3 Common Mistakes Franchise Brands Make Online

Andrea Ramirez | Jun 11, 2015 12:30:00 PM

3 Min Read

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chalk-boardSince we'll be attending the Franchise Consumer Marketing Conference this month we decided to address 3 common pitfalls all franchises need to avoid to enhance their online discoverability. From local pages to local advertisements, learn how your franchise can optimize the customer journey and guide them down the path to purchase. 

Mistake #1: Not having Local Pages

Why this is a problem: Consumers expect to find all of the answers they’re looking for online, including information on your brand’s nearest store locations. With near me” searches on the rise, franchises must ensure that their websites are optimized to meet these consumers the moment they're searching for answers. If your franchise is not optimized with local SEO you’ll decrease the chances consumers find your locations within Google and Bing’s search results and increase the chance they find your competition.

How to fix it: Local pages provide local specific information for your customers while helping boost your SEO in the process. Providing the most relevant location with the correct information will ensure your consumers receive the information they need. Where2GetIt's local pages empower enterprise level businesses to compete at the local level by sharing location-specific content like store coupons, regional events or in-store details.

Learn more about Where2GetIt's local pages with the video below:

 

 

Mistake #2: Not Claiming and Optimizing Local Listings

Why is this a problem: If your franchise locations are not claimed your consumers may be looking at outdated information or duplicate listings from sources that are not credible. This means that they may call the wrong phone number, drive to the wrong address, or try to visit a store location after it’s closed. Reviews are playing a major role in the customer journey, so it’s critical that the information found on these channels are correct and consistent for every location.

How to fix it:  Much like local pages, optimize your franchise’s claimed listings with location specific promotions and events will engage more searchers. When your brand claims locations online across The Big Six, not only are you ensuring the information being sent to the world is correct but you will be able to monitor your online reviews as well. If you want to do this at the corporate level, you may need some help with manual claiming, and that’s where we come in.

Contact us for more information on our manual claiming process.

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Mistake #3: Not Creating Local Online Advertisements

Why it's a problem: National advertising delivers multiple and sometimes irrelevant messages to your local target audience. With local advertising your franchise is able to customize messages to a specific region, city, or neighborhood for higher relevancy with consumers. Furthermore local advertising is the most cost-effective way to find new customers in today's mobile-driven world since intent to buy is higher for local “near me,” searches than national searches.

How to fix it: Create and optimize campaigns for each location. This will ensure that your budget is allocated appropriately and that the appropriate message is reaching your target audience. For more information on how Where2GetIt improved advertising for a national brand download our case study.

Do you have any other common mistakes franchise brands need to avoid? Leave a comment below!

Topics: Local Advertising

Andrea Ramirez

Andrea Ramirez

Andrea is the Social Media and Content Writer Specialist at Brandify.

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