Becoming the architect of a highly ranked franchise website may be easier than many believe.
Search engine algorithms look for three primary components – trust, structure, and the user experience.
Be a Trusted Source
Several factors assess your franchise website’s trustworthiness. Google begins by determining the degree of separation between your website and its seed-site. If the origin is reputable and not too far removed, rankings will organically increase.
Security plays a huge part in determining trust levels as well. Google will search any site that engages in eCommerce for SSL certificates. These encrypt important data, allowing a safe user experience during transactions. Sites that manage transactions without employing SSL certificates receive low rankings.
Google algorithms also measure how old a site’s information is. With an emphasis on new and high-quality franchise content, outdated information is not favored. For Google to consider your franchise website a trusted source, you must stay on top of updates and amendments. If glitches or broken links appear, fix them immediately. If you leave a site in disrepair, it will immediately fall off on rankings.
Employ a Clean Structure
In addition, it must be a well-organized site. Google algorithms prefer sites that it can index easily. Including simple structural elements should boost your franchise website’s reputation:
- Site maps: These facilitate easy navigation for search engines, which leads to better ranking.
- Contact: Providing contact information tells Google that the site can be trusted and that real people monitor it. It is ideal for contact information to match WHOIS inquiries.
- Terms of Service: Adding a terms or privacy section conveys a professionalism that Google is seeking.
As an added benefit, these factors lend themselves to a better user experience.
Create a Solid User Experience
At their core, Google designs algorithms to make sure users get the best experiences with high-ranking sites. They check for relevance, quality of content, mobile optimization, ease of navigation, and general usability. Search engines also pull reviews to see what users think of each site. This means that engaging and delighting the audience is just as important as nailing down the perfect formula for keywords. Always keep one eye on the target user and make sure they feel safe, informed, and happy when utilizing the website.
