SEO Services for Franchises and Multi-Location Businesses

From strategy to implementation and content creation, we offer SEO services catered to multi-location businesses.

OUR MULTI-LOCATION SEO SERVICES

Franchises and multi-location organizations benefit from efficiencies in their operations, marketing, and branding, but when it comes to SEO, they serve up some unique challenges. How can you optimize your site nationally and at scale for your locations? A successful multi-location business SEO strategy should be equal parts national and local. At Trebletree, understand the unique needs of multi-location businesses, so we provide local franchise SEO services that will help you rank both nationally and locally. We are your franchise SEO experts. We’ll help you find opportunities to optimize national content and pages for each of your franchise locations, create content that will capture new customers, and help your franchise locations increase rankings and organic traffic.

Trebletree Co-Founders Lauren and Megan enjoy some beautiful NH scenery while discussing franchise SEO strategies.

Close-up of Co-founder of Trebletree, Megan working on SEO content on a laptop.

What is Franchise Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

Franchises aren’t like every business and their SEO strategy shouldn’t be either.

SEO services for franchises with multiple locations are different from those for businesses with only one location (at least they should be). When it comes to getting your site and your franchise locations found in search engines, there are some additional challenges that a franchise or multi-location business might face. There’s no cookie-cutter SEO solution that will tackle all of these so you need an SEO team that is willing to build a strategy that works for your business goals and supports each franchise location. Here are some areas where we address SEO a little differently for franchises and multi-location businesses:

Keyword Research
Local SEO
Content Creation
Link Building

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Multi-Location and Franchise Business SEO Strategies

What’s Different

Not Your Average Keywords Research

For a business with only one location, our SEO strategy focuses heavily on optimizing the website for keywords related to that specific location. However, for local SEO for franchises, the strategy needs to be more targeted. Each local franchise business will have its own set of target keywords that take into account its local market but also any unique needs and characteristics of that location. Especially with franchises and cooperatives where the locations are independently owned, we often find that each location offers slightly different services. This requires careful research and analysis to identify the best keywords for each location.

Local Optimization for Search Engines

Local search optimization is critical for franchises with multiple locations. After all, your customers are searching on a local level and we want them to find your nearest location. Our local SEO services focus on efforts that impact local rankings. For example, each location needs to have its own Google Business Profile, with accurate and consistent information about the address, phone number, and hours of operation. While Google search results are a primary concern, we also want to make sure all local listings are current and accurate so a location can be found no matter how your customer searches.

The website for each location should also have local content, such as location-specific landing pages, blog posts, and testimonials, to help it rank higher in local search results. We are well-versed in optimizing multi-location websites and if you don’t already have a website with local pages, we can help you build it. Check out our website design and development services.

When it comes to a franchise organization, local SEO is one piece of the puzzle, but our efforts go beyond a local-only strategy.

Content Creation at Scale for Multiple Locations

Franchises with multiple locations need to create content that is relevant to each location as part of their franchise SEO strategy. This could include blog posts, videos, social media posts, and other types of content that highlight the unique features of each location. This not only helps with local search engine optimization but also makes it easier for customers to find the information they need about a specific location.

Some franchises depend on their franchisees to create local content for their franchise websites because they don’t have the resources to write content for each location. The problem is that most franchisees are busy focussing on running their business and don’t have the time or the expertise to write content for their site. At Trebletree, local content starts with a well-built website that allows you to update local pages at scale. This can significantly reduce the time you’ll spend on creating and publishing local content.

Finding the Best Way to Use Link Building

Franchises with multiple locations need to create content that is relevant to each location as part of their franchise SEO strategy. This could include blog posts, videos, social media posts, and other types of content that highlight the unique features of each location. This not only helps with local search engine optimization but also makes it easier for customers to find the information they need about a specific location.

