According to a recent survey by Franchise Business Review, franchisees estimated that they spent an average of $11,600 on paid search ads in 2012. This makes sense as paid search ads are proven to be the most effective form of digital advertising for generating new leads and revenue.
However, many franchisees go about this process all wrong. In fact, according to the same survey, only 32% of respondents had a positive return on their paid ad campaigns last year. This doesn’t have to be the case – follow these tips, and you’ll see your ROI rise!
Control Your Results ByGeotargeting A Location
One of the biggest mistakes made by franchises using online franchise display ads is not geotargeting their ads. When you target a certain location, you can control the results you see much more accurately. For example, if you’re a pizza franchise in Dallas, Texas, you’ll want to target people in the Dallas area specifically. This way, you’re not wasting money on ads that show up for people in other states or countries.
Target Competitors’ Customers
If your franchise offers a similar product or service as your competitors, consider targeting their customers with your online display ads. This will help get your message in front of people who are already interested in what you have to offer. It’s also a great way to steal market share from your competitors!
Use Negative Keywords
Negative keywords are a great way to avoid casting too wide of a net. For example, if you own a pizza franchise in the Dallas area and you don’t want to target people who live outside the state of Texas, add negative keywords like “tx” or “texas.” This will keep your ads from showing up for people searching terms that include those words and limit your results to what you’re looking for.
Take Advantage Of Custom Audiences
If you’ve had success with Facebook’s custom audiences feature, consider creating an ad campaign on LinkedIn using this tool. According to Marketing Land, one top restaurant franchise saw their click-through rate (CTR) increase by 315% when they used LinkedIn’s custom audiences feature to target customers who had previously visited their restaurants.
Let New Leads Come To You With Mobile Ads
Mobile ads are incredibly targeted, easy-to-use, and typically have a great ROI for your franchise’s online display ad campaign. According to the Franchise Business Review survey, 31% of respondents found mobile ads very effective last year. Be sure to work with an experienced mobile lead generation agency if you haven’t used this tool before – it can be tricky.
