Eight Best Practices for Retail Franchise Web Sites

We here so much about conversion rates for Internet Marketing campaigns, yet not all Web Sites are selling products or services online. Or, if they do, they do so as a secondary revenue stream while the primary purpose for the Web site is to get people in the door of one of their multiple retail store locations. These multi-location retailers have goals for their Web sites that are distinct from other types of retailers.

Foot Traffic, not Cyber Traffic

The conversion that multi-location retailers are looking for is turning cyber traffic into foot traffic. Once in the store, the POS marketing efforts can take over. For these retailers, the two main goals of a Web site are to help customers find their nearest store and navigate to it as well as to allow customers to research products before they purchase. Consistency of branding, messaging and domain names on Web sites are important, even in the context of paid search advertisements, to affirm credibility and bran safety, creating trust in the consumer's mind that right from the source is the best, most relevant information.

The following are eight best practices for multi-location retailer Web sites:

1. Maintain only one Web site for consumers.
   Multiple Web sites for one corporation can be confusing for consumers because they don't know where to go or who to trust online.  One corporate Web site with a "store finder" utility is best for a retail franchise.
2. Use only one domain name.
   Both search engines and consumers can get confused and disoriented when your information is scattered among multiple domains. You don't have multiple logos or multiple names for your company, so why have multiple domains?
3. Build regional and location-specific microsites that are flexible and updated often.
   Microsites are smaller sites within your corporate Web site that can be tailored for each brand or location. Keep them fresh with new and frequently updated content.
4. Use Geo-IP technology to automatically list the closest locations on the home page.
   One of the main things customers want to know when visiting your Web site is where to find one of your locations. Make this as easy as possible with Geo-IP targeting.
5. Make location search prominent and easy to identify in navigation.
   Always feature the "Find a Store" link prominently in your main navigation.
6. Use the domain as the display URL in all paid search campaigns.
   Vanity URLs or other domains can be misleading and disorienting to customers.
7. Employ a search engine optimization (SEO) strategy that works.
   Make sure that the people who are looking for you can find you quickly and easily. Target both nationally, for generic terms, and locally, for location searches.
8. Use Web forwarding services.
   If you use separate domains for tracking purposes, use the forwarding services provided by domain registrars to direct them directly to regional or location-specific pages within the main Web site.

Employ these eight best practices and watch the foot traffic through your retail location doors increase, sometime dramatically.

This is the first blog post in a four-part series about multi-location retailers and their Internet best practices. Next time, we'll address the three main reasons why it's important for these retailers to have only one domain Web site.