Our CEO Jeremy LaDuque wrote an article that was featured today on Franchise.com. Within this article titled 5 Key Mobile Marketing Strategies for Franchises, he established five efficient tactics that will benefit your franchise.
Check out the full article here. 
Jeremy and COO Michael Boyer also hosted a free webinar of the same title this morning. To sign up for future webinars here.
On April 27th, after a week of rain the skies opened up and the group here at ElementsLocal stepped outside to have a company barbeque. Connecting on a personal level is important to us and this was a great opportunity to relax and hang out with colleagues, family and friends. This outing was also a great way to introduce ElementsLocal’s two new employees, Suzan Ehdaie and Theresa Phillips. Suzan is a great new addition to our engineering team and Theresa will use her experience with client services to help us out with our directory optimization and correction services. Michael Boyer, our CFO manned the BBQ and served up some Santa Maria Style Tri-Tip, while the rest of the crew pitched in for this potluck picnic. Check out the pictures below to see some great candid photos taken by our Lead Engineer Mark Montano.
Google has discontinued support for GeoSitemap XML files. The exact reason behind the move are fairly cloudy and this change was not announced to the public at large. Instead, thousands of webmasters just happened to notice that their GeoSitemap files suddenly displayed an error status in February & March of this year. The exact error those webmasters saw was “This tag was not recognized. Please fix it and resubmit.” The reported error was really vague and misleading and as I mentioned, this change came unannounced. It was only on March 20th in follow up questions from SMX West on Susan Moskwa’s Google+ page that any of this was explained.
“Google has retired support for the Geo Sitemaps format. You can continue to submit your Geo content to us using the standard Sitemaps format (just listing the URL of the file(s), without <geo>-specific tags)…
We previously supported an extension to the Sitemaps protocol where you could include tags in your XML Sitemaps that contained geo-specific
information in addition to the URL of your KML file. We no longer support those geo-specific XML tags in Sitemaps, but you can still submit the URLs of your KML files in a standard Sitemap format.” (http://goo.gl/ovcxf)
The good news is that Google still supports the use of KML files which help validate accurate business contact information which can lead to increased rankings in local search. Our recommendation is to add your KML file’s location into your general sitemap.xml which you would then submit to Google’s Webmaster Tools.
Google announced it will be releasing a new algorithm change that penalizes websites that are “over-optimized” or “overly SEO’ed.” This news was released by Mat Cutts, Google’s head of search spam, during his panel at SXSW.
Matt was responding to a great question asked by someone in the audience:
“With so many SEO companies showing up claiming to do SEO, a lot of markets are getting saturated with optimized content…What are you doing to prevent, for example, if you’re looking for something, and the first page is just optimized content, and it’s not what you’re actually looking for? Are you pretty much out of luck if you’re not optimizing your site but it has relevant content? If I’m a mom or pop and I’m trying to optimize a site by myself, I’m going to get beat by people paying thousands of dollars.“
Matt’s response was:
“We don’t normally pre-announce changes but there is something we are working in the last few months and hope to release it in the next months or few weeks. We are trying to level the playing field a bit. All those people doing, for lack of a better word, over optimization or overly SEO – versus those making great content and great site. We are trying to make GoogleBot smarter, make our relevance better, and we are also looking for those who abuse it, whether they throw too many keywords on a page, or whether they exchange way too many links or go well beyond what you normally expect in a particular area. It is an active area where we have several engineers on my team working on this right now.”
Cutts said the new “over optimization” penalty will be introduced into the search results in the upcoming month or next few weeks.
This news came as no surprise to ElementsLocal. As we monitor the constant Google changes we’ve noticed one thing – that Google is the great equalizer. They continually updates their algorithms in an attempt to normalize results, or as Cutts said “level the playing field.”
We believe this new change will give websites with great content a better chance at ranking above sites that have content that is just simply optimized. And who better to create great content, as well as create the vehicle to deliver that content locally, than a franchise system!
