At one time, franchises and other types of multi-location businesses with an expanded marketing footprint had a significant leg up on local mom-and-pop shops. However, with the advent of local SEO, smaller single-location companies narrowed the gap, with an impressive 70% of online shoppers saying that they use the internet to support local businesses. So it’s as important as ever for a multi-location local business to generate leads online.
All is not lost if you are a business owner that operates multiple locations in distinct markets. You must revise your marketing strategy to appeal to shoppers and demonstrate how your business is a valued local solution.
With this in mind, keep reading to discover five practical tips for multi-location businesses to improve their online lead generation.
Create a single website for your company with localized pages for each location.
While some companies successfully create localized websites for each store location, most businesses do not have the time or resources to optimize multiple URLs. The result is several mediocre sites that cannibalize traffic from each other; None of them ranking highly for SEO purposes.
Therefore, to generate as many leads as possible for your local business, creating a single company website and including dedicated pages within the parent site for each of your separate branches is better.
This way, your website is better positioned to capture all general searches, allowing visitors to educate themselves on your brand. For those local searchers looking to make a purchase, you can take steps to optimize each location page through store locator software that routes leads to the nearest in-person vendor and quality images that identify your business amid recognizable local landmarks.
Use separate social media accounts for each location.
It may seem counterintuitive to recommend a single website for all locations while also recommending separate social media accounts.
However, although both are closely related and play a role in developing your business’s digital footprint, the amount of work required for optimizing each is vastly different.
Social media is simple. You don’t need advanced technological know-how or coding skills to maintain a quality social media account. A local branch manager can effectively handle this responsibility as part of their day-to-day duties.
In addition, a business should use social media to interact with its local market. Having location-based accounts makes it more impactful to tag customers and feature your business in the community. This gives you a better chance of getting a trending post in a specific market.
Have a brand manager ensure that all social media accounts send the right message. However, allow each store location to join its community’s conversation separately.
Manage your Google Business Profile with regular updates.
Although it is essential to use a contemporary WordPress store locator on your business website, the reality is that most local shoppers will probably use Google to find their nearest in-person solution.
Therefore, ensure that your Google Business Profile (GBP) account is up-to-date. Ensure that all information is accurate for each location profile. Some data to check include—
- Address and contact information.
- Hours of operation.
- Recent photos of the location’s exterior.
- Logo is added.
What makes GBP uniquely impactful is its review and rating system. A whopping 72% of customers say they are more likely to trust a business with positive Google reviews.
Therefore, you must use your GBP account to cultivate customer feedback. You want to ensure that a negative experience at one location does not trickle down and affect all locations.
Use location-based PPC advertising.
There is a lot of sentiment out there that PPC is not good and that only organic leads are quality.
While it is true that paid advertising does not equal quality advertising, well-constructed paid campaigns can absolutely have a positive impact on lead generation.
When using tools like Google Ads, the algorithms can link ads to the nearest store and have it appear locally.
As a result, if you are running a promotion unique to a specific market or are introducing a product that will only be offered in select locations, you can capture this local traffic without confusing or alienating customers in other areas. And the paid PPC campaign will give you a boost in these efforts to make your mark more quickly.
Join the online conversation.
One of the best ways to generate leads online for your local business is to look outside the confines of your business accounts.
Peruse blogs, websites, and social media profiles popular within your industry. By carefully crafting responses to trending posts and serving as a guest author for other websites, you can demonstrate your credibility to a broader audience.
One particularly creative way to accomplish this is through broken link building. If you notice that links are dead or inactive on other sites, contact the publisher of the content and let them know how your business may be a good option for linking live again.
5 proven tips for generating leads for a multi-location local business.
As local SEO has made marketing more affordable for businesses of all sizes, smaller single-location companies have reaped the benefit of many customers’ preference to shop local. Therefore, multi-location companies must adapt to establish themselves as viable local solution in diverse markets.
By maintaining a single company website with distinct local pages, using separate social media accounts for each business location, regularly managing their GBP profile, using location-based PPC advertising, and joining the online conversation within the local industry, a multi-location local business can generate leads and see profits soar.
Here at Arbor Green Design we want to see small businesses succeed. That’s why we invite experts from various industries to participate and provide insights. This article was written by Jackie Kaufman.
Jackie Kaufman is a freelance writer that shares her knowledge and studies of construction and environmental sustainability industries. When not writing, she enjoys spending time with her kids hiking the trails of Colorado. You can find Jackie’s work as a freelance writer at Building Product Advisors.