How Franchises Can Win at Search · How franchises can win at search ... Use your scale to create a substantial digital footprint which ranks both nationally and locally ... search-friendly
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#CFA2015
How Franchises Can Win at Search
STEVE BUORS - CEO & CO-FOUNDER
KIRK ALLEN - COO & CO-FOUNDER
DEAN SPOKES – METAL SUPERMARKETS
A P R I L 2 0 1 5
The opinions or viewpoints expressed in this presentation do not necessarily reflect those of the Canadian Franchise Association (CFA).
D I G I T A L M A R K E T I N G O R G A N I Z A T I O N S P E C I A L I Z I N G I N F R A N C H I S E
O R G A N I Z A T I O N S W I T H S P E C I F I C E X P E R T I S E I N S O C I A L M E D I A , S E A R C H A N D W E B S I T E / M O B I L E D E V E L O P M E N T
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How we view the digital world
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How franchises can win at search
› Search fundamentals
› How to use your franchise network to improve your ranking in search engines
› What local search is and why you should care
› Paid search strategies to increase visibility for high-value search terms
› Metal Supermarkets case study
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SEARCH FUNDAMENTALS
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Search is an excellent way to find people ready to buy
› Google is basically the “homepage of the internet”
93% of all online experiences begin with search
› People are telling you exactly what they want when they conduct a search
› In many cases they are actively looking to buy and are just deciding where and when
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Aluminum bar
How search works
Other Websites
Index
Your Website
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THE SEARCH ENGINE’S OBJECTIVE
P R O V I D E T H E M O S T R E L E V A N T I N F O R M A T I O N B A S E D O N W H A T
T H E P E R S O N I S L O O K I N G F O R
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YOUR OBJECTIVE
W H E N S O M E O N E P E R F O R M S A S E A R C H W H I C H I S R E L E V A N T
T O Y O U R B U S I N E S S Y O U W A N T T O R A N K W E L L V E R S U S
Y O U R C O M P E T I T O R S
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OBJECTIVE ALIGNMENT
M A K E S U R E Y O U A R E R E L E V A N T I N Y O U R I N D U S T R Y A N D T H E S E A R C H E N G I N E
W I L L B E M O R E L I K E L Y T O S H O W Y O U R S I T E W H E N S O M E O N E I S L O O K I N G F O R
T H E P R O D U C T S A N D S E R V I C E S Y O U O F F E R
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Search lingo
› Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Optimize your site to rank organically for your brand and specific words / phrases related to what you do
› Search Engine Advertising (SEA or SEM): Advertise on Google to specifically target prospective customers
› Branded search: When someone is searching for your brand or some variation
› Non-branded search: When someone is searching for the products and services you offer, but not necessarily your brand
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Search engine advertising (paid ads)
Organic search results
(unpaid)
Product listing ads (paid ads)
Search engine
advertising (paid ads)
Google News
results (unpaid)
Local search results
(unpaid)
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OPTIMIZING FOR ORGANIC SEARCH
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Pet food
Other Websites
Index
Your Website
“On Page” “Off Page”
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On-page opportunities
› Metadata
› Technology
› URL structure
› Site content
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Create unique metadata for all pages
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URL structure is important
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It is all about content
› Unique to your site
› Fresh / frequently updated
› Relevant to your brand and/or industry
› A blog is a great way to constantly keep your site updated and position yourself as an authority in your industry
› Also valuable from a franchisee attraction perspective
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Homepage Title: COMPANY NAME | WHAT WE DO Description: Describe your business overall Content: Describe what you do
Products Overview Page Title: PRODUCTS | COMPANY NAME Description: Describe your products overall Content: Describe what your products are or what benefits they provide
Product #1 Detail Title: PRODUCT | COMPANY NAME Description: Describe the specific product Content: Describe the product in detail
Franchising, Contact, Team, etc.
Product 2, 3, 4, etc.