Franchise systems can really take advantage of this, as well as many other updates happening with Google, by doing two things. First, by putting a system in place that allows Franchisees to contribute great local content that is brand and SEO compliant. Second, by putting a system in place that allows the Franchisor to ‘push down’ or roll down content to all Franchisees with properly applied SEO, avoiding wasted time and energy and avoiding Google’s new penalties.
Here are 5 tips that will help you adhere to SEO best practice and avoid any potential penalties for having an “over-optimized” website:
Franchisee Sales and Marketing Summit was developed specifically to help franchisees and will be divided into four, one hour-long sessions and take place over four days, from March 26 until March 29.
Each session will cover a different topic, with Paul Segreto facilitating and presenting alongside an expert guest on the subject of focus. Additionally, ElementsLocal’s President and CEO, Jeremy LaDuque will present opening comments 15 minutes prior to each daily session and along with Paul Segreto, will also present a detailed summary of the entire Franchisee Sales and Marketing Summit at the conclusion of the last session.
To register for the summit and for more information on upcoming events sponsored by FranSummit visit the official website for FranSummit : www.fransummit.com
For more information on upcoming webinars visit http://elementslocal.com/Join/Elements2012WebinarSchedule.php
Google has a new way to connect your blog posts to your personal brand. By going into your blog and making some simple changes you can have each post point to an author page on your blog, which in turn you can link to the author’s Google+ page.
This is a huge opportunity because Google has more trust in articles that are written by unique authenticated authors. The more articles tied to your Google+ account and the more people who recommend your articles through Google+, the more weight your articles will carry when it comes to ranking your articles in Google’s search results.
On your end, here is how to authenticate your authorship on any blog you contribute to:
The following then has to be added to your blog. You may need your tech folks to do this part:
That’s it!
Here are a few simple ways you can optimize your Franchise websites for lead optimization. Read on to also see our 8 Point Checklist For LOCALIZING your Franchise/Franchisee’s Websites.
Have a Locally Optimized Website
Having a website that is optimized for local exposure gives your local franchises ‘credibility’ with the search engines. The franchisee will be seen as a local business and can enhance their authority as a local professional and expert and boost website conversion.
Keep Your Website Updated
Having up to date news and content on each Franchisee website, including local ‘Grass Roots’ news and information, is important to convey ‘freshness’ with search engines.
Put What the Consumer Wants Upfront
Put information about your services and products upfront. Also, make your join pages easy to get to! Front page access is best. Give them this information upfront; don’t make them dig around your site looking for it. Your website visitors have a need – i.e. the service you provide - and the sooner you demonstrate that you can satisfy that need, the better. Continue reading
We have seen change after change occur, both algorithmically and to the user interface of Google. All of these changes affect what franchises do to generate leads to at the local franchisee location. In this article we will explain the impact of Search plus Your World and provide instructions on how to change with the times.
In January of 2012 Google launched what they called Search plus Your World. The goal of this algorithm change is to create a very personalized result which they expect will have more value to the user than a more generic general result would. Google has been offering personalized search results for years, but average users didn’t even know that that they were being provided with personalized search because the difference between them and a generic search result was subtle. Search plus Your World entirely changes the search results layout and drastically changes the rankings of websites.
In 2010 Google launched a social network called Google+. What the public didn’t realize at the time is that one of Google’s purposes of this new social media platform was to create a way to authenticate people’s online persona. By doing so, Google can create rate the value of an individual social persona. This means that the websites recommended by a recognized industry writer will carry more weight than the recommendations of a faceless IP address. In the same line of thought, the recommendation from a peer in your circle of friends would be deemed as having more value to you because it is likely that they have the same interests and opinions that you do.
With Search plus Your World, Google brings those recommendations from your circle of friends right to the forefront and it can draw those recommendations from private conversations on their social network. The changes to the search results can be seen in the screen captures below. The image on the right shows how even a Google Image search is affected by this recent change.
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The problem is that Google is now showing more preference to their Google+ results than it does to other social networks and websites. Google draws the data for their personalized search results from the Google+ network only, stating that once other social networks will be included when they sign-up for a long-term partnership and offer up their networks worth of data completely to Google. Obviously Facebook & Twitter, advertising competitors of Google have serious reservations about both of these requirements.