Some franchises depend on their franchisees to create local content for their franchise websites because they don’t have the resources to write content for each location. The problem is that most franchisees are busy focussing on running their business and don’t have the time or the expertise to write content for their site. At Trebletree, local content starts with a well-built website that allows you to update local pages at scale. This can significantly reduce the time you’ll spend on creating and publishing local content.

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DOUGLAS KWONG, VICE PRESIDENT MARKETING – URBAN AIR ADVENTURE PARK

When your website developers really know SEO, you always win. After launching a new website with a new domain, we saw very little impact on our organic traffic after launch and a year later, our organic traffic is up 44% (January 2023 compared to January 2022). Trebletree’s strategic approach and intimate understanding of multi-location businesses have helped us stay ahead of the competition on a local and national level.

Trebletree’s Franchise Approach

SEO for franchises and multi-location businesses requires a slightly different approach than traditional SEO for a single-location business. Here are some steps we take to optimize your SEO strategy for franchises and multi-location businesses.

Here’s How We Approach SEO For Franchise & Multi-Locations Businesses

SEO for franchises and multi-location businesses requires a slightly different approach than traditional SEO for a single-location business. Here are some addtional steps we take to optimize your SEO strategy for franchises and multi-location businesses:

Creating Individual Location Pages

Each location should have its own page on your website, with unique content that includes the location’s name, address, phone number, and other relevant information. If you don’t already have this structure for your franchise, you may want to consider focusing on national SEO while you build out your location structure. As WordPress designers and developers, we also know how to build a site that works for a multi-location structure. Check out our website services and franchise portfolio.

Optimizing Google Business Profiles

Claim and verify each Google Business Profile (Previously Google My Business or GMB) and ensure that each listing is accurate and up-to-date. Make sure to include photos, hours of operation, and other relevant information. We’ll help you optimize your Google listings making sure you’re using the best categories for your business, adding photos and videos, and updating information to make sure your customers have all the information they need to choose your business.

Utilizing Location-Specific Keywords

Use keywords that are relevant to each location in your website content, page titles, and meta descriptions. For example, if you own a pizza franchise, you could use keywords like “Birthday Parties in Springfield” or “Springfield Amusement Parks”.

Local Listings for Local Search

We won’t forget listings (other than Google). Making sure your information is accurate across other listings sites like Trip Advisor, Yelp, Apple, etc., is a must-have for franchise businesses. This will help increase your visibility in local search results.

Managing Your Reputation Online

Encouraging customers to leave reviews on Google and other review sites is important to local SEO. Positive reviews can improve your local rankings and attract more customers to your business. Actively respond to all reviews in a timely manner and be sure to add detailed information in your responses as appropriate.

You’ll also want to keep an eye on your online reviews and respond promptly to any negative feedback. This can help you maintain a positive online reputation and attract more customers to your business.

For most franchises, investing in a local listings and reputation management platform will make a huge difference. A platform like SOCi, helps you manage listings at scale, monitor your reputation and keep brand consistency across social media sites. We also recommend linking your website to your listings platform via an API to make sure data is always accurate across all listings and matches your website.

We take all this into consideration when we’re building an SEO strategy for franchises and multi-location businesses. But, we understand that you can’t do everything at once and we’ll also help you prioritize SEO efforts. We focus on the tactics that will get you the biggest bang for your buck first.

LEt's Chat About Your SEO Goals

Why is Local SEO Important for Multi-Location Businesses?

Benefits of Local SEO

SEO, or search engine optimization, can be particularly beneficial for local businesses because it helps them to increase their visibility in search engine results when people search for products or services in their local area. Here are some specific reasons why local SEO services can be good for local businesses:

Increased Online Visibility

SEO helps a local business to appear higher in search results for queries related to their local area, making it easier for potential customers to find them.

Targeted Traffic from Interested Customers

Traffic from people who aren’t actually looking for your products and services isn’t likely to convert. Local SEO can attract more targeted traffic to a local business’s website, increasing the likelihood of converting that traffic into paying customers.

