Digital Strategy for Multi-Location Businesses: Run Your Branches Like a Winning Football League

Digital strategy for multiple locations: run your branches like a winning football league

If you’ve got more than one branch, clinic, office or shop, your online presence can quickly turn into organised chaos.

One location is smashing it on Google. Another is invisible. Facebook pages are duplicated. Staff change, opening hours don’t. Your website feels like a patchwork quilt stitched together over years.

That’s where a digital strategy for multiple locations comes in. Think of it like running a football league: each branch is a team, your brand is the club, and your website is the stadium where all the action happens.

In this guide, we’ll walk through a simple, practical approach to:

• Keep every location visible in search
• Stop your brand going "off-piste" across branches
• Make your website work harder as you scale
• Avoid the classic multi-location mistakes that waste time and money

Why multi-location businesses need a different digital strategy

Running digital for one location is like managing a local five-a-side team.

Running digital for five, ten or twenty locations? That’s the Premier League.

You’re suddenly dealing with:

• Different opening hours
• Different staff and photos
• Different local competitors
• Different local events and offers
• Different Google Business Profiles

If you don’t have a clear plan, each location starts doing its own thing online. That might feel "entrepreneurial" at first, but it usually leads to:

• Inconsistent branding (different logos, colours, tone of voice)
• Confusing customer journeys (out-of-date info, dead links)
• Poor local search performance
• Duplicate content across the site (which Google doesn’t love)

A good digital strategy gives every branch the same playbook, while still allowing room for local flair.

Step 1: Decide your formation – central control vs local freedom

Before you touch your website, you need to decide: who’s actually in charge of what online?

Use this simple framework:

What should be centralised?

These things should almost always be controlled centrally to protect your brand and avoid chaos:

• Brand guidelines (logo, colours, fonts, tone of voice)
• Website structure and main pages
• Core service descriptions and pricing strategy
• Overall SEO strategy
• Main advertising accounts (Google Ads, Meta Ads)

This is like setting the club philosophy: how you play, what you stand for, what "good" looks like.

What should be local?

These things can (and usually should) be handled locally, with guidance:

• Local photos and team profiles
• Local promotions or events
• Local partnerships (e.g. schools, charities, other local businesses)
• Responding to local reviews
• Local social posts (where appropriate)

This is where each team brings its own personality to the league.

Action step: Write a one-page "digital playbook" that clearly says:

• What’s controlled centrally
• What locations can adjust
• Who is responsible for each part (name, not job title)

This alone stops 50% of the usual multi-location headaches.

Step 2: Build a website structure that can scale (without falling over)

Many SMEs with multiple locations start with one site, then bolt on extra branches over time like conservatories on a bungalow.

It works… until it doesn’t.

The scalable structure: one main site, many local hubs

For most UK SMEs, the best setup is:

• One main website (your main domain)
• One dedicated page per location, following the same structure

For example:

• yourbrand.co.uk/locations/edinburgh
• yourbrand.co.uk/locations/leeds
• yourbrand.co.uk/locations/brighton

Each location page becomes a local hub with:

• Clear local contact details
• Map and directions
• Opening hours
• Services available at that location
• Local reviews
• Local photos and team

Think of your main website as the stadium, and each location page as the home dressing room for that branch.

What to avoid

Try not to:

• Create a separate website for each location (nightmare to manage, dilutes SEO)
• Use only one generic "locations" page with a list of branches but no dedicated pages
• Mix locations on one page (e.g. "Manchester / Stockport / Salford" all in one)

Action step: If you already have multiple locations, list them and check:

• Does each have its own page?
• Can you reach each page in 2 clicks from the homepage?
• Does each page have unique, locally relevant content?

If not, that’s your first big win.

Step 3: Treat each location page like a mini home page

A common mistake is treating location pages as an afterthought – a couple of lines of text and an address.

But for local customers, that page is your homepage.

Imagine someone in Leeds searches "[your service] near me". They click your Google listing and land straight on your Leeds page. If that page looks half-baked, they’ll assume the business is too.

What every location page should include

Use this as a checklist:

• Clear headline: "Plumber in Leeds – 24/7 Emergency Callouts" rather than just "Leeds"
• Local intro paragraph mentioning the area, services and who you help
• NAP details (Name, Address, Phone) matching your Google Business Profile
• Map & directions (embed Google Map if appropriate)
• Opening hours (and any special hours – bank holidays, late nights)
• Services at this location (if they differ from other branches)
• Local reviews from customers in that area
• Team section – real faces where possible
• Local photos – outside, inside, nearby landmarks
• Clear calls to action – call now, book online, get a quote

Make it feel local (without writing an essay)

You don’t need 2,000 words per location, but you do want:

• Mentions of local areas, neighbourhoods, or landmarks
• References to local needs (e.g. "We support many of the independent cafes around [area]")

Think of it like writing a welcome sign: "You’re in the right place, and yes, we really are local."

