How Franchises Can Win at Search

Transcription

1 How Franchises Can Win at Search A P R I L STEVE BUORS - CEO & CO-FOUNDER KIRK ALLEN - COO & CO-FOUNDER DEAN SPOKES METAL SUPERMARKETS The opinions or viewpoints expressed in this presentation do not necessarily reflect those of the Canadian Franchise Association (CFA) Reshift Media Inc.

2 ABOUT RESHIFT MEDIA 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

3 How we view the digital world

4 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

5 SEARCH FUNDAMENTALS

6 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

7 How search works Aluminum bar Index Other Websites Your Website

8 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

9 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

10 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

11 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

12 Product listing ads (paid ads) Search engine advertising (paid ads) Organic search results (unpaid) Local search results (unpaid) Search engine advertising (paid ads) Google News results (unpaid)

13 OPTIMIZING FOR ORGANIC SEARCH

14 Pet food Index Other Websites Your Website Off Page On Page

15 On-page opportunities Metadata Technology URL structure Site content

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19 Create unique metadata for all pages

20 URL structure is important

21 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

22 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 Franchising, Contact, Team, etc. Product #1 Detail Title: PRODUCT COMPANY NAME Description: Describe the specific product Content: Describe the product in detail Product 2, 3, 4, etc.

23 FRANCHISE ORGANIZATIONS HAVE A NATURAL GEOGRAPHIC ADVANTAGE

24 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 website.com/store123 website.com/store456 website.com/store973 website.com/store789 website.com/store159

25 Allows you to tailor your web presence to your local customers Provide key local information Address Hours of operation website.com/store123 website.com/store456 website.com/store973 Areas of specialty Search optimize your local pages to create natural local entry points for search traffic website.com/store789 website.com/store159

26 website.com/store123 website.com/store456 website.com/store973 website.com/store789 website.com/store159 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

27 USE YOUR HEFT TO DOMINATE LOCAL SEARCH RESULTS

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29 4in5 people conduct local searches. They search on: Source: google.com/think

30 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 Source: google.com/think

31 People act quickly after a local search % of people who visit a store within a day of their local search: searches on smartphone occur right before people visit a store Source: google.com/think

32 PAID SEARCH IS AN EXCELLENT WAY TO GENERATE LEADS QUICKLY

33 Paid search results in quick leads Purchase specific terms people are searching and target customtailored 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

34 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)

35 How paid search works Relevance Bid amount Quality Score X Max CPC = Ad rank (which denotes ad position)

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37 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

38 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

39 website.com/store123 website.com/store456 website.com/store973 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 website.com/store789 website.com/store159

40 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

41 DON T FORGET ABOUT MOBILE

42 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

43 Google is updating their algorithm As of April 21, 2015 Google is changing their algorithm worldwide to prioritize mobilefriendly sites in their mobile search results You can test your site here: google.com/webmasters/tools/ mobile-friendly/

44 SUMMARY

45 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 Ignore mobile at your own peril

46 CASE STUDY: SEARCH OPTIMIZATION AT METAL SUPERMARKETS D E A N S P O K E S D I R E C T O R F R A N C H I S E S U P P O R T & O P E R A T I O N S M E T A L S U P E R M A R K E T S 2015 Reshift Media Inc.

47 About Metal Supermarkets World s largest small-quantity metal supplier Business-to-business focused Over 70 brick-and-mortar stores across the US, Canada, and United Kingdom Serve over 60,000 customers Sell a wide variety of metals including aluminum, hot-rolled steel, cold-rolled steel, stainless steel, alloy steel, galvanized steel, tool steel, brass, bronze and copper 2015 Reshift Media Inc.

48 Objectives Increase traffic to our website Improve visibility over our competitors in the areas we operate Generate new leads directly to our local franchisees High quality Measurable Increase new customers & sales 2015 Reshift Media Inc.

49 Search strategy Based on our findings, we developed a targeted search strategy: Compete both locally and nationally at the same time for organic & paid search visibility to drive new business Incorporate a strong local focus to out-manoeuver national competitors Use our international scale to out-rank local competitors Capitalize on mobile search opportunity 2015 Reshift Media Inc.

50 First priority was to create a mobile site Enables greater visibility in mobile searches and a much improved user experience Overall mobile traffic 108% Mobile search traffic 92% 2015 Reshift Media Inc.

51 SEO implementation Use our scale to create a digital footprint to rank both nationally & locally Optimize our national pages to rank for non-branded searches Optimize our local pages to rank for local searches 2015 Reshift Media Inc.

52 Step1: Enhanced site infrastructure Ensured site structure is SEOfriendly Used keyword research to identify opportunities Included relevant metadata and content throughout the site Search traffic 102% 2015 Reshift Media Inc.

53 Step 2: Improved product pages Built out our metals pages to include search-friendly terminology to improve both search visibility and user experience After only 6 weeks: Section traffic 124% Search traffic 102% 2015 Reshift Media Inc.

54 Step 3: Invested in content creation Create relevant and timely information Use keyword research to determine areas of focus when writing content Train Google to come back frequently 2015 Reshift Media Inc. 4/1/

55 Step 4: Create unique local pages Eliminate duplicate information Include key local information Area / intersection Community-specific content Strong Call to Action 2015 Reshift Media Inc. 4/1/

56 Paid search implementation Created local paid search campaigns which were heavily geared toward generating local leads & in-store foot-traffic Geo-targeted so each franchisee targets only their area Negative keywords Keyed-in on competition Incorporated local search terms for increased relevance Ultimate objectives Lead generation & driving sales Visibility Lower cost & superior position over our competitors 2015 Reshift Media Inc.

57 Created unique local paid search pages Created individual landing pages for every location to encourage conversion Local address & hours Trackable local phone number which connects directly to local store Recorded for quality assurance Localized lead generation forms that go directly to local franchisees Product and services information to improve quality score 2015 Reshift Media Inc.

58 Engaged franchisees Corporate office set up the program and funded a trial and a campaign Refined & tested the local approach Included one month of paid search advertising for every store After the trial, we opened the program for franchisees to participate, at their option Franchisees can decide if they would like to contribute ad dollars from their local marketing fund, and how much More than 75% of franchisees are currently participating 2015 Reshift Media Inc.

59 Paid search results Have far exceeded even our most optimistic expectations >3% Click-through rates >20% Conversions rates $12 Cost-per-lead $150 Average sale 2015 Reshift Media Inc.

60 Summary Making use of our entire franchise network has been the real key to our success Strengthening our local approach has also made us more competitive nationally & internationally Engaging our franchisees in the process has been extremely beneficial A combination SEO and SEA approach provides a real competitive advantage Have seen measurable business results from our efforts 2015 Reshift Media Inc.

61 Steve Buors, CEO & Co-Founder Kirk Allen, COO & Co-Founder Dean Spokes, Metal Supermarkets RESHIFTMEDIA.COM SOCIALBRANDAMPLIFIER.COM G O O G L E. C O M /+R E S H I F T M E D I A / R E S H I F T M E D I R E S H I F T M E D I A / C O M P A N Y / R E S H I F T - M E D I A - INC 2015 Reshift Media Inc.