Improved Online Reputation

SEO can help businesses to establish a positive online reputation through tactics such as obtaining reviews and managing their online presence. Reputation management is an important piece of local SEO for franchises.

Cost-Effective Strategies to Meet Your Marketing Goals

SEO is often more cost-effective than other forms of marketing such as paid search & social, print, or television advertising. We also find that organic marketing strategy and paid advertising go hand-in-hand and can help each other.

Long-Term Results

While SEO may take some time to show results, the benefits can be long-lasting and continue to generate traffic and leads for a business for months or even years.

Overall, local businesses can benefit greatly from SEO by increasing their visibility, attracting targeted traffic, improving their online reputation, and enjoying cost-effective marketing that provides long-term benefits.

Is SEO a Corporate Expense or a Location Expense

When it comes to franchise SEO, there are different payment structures that can be used, and the decision on who pays for it ultimately depends on the franchise agreement and the specific needs of the franchise.

Here are some possible payment structures for franchise SEO:

Corporate pays for SEO:

In this structure, the franchisor pays for the SEO services and distributes the cost among the franchisees. This approach ensures consistency in SEO efforts across all franchise locations, and it allows the franchisor to maintain control over the SEO strategy.

Franchisees pay for SEO:

In this structure, each franchise location pays for its own SEO services. While this can be appealing from a budget perspective, it’s important to make sure that all your locations are using the same SEO agency. Locations can still have some input in their SEO efforts but having one team working on SEO for all your locations will ensure consistency.

Shared cost:

If you choose a shared structure, the franchisor and franchisees share the cost of SEO services. The franchisor may cover a portion of the cost, while the franchisees cover the remainder. This approach balances the need for consistency in SEO efforts across the franchise with the desire for each location to have some responsibility for its SEO strategy.

Help Me Decide

Laptop screen with person typing - Figuring out if SEO is a Corporate expense or a location expense for franchises.

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FINDING YOUR SEO SOLUTION

It’s important to note that there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to franchise SEO payment structures. Each franchise is unique and has different needs and goals. The franchisor and franchisees should work together to determine the best payment structure that works for everyone.

Our SEO services for franchises are broken into two segments to make it easy for franchises to choose the structure that works best for them. First, we have a national SEO fee that covers overarching strategy, national optimizations, and reporting. Then, we provide a per-location fee that covers additional work to optimize local pages. No matter what structure works best for your franchise, it’s important to have all your SEO efforts with one agency. This allows us to make sure that local efforts are not negatively impacting national efforts and vice versa.

How Much Does Franchise SEO Cost?

What to Consider

The cost of franchise SEO services can vary widely depending on the specific needs of the franchise and the level of service you are looking for. We do not have set pricing for our franchise SEO clients. It’s important that we understand your business goals, your website structure, and the results you’re trying to achieve.

We’ll start with a technical audit. This is an important step in understanding your current position and the opportunities available. Based on this report, we’ll recommend a monthly retainer to continually optimize your website.

Some factors that can influence the cost of our franchise SEO services include:

What is the Size of Your Website?

The larger your website and the more content you have to review, the more SEO work will typically be required to achieve results. We’ll also consider how many products or service offerings you have.

How Many Locations Do You Have?

Of course, the more locations you have, the more SEO work there will be. The number of localized pages is also important.

How Much Competition Do You Have?

Any company operating in highly competitive industries or markets may require more extensive SEO efforts to achieve and maintain top rankings. For franchises and multiple business locations, your competition may be different in different markets. Some locations may see results more easily than others. This is to be expected and we can help you prioritize locations that need more help.

How Much SEO Work Do You Need?

Our franchise SEO services range from technical audits to content strategies and content creation. We can build an SEO package that works for your business. For example, maybe you have an internal content team and you just need our direction. But, maybe you need us to take care of the content too. We’ll work with you to develop a complete organic digital marketing strategy and help you implement your SEO efforts on an ongoing basis.