Step 4: Get your Google Business Profiles in order (no duplicates!)

For multi-location businesses, Google Business Profile (GBP) is your digital shopfront on the high street.

Done well, it can bring in a steady stream of local customers. Done badly, it can:

• Confuse people with old phone numbers
• Show the wrong opening hours
• Send people to the wrong place

One location = one profile

You should have:

• One verified profile per physical location
• Each with its own:
  • Address
  • Phone number (ideally local)
  • Category
  • Opening hours
  • Link to the correct location page on your website

Avoid:

• Shared profiles for multiple branches
• Duplicate listings for the same address

Simple GBP hygiene routine

Once a month, have someone check:

• Are all addresses and phone numbers still correct?
• Do opening hours match the website?
• Are there any new reviews needing a response?
• Are there any user-suggested edits to approve or reject?

Respond to every review – good or bad – at branch level, but following a central guideline for tone and approach.

Step 5: Balance brand consistency with local personality

This is where the football league analogy really helps.

All teams wear the same kit, logo and colours (brand consistency), but each manager has their own style, and each stadium has its own atmosphere (local personality).

Lock in your non-negotiables

Create simple guidelines that cover:

• Logo usage (no stretched or recoloured versions)
• Brand colours and fonts
• Photography style (no random stock images that look nothing like you)
• Tone of voice (formal, friendly, playful?)

Make this genuinely easy to follow:

• Send locations a shared folder of approved images and logos
• Provide template copy they can lightly adapt
• Offer a simple "Do / Don’t" one-pager instead of a 40-page brand bible

Encourage local stories

Within that framework, encourage branches to:

• Share local charity work or sponsorships
• Highlight long-standing staff members
• Celebrate local milestones ("Serving Barnsley for 10 years")

This builds real connection without turning your brand into a patchwork.

Step 6: Track performance by location (not just overall)

If you only look at total website traffic or total enquiries, you’ll miss what’s actually happening on the ground.

One branch may be absolutely flying, while another quietly struggles.

Basics to track per location

Set up your analytics (e.g. Google Analytics 4) so you can see for each location page:

• How many people are visiting
• Which locations get the most enquiries or bookings
• Bounce rate / engagement (are people sticking around?)
• Which traffic sources work best (Google search, ads, social, email)

Even simple insights can be powerful:

• "Leeds gets fewer visits but converts more – what’s Leeds doing right?"
• "Bristol gets loads of traffic but hardly any calls – does that page need clearer CTAs?"

This turns guesswork into decisions.

Step 7: Plan growth before you open the next branch

Many SMEs only think about digital after they’ve signed the lease on a new location.

A better approach is to build digital into your expansion plan, so your new branch doesn’t start three steps behind.

Before you open a new location

• Create the location page (even if marked "Coming soon")
• Claim and set up the Google Business Profile (as much as Google allows pre-opening)
• Add the location to your website footer / locations page
• Plan any local launch campaigns (PPC, social, email)

This way, when the doors open, you’re not starting from zero online.

Common multi-location mistakes (and quick fixes)

1. Copy-paste content across all locations

Problem: Google sees it as duplicate content, and customers can tell it’s generic.

Fix: Keep core service info the same, but customise:

• Intro paragraph
• Local references
• Team and photos
• Reviews

2. Mixing all locations on one contact page

Problem: Confuses users, especially on mobile. Hard to track performance.

Fix:

• One main "Find a location" page
• One clear contact section per branch
• Dedicated location pages for detail

3. Different phone numbers everywhere

Problem: Customers don’t know which to call, and Google gets confused.

Fix:

• One primary number per location
• Use that number consistently on:
  • Website location page
  • Google Business Profile
  • Local directories

When to bring in a web agency (and what to ask for)

If you’re already feeling like the manager of a very disorganised league, it might be time for help.

A good web agency should be able to:

• Design a site structure that can handle more locations as you grow
• Build flexible location page templates that look great and are easy to edit
• Set up tracking so you can see performance by branch
• Align your website with your wider digital strategy (search, ads, content)

When you speak to an agency, ask:

• "How would you structure our site for 5 locations now and 15 in future?"
• "How will we keep location pages consistent but still local?"
• "How will we track enquiries per branch?"

If they can’t answer that clearly, keep looking.

Ready to make your multi-location business feel less chaotic?

If your branches currently feel like a collection of separate teams rather than one well-run club, your digital strategy is probably the missing piece.

At Los Webos, we help UK SMEs build websites and digital setups that:

• Keep every location visible and consistent
• Make it easy for customers to find the right branch
• Scale smoothly as you open new doors

If you’d like your multi-location website to feel more like a well-run league and less like Sunday kickabout, let’s chat. We can review your current setup and suggest practical, no-jargon improvements tailored to how your business actually works.

Get in touch with Los Webos to talk about your multi-location web strategy.