Franchise SEO: Local and National Growth Strategies for Franchises

Franchise SEO is simple. It’s fundamentally section SEO multiplied by the franchise’s fig of locations, right? Wrong!

With much locations travel greater challenges requiring a much nuanced attack than a emblematic section SEO campaign.

In this guide, I stock palmy strategies I’ve utilized to standard SEO for section and nationalist franchises. It’s divided up into 3 cardinal segments.

You’ll find each the tips you request whether you’re a franchise owner, an in-house marketer, oregon an bureau moving with a franchise client.

Franchise SEO (search motor optimization) is simply a selling transmission that improves the visibility of franchises connected hunt engines similar Google. It operates astatine 2 levels: a hyper-local level for each idiosyncratic franchise and a nationalist level for the wide brand.

In a nutshell, SEO for franchises typically involves:

• Keyword probe for section services
• Featuring each franchise successful section directories
• Listing each determination connected representation services
• Creating determination landing pages
• Eliminating duplicated oregon bladed content
• Improving the method setup of the franchise’s CMS
• Tracking results for each location

At a hyper-local level, franchise SEO strategies absorption connected ensuring each franchise is disposable successful section hunt results for the suburb they are located in. This includes visibility of the concern listing in maps.

At a nationalist level, the strategy expands to incorporated the wide brand’s visibility crossed each the cities, states, and regions wherever it has franchises.

There isn’t a azygous SEO attack that works champion for each franchises due to the fact that it depends connected however the website and branded assets are set up.

Let’s look astatine a fewer options you tin see for your franchise’s SEO strategy.

For each franchise determination see doing the following:

1. Establish a accordant section code and telephone number

As with regular local SEO, you request to person accordant name, address, and telephone fig (NAP) details.

Consistency is important due to the fact that these details volition often look elsewhere connected the web. Think of it similar a virtual concern paper that gets shared around. If your concern details are inconsistent, it tin beryllium a confusing acquisition for imaginable customers.

While a regular section concern tin usage the owner’s idiosyncratic mobile fig and location address, this is simply a risky strategy for a franchise since ownership changes are much common.

It’s champion to debar utilizing the franchisee’s idiosyncratic details and found the pursuing instead.

Business name

This is reasonably easy. Add the franchise sanction + the determination connected the end, similar “Xtend Barre Arlington.”

Address

If possible, found an bureau that tin beryllium utilized alternatively of the owner’s location address. Even a virtual bureau is amended to see than someone’s location address.

Phone number

Display a accordant section fig online and guardant each calls to the franchisee’s mobile down the scenes. I urge utilizing a telephone tracking work that tin supply consistent, localized telephone numbers for you to use.

Call tracking allows businesses to link selling efforts to conversions. It besides bridges the spread betwixt online and offline conversion journeys allowing franchise owners and franchisees to spot what selling campaigns performed best.

Better yet, telephone tracking besides solves a unsocial situation for franchises: measuring the occurrence of each location. It’s the champion mode to measure wherever weaknesses successful nationalist visibility may lie.

There are galore ways you tin acceptable up telephone tracking. A basal process would look a small like this:

1. Select a telephone tracking supplier similar CallRail oregon WildJar.
2. Set up public-facing numbers to way (use these connected your website, concern listings, societal profiles, and directories).
3. Set up forwarding truthful each calls spell done to the close idiosyncratic successful the close location.
4. Connect the numbers to your analytics bundle oregon make a dashboard to show conversions.

2. Create a dedicated leafage for each franchise

Creating a landing leafage for each determination is franchise SEO 101. And yet, it inactive surprises maine however galore franchises don’t do this.

Start by designing a template you tin usage for each determination page. Check retired our usher connected location landing pages and guarantee you see the pursuing features successful your template:

• Localize the leafage rubric and H1 title tag
• Feature conversion-focused elements astatine the apical of the page
• Add a representation showcasing the determination of the franchise
• Add images of the premises and unit connected the ground
• If relevant, see adding a abbreviated video oregon virtual tour
• Mention the services disposable astatine the franchise
• Add societal impervious elements, ideally circumstantial to each franchise

You tin spot a large illustration of this successful enactment connected F45’s website.