Based on these factors, the cost of franchise SEO services can range from hundreds of dollars per month to several thousand dollars per month. To some extent, you can control your SEO budget. We’ll make a recommendation based on the current state of your SEO and the opportunity for growth but SEO results are directly related to the effort you put in. If you invest less time, you’ll see results slower. We’ll tailor our services to meet the specific needs of your franchise and help you achieve your business goals.

Our Franchise SEO Services

Technical Audits for Franchises

An SEO technical audit is an in-depth analysis of a website’s technical aspects to identify any issues that might affect its search engine rankings. It involves reviewing a website’s technical infrastructure, code, and other elements to determine how well they conform to best practices for search engine optimization (SEO).

Our technical audit covers 150+ areas that directly impact your rankings. During our SEO technical audit, we will review your website’s structure, URL patterns, metadata, schema markup, site speed, mobile responsiveness, crawlability, indexability, and other technical aspects that can impact its ranking on search engines.

The goal of an SEO technical audit is to identify areas that need improvement and make recommendations to optimize the website’s technical performance. This can help to improve a website’s visibility and ranking on search engine results pages, which in turn can drive more traffic, leads, and sales to the site.

YES, PLEASE!

Franchise SEO Monthly Retainer

Our monthly retainers make sure that you are consistently making updates to your site to optimize for search engines. SEO is not something you can set and forget – it needs constant attention in order to keep your site competitive and ranking for key search terms.

Let's Talk!

Trebletree Founders Megan and Lauren discuss franchise SEO strategies at a local brewery.

What’s Included?

SEO retainers are flexible which means we can focus on the most important topics and most effective tactics for your organization. Here are the typical activities included in our monthly retainers:

Prioritized Tag Audit and Implementation

An SEO tag audit is a process of reviewing and evaluating the various tags on a website to ensure they are optimized for search engines. These tags include title tags, meta descriptions, header tags, image alt tags, and other HTML elements that help search engines understand the content of a web page. This is typically a priority in our first month of an SEO retainer. While we’re fixing any other high-priority items from the technical audit, we’ll work on your tag audit and implementation.

The purpose of an SEO tag audit is to identify any missing or incorrectly implemented tags that could be hindering the website’s visibility in search results. By ensuring that these tags are properly optimized, a website can improve its rankings and attract more organic traffic from search engines.

During an SEO tag audit, we’ll review all your tags and titles to make sure they aren’t duplicated, include relevant keywords, and accurately describe your content.

Our SEO tag audit is an essential part of your comprehensive SEO strategy, as it helps ensure that a website is properly optimized for search engines and can maximize its visibility and traffic potential.

Content Audit & Strategy

Once we’ve addressed high-priority technical issues and optimized tags, we’ll conduct a content audit. An SEO content audit is the process of evaluating the content on a website to determine its quality, relevance, and effectiveness in achieving search engine optimization (SEO) goals. We’ll do a thorough analysis of all the content on your site, including blog posts, product pages, and other types of content, to identify areas for improvement and opportunities to enhance the site’s search engine rankings.

During the audit, the content is evaluated for factors such as keyword optimization, user engagement, readability, and relevance to the target audience. The results of the audit are used to build our content strategy. This plan will outline which pages need adjustments and prioritize the pages with the biggest opportunity to improve the site’s SEO performance.

Our SEO content audit is a valuable tool that helps us plan our ongoing SEO efforts to improve search engine rankings, increase traffic to your site, and improve the user experience for your visitors.

Keyword RESEARCH and Content Opportunities

Keyword research is a great way to find additional content opportunities for your website. We’ll dive in deep to look at your business, your competitors, and your industry. At this point, we’re looking for additional keywords that your business is not currently ranking for and what content opportunities you have.

For franchises with good rankings for primary keywords, we’ll start looking at long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords are more specific phrases that people are searching for. They usually have a lower search volume, but they also have less competition. We’ll look for long-tail keywords that are relevant to your niche and that have a decent search volume.

