Search engine optimization is the 21st century's version of
"location, location, location." If no one can find you on the web,
your franchise will suffer. Your competition will bask in the
spoils of the heavily competitive online kingdom.
Here are some tips for the SEO "newbie" out there. These simple
guidelines are followed by some of the most successful franchises
in Canada:
- Calling the shots: The old adage of spending
money to make money reigns true. You decide your own fate on the
Internet. Now, it's not wise to get into "bidding wars" for
keywords with your competition, but a steady understanding of hot
search topics and how to make them relevant to your franchise will
do wonders for your traffic and, ultimately, your business.
- Research!: It's amazing how many franchises in
Canada do not research anything on the Internet because they assume
they know the internet as well as they know their industry. Looking
at what your competition is doing on sites like Google and Yahoo!
will work wonders for your SEO strategy.
- Cheap but cheap: As long as it's not something
too controversial that will get your franchise in trouble, search
sites like Facebook, Twitter or trendsmap.com for the trends of the
day in your location. Alter your online marketing strategies around
top search terms. If the Grey Cup is trending on Twitter, you'd
better be running some kind of Grey Cup special on your website.
Some keywords are relatively cheap to purchase because they're not
hot year-round and yes, it sounds a little cheap to rip off
non-controversial breaking news, but it works!
- The North American Way: Franchises in Canada
shouldn't take a majority of heed of what they're doing in America,
but we do live in a global economy. It's important to pay attention
to not only American trends but global trends as a whole. After
all, that's where this whole SEO thing started. If your company has
franchises below the lines of longitude, check out what they're
doing online and how they're directing traffic.
These are only a few ways to drive more traffic to your site and
to optimize what you're doing online. If you would like more
information, feel free to give us a call to discuss how we can help
your sites SEO. As the old BeTheBoss.ca saying goes..."they are
going to buy a franchise, but will it be your franchise?".