How Local Search Can Make The Register Ring This Holiday Shopping Season

Online shopping is a massive industry, especially during the holiday season when in-store shopping can be a hassle for consumers. But let’s not forget that e-commerce sales still pale in comparison to in-store purchases. In fact, 90 percent of retail purchases are made in-store. That presents a big opportunity for franchise retailers and restaurants to capitalize on the holiday uptick in business.

But how can these franchise brands max out their revenue this holiday season? In an article from Franchising USA Magazine, Location3 CEO Alex Porter says investing in local search marketing is the most efficient strategy for franchise brands and multi-unit businesses.

Porter details overlooked strategies such as simply making sure your business location is discoverable online as well as developing ads for non-branded industry keywords that speak directly to the user. Here’s an excerpt from the article.

Holiday shoppers can be stressed and easily annoyed, meaning retailers have to work harder to please them. Is your location discoverable online? Can someone easily find it using Google, Facebook, Amazon or Edge?

Bad data can wreak havoc on your brand by showing conflicting local search listings for your business and has the potential to keep your listing from appearing at all. Your location(s) will be undiscoverable, resulting in a lost of sale and overall revenue.

Brainstorm non-branded, industry keywords based on user query data within online directories and search engines. Consumers are increasingly searching for agnostic terms, “roasted turkey,” instead of for a specific brand (Boston Market). Ignoring these general searches will potentially let the competition capture those customers and incremental revenue.

Use that same data to develop product- and category-focused ads for these brand-agnostic search queries, and develop ad copy and ad extensions that speak directly to the user and their immediate interest.

For further analysis and insight, including how to speak to your customer better than your competitor, the full article can be read here.