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Can you launch a franchise and still do your own SEO?

  • TommyCarey Level X3
    • 14

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    Can you launch a franchise and still do your own SEO?

    When people start thinking they want to own their own business, they usually go the franchise route because it's a proven business model that is already working, and they don't want to take a ton of risk in the first few steps of their journey.  Now, the problem with a franchise is that you don't always have control of your website or marketing, and to someone like me who has been doing SEO and branding online for over 15 years, that's something which could be a deal breaker when thinking about starting up a franchise.

    Don't get me wrong, the franchise model is definitely a great thing to go with if you want to run a business, but you usually don't have creative control and you're at the mercy of the PR team employed by the corporation running the franchising.  Many people actually complain that there isn't much promotion being done online and offline for their franchises, and that's one reason people are afraid to get into them, so a lot of people will start doing their own marketing to pull in new clientele.  Depending on the franchise you're in, you might actually be breaking something in the agreement you sign when starting, which states something along the lines of "You can't do your own marketing online or offline because it could damage our brand as well as offset other franchises around you".  So, we'll be covering a few things to think about when you want to launch a franchise and still do your own SEO.

    Franchises are pretty strict on what marketing you can do
    When you own a website you can do whatever you want in the marketing and branding department because it's yours.  When you own a franchise, you don't really own the name or business, you're a franchise owner and are essentially making money off of the business someone else created.  Business owners who are franchising out their name to you don't want you to soil it with bad marketing, so they make you sign an agreement saying you'll let them do everything and not step foot in the marketing industry for your franchise.

    This works out well for people who just want to run the franchise and make money day to day through the marketing that is done by the big corporation owning the name.  But, if you're like me, you might want to do your own marketing because you're actually pretty good at it and can localize it to target specific people in the area Can you launch a franchise and still do your own SEO?  This is one of the reasons I really don't want to get into any sort of franchise, I like to be my own marketing director and not let other people take control of my image.

    Most franchisees make you pay for optimization
    When you sign up for a franchise you'll be paying franchise royalties, which will cover marketing and optimization, which usually comes in around 8% to 12% of your net profits each month.  You can't really negotiate this pricing because if you get a different rate, everyone else will have to as well, and that's a lot of paperwork to just change a percentage lol.

    You can't usually access the code of the business website, which means optimizing any sort of page or listing you're on is impossible, so you're hands off when it comes to SEO and your franchise.  Most corporations that are franchising their name don't want you to hurt their online image, so they will just add you to their main domain and that means you're just getting a single subpage for your website, which isn't much.  Yes, you can get listed on various directories online and show up in Google Places, but that's usually what the company is charging you for, so you don't have to focus on that much.

    There are ways around franchise rules
    Usually, you're not allowed to do any marketing for your own website or do any SEO, but normally there isn't anything saying you can't build up an online reputation through social media management of your own pages as well as building 3rd party websites that funnel in customers.

    This is a tricky thing to do, but it can be done if you're strategic, so be sure to go over your plan of attack multiple times before you execute.  Set up a facebook page for your franchise, get thousands of people from the area to like your page, then copy and paste anything the big corporation is posting to their own pages.  If you can essentially mimic the big corporations business page on facebook, and all the other platforms, you can funnel people to your business and not piss off anyone in the meantime lol.

    They expect you to run the business, not boost online traffic
    When signing up for a franchise, the owners are expecting you to run the business and not try to boost traffic through promos and deals of your own.  You could actually put some other franchises near you in an awkward situation if you're giving out $1.00 off coupons for a cheeseburger and it's not a national promo.  The customer will get your coupon, go to a different franchise, and get turned away because it's not a real promotion and they will feel like they're being taken advantage of.  Some customers might argue with the other franchise, and that means it could come back to fall on you, and you could likely lose your franchise because you're breaking a rule in the agreement you signed when you wanted this franchise.

    The franchisor wants you to feel like a business owner, but essentially you're just a general manager who is running the store and paying the big man, which isn't a bad deal because you're only giving away 8% to 12% to run under an already successful business plan and name.


    In conclusion
    Franchising is great for the majority of the world, but for select few like myself and possibly you, it might not be the right path because we want to run our own promotions and do our own SEO to bring in customers.  I plan on setting up a physical business in the food and beverage department, and I don't want to go the franchise route because I have too many ideas to act on, and if I have a franchise I won't be able to do that.  Franchises are a good thing if you want to run a business and have someone else do the optimization and marketing, so remember that if you want to be a franchise owner.


    Remember to follow me!
    https://www.seoclerks.com/user/TommyCarey


    Thanks!

    Tommy Carey

    #Franchiseseo SEO
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    Thank you Have a nice post

    Regards
    6 years ago

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    overcast

    overcast

    I think there are some SEO franchise that have decent white lable system. So for those affiliates who don't want to work on the clients and just want to earn the referral commission. They can work on the product such as this. And that can bring some results too. So I'd say it's a good service in that case to work on the SEO through existing franchise system.
    6 years ago

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    TommyCarey

    TommyCarey

    Well, having a white label business and being an affiliate are completely different.

