Google Ads for franchise brands: local and national

By Gijs Bodenstaff · Updated: 2026-10-04

With Google Ads for franchise brands, you spend your advertising budget where it brings in customers directly: around your locations, on keywords with purchase intent. We build one account structure for the whole franchise brand, with brand campaigns run centrally and local campaigns per location, so every euro from the marketing fund can be traced.

How do you set up Google Ads for a chain with many locations?

The mistake we see most often: every franchisee has their own account, or there is one national campaign without location targeting. The first means duplicated work and locations bidding against each other. The second leaves local opportunities untapped.

We work with a manager account (MCC) owned by head office, containing a brand campaign, local campaigns per location or cluster and Performance Max where appropriate. We link location extensions to the Google Business Profiles.

Google Ads campaign structure for a franchise brand
Campaign	Purpose	Budget from
Brand	Protecting your own brand name	National fund
Generic national	New customers at product level	National fund
Local per location or cluster	Searchers within the radius around the location	Local budget or fund per location
Franchisee recruitment	Leads for new entrepreneurs	Franchisor budget

How do you split the advertising budget fairly across locations?

This is a sensitive issue in every franchise brand. A location in a large city has more search volume than a location in a village. That is why we propose an allocation key based on search volume, competition and goals per location, and make visible what