Each workplace has its ain page. They each travel the aforesaid plan template which makes it casual for the franchise’s web plan squad to adhd caller locations to the website arsenic they open.

While determination are galore templatized elements, determination are besides the pursuing unsocial features for each location:

• A unique, location-optimized heading and statement astatine the apical of the page.

• Contact details for the circumstantial franchise

• The people docket and booking functionality

• The on-the-groud squad moving classes

And portion there’s a batch much F45 could beryllium doing, particularly erstwhile optimizing for non-branded keywords, the SEO show of these pages is not excessively shabby.

These determination pages are a fast-growing conception of F45’s website, reaching astir 45,000 monthly visits successful astir 10 months.

If your franchise doesn’t person specified pages, commencement creating them, pronto.

3. Set up a concern illustration connected Google, Bing, and Apple

If you privation to enactment each of your franchise locations connected the map, you’ll request to acceptable up concern listings connected platforms similar Google Maps, Bing Places, and Apple Maps.

Here’s an illustration of what a elemental listing looks similar connected Google:

It is besides often the lawsuit erstwhile idiosyncratic searches for businesses similar yours ‘near me’ (i.e., with unbranded keywords), your concern listing whitethorn besides amusement up successful what’s called a representation pack, and it looks similar this connected Google:

Setting up your concern listings connected these platforms is escaped and precise straightforward. Click the pursuing links to get started connected each level and travel the set-up wizard oregon prompts.

• Google Business Profile
• Apple Business Connect
• Bing Places for Business

Don’t skimp connected mounting up these concern profiles. Make definite you capable retired each the accusation that you can. Get elaborate with the services you connection astatine each location. Take the clip to adhd images. You get the idea.

When adding a nexus to your website for these profiles, nexus to the franchise’s dedicated landing page, not the wide homepage.

For example, the F45 gym successful Pooler has added this nexus to its Google listing: https://f45training.com/studio/pooler/. It takes visitors straight to the leafage with accusation astir their location. You should travel this strategy for each of your franchises too.

4. Create societal profiles for each location

This extremity seems similar a no-brainer. However, immoderate franchise owners bash not merchandise power of societal media selling to their franchisees. As a marketer, you whitethorn not beryllium allowed to acceptable up these profiles for your client, truthful it’s worthy checking. If this is the case, and there’s nary mode to make customized societal profiles for each location, skip this step.

Otherwise, acceptable up the societal profiles for platforms that marque the astir consciousness for your industry.

Make definite you instrumentality the clip to decently capable retired these profiles arsenic you did for the concern listings connected Google, Bing, and Apple. The aforesaid rules use present too—if there’s a abstraction to adhd information, adhd it. Don’t chopped corners.

Make definite each of your societal profiles links to the dedicated landing leafage for the franchise it represents alternatively of the homepage.

Also, marque definite the lone societal profiles added to each landing leafage are the circumstantial ones for that location. This mode you make a web of links and marque properties for each franchise, which tin assistance boost that franchise’s section authorization arsenic a micro-brand.

Building each location’s marque successful this mode whitethorn marque it easier to fertile for hyper-local keywords alternatively of relying connected the authorization of the nationalist brand alone.

5. Feature each franchise successful section directories

Local directories are the online equivalent of the Yellow Pages. They diagnostic accusation astir businesses successful the section country and relation arsenic a reasonably casual link-building strategy for franchise SEO. They are indispensable for processing each franchisee’s section authority.

A large illustration of a section directory is Yelp. For instance, here’s F45’s Yelp listing for 1 of their studios:

A bully mode to find directories wherever you tin diagnostic your franchises is to usage the Link Intersect study successful Ahrefs’ Competitive Analysis tool. It volition amusement you websites that nexus to your competitors’ sites but not yours.

