Most franchisors have not found themselves in such a position by chance. Those who reach the point where they are able to take what was once a one or two-man band and branch out into a local or national franchise are likely to have done so with a shrewd business head, a knack for excellent decision-making, a top-draw product or service and, perhaps most importantly of all, a lot of hard graft.
Invariably, it is in the interest of a franchisor for all of its franchisees to perform well and bring in as much custom as possible. Whether we’re talking about three or four franchises within a small cluster of nearby villages, or thousands of branches all over the word, the franchisor benefits from taking a real interest in each and every one.
Of course, franchisors can’t possibly be in every one of their locations at the same time, which is where the internet comes in. With the world at their fingertips, franchise owners can use search engine optimisation to target the local markets of all their franchisees without leaving their seats.
A steady landing
When people use Google, or any other search engine, they are usually aware of the enormous database of websites it crawls though to bring out its results. For this reason, a person looking for a service will normally narrow down and cherry-pick their results by adding their location to the service they require (for example, “cleaners in Manchester”). This is where landing pages come in.
Landing pages are not normally something that someone already on a site will stumble upon; they exist to draw people into the site who have searched for what the company offers. That’s not to say that they shouldn’t be interesting and well-written, however; Google is well-drilled enough to be able to identify poorly-written and keyword-stuffed pages. It’s also worth remembering that while a lousy landing page might still bring people to a site, it is less likely to keep them there if it’s not worth reading.
SEO companies and content providers can make this process a smooth one, and take the time and research off the hands of the franchisor who, let’s be honest, has other ways to use his or her time aside from creating landing pages.
Making use of local knowledge
On-the-ball franchisors will be aware that their franchisees probably know their area better than they do, so they should make sure they keep in close contact with them and seek their opinions. It’s a good idea to add a news feed to a site, as Google loves pages that are regularly updated with fresh material. Franchisors should therefore ask their franchisees to keep their ears to the ground for local, industry-relevant news going on in their areas.
With each branch of the franchise ticking over nicely, franchisors can rest assured that the overall franchise is in good shape, that the brand name is maintaining an excellent image and that they are in good stead for further expansion in the future.