Megan Michelakos

September 7, 2024
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How to Choose a Franchise SEO Agency

by | Franchise SEO

Choosing the right SEO agency is essential for the success of a franchise or multi-location business. While we hope you’ll choose Trebletree as your franchise SEO experts, here are some key factors to consider when evaluating franchise SEO services and SEO agencies. Why Franchise SEO Services Are Unique Franchise businesses have a unique structure that […]

Choosing the right SEO agency is essential for the success of a franchise or multi-location business. While we hope you’ll choose Trebletree as your franchise SEO experts, here are some key factors to consider when evaluating franchise SEO services and SEO agencies.

Why Franchise SEO Services Are Unique

Franchise businesses have a unique structure that requires an equally unique SEO strategy. Your SEO agency should understand the nuances of working with franchise models, including the balance between national and local SEO strategies. A comprehensive franchise SEO company will know how to leverage search engines to rank both your corporate site and increase local search rankings, ensuring brand consistency while optimizing for local search visibility.

co-founders of trebletree Megan and Lauren have wealth of franchise SEO experience

Franchise SEO Experience

Experience is crucial when choosing an SEO partner for your franchise business. We’ve spent our careers working with multi-location businesses, cooperatives, and franchises, so we understand the complex challenges they face. Whether it’s optimizing a local search campaign or scaling national visibility for the franchise as a whole, our expertise in franchise SEO ensures that your brand is represented effectively across all locations. This makes CEOs and local franchise owners happy with results that drive growth.

Flexible SEO Strategy and Customization

No two franchise businesses are the same, and your SEO strategy shouldn’t be either. The right SEO agency will customize its services to meet the specific needs of your franchise. At Trebletree, we tailor our SEO approach to align with the goals of both the corporate entity and the individual franchisees, ensuring that your SEO strategy supports both local search optimization and national visibility.

Local Search Optimization for Franchise Success

Local search optimization is critical for franchise businesses. You need to ensure that each franchise location shows up in local search results. Whether it’s optimizing Google Business Profiles, managing local citations, or building hyper-localized content for each location, we focus on increasing visibility at every level. As an SEO company that specializes in franchise SEO services, we know how to scale local SEO strategies to boost traffic and leads for each franchise location.

laptops with semrush and conductor seo reporting

Data-Driven Decisions and Reporting

Data should drive every decision in your SEO strategy. We pride ourselves on being a data-driven franchise SEO company that bases our recommendations on thorough keyword research, performance metrics, and search engine trends. Our clients get clear, actionable reporting that shows how each aspect of the SEO strategy is performing at both the local and national level.

For large-scale organizations, we highly recommend using an enterprise SEO platform like Conductor to manage the complexities of a franchise business’s SEO efforts. As Conductor Legend certified experts, we help our clients use data to achieve high visibility on search engines across multiple locations.

Comprehensive Communication and Reporting

Good communication is at the heart of a successful SEO strategy. We believe in transparency and collaboration, making sure that franchise owners are informed every step of the way. We also provide executive-friendly reporting so that your leadership team can easily understand the SEO results without being bogged down by technical jargon.

Should You Hire an Agency or Expand Your Internal SEO Team?

As you are searching for franchise SEO strategy solutions, you may be wondering if it’s better to hire an agency or beef up your internal team. Both options have their pros and cons, but your decision should depend on your specific needs, resources, and long-term goals.

trebletree founders working on SEO strategies

Benefits of Hiring an Agency

Opting for specialized franchise SEO experts comes with several advantages, especially for businesses that want to scale quickly and effectively:

  • Expertise and Experience: Franchise SEO agencies bring a wealth of experience working with multi-location businesses. They understand the intricacies of balancing national SEO strategy with local search optimization, and they already have proven processes for scaling SEO across multiple franchise locations.
  • Access to Advanced Tools and Resources: SEO agencies often have access to enterprise-grade SEO platforms and tools, such as Conductor or SEMrush, which can be costly to implement internally. By partnering with an agency, you benefit from cutting-edge tools for keyword research, competitive analysis, and content optimization without having to invest in them directly.
  • Scalability: An agency can quickly ramp up efforts across all your franchise locations, ensuring faster results. Whether you need local SEO for a handful of locations or national strategies for hundreds of franchises, an agency can scale its resources to meet your needs without hiring additional internal staff.
  • Focus on Results: A franchise SEO agency is focused solely on delivering SEO results, leaving your internal team to concentrate on other aspects of marketing, operations, or customer service.

Advantages of Strengthening Your Internal SEO Team

While hiring an agency has its perks, expanding your internal team could be a better option if you prefer having direct control over SEO efforts. Some advantages include:

  • In-House Knowledge: Your internal SEO team will have a deeper understanding of your franchise’s brand, mission, and culture, allowing them to create hyper-personalized SEO strategies that align more closely with your business goals.
  • Cost Control: While hiring a franchise SEO agency often comes with a higher up-front cost, beefing up your internal SEO team could be more cost-effective in the long run, especially if you have long-term SEO needs and the resources to invest in training and tools.
  • Immediate Collaboration: Having an in-house team means quicker collaboration with other departments, such as marketing, web development, or customer support. This allows for faster communication and implementation of SEO strategies across all franchise locations.

Which Option is Right for Your Franchise Business?

The decision between choosing an agency or expanding your internal team boils down to your business goals, resources, and the complexity of your SEO needs.

  • Choose a Franchise SEO Agency if:
    • You need rapid scalability and expertise across multiple franchise locations.
    • Your internal team lacks the specific SEO experience required to handle the complexities of a multi-location business.
    • You want access to advanced tools and resources without the investment in training and platforms.
  • Expand Your Internal SEO Team if:
    • You have the resources to train and develop in-house talent.
    • You want more control over your SEO strategy and closer collaboration between teams.
    • You are looking for a long-term, cost-effective solution that aligns with your brand and company culture.

Ultimately, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Some franchise businesses even choose a hybrid approach, working with an SEO agency for high-level strategy and execution while maintaining a small internal team to manage day-to-day SEO tasks. At Trebletree we are flexible with how we work with our franchise SEO clients. We’ll work with you and your team to create a franchise SEO strategy that helps you reach your goals at a pace your team and your budget can handle.


Final Thoughts on Choosing an Agency to Provide SEO for Franchises

The right SEO agency for your franchise business will combine local search expertise, customized strategies, and a data-driven approach. At Trebletree, we’re more than just an SEO agency — we’re partners in your success. From SEO strategy development to ensuring top visibility across search engines, we’ll help your franchise thrive.

Megan Michelakos

Megan Michelakos, Co-Founder of Trebletree, is an organic strategist with a background in content development, SEO, creative direction, and business development. With a passion for crafting compelling narratives and optimizing content for search engines, Megan excels in driving organic growth and engagement for businesses. Her creative direction generates captivating brand experiences that resonate with target audiences. Megan’s business acumen and strategic mindset enable her to identify new opportunities, forge strategic partnerships, and drive growth. With her unwavering commitment to excellence and innovation, Megan plays a pivotal role in shaping the success of the company in the ever-evolving digital landscape.