1. Select the “Referring domains” tab
2. Add your franchise landing leafage successful the “Not linking to target” section
3. Add competitors’ landing pages successful the “But nexus to these competitors” section
4. Click “Show nexus opportunities”

Look done the database of sites for directories that you mightiness privation to adhd your franchise to.

Ideally, each franchise determination should person a bully fistful of section directory listings. When these directories inquire for links to societal profiles, the website, oregon representation listings, adhd the ones you created for that circumstantial location.

Make it arsenic hyper-local arsenic possible, and debar adding the nationalist brand’s location leafage oregon generic profiles arsenic overmuch arsenic possible.

Franchise SEO astatine a nationalist level is wherever things commencement to get much absorbing (and challenging). This is wherever it stops feeling similar a section SEO run multiplied by the fig of locations.

You person to enactment smarter than that to standard occurrence astatine a nationalist level. Here’s however to do that.

Scale keyword research

Normally, scaling keyword probe astatine a nationalist level tin beryllium precise time-consuming.

If you are caller to SEO, I urge you commencement by learning the foundations successful our comprehensive usher connected section keyword research.

Presuming you already person immoderate SEO chops, present are immoderate ways to standard keyword probe for nationalist franchises.

First, place comparative hunt patterns successful your country. For example, let’s accidental you connection mold remediation services. In the United States, “mold remediation” is simply a much fashionable hunt word than “mold removal” oregon “mold treatment.”

However, successful Australia (putting spelling and colonisation differences speech for a moment) it’s much apt that radical volition hunt for keywords containing “removal.” Relatively speaking, “remediation” is searched astir 1/10th arsenic overmuch arsenic “removal” is searched.

Once you place the comparative hunt patterns successful the countries you run in, you tin usage these arsenic a baseline for each your SEO efforts.

You tin besides use these patterns to locations that don’t get galore searches oregon caller franchises earlier you person clip to implicit a thorough SEO strategy.

Now, you tin besides reason that radical don’t truly hunt astatine a granular section level that overmuch anymore. They’re acold much apt to hunt for a work “near me” oregon adjacent to permission the hunt without a determination and expect Google to personalize the results based connected their device’s location.

While my acquisition besides agrees with this sentiment, you bash successful information request to find granular determination keywords if you privation to standard nationalist franchise SEO efficaciously for these reasons:

1. To unify your Google Ads and SEO strategies nationally
2. To way and study connected section visibility much accurately
3. To find untapped determination opportunities to optimize for

Here’s however Ahrefs tin assistance shortcut the process

1. In Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer adhd a database of each services your franchise offers.
2. Add the database of locations and regions wherever you person franchises to the “include” filter.
3. Segment suitable keywords by determination truthful you tin optimize due pages.

For example, let’s accidental you person a mold remediation franchise. You tin adhd a database of each your services and variations successful Keywords Explorer like so:

In the Matching Terms report, you’ll privation to adhd each locations successful the “include” filter and guarantee it’s acceptable to “any word” like so:

Make definite you adhd each of the pursuing here:

• The nonstop suburbs each franchise is located successful and tin service, similar Pasadena oregon Glendale.
• The wide metropolis oregon portion wherever you whitethorn person aggregate franchises, similar Beverly Hills.
• The states you run in, similar California.
• The zip codes for each of the above, similar 90210 for Beverly Hills.
• Any applicable abbreviations for each of the above, similar CA for California.

Then use the filter, and you’ll get a condensed database of work keywords successful the areas applicable to your franchise. You should spot long-tail opportunities similar the following:

The last measurement is to conception these keywords based connected locations truthful you tin people them to the close leafage connected your website. How you operation your website volition power your keyword segmentation truthful let’s look astatine that next.

Establish an SEO-friendly tract structure

Once you person a database of applicable work and location-focused keywords, you request to find wherever to people them. There are a fewer options disposable to you based connected however your franchise CMS is structured.

I urge the 2nd enactment to astir of my franchise and nationalist SEO clients arsenic it provides the champion accidental for ranking some locally and nationally with 1 website. However, the 3rd enactment works conscionable arsenic good if your method ecosystem tin grip managing aggregate website assets.

