Importance of SEO for Multiple-Location Businesses

Importance of SEO for Multiple-Location Businesses

Business marketing is at a crossroads. No matter the size of your company and how many locations you serve, your online presence, and branding across each of your online platforms and locations is important. The local search engine optimization (SEO) techniques you chose to utilize across these channels can have an enormous effect on how (and especially where) your business appears online.

According to results shown by the Local Consumer Review Survey conducted by Bright Local, 90% of consumers rely on online platforms to find a local business. The report indicates that 87% of local queries are time-sensitive “I-need-it-now” searches.

Now, what does this mean for your multiple-location business? The findings in these reports indicate that you need to be visible in Google search results for your company to succeed in the new digital world. 

Essentially it’s no different if you have two locations or 2,000, it’s crucial that you follow Google’s best practices and SEO guidelines. Utilizing these allows search engines to distinguish between different locations and present the right one to the right people at the right time.

Customers no longer search for all of the details about a company on their site. Today, when a user searches for a brand, the results appear in the form of online business profiles, coupled with company URLs. In order to show up in Google business listings, you need to implement local SEO tips that help multiple-location businesses rank. 

Let’s first address multiple-location businesses before we go deeper into local SEO!

What Are Multiple-Location Businesses?

Multiple-location businesses pertain to service providers or product dealers that serve to multiple locations or markets simultaneously. You are considered a multi-location business if:

• You have multiple physical stores or locations
• You service many different areas, even if you don’t have a physical store
• You are a local business directory

If you have a multiple-location business, there is a lot to consider. Do all the franchise stores have the exact same branding? Do you offer identical products or services at each of the locations? How are the locations spread out? Are locations across multiple countries or multiple provinces?

For your online marketing strategy, the answers to these questions are crucial. You need an integrated SEO and digital marketing franchise plan that will amplify your online presence through your numerous company locations. Additionally, you must guarantee that each location receives the required attention online.

For multiple-location businesses it may seem impossible to rank at the top of Google search results, however, you don’t need to stress as it’s a lot less complicated than it seems. The trick in ranking for local searches is through local search optimization.

What is Local SEO?

Local search engine optimization helps businesses build their brand’s online visibility and engage with prospects and existing customers within a specific geographic area. The goal of local SEO for multiple locations is to get listed on the first page of search results for each specific business location.

What is the Importance of Local SEO?

If you have a multiple-location business, local search engine optimization is an excellent way to market your brand to specific target locations and gain site traffic. Search engines need to know your exact company address so that when customers search for a location, they can find your business.

Here are more reasons local SEO is critical to your multi-location business’ success:

• 70% of customers visit a store based on the information they find online
• Google searches that contain “near me” have increased 34x since 2011
• More than 50% of “near me” searches result in a store visit 
• Franchise SEO activities help build online visibility and boost reputation at a local level
• Greater local web visibility means increased customer traffic, more customers and more sales
• 50% of consumers who conduct mobile searches for a local business will visit the store within one day — and 18 percent of these searches lead to a purchase
• Local content marketing improves business relevance

To Conclude

With the internet at everyone’s fingertips, consumers demand instant and relevant search results whenever they need it. More significantly, customers are increasingly searching for goods and services unique to their location. 

To achieve profitable results, strict adherence to enterprise marketing and local SEO best practises is essential.