pages. That is for another day.
The Langley Group knows how to successfully market franchises online from experience and study. We know the life of a franchise owner is Busy and every dollar counts. We are extremely skilled and affordably priced so a franchise owner can grow their co and have all of their technical needs and digital online presence working for them.
Contact us today and learn how we can grow your franchise business.