Many franchises do not allow you to have your own website. But never fear. A properly optimized Google Local Listing can still drive you tons of business through the Internet.
Not too long ago, a frustrated franchise owner approached me at a tradeshow. The franchisee wanted to create his own local website – but the franchise company wouldn’t allow him to do so. So, he wanted to see if there were ways to market his business online without breaking any franchisee rules.
It is actually a very common practice for franchise companies to have a single corporate website and not allow each franchisee to maintain their own, local one. Fortunately, there’s a way around this – local search.
Local search is the use of specialized Internet search engines that allow users to search for business listings in a certain geographical area. For example, a user may type “Vancouver downtown pizza” into a search engine. A map will pop up with many balloons representing many pizza restaurants near the city’s downtown core. When the user clicks on one of the balloons, the address, phone number, and reviews of the pizza restaurant will come up.
Several local search providers, including Google, Yahoo, Bing, and Yelp, have this feature. For this article, we will focus on Google because it gets the most searches.
Here are surefire ways to rank higher on Google Local Search, so your franchise business comes up on the map under related keywords:
1. Claim your free Google listing
The first step is to claim the free Google listing for your franchise business. This step alone will help boost your ranking on Google maps, as a verified listing tells Google it has the most accurate and up-to-date information on your business location.
You can claim your listing by searching for your address on Google Maps, and clicking on it. Go to your Google Places page and click on the “Business Owner?” link on the upper right corner. Alternatively, you can sign up at http://www.google.com/local/add/businessCenter.
2. Select proper categories and keywords
Next, you want to make sure you select all the related categories, and add all related keywords for the products or services you offer. This will help Google determine when your listing should appear on Google maps. In less competitive markets, this action alone can help you appear first in the local searches when a user searches for a related keyword that you have input.
3. Add product and service keywords in your business description
If possible, add some of your keywords into your business description, including your location. This will help boost your local search rankings for those particular keywords. Make sure your business description still reads clearly to potential customers!
4. Add at least 10 good photos
Add at least 10 high-quality pictures of your location and products or services to your listing. Providing visuals is like giving a friendly, welcoming shout-out to potential customers. Not only will Google boost your rank because you’re improving the appeal of your listing, your clicks-to-calls rate will also improve because your potential customers get a better sense of who you are.
5. Ask your customers to write you reviews
Having reviews, positive or negative, helps your rankings in Google local listings. One of my clients got “attacked” by a competitor writing multiple negative reviews about his business. As a result, his rankings went up even higher! Of course, positive reviews are more likely to generate sales for your franchise.
6. Start adding off-page citations
Finally, try to get your business mentioned in as many off-page citation sources as you can. Off-page citations are mentions of your business, address and phone number in trusted business directories and data providers such as YellowPages and Yelp.
For a more comprehensive list, visit our blog at http://tinyurl.com/localcitations.
Martin Wong is a partner and chief marketing officer at SmarttNet. Martin is responsible for the online development and the overall marketing vision of SmarttNet while simultaneously overseeing the creation of a new Internet Marketing Department. With over 10 years’ experience in online marketing, Martin combines his extensive abilities and Google certifications to provide informed and testable business solutions. Martin holds a double Bachelor’s degree from UBC. Martin may be reached at 604-473-9700 or martin@smartt.com.