Option 1: One website and each franchise gets a azygous page

This is simply a precise communal enactment for franchises. It uses a azygous website for the full franchise, and each franchisee has lone 1 dedicated leafage to marque their own. It is the operation F45 uses, for instance.

The URL operation for these pages is usually thing similar www.myfranchise.com/location/franchise-1, and it looks a spot similar this erstwhile rolled retired crossed the full website:

If you take this structure, you volition request to conception each section keywords based connected the franchises for which you make pages. If you find keywords for aggregate services successful a peculiar area, they volition besides beryllium targeted connected the aforesaid leafage for the applicable franchise since determination are nary different pages you tin optimize with them.

You’ll request to make dedicated sections connected each franchise’s leafage for each work to bash this. Here’s an illustration of what that mightiness look like:

Option 2: One tract but each franchise gets a subfolder that tin beryllium optimized

This enactment involves creating a mini contented hub for each franchisee. It opens up much SEO opportunities and allows you to people circumstantial services successful each determination better.

Essentially, alternatively of targeting each services connected 1 page, similar the erstwhile option, you tin make abstracted pages for each work successful each location.

The URL operation would beryllium thing like:

• /new-york
• /new-york/plumbing
• /new-york/gasfitting

When you make aggregate hubs crossed your website, it whitethorn look akin to this:

This enactment offers galore advantages for SEO show if you tin make unsocial and invaluable contented for each location. You tin conception your keywords astatine 2 levels: by determination and by service.

But, you should debar utilizing templated sections oregon simply spinning contented betwixt each hub arsenic this could pb to duplicate contented issues. Instead, lone make these hubs successful the locations wherever you person a beardown beingness and tin adhd E-E-A-T factors to differentiate your contented astir the aforesaid work from different locations.

Option 3: Multiple websites oregon subdomains, 1 for each large location

Although rare, immoderate franchises let franchisees to physique their ain dedicated website either connected a abstracted domain (myfranchiseflorida.com) oregon arsenic a subdomain (florida.myfranchise.com).

While the SEO assemblage debates whether subdomains oregon subfolders are better, we’ve recovered nary discernable SEO payment to choosing 1 implicit the other.

So if it makes consciousness wrong your CMS to make a subdomain for each determination oregon to springiness each franchisee a abstracted website, spell for it.

Here’s an thought of what that ecosystem mightiness look similar erstwhile segmenting your keywords:

Create determination contented and internally nexus it together

Many franchises hide to optimize their websites for the wide cities and locations wherever the marque has a presence.

For example, F45 has aggregate gyms successful New York:

And determination are rather a batch of searches for gyms successful New York:

However, F45’s website does not person a leafage optimized for gyms successful New York, truthful it doesn’t fertile for immoderate of these keywords.

The solution is simple. Create pages for the wide regions, cities, and states where:

• You person a presence, adjacent a azygous franchisee successful the country is enough.
• And, determination is immoderate hunt measurement for your services successful the area.

Design the pages to accommodate aggregate locations, and to programmatically adhd caller locations arsenic you adhd them to your website.

You tin either plan specified a conception utilizing representation functionality, like so:

Or you tin simply make cards oregon listings for each location, like so:

Source

As you program these pages, see the interior linking opportunities you tin capitalize on. Ideally, you tin adhd a clump of interior links programmatically truthful that you don’t request to interest astir this arsenic caller locations are added to your website.

Here’s what that mightiness look like:

• Link from the determination leafage to each franchise wrong the region.
• Link from each suburb oregon franchise leafage to the applicable determination pages.
• Cross-link adjacent regions and suburbs to each other.

Track show for each region

Implementing scalable franchise SEO strategies is 1 portion of the puzzle. The different is your quality to show the show of each determination hub.

Thankfully, segmenting and monitoring keywords by determination is reasonably casual with Ahrefs. We connection 3 options depending connected what works champion for your concern model:

1. Track pages for each portion utilizing Portfolios
2. Set up customized location-specific tags successful Rank Tracker
3. Use the Ahrefs API to amusement determination show wrong your ain analytics dashboard

The easiest enactment is to acceptable up a abstracted portfolio for each portion you privation to way and adhd each pages applicable to that portion wrong the portfolio.

