{"id":280302,"date":"2017-06-14T01:07:44","date_gmt":"2017-06-14T01:07:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.franconnect.com\/?p=280302"},"modified":"2024-05-28T18:49:39","modified_gmt":"2024-05-28T18:49:39","slug":"evaluate-your-franchise-recruitment-website","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.franconnect.com\/en\/evaluate-your-franchise-recruitment-website\/","title":{"rendered":"Evaluate Your Franchise Recruitment Website"},"content":{"rendered":"

FranConnect has been a long-time partner of the International Franchise Association<\/a> and Franchise Update Media<\/a> to score franchise recruitment websites based on a set of best practices. Here you will find our most recent findings for franchise development performance using a franchise recruitment website as the main tool for driving leads.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong> If you do not have a franchise recruitment website, stop what you\u2019re doing and create a plan to get one. It\u2019s a top lead generation tool for franchise brands. <\/em><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s dive in. The chart below is the criteria we use to evaluate franchise recruitment sites. Good recruitment sites will check the box on each of these criteria.<\/p>\n

Evaluation Criteria<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n

The Basics<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Unique URL<\/p>\n

Web Analytics<\/p>\n

Ranking on search<\/p>\n

Dedicated entry point
\nfor franchise page<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Website Usability<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Franchise content accessibility<\/p>\n

Process of learning<\/p>\n

Effective use of tech<\/p>\n

Overall site presence<\/p>\n

Optimized for mobile<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Basic SEO<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Title Tags<\/p>\n

Meta, Keyword Tags<\/p>\n

Strategy that drives content<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Key Content<\/strong><\/h2>\n

About us\/History<\/p>\n

Franchise info<\/p>\n

Application<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n


\nAs mentioned in \u201c<\/span><\/span>Optimizing Franchise Development: Old School Principles Meet New School Tools,\u201d it\u2019s important to audit your recruitment website regularly \u2013 at the very least once per year, but aim for once per quarter. Let\u2019s examine a few common areas of improvement that we discover during our scoring process. Be sure to take these into account while conducting your own audit.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mobile Responsiveness<\/strong><\/span>
\nMobile has become the dominant channel for inquiries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"Mobile<\/td>\n\"Mobile<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

As you can see, from 2013 to 2016, inquiries via phone have surpassed desktop significantly. Mobile responsiveness of websites has improved, but there is still substantial room for improvement for mobile navigation, use of forms, and readability. If you\u2019re considering a redesign of your site, consider approaching changes with a mobile-first approach instead of a desktop-first approach. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Unique URL<\/strong><\/span>
\nIt\u2019s imperative to have a unique URL for your franchise recruitment website. It keeps your customers and leads separate and gives you the ability to cater content toward these respective audiences. Your franchise sales leads aren\u2019t looking for the current promotion you\u2019re running; they are interested in learning what it takes to become an owner with your brand. Having a unique URL also helps with SEO because it\u2019s an entire second website dedicated to your brand.<\/p>\n

Franchise Opportunities button<\/strong><\/span>
\nThough prospective unit owners are looking for different information than customers, it is common for prospects to visit the main website of your brand before visiting the franchise recruitment site. Be sure to display \u201cFranchise Opportunities\u201d or \u201cFranchise with Us\u201d clearly on the homepage so interested parties know just where to click. Make it easy for them to get to where they want to go.<\/p>\n

\"Franchise<\/p>\n

SEO Basics<\/strong><\/span>
\nThere is a lot to cover when it comes to SEO, but it\u2019s important to call out. Every brand wants a beautiful, easy-to-use, informative recruitment site, but if no one can find it, what good is it? Make a list of keywords and go after them. Remember, keywords should reflect how prospects find you, not how you think about yourself. Place those keywords in your title tags, meta tags, and headlines, then sprinkle them strategically throughout the rest of the copy.<\/p>\n

Open Locations Faster<\/span><\/a><\/center><\/p>\n

Good Content<\/span>
\n<\/strong>SEO and good content go hand in hand. But remember that content is not solely for SEO \u2013 it\u2019s also providing information to inquirers. Talk about the benefits of franchising with your brand, provide the history of the company, be transparent about where they company stands today, and describe the opportunities that are available. Most important, make it clear how to be become a franchise owner with your brand, and who is a good fit for your brand<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pro Tip:<\/strong> If you want to take your content a step further, start a blog for franchisees. Use it as a platform for education, company culture, testimonials, and owner spotlights. It\u2019s great for SEO, too!<\/p>\n

\"Starting<\/p>\n

Getting Started<\/strong><\/span>
\nFilling out a form is just the beginning. What happens after someone fills out the form? Should they expect a call or an email? How long will it take for someone to reach out after submitting the form? What will the next step be? By outlining the stages from inquiry to application to Discovery Day, you are preparing your candidates to prepare themselves for what\u2019s ahead, as well as ensuring this is something they are ready to pursue. The more clarity you can provide, the more likely you are going to engage with qualified candidates.<\/p>\n

Pro tip:<\/strong> Add headshots and bios of your development team. Let prospects know exactly who they are going to be talking to during each stage of process.<\/p>\n

Testimonials<\/strong><\/span>
\nYour franchise recruitment website is a way to put your best foot forward and show prospects how rewarding it is to be an owner with your brand. Let your current franchisees do the talking for you. Use quotes, case studies, and video to display testimonials.<\/p>\n

Pro tip:<\/strong> Video is favored by Google when tagged properly, so go on \u2013 make your franchisees movie stars.<\/p>\n

\"Testimonials<\/p>\n

Use and Placement of CTAs<\/strong><\/span>
\nWhile providing good information is important, the whole point of that good information is to encourage the right people to take action. If your CTA button isn\u2019t easy to see, you\u2019re missing opportunities to engage with prospects. CTAs should live above the fold \u2013 ideally above and below the fold \u2013 and contact information should be prominently displayed. Don\u2019t make a qualified lead hunt for a way to reach out to you. Make it easy for them to make the first move.<\/p>\n

\"Download<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Request A Demo<\/span><\/a><\/center><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A franchise recruitment website is a critical driver of qualified leads. Learn how to evaluate your franchise recruitment site to improve franchise sales.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":283121,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[107],"tags":[45,46,69],"class_list":["post-280302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-develop","tag-franchise-marketing","tag-franchise-sales","tag-franchisee-engagement"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.franconnect.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.franconnect.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.franconnect.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franconnect.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franconnect.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=280302"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.franconnect.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280302\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":285098,"href":"https:\/\/www.franconnect.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280302\/revisions\/285098"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franconnect.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/283121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.franconnect.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=280302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franconnect.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=280302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franconnect.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=280302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}