Industry Guide · 1 of 16 chapters published
Google Ads for Franchises: The Complete Guide for Every Location and Territory
A franchise location runs Google Ads under a shared brand name. The territory is written in the franchise agreement, and the ads may be run by the franchisor, the franchisee, a brand fund or an appointed agency. Google sees none of that: it has no map of your territory, and neighboring locations of one brand can end up bidding on the same searches. These sixteen chapters build a Google Ads account in the order we build them, for franchisees and for franchisors running ads for their locations, using real searches, websites, ads and reviews from nine franchise locations in one example market, Orlando, plus three franchisor recruiting sites and 21 franchise disclosure documents. Your numbers will differ. The method works for a franchise anywhere in the US.
Franchise Locations Share a Brand Name, Not a Budget. Give Each One Its Own Campaign.
New account? Chapter 1 comes first. Each chapter uses the setup from the ones before it.
Measure
Count every call and form by location, then work out what a customer is worth against your required local spend
Franchise Call Tracking Needs a Number for Every Location. One Shared Number Can't Say Whose Lead It Was.
Ready-to-Buy Searches First
Local Spend vs Customer Value
Build
Location pages that match the search, local keywords, exact match, bids set by hand, and ads written from each location's reviews
Location Pages, Not Store Locators
Keywords From the Location Page
Near Me in Exact Match
Manual Bids, Then Shared Budgets
Ads From Location Reviews
Launch
Your territory drawn in ZIP codes, and the Google defaults to change before the first click
Territories by ZIP Code
Scale
Performance Max store goals, Demand Gen for a grand opening, each location's Business Profile, and AI Max last
Performance Max Store Goals
Grand Opening: Search First
Each Location's Business Profile
AI Max Last
Franchise
Bonus chapters: who runs the ads and owns the account, the brand name, and franchise development ads
Bonus: Who Runs the Ads
Bonus: The Brand Name
Bonus: Franchise Development
The Rollout, Month by Month
The order matters as much as the campaigns. Each step waits until the one before it has taught Google something.
Isolation and brand
Exact match on the searches you know bring customers, bids set by hand, each location in its own campaign aimed at its own ZIP codes, and the brand name bought once, centrally.
Exploration
Broad match with a target CPA once a location, or a group of locations, logs about 30 quality conversions a month. Busier accounts get there sooner.
Performance Max
The usual pace, not the rule. It waits for about 30 quality conversions a month, held steady, and store goals work best with several locations in one account.
Demand Gen and AI Max
Video once Search brings customers in and the budget can carry at least 10 times your target CPA, and AI Max last.
How to Use This Guide
Running one franchise location?
Read in order. Tracking calls by location comes before the first keyword.
Chapter 01 →Running ads for the whole system?
Start with the chapter on who runs the ads and who owns the account.
Chapter 14 →Recruiting franchisees?
The franchise development chapter covers ads that sell the franchise itself, and the state rules on filing them.
Chapter 16 →Google Ads for Franchises
Customers Review the Location, Not the Brand. Your Ads Should Sell the Location.
We've run paid ads for 25+ years and seen just about every way a budget goes sideways. Get on the phone with someone who does this every day. Bring your questions, your numbers and your skepticism. You'll hang up knowing what we'd do, whether you hire us or not.
Or see how our Google Ads management works.