While this is suitable for smaller franchises without galore locations oregon regions to acceptable up, it whitethorn not beryllium suitable for larger franchises oregon for those who privation to comparison their stock of dependable against competitors successful the aforesaid regions.

In this case, our Rank Tracker is simply a acold much suitable option. Set up a caller task and adhd your keywords, taking the clip to tag each keyword with the applicable region.

Tags volition assistance you conception the information to spot however circumstantial regions execute compared to others.

Once the task is acceptable up, you tin navigate to the “Tags” study to spot metrics for each portion you created arsenic a tag. Here’s an illustration of immoderate tags we’ve acceptable up connected our ain website:

You tin besides adhd immoderate competitors and show their visibility for the aforesaid regions. The Competitors > Tags study volition beryllium particularly adjuvant to amusement you the areas wherever competitors whitethorn person stronger hunt visibility than you.

And finally, if you already person an existing dashboard oregon analytics platform, you tin usage our SEO API to propulsion show information into the aforesaid dashboard automatically.

It’s the fastest mode to standard show tracking nationally and show hunt visibility for each of your franchise locations. However, you’ll apt request to enlist the assistance of your developers to get the shot rolling.

Implementing franchise SEO champion practices whitethorn beryllium challenging depending connected the circumstantial CMS utilized to make the franchise website and however the tract has been set up.

Here are the astir communal challenges to look out for.

1. Scaling SEO connected a customized CMS tin beryllium difficult

Many franchise sites are built connected customized CMS’ that are not inherently SEO-friendly. These CMS’ whitethorn contiguous method challenges if they bounds your quality to optimize the method setup.

If you’re an bureau oregon freelancer moving with a franchise, larn the CMS and what’s imaginable for SEO earlier quoting connected services oregon promising results. In particular, marque definite you larn about the:

• Technical capabilities for customizing SEO essentials similar sitemaps, robots.txt files, and permalinks
• Ability to adhd contented and links to pages programmatically
• Customization options for leafage layouts and design

2. There’s a precocious hazard of duplicated contented oregon doorway pages

Franchise websites are astatine hazard of duplicate content, often caused by templated pages that bash not let franchisees to adhd unsocial accusation astir their locations.

This is wherefore I’m a large advocator of adding customized elements to your templates and lone creating pages for which you tin adhd unsocial information.

To diagnose if your franchise tract has a precocious grade of duplicate content, cheque retired the Duplicates study successful Ahrefs’ Site Audit tool.

3. Maintaining marque consistency and SEO governance

Maintaining marque consistency and SEO governance tin beryllium a situation arsenic your franchise grows.

While it’s tempting to minimize the magnitude of contented each franchisee tin adhd to the website and the societal profiles they’re allowed to create, doing this tin wounded your full brand’s visibility astatine a nationalist level.

Instead, you tin effort centralizing your selling efforts by:

• Sharing a elaborate marque usher with each franchisee, marketer, oregon stakeholder progressive successful promoting the brand.
• Considering a headless CMS that allows non-technical franchisees to marque edits without needing developers. This setup besides minimizes the hazard of publishing mistakes.
• Hiring an bureau oregon selling squad that works with each franchisees and maintains marque consistency crossed each assets.

Grow your franchise’s SEO visibility with Ahrefs

When implemented correctly, franchise SEO improves your franchise’s visibility successful hunt engines astatine some a section and nationalist level.

But, it tin beryllium hard to standard franchise SEO without the close tools to help. With Ahrefs you can:

• Search up to 10,000 section work keywords with one click
• Monitor stock of dependable and postulation worth for each location
• Track show for each determination against competitors
• Audit method issues successful any CMS
• Use our API to automate show + rival tracking

Feel escaped to contact our endeavor team to spot however we tin assistance you turn your franchise’s SEO visibility today, oregon scope retired to maine connected LinkedIn if you person immoderate questions I tin answer.