Should your multi-location business have one main website, one website with a local page for each location, many unique and highly relevant localized websites for each local business, or some combination of the above?
In podcast episode 10, I dove into this topic with MarketSnare partner, Tim Flint, of Flint Analytics. We discussed how multi-location businesses that implement a scalable solution by creating multiple localized websites for their market locations, often see dramatic increases in their local search visibility and conversion rates.
So why is it that many multi-location businesses are hesitant to transition from a single website solution or to add multiple region-based websites? In short, many business owners simply don’t know technical solutions exist that give companies the tools to efficiently manage multiple websites from one centralized location. Which is exactly what the MarketSnare platform does.
Web localization may seem like a lot of work, but in the long run, the organic visibility you gain from localizing grows exponentially, making it worth any extra time and effort.
SINGLE WEBSITES: GO SOLO?
A single website is a centralized space which you can optimize for localization. One way many companies do this is by creating individual localized pages for describing each of their local businesses. This could look like having one website for staffing, and a dedicated page for each of your twenty staffing offices spread across the U.S. Reasons for implementing this type of strategy might be:
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To save on costs: with one central website, you save on paying for multiple domain registrations, hosting multiple websites, etc.
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To save time: maintaining just one website may require less time and money compared to many
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When the products or services are impulse driven with little or no localized search activity or competition
MULTIPLE WEBSITES: THE MORE THE MERRIER?
There are other companies that opt to create location-specific websites for each local branch of their company. Building multiple geographic-specific localized websites might mean if you have multiple business locations throughout the U.S., each would have their own stand-alone website, focused on using key-words prevalent in each local area. Using this strategy:
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Spot-light individual offers more effectively: seasonality, timing, and community connection.
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Feature localized keywords on each website that are relevant to that particular area, building trust, relevance, and authority with search engine algorithms, design to provide customers with the most relevant and helpful results. One location-focused page on a big website won’t be relevant enough to aggregators to show up in location-specific search results, like “Dentist near me.”
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Prominently display a single phone number on each website: make each location’s specific local phone number easily accessible. Using local phone numbers signals that your business is a part of its local community.
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Harness local authority: by being a part of the community, your company will be utilized by its community.
These are just some of the things to consider when trying to determine what kind of web strategy is best for you and your multi-location business. For more resources on this topic, be sure to check out my chat with Tim Flint on our podcast , or follow us on social media.
Thanks for reading!