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FRANCHISE ORGANIZATIONS HAVE A NATURAL
GEOGRAPHIC ADVANTAGE
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› Use your scale to create a substantial digital footprint which ranks both nationally and locally
› Replicate your physical store network on your website
› Create a “main” website for all of your corporate information
› Create a single page or a microsite for each location
www.website.com
website.com/store123 website.com/store973
website.com/store789 website.com/store159
website.com/store456
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› Allows you to tailor your web presence to your local customers
› Provide key local information
Address
Hours of operation
Areas of specialty
› Search optimize your local pages to create natural local entry points for search traffic
www.website.com
website.com/store123 website.com/store973
website.com/store789 website.com/store159
website.com/store456
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› Search optimize your national site for industry-specific keywords as a search “catch all”
› Search optimize each of your local pages for local-specific terms
Localized metadata
Local products & services
Address, city, province, region
Cross-street / intersection
Regional terminology & spelling
www.website.com
website.com/store123 website.com/store973
website.com/store789 website.com/store159
website.com/store456
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USE YOUR HEFT TO DOMINATE LOCAL SEARCH RESULTS
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#CFA2015 Source: google.com/think
people conduct local searches. They search on: 4in5
#CFA2015 Source: google.com/think
People purchase at a higher rate after a local search
18% of local searches led to a purchase within a day compared to 7% of non-local searches
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People act quickly after a local search
Source: google.com/think
% of people who visit a store within a day of their local search:
searches on smartphone occur right before people visit a store
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PAID SEARCH IS AN EXCELLENT WAY TO GENERATE LEADS QUICKLY
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Paid search results in quick leads
› Purchase specific terms people are searching and target custom-tailored ads to them
Can be highly geographically targeted
Allows you to find high-quality prospects
› You only pay when someone clicks the ad
You choose where they go on your site and what they see
› Extremely measurable to identify effectiveness against defined business results
› SEO and SEA efforts will work hand-in-hand
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Paid search lingo
› Cost of each ad is based on an auction
› Cost-per-click (CPC): Cost when someone clicks on your paid ad
› Click-through-rate (CTR): The frequency of people clicking your ad relative to the number of times it is shown
› Cost-per-acquisition (CPA): Cost relative to the number of conversions you receive
› Conversion: When the person does the thing you want them to do (ex: call you, fill in a form, buy something)
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How paid search works
Ad rank (which denotes ad
position) =
Relevance
Quality Score X
Bid amount
Max CPC
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Landing page › Distinct from your “organic”
pages
› Page layout is designed to have a strong call-to-action
› Detailed tracking of performance
Use unique numbers so calls can be tracked
Form completions
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The franchise advantage
› Use geography to your advantage to run a more efficient campaign
› Create local paid search campaigns
Hone in on geographies where you operate to avoid wasting dollars
Incorporate local search terms for increased relevance to improve conversion and ad visibility
› Engage local franchisees to unlock local advertising dollars
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www.website.com
website.com/store123 website.com/store973
website.com/store789 website.com/store159
website.com/store456
› Create local-specific paid search campaigns attached to your local microsites / pages
› Allows for:
Granular targeting of geographic terms
Customization of products by location
Improved conversion through relevance
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When to use what
› SEO is aimed at providing long-term visibility in search engines for your brand and core products & services
› Paid search is used to:
Tactically to increase visibility during a campaign
To gain visibility for highly competitive search terms you cannot rank organically for
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DON’T FORGET ABOUT MOBILE
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Mobile is critical
› For some time both Google and Bing have been strongly suggesting that all companies have a mobile site
› People have a strong preference for sites that look & work well on their device
Expect the site to load in 3 seconds or less
40% go immediately to a competitor's site
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Google is updating their algorithm
› As of April 21, 2015 Google is changing their algorithm worldwide to prioritize mobile-friendly sites in their mobile search results
› You can test your site here:
google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/
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SUMMARY
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Summary
› SEO is aimed at providing long-term visibility in search engines for your brand and core products & services
› Paid search is used to:
Tactically to increase visibility during a campaign
To gain visibility for highly competitive search terms you cannot rank organically for
› Your franchise network is a tremendous strength
Dominate local search results
Be smarter than competitors with your paid search campaigns