Multiple Locations with Branded Name/Keyword in URL

[mittcom]

I have a client, let's call him "Bob".  Bob has 2 stores where he sells "Widgets", Bob's Widgets and Bob's Widgets South.  These locations are roughly 40 miles from each other and serve two different marketplaces.  Each location has their own website "www.bobswidgets.com & www.bobswidgetssouth.com".  Each location is run by different individuals.  The Store Manager at Bob's Widgets is complaining that when you type "Bob's Widgets" into the search engines "Bob's Widgets South" website is indexing in the 2nd and/or 3rd position.  The Store Manager at Bob's Widgets feels that Bob's Widgets South could be stealing business from him because of the way Google is indexing the sites.

I have explained to him that the keyword the user is typing in is in both names of the locations and in each URL and this is prompting the search engine to index both sites.  Am I missing something else???

[RyanPurkey]

Ha! I think you might be missing a psychology degree in order to solve this problem. Actually, it's probably something simpler, Store Manager of Bob's Widget's isn't performing as well as Store Manager of Bob's Widget's South and he's looking for outside reasons as to why.  Bob on the other hand should be ecstatic that both his stores are ranking so well in the engines for a branded search.

I'd go beyond the keyword explanation though and say, "We're going to get ALL of Bob's Widget Stores to rank as highly as possible, so Bob can sell more widgets to more people.  More people going to either or both stores is the opposite of a problem."  Something along those lines.  Good luck!

[LauraSultan]

What's the rationale for having two separate websites if both locations are owned by the same person, under the same brand, and sell the same products? These two websites will naturally compete head-to-head for a lot of different queries, not just branded ones. The ideal scenario would be to merge the two websites under one domain and set up individual landing pages for each location. Then, focus on optimizing for local search. If you do this, Google should display the location that is closest to the searcher for branded searches.

I realize that it may be a tough sell to the owner to consolidate the two sites, but I would certainly try to get them to sign off on it.

[mittcom]

Thanks Ryan.  My thoughts exactly.

[RyanPurkey]

There are several businesses for which this isn't the best course of action though, for example something like car dealerships, or even car brands that differentiate their sites by country.  Typically the common denominator for making that choice though is that the location plays nearly--or as large--a role as brand. "Bob" might fall under the same category, which makes it hard to say if having him consolidate sites is ideal.

[mittcom]

Thanks for the response.  Yes Bob's falls into the car dealership category.  The second location is taking the #2 & #3 spot in the SERPs while the other website takes the number #1 position with sitelinks.  Client is beyond furious, I am having a difficult time explaining this to the client.  Any thoughts?

[RyanPurkey]

Who is your client? Bob? Or the guy who manages just one of Bob's stores?  If it's Bob getting mad about this I'd be pretty stumped as well.

[mittcom]

the guy who manages the store.

[RyanPurkey]

Oh! That makes WAY more sense (as to why he'd be mad). The way you phrased your question earlier made it sound like the store owner was your client and that you had interactions with all of the parties involved.

It sounds like the store manager is asking you to try and do things that could run contrary to what the store owner wants. The best situation for you would be to work directly with the owner, not this manager.  If that's not possible, you might have to just let this client go.

[LauraSultan]

Yes, I can see how merging the two websites would not be advisable in this scenario.  I still think your best bet is to focus on local search optimization, especially if your client is just the manager of one location. As Ryan said, it would be better to work directly with the store owner.

[mittcom]

We work with all parties that are involved, from Store Owner to Store Manager.

[RyanPurkey]

Of all the stores?  If you have access to the overall owner of this have them deal with the store manager.