Google is also bumping up the positions from these personalized results right to the top position. This might be great if your friends happen to be discussing something completely relevant to what you are searching for, but could also be just a text mention of a product or brand rather than a local store or website that can fulfill your needs. Take a close look at the image above on the left. The third result is a personalized result pointing me to the Google+ network to find information on ‘search engine help’. Well, this Google+ post is about a free tool that can show me where my site is listed on Google, but this isn’t really search engine help, is it? Obviously this is not the most relevant result I could be looking for and is definitely not worthy of a top result.
If you are wondering how your franchise can benefit from Google+ and Search plus Your World, the short answer is that every business can. Recently Google made a change to their search system that obscures the keyword terms that drive visitors to your website if they are logged into Google, whether that is because of Gmail, Google Docs or YouTube. So, instead of seeing the relevant keywords you will instead see (not provided). Now Google also creates a Google+ account profile automatically if you have create and account for any of Google’s online products. From this, we can see that the percentage of results arriving to your website as (not provided), actually have Google+ accounts and are actively logged in when they have made this search. According to reports from many companies, the current percentage of searches done by people logged into their Google+ account sits between 10-20%. One of our franchise client’s corporate webpage is showing over 30% of their search visitors are logged into Google+. That’s a significant percentage of potential leads and leaving them off the table by not optimizing for Search plus Your World makes no sense.
The link graph is dying. Obtaining links can be easily gamed. Recommendations from authentic industry experts and friends within a circle are the new most powerful search signals that Google is using to rate websites in their search results.
The first step is to setup a Google+ account for your business. Understandably a franchise may be leery about creating another social media account because they already have Facebook & Twitter accounts that they having difficulty keeping current, but Google+ is a game changer when it comes to search results and if you don’t grab a Google+ account for your business and begin posting to it now you will be playing catchup.
The first thing you should do is add Google+ badges on your website in conspicuous places on your website, near your companies contact information and in places near where your website’s visitors will be interacting with. These badges will drive interested users to your Google+ account and hopefully the content you post to your circles is interesting enough to them that they add you to their circles.
Secondly, you need to install a +1. Similar to a Facebook Like, a +1 button on your website encourages visitors to rate your website positively and these positive ratings will be delivered to others in their social circles.
The key to achieving success in Search plus Your World through your Google+ account is by recognizing your audience. Finding, growing and pruning potential leads and existing clients into your Google+ social circles is pivotal to ranking success. This isn’t Twitter. You don’t need millions of followers. What you should be targeting is your key demographic, people that are deeply entrenched in the products or services related to what your franchise delivers. Relevant links or Google+ recommendations –- similar to Facebook likes — from authentic industry experts will do more for your company’s search results than thousands of unrelated mentions from empty profiles will.
Now the goal of this social build-up is to get your Google+ page shared with other users through search or having other users share your website material. By creating high quality relevant content you can increase the odds of getting users to +1 your website’s content. With every Google+ update you should keep focused on moving the user from your social profile to your website’s lead generators whether those are a contact form or a newsletter sign-up page. Track those conversions and the sources that led to them and use those metrics to drive your Google+ campaigns.
Keep in mind that a Like, follow or +1 is great and may be something that you can measure by a simple line chart it is not a conversion. A conversion is an e-mail, a phone call or a join form that turns a user into a qualified lead.
Your franchise online marketing program needs to be built on a foundation of brand consistency Nationally AND Locally
Many franchises struggle with this issue as there is cross contamination of intended and un-intentional advertising and marketing content for a franchises anchor identity as well as well-meaning franchisees advertising outside of the franchise system.
This contamination causes confusion and noise for consumers in their search for business information through online, mobile, social and email channels thereby
cutting into the number of leads generated by your marketing efforts.
Now, we are all dealing with formerly offline-only media (e.g., newspapers, Yellow Pages) offering online versions, the intermingling of advertising information hascreated even more conflicting data. Continue reading
Pinterest is a new(er) social media site that could very well help you get the desired “local” exposure as well as engagement for your franchise. Read on to see how companies like
Lands’ End to Facebook are using Pinterest to their advantage.