    A white label service does all the work on the back end while you take any profits from the services sold, and the reports and work looks to be done by you. You're not actually doing any of the work, you're just generating leads to your own website that is making the sale, then you're setting up the campaigns within the original company's site and keeping the profit. Once the work is done, you can add your own logos and websites to the reports then send it to your clients. This method means you're answering all the phone calls, emails, and tickets that come in because you're operating as a business and not an affiliate.

    As an affiliate to an SEO company, you're just sending traffic through a link that is specified as yours, which means you will get a commission on every sale that comes through your link. This method allows you to only talk to the company you're sending leads to and not having to answer a single client email or ticket.
    6 years ago

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    overcast

    overcast

    Yes I completely understand that both are different. However in both cases the role for us is to just generate the traffic towards the services. And the profit will be slightly similar. Though we can ask for more profit for white lable compared to the affiliate. That being said, franchise and white lable model seems good.
    6 years ago

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    Corzhens

    Corzhens

    The franchise owner will get rich quickly if his franchise is acquired by many customers. And you can only have that opportunity when the business you are in have made some headway in terms of profit and had established its brand as one that is trusted and can be relied on. I have some friends who acquired a franchise from a popular eatery but I cannot imagine the initial cost that they had to pay.
    5 years ago

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    overcast

    overcast

    Rich quickly is harder in SEO and social media world. Because the people who pay you want to see the results. And the results don't happen that quickly. What I have noticed that SEO and social media type jobs are easier to be done if the people are focusing on delegation side. Like you can hire few people. And from there onwards you can get the franchise to work for the rest.
    5 years ago

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    treecko142

    treecko142

    Yeah, I think one should really understand what he's getting into first before venturing into any business, and while franchising provides stability and an already established name in the market, it might be not in line with your personal goals as a business owner in terms of growth and having your own business, among other things.
    6 years ago

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    TommyCarey

    TommyCarey

    Correct, if you just want to run a business and not worry about anything in terms of SEO, marketing, lead generation, where to get inventory, etc. you would likely go the franchise route. If you want to do everything yourself, while taking all the glory, you'll want to focus on your own thing and build it up so you can profit even more.

    Don't get me wrong, a franchise will certainly make you a decent amount of money if you have the time to invest into it, but it's not for everyone Can you launch a franchise and still do your own SEO?

    I always think of the saying "If you don't have an idea, you're likely making someone rich who does" and that essentially means you're working for someone who had an idea and ran with it, if you don't have your own business idea. This is similar to how a franchise works, you're going to make some money, but you're also just filling the pockets of the company who started it all. The benefit of running a franchise is that they won't be taking 50% or more of your profits, they will only make you pay an average of 8% to 12% of your net profits as a franchise fee each month. This basically lets you use their name and image to make money of your own.

    I can see the benefits on both sides, some people would rather work with an established brand and profit while others want to build their own brand and take a chance of making much more money. Going the franchise route is safer because you'll likely have sales coming in right away and going the route where you start your own brand has a lot of challenges and risks, but you can make a lot more during the year compared to a franchise if you're doing everything right.
    6 years ago

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    Martinsx1

    Martinsx1

    One advice that I have always given to myself or any other person seeking for my suggestion before getting into anything online business is that it's very important to take a training course and master what you want to do before jumping onto it, even when you see other people doing well in it. Remember that old saying - Knowledge is power, so take the advantage of knowing before going in and have all the facts at hand then decide if it's worth it.
    6 years ago

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    jaymish2

    jaymish2

    I think when you buy a franchise you buy a business system that has proven to work. That's essentially what you are paying for, that's why they would do your marketing, because it is part of the package.People are different, I would rather buy into a franchise, once i have learned to run the business, I can then try out my own ideas. Marketing is the hardest thing about a business, I 'll appreciate any help I can get. They are good franchise ideas like McDonald and KFC. Why would I refuse years and years of experience.
    6 years ago

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    Kakashi2020

    Kakashi2020

    You can simply go around those franchise rules and create several sites and do SEO on them, that sums it up.
    6 years ago

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    Corzhens

    Corzhens

    I am not really for a franchise because I know of people who failed in businesses. They paid a high franchise fee and before one year of operation, the business closed shop. Anyway, I understand that with a franchise business, your hands are tied because there are parameters that you cannot violate especially regarding the business standards that include marketing. So at the outset, you have to come to terms with that reality and forget doing your own SEO for your website that runs under a franchise.
    6 years ago

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    jpk0007

    jpk0007

    Well, I would prefer even a small business of my own rather than opting to go for a franchise. whenever you venture into the business world the first motivation for you to start a business is the freedom to carry out and execute your own ideas. I don't think if one opts for the franchise route, he is able to get complete independence to implement his own plans. I would rather start from scratch and build my own company even if takes more time, investment and a lot of hard work.
    6 years ago

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