Beyond SEO

Franchise online marketing strategy is as much about engaging the visitors on your website as it is about building traffic and search engine optimization.

The goal of online marketing is to convert leads into business.  Beyond all of the SEO work to get people to your website you must also pay attention to the content, layout and aesthetic appeal of your website in order to turn attention into conversion and even better… retention (which is driving people back to your site again and again).

Here are some actions you can take today that will optimize your online marketing:

• Make sure that any links that lead visitors off of your website open in new windows. Do not direct traffic off of your webiste.  Ushering people off of your website is not productive.  By opening links in new windows,  your website will still be up when they close that window.  This is also applicable to your social media icons. Make sure they open in a new window as well.  Keep the traffic on your site as long as possible.

• Be aware of the users display.  Remember, an increasing number of people are viewing your website on mobile, or handheld devices.  Recent studies show that mobile traffic is on the rise, so having a strategy for a mobile friendly website both at the national and local levels is a must for 2012.

• Review your website for deficiencies regularly.   It may be just as easy as mending broken paths or replacing broken code. Again your site is only as legitimate as it is functional. Use websites like http://validator.w3.org/ to validate your website and find issues with it.

Following these simple suggestions will garner results. You will see a decrease in your bounce rate (visitors to your website who land on a webpage and leave without clicking deeper into your website) and an increase in the amount of time visitors spend on your website, the amount of content that they will read and ultimately the number of leads will you receive from your website.

Learn more about refining your Franchise Online Marketing by attending our Franchise Online Marketing Webinar on January 18th at 12:00 p.m. CST.  For more information visit : ElementsLocal Webinar – Franchise Online Marketing Tactics

Have you wondered why some of your blogs get a lot of readers and some fall short? With all the information out there on the internet, your blog title and email subject line are more important than ever. Here are some tips that have been proven effective when it comes to titles:

1. “How to” titles clearly present solutions to common problems. Also, when you conduct keyword research, you will find that “how to x, y,z” ranks better in the search engines

2. “5 Ways” Blog Titles: Research shows that when a title contains a number it gets more attention. What’s also interesting- odd numbers are more effective than even numbers. People want to know right away what your blog contains and if it is worth their time to read it.

3. The Worst Way to/ Mistakes to avoid titles: people want to know the mistakes they should avoid so that they can succeed faster.

4. Questions that pique curiosity

5. Powerful words that get readers:

Using Google Analytics
(www.google.com/analytics)

Google Analytics is a free service that produces statistics about the visitors to a website. It can track visitors from which search engine or website they were referred by, email marketing, online PDF documents, and pay-per-click networks.

1. Understanding Traffic Building Behaviors through Statistics

If you know which online campaigns, keywords, and adwords are working and which ones are not, you can focus on the tactics that have been proven successful and change the ones that are not producing sales.

2. How to Build Meaningful Reports

Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) help you track what matters. Every industry is different, therefore goals are different. The best way to track KPI’s is to come up the ones that are useful in reaching your goal.

Here are some examples of formulas used to generate goals of:

This article was published in Franchising World Magazine in August 2009. http://www.franchise.org/Franchise-Industry-News-Detail.aspx?id=47280

In a world where technology has infiltrated the very fabric of our social culture, consumers have evolved to be human spam filters, adept at tuning out the constant messaging coming in from TV and banner ads, billboards, email newsletters and the like. With marketers now realizing that the age-old premise, “if you display it, they will see it,” may no longer be viable, the current buzz throughout board rooms, marketing forums and coffee houses is whether or not Mobile Internet Marketing is the next effective and practical progression in the marketing mix.

As companies question the effectiveness of traditional “outbound” marketing initiatives like broadcast and billboard advertisements, which push a message out far and wide, hoping that it resonates with a few individuals, they’re putting more emphasis on “inbound” marketing strategies that organically attract potential and already interested customers through search engines, blogs and social media. This has spurred franchises to take a closer look at making their messaging more local. Franchisors have moved from national level marketing, to regional, and local, by way of localizing online presence for every franchisee, and are now faced with Mobile Internet Marketing and wondering where it fits and what benefits it offers.

 In a world where marketing messages abound in nearly every aspect of daily life, a new, discerning consumer has evolved – one adept at filtering and tuning out information irrelevant to personal interests. Rightly so, franchise marketing tactics need to also undergo a major shift, since traditional outbound techniques such as advertising and unsolicited email blasts are increasingly becoming blocked or ignored.

                “Franchises should focus the majority of their marketing budget on inbound, not outbound initiatives,” said Jeremy LaDuque, CEO of Elements Inc., creator of ElementsLocal™, a new software solution for franchises that increases company leads through maximized search engine results. “When you push your message out far and wide with little discretion, you’re essentially crossing your fingers that it will resonate with a few individuals. Inbound marketing generates leads that are more abundant and credible, as potential customers seeking your services have been attracted organically through search engines, blogs and social media.”

• Get Local. Instead of relying on just one national web site for the entire franchise network, provide cross-linked autonomous and brand-compliant web sites for each location. As the franchisor, you benefit from:

o    A “network effect” of hundreds of web sites, each displaying relevant content about the company, being seen by search engines, which increases rankings and visibility

o    An ability to leverage each franchise by allowing franchisees to customize (according to franchisor specifications)  their web site with local content and local e-marketing campaigns

• Get Optimized. Some simple ways to get started with search engine optimization:

1)       Focus the attention of each webpage to just a few keywords

2)       Add relevant content about those select key words to that webpage

3)       Add those keywords to the title and meta tags of that webpage

Get Social. Social media is the fastest-growing segment of the Internet, and best of all, it’s much less expensive than most other marketing tactics. Get your franchise on board by:

o    Participating in social media sites such as Facebook and You Tube. Start a corporate Facebook profile and seek out fans or upload informative – or even humorous – videos that have “pass-along” potential, such as an engaging company story or client testimonials. This will help attract more visitors to your web site, increase your exposure within a larger audience and boost your search engine ranking.

o    Using a blog and/or Twitter to publish information about your business. Gaining “followers” or subscribers not only increases the audience for your company message, but also helps you gain valuable insight from the comments consumers leave on your posts.

• Get Efficient. Inbound marketing efforts are highly track-able, so employ various strategies to monitor the efficiency of your efforts. This will allow you to repeat what’s working, discontinue what’s not, and gauge what’s providing you with the best return on investment (ROI). Some helpful hints:

o    First, establish exactly what it is you want to track and make sure you have a way to measure what you want to track

o    Use statistical programs like Google Analytics to monitor web site traffic behavior – from number of pages viewed to length of time on the site

o    Use landing pages to track specific ad campaigns and/or marketing initiatives

o    Track throughout – from campaign to conversion to sale!

                “As franchises start to ‘think inbound’ in their marketing strategies, they’ll attract customers who are appropriate for and receptive to the company message,” said LaDuque. “This competitive advantage will not only save franchises money, but will also help them build lasting and loyal relationships with clients.”