Pinterest is a new, innovative and exciting site that allows its users to ‘Pin’ images from anywhere online. It has quickly become a large social community of people who like to view the world through imagery. Pinterest is built upon SHARING. Sharing personally built life categories with personally built content.
The best thing about Pinterest is the ability to get personal with others. For a business that could be showing and demonstrating their products and services to customers in a whole new way. This is a great platform to establish franchisees local presence through the personal ‘boards’ in Pinterest.
One of the biggest advantages to Pinterest is the demographic that has made the site so popular. The site caters to a female audience (reportedly nearing 70 percent), most of whom are under the age of 45. This much sought after demographic can play a key part in the purchasing decisions of the average American household and your bottom line.
How can your franchise brand use an image sharing website?
Whether you sell something that’s exciting, seemingly uninteresting or especially offer a unique service that’s hard to understand Pinterest will make it exciting and simple to understand through imagery. W a bit of creativity and research you’re bound to find a way to use the new platform. Especially if you use Pinterest to invite your customers into your personal franchise business or local franchise life.
Here are some creative ways to establish your brand locally with Pinterest
Hold a Contest
One creative way to utilize Pinterest is to hold a contest. Lands’ End recently held a contest they coined: “Pin It to Win It”. Participants were encouraged to browse the Lands’ End site, create pins of items they liked and the most creative and stylish entries won prizes. This kind of contest can engage your audience and also gets them to your site, browsing your products and linking to them!
A hair and beauty franchise could give a demonstration on quick hair styles or hold a contest as such while a food and beverage franchise could hold a local photo at the location contest. Again, creativity and making the contest unique with a local twist would be advantageous.
Conduct Market Research
Have plans to revamp services or products in 2012? Why not test out new products or even your upcoming ad campaign on Pinterest?
Other brands have started using Pinterest as a platform to conduct market research or test product launches. In a recent Mashable post, one creative suggestion was to use Pinterest as sort of a social online focus group to see first-hand reactions, on a platform not as inundated as Facebook.
Feature Customers
One way to appeal to this demographic is to play to their vanity. Feature customers on your Pins, especially if you have a clothing boutique or store. “Customer A paired these shoes, belt and top to create this stylish winter cocktail party look!”. Showcase customer purchases that exemplify their style or pin photos of products that go well together and that customer X recommends.
Present Concepts in a New Way
Pinterest allows you to add contributors to your boards. Have a few team members put together a storyboard on Pinterest to present to a customer. Or co-Pin with a customer to create a board full of ideas for their next event or shopping spree.
If the product or idea is presented in a clean, simple and creative way using Pinterest it can stand a chance of being better received. Not only that, it allows you to creatively engage with customers and prospects can see too!
Put a Face to Your Franchise Brand
Personalizing and localizing your brand can be a hard thing to do with plain ol’ web copy. Use Pinterest to showcase your brand uniquely, what makes you different, what your brand stands for and use it as an opportunity to highlight your employees too. Putting a face to your brand is key to localizing your brand and easily done with Pinterest.
Promote Your Franchise Image Content
A franchise brand could start a board on infographics. Feature all of your image content in one place for easy access.
Infographics, product photos and your own photography can be featured. Do your research and see how other brands are using Pinterest to share their image content.
Pinterest can help a customer see the full picture of their needs before they even know they need it. Pin photos of activities in the area and how they relate to your franchise, landscape photos, photos of the local business and of course the staff. The possibilities really can be endless.
These are just a few of the creative ways your franchise brand can use Pinterest to spark interest and engage with customers. And to wet your palate for Pinterest even more, check out the announcement from Facebook – 60 new and exciting apps were unveiled including a Pinterest app.
A picture is worth a thousand words, in Pinterest’s case, an image could be the local exposure your franchise brand is needing to establish that local location to generate more leads.
Here is a great article on Pinterest’s popularity and it’s ability to drive traffic: http://mashable.com/2012/02/01/pinterest-traffic-study/
Brought to you by ElementsLocal – the leader in branding your franchise locally.
