Per-location launch program · v1.1

Franchise location launch
SEO, local listings & paid media

A 30-day program run identically at every new Southern Luv BBQ franchise: location page, Google Business Profile, 40 local directories, review engine and paid media — all live on opening day. Section 01 is what we need from you, and by when. Nothing after it can start without it.

Brand flagship: Tampa, FL — 4.8★ / 806 reviews Timeline: T-21 → D+30 Owners: AG agency · FR franchisee · HQ brand

—tracked items

—directories

—data points

—photo assets

—accounts in client's name

What we need from you

due T-12 · red items block the launch

Three deliveries. The data pack by T-12, the accounts and access by T-10, the photo shoot on T-5. Items marked blocks stop the launch: the profile cannot be verified and the page cannot go live without them.

A · Data pack — due T-12

B · Accounts & access — due T-10, all in the client's name

We hold access, never ownership. Every account is created in Brand HQ's or the franchisee's name with the agency added as manager or partner, so nothing has to be rebuilt if the relationship — or the franchisee — changes.

Account	In whose name	Our access	Why
Domain & DNS	Brand HQ	DNS editor	Location pages live on the brand domain, never a franchisee microsite
Google Business Profile	Brand HQ location group; franchisee manager	Manager	Reviews and rankings survive an ownership change
Location email addresses	Brand HQ, brand domain	Delegated	Every account below registers to these — staff turnover never locks anyone out
Google Analytics 4	Brand HQ property	Administrator	One property, location-scoped reporting
Google Search Console	Brand HQ, domain property	Full user	Query history for the whole chain
Google Tag Manager	Brand HQ container	Publish	Tracking deployed identically at every location
Google Ads account	Franchisee, own card	Linked via our manager account	Spend and conversion history belong to whoever paid
Meta Business Manager & ad account	Franchisee	Partner access	Pixel and audience history stay with the store
Facebook location page	Brand HQ structure; franchisee admin	Admin	One review stream per location, consistent naming
Instagram profile	Brand HQ naming convention	Contributor	Protects the brand from squatted handles
Yelp	Franchisee, brand-domain email	Manager	Yelp binds to the claiming email — a personal address is a future lockout
Apple Business Connect	Brand HQ, brand level	Manager	Apple Maps is chain-managed
Bing Places	Brand HQ	Manager	Feeds Bing and Copilot local answers
Toast / POS & online ordering	Franchisee	Read + menu edit	Order attribution
DoorDash / Uber Eats / Grubhub	Franchisee	Store manager	We optimize the storefront, they hold the contract
Call tracking numbers	Franchisee, with a port-out clause	Admin	Public numbers must be portable to the client on day one of any exit
Review platform seat	Brand HQ	Operator	Review history is a brand asset
Photo & video library	Brand HQ, full buyout	Contributor	Assets outlive campaigns and agencies
Credential vault	Brand HQ, per-location shared vault	Member	No credentials in email or chat, ever

Two contract-level rules. A franchisee never registers their own domain for their store — it competes with the brand page and neither ranks. A call tracking number is never the primary phone on a listing — it fractures the citation record across the web.

C · Photo & video — one shoot day at T-5

Shoot to the brand direction: visible smoke, wood and metal trays, hands in frame, saturated bark and char, warm side light. No flat overhead minimalism, no cool cast, no empty plates. Photographer contract must include a full buyout to Brand HQ — perpetual, worldwide, transferable.

