SEO, Your Website & Franchising by Jon Roberts     At Hammerhead we deal frequently with franchised brands, and are always amazed about how easy it is for them to rank on search engines. One area which is which is unexplored, but ripe for development across many industries, is the franchise.  Many times your website will be beaten by chain stores, multi-center operations with a solid brand presence. Some key SEO factors are always present with a franchise: Linked websites, with similar subjects and content. Geo-located in different areas/countries. Cross website traffic.      Search engines are looking for all of these factors when looking to rank a website. As a single store, what could you do in order to compete with these corporate monsters? The first suggestion is simple, will have some good results and easily achievable. That is using what you have been given, if you were running a dive shop, brands like the agency you ascribe to, or even the union. They spend money, serious money, on advertising. If you succeed, they succeed. It’s a win-win. Add in references to their website(s), pay to get advertised on it, talk to the Regional Manager about what you can do to get a mention on their website. Envirnmental programs, sales drive, initiatives, try anything, the rewards are measured in cash, your companies life-blood. Even if the link on their website does not bring you in direct sales, the weight search engines put on that link will be worth the cost.    The 2nd suggestion is more radical, and definitely not for dive center managers looking for an easy wins, or with a faint heart. Franchise your brand, or even someone else’s.     That is basically you going to another dive center, of similar quality and suggesting you share branding, advertising and websites.  You will also need to agree on future shared goals.  If this was a meeting I can imagine most of the room would have left by now, but trust me, it will happen naturally anyway, so be a first mover. Find a similar business in another part of your country (not the same town) and offer to rebrand them or yourself. Even if you just share the same website address and logo, it will be more than enough to get noticed by search engines. It will also help with cross flow traffic as people stick with brands, it makes them feel comfortable. You could also talk to an expert on franchise modelling and get them to start a co-operative. This would probably be nearly as powerful as a franchise, but have less risk for participants. Again, pooled advertising, resources, etc. would make solid quick wins.    One rule that will be here forever regarding SEO is that you will have to work at it or pay for it.  There really is no replacement for hard work or money, if you haven't got the time or wish to learn the basics of the Hammerhead CMS SEO, then managing it out with a pack is good option.  But no matter what, search engines will only reward SEO that has had some time and thought put into it.