Seo For Franchises

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As a franchisee, it is important to realize that the tools and techniques you will use to optimize your site are slightly different than typical search engine optimization techniques. Understanding the concepts of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and how they apply to a franchise business is critical as you begin to develop and market your website. Many franchisees erroneously assume that by following the optimization programs that are advertised on the internet, they will have completely finished their site. Be sure you focus on SEO for franchises in order to properly optimize your site.

First, determine how your particular franchise handles websites. In some instances, corporate may have a single website to which all franchisees are linked. If this is the case, your optimization job may be more involved in social media, and sites like Yelp and City Search. If your franchise allows you to develop and maintain a separate website, you will need to decide if you want to handle your SEO in house or hire a third party to implement your Search Engine Optimization yourself.

In some cases, the SEO process is actually ...
... easier for franchisees. This is especially true of link building. Link building is a major component of SEO, mainly because search engines use the number of inbound links on a website as part of their formula to rank sites. Because franchisees are working, at least in part, as part of a team to grow the brand, link building can be potentially much easier. It is far better to build a link list than to purchase or trade links. Buying links may save you time, but it is likely that many of the links will be irrelevant or just have low value in the eyes of Google.

However, link building beyond the norm is what truly separates the men from the boys and to get to page 1 of Google, you have to accept nothing less. 68% of all searchers don’t go past the first page. So, you need to commit to extensive keyword research, constant (weekly) additions of new articles, daily blogging, press releases, and much more. It is not enough to just create the content. It must be implemented with skill and widely syndicated to generate high quality and high quantities of Backlinks. Backlinks are the key differentiator used by the search engines to actually rank sites for relevance and authority.

Geo SEO is incredibly important for franchise owners. Every franchisee should take the time to register their site with applicable local directories. These directories, like Google Maps, are an excellent source of potential clients for a brick and mortar business. Registering for them only takes a few minutes, but the payback really packs a punch.

Like any solid SEO campaign, a franchisee SEO campaign must be built on a list of unique and relevant keywords. Some keywords will perform better than others and it is up to you to decide which ones to use. It is a great idea to look at fellow franchisee websites as well as the corporate website in order to begin your research. Keep in mind that your fellow franchisees could be part of your competition, so you will want to find words that are similar to theirs, but more unique. For example instead of ‘diner’ consider ‘Tampa diner.’

Social media can also play a large role when optimizing a franchisee website. Utilize social media tools like polling buttons and discussion boards to really get your name out there. Be sure to include relevant links back to your own website in order to cash in on the added inbound link.

Implementing a successful SEO program for your franchise will take a lot of time and work. If you don’t have the time because you are busy running your own business, contact us for a free initial consultation.