Set	Min.	Must include
Exterior, daylight	8	Storefront straight-on with signage, corner approach, door, parking, patio, street context, pylon sign, legible building number
Exterior, dusk	4	Lit signage and window glow — these outperform daylight shots on the profile
Interior	10	Dining room wide, order counter, menu board, booth, bar, decor wall, communal table, patio, view from the door
Food heroes	24	Top 12 sellers at two angles: brisket, ribs, pulled pork, the Cuban, signature sandwiches, sides, sauces, jerky
Craft & process	6	Pecan wood stack, loading the smoker, bark close-up, slicing, saucing, steam
Team & people	6	Pitmaster portrait, staff at the counter, owner, hands serving, guests eating — model releases signed
Catering setup	5	Chafing spread, boxed office lunch, wedding buffet, branded packaging, delivery setup
Brand marks	3	Square logo 720×720+, cover 1080×608, social share 1200×630
Menu flats	2	Printed menu and menu board, straight-on and legible
Vertical video	6	15–30s clips at 1080×1920: smoker open, slicing, tray build, walk-in POV, staff greeting, arrival
360 interior tour	1	Google Street View trusted capture — publishes straight to the profile

Spec: JPEG, sRGB, 2048px masters, under 5MB. No filters, borders, watermarks or text overlays on anything going to Google or Yelp — they get rejected. EXIF intact. Named slbbq-{city}-{category}-{nn}.jpg. RAW files delivered and archived.

The 40 local directories

submitted in tier order

Tier order matters: the maps and aggregator tier feeds most of the long tail automatically. Getting those ten right before building the rest is the difference between 40 consistent citations and 40 conflicting ones.

#	Directory	Tier	Owner	Cost	Why
1	Google Business Profile	Maps	HQ	free	The largest single source of local discovery
2	Apple Business Connect	Maps	HQ	free	Apple Maps and Siri — default on every iPhone in the trade area
3	Bing Places	Maps	HQ	free	Bing Maps, Windows search, Copilot local answers
4	Facebook location page	Maps	HQ	free	Top-three branded result and a second review stream
5	Instagram business profile	Maps	HQ	free	Location tag and visual proof
6	Yelp	Maps	FR	free	#2 restaurant review destination; feeds Apple Maps
7	Foursquare / Placemakers	Aggregator	AG	free	Powers location data in hundreds of apps
8	Data Axle	Aggregator	AG	free	Primary US business data aggregator
9	Neustar Localeze	Aggregator	AG	paid	Second major aggregator; skipping it leaves stale data circulating
10	HERE Maps	Aggregator	AG	free	In-car navigation and delivery routing
11	Toast first-party ordering	Ordering	FR	POS	Highest-margin path; every listing points here
12	DoorDash	Ordering	FR	commission	Its own search engine with real query volume
13	Uber Eats	Ordering	FR	commission	Same, plus Google profile integration
14	Grubhub	Ordering	FR	commission	Strong in office and campus lunch
15	ezCater	Ordering	FR	commission	Dominant corporate catering marketplace; highest ticket value
16	TripAdvisor	Discovery	AG	free	Ranks for "best BBQ in {city}"; captures visitors
17	Restaurant Guru	Discovery	AG	free	Ranks well on dish-level and near-me queries
18	MenuPix	Discovery	AG	free	Menu-level indexing for "{dish} near me"
19	AllMenus	Discovery	AG	free	Long-standing menu aggregator with durable rankings
20	Sirved	Discovery	AG	free	Menu and photo directory ranking on local dish queries
21	The Knot	Catering	FR	paid	Wedding catering — highest average ticket in the program
22	WeddingWire	Catering	FR	paid	Same network, separate audience and SEO footprint
23	Eventective	Catering	AG	paid	Corporate and private event leads
24	Thumbtack	Catering	FR	per lead	Pay-per-lead catering to fill the early calendar
25	Nextdoor Business	Local	AG	free	Neighborhood word of mouth — fastest early channel
26	Alignable	Local	AG	free	Local B2B network; office catering starts here
27	LinkedIn company location	Local	HQ	free	Corporate catering credibility and hiring
28	Better Business Bureau	Local	FR	paid	Authoritative link and a trust signal for catering buyers
29	Local Chamber of Commerce	Local	FR	paid	Strongest local link available, plus referral traffic
30	City / county tourism board	Local	AG	free	High-authority dining directory placement
31	Yellow Pages (YP.com)	Citation	AG	free	Legacy but heavily indexed on branded search
32	Superpages	Citation	AG	free	Same network, separate index footprint
33	Citysearch	Citation	AG	free	Long-tail city queries
34	Manta	Citation	AG	free	Small-business directory with solid authority
35	MerchantCircle	Citation	AG	free	Citation consistency and a followed link
36	Hotfrog	Citation	AG	free	Indexed profile with a usable description field
37	Cylex	Citation	AG	free	Fast to publish, adds NAP corroboration
38	Brownbook	Citation	AG	free	Open data directory that feeds other aggregators
39	EZlocal	Citation	AG	free	Local citation with category and photo support
40	ShowMeLocal	Citation	AG	free	Rounds out the long-tail corroboration set