Once we’ve identified the keywords and topics you want to target, it’s time to create content. If you’re lucky enough to have an internal content team, we’ll work with them to develop SEO-friendly content. We can provide content briefs or optimize content that your team has written. We also offer full-service SEO copywriting. We’ll develop high-quality, informative content that is optimized for your target keywords. This will help your content rank higher in search engines and attract more traffic to your website.

Content Updates & Optimizations

Website content should be optimized regularly to ensure that it is up-to-date, relevant, and performing well in search engine rankings. We’ll create a content plan that keeps your content updated and ensures that your content is adjusted to stay up-to-date with any search engine algorithm updates. We’ll continuously monitor your site for any changes that impact your rankings. We’ll make sure you’re taking advantage of any local SEO opportunities by producing localize content at scale for your organization.

Technical SEO Implementation

The main goal of technical SEO is to ensure that search engine crawlers can easily crawl and index a website’s content, which will help the site rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). While we’ll address many technical issues early on, website updates, search engine changes, and many other factors can cause additional technical issues. As these issues arise, we’ll work to resolve them quickly and make sure that your site stays in good SEO health.

Based on these factors, the cost of franchise SEO services can range from hundreds of dollars per month to several thousand dollars per month. To some extent, you can control your SEO budget. We’ll make a recommendation based on the current state of your SEO and the opportunity for growth but SEO results are directly related to the effort you put in. If you invest less time, you’ll see results slower. We’ll tailor our services to meet the specific needs of your franchise and help you achieve your business goals.

How to Choose a Franchise SEO Agency

Choosing the right SEO agency is essential for the success of a franchise or multi-location business. While we hope you’ll choose Trebletree for all your SEO needs, here are some factors to consider when selecting an SEO partner for your franchise or multi-location business.

We know choosing an agency to trust with your franchise SEO strategies is tough and we hope that we have a chance to wow you with our SEO results. Do your research, ask for references, and make sure you feel comfortable with whatever agency you select.

Co-Founder of Trebletree, Lauren, works at a coffee shop on franchise SEO strategy

Trebletree Co-founders Lauren and Megan love coffee, nature and franchise SEO

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Experience

We’ve spent the majority of our careers working for multi-location businesses. With experience with cooperatives and franchises, we understand the challenges that multi-location businesses face intimately. We use our experience to help our clients tackle these challenges – making their CEOs and their local owners happy.

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Customization

Every franchise or multi-location business is unique, and so their SEO strategy should be too. We’ll customize our approach based on your specific business needs.

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Reporting

Reporting is crucial for monitoring the success of your SEO strategy. We’ll work with you to provide reporting to show the results of your efforts. We have experience with several SEO platforms and can work with your current tool. We also understand that not everyone lives and breathes SEO as we do so we’ll build simple reporting for executives to clearly communicate the results of our SEO work.

For large organizations, we highly recommend an enterprise SEO platform like Conductor. We are Conductor Legend certified and have years of experience using that platform to show results for multi-location businesses. This platform provided in-depth keyword research and tracking, insights, and content development tools to take a franchise SEO campaign to the next level.

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Communication

Communication is key to a successful partnership with your SEO agency. We are responsive, collaborative, and frankly, just a lot of fun to work with. (Well, we had to toot our own horn a bit.)

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Local SEO expertise

Franchise or multi-location businesses need targeted local SEO services to increase online visibility and attract customers to each individual location. With our experience working for multi-location businesses, we understand local SEO and how to optimize for each individual location.

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Data-driven

Data is our best friend. And really, if your SEO agency doesn’t love data it’s time to start shopping. You may even laugh at our excitement over a keyword research spreadsheet with beautiful conditional formatting. We use data to inform our strategy but we also have a creative side. And don’t worry, we’ll walk you through all the data so you understand our strategy.

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