Added in month two: Waze, TomTom, Zmenu, Beyond Menu, Yellowbot, Tupalo, iBegin, Local.com, plus the market-specific placements found in recon — the local paper's dining guide, the university's off-campus list, hospital and corporate-park vendor lists. Those usually beat any national directory for real traffic.

Paid media & targets

measured against the T-18 baseline

Campaign	Platform	Optimizes for	Launch budget
Brand defence	Google Search	Calls, direction requests	10%
Non-brand local	Google Search	Order clicks, calls	25%
Catering intent	Google Search	Catering form submits	20%
Performance Max, store goals	Google	Store visits, orders	20%
Opening awareness, 3-mile radius	Meta	Reach, offer redemption	15%
Catering lead form	Meta	Qualified catering leads	10%

Target	Day 30	Day 90
Map pack top-3 on head terms	3 of 10	7 of 10
Average map rank across the grid	≤ 8.0	≤ 4.5
Google reviews / rating	25 · ≥ 4.6	90 · ≥ 4.7
Calls from the profile	150 / mo	400 / mo
Direction requests	400 / mo	1,100 / mo
Catering leads · cost per lead	15 · ≤ $35	45 / mo · ≤ $22
Live citations verified	40 / 40	50+
Location page LCP, mobile	< 2.5s	< 2.0s

What the franchisee has on day 30

A verified profile with 46+ photos and a 360 tour
A location page indexed and ranking on brand + neighborhood
40 verified live listings with a URL log
Ordering, delivery and catering channels optimized
An automated review engine already producing reviews
Six live campaigns with 30 days of conversion data
A before/after ranking report against a real baseline
Every account in their name, credentials in hand

Monthly from month two

2 profile posts a week; 10 photos and 4 vertical videos
All reviews answered inside 24 hours
Geo-grid scan and citation health monitor
1 supporting content piece, 5 local link opportunities
Ads optimization and competitor watch
One report and one call

Investment

per location

Internal — replace these figures with the agreed rate card before this page goes to a client.

Line	Timing	Investment
Launch program — everything in sections 02–04	One-time, T-21 → D30	$3,500 – $5,500
Local SEO retainer	Monthly, from month 2	$1,200 – $2,000 / mo
Paid media management	Monthly	15% of spend, $750 min.
Ad spend — paid by the franchisee directly	Monthly	$1,500 – $3,000 launch · $900 – $1,800 steady
Photo & video shoot with full buyout	One-time, T-5	$1,200 – $2,400
Paid listings — Localeze, BBB, Chamber, The Knot, WeddingWire, Eventective	Annual	at cost
From the third location, templates carry over	—	−20% launch fee

What stalls a launch

and how each is defused

Risk	Mitigation
Google verification rejected or delayed	Started at T-7, not launch week. Signage installed before the video, lease and utility bill ready, two appeal cycles budgeted.
A stale listing from the previous tenant	The T-17 address audit exists for this. Removals filed before we create anything new.
Opening date moves	Ads stay paused until the franchisee confirms in writing; the profile opening date is updated the same day.
Data pack arrives late	Hard gate at T-8 with escalation to Brand HQ. Nothing is silently absorbed by the agency.
Menu or prices change after listings are built	Menu freeze at T-12; later changes are a scheduled sync task, not an emergency.
Early one-star reviews from opening-week service	The review ask starts on day one so volume dilutes early noise; every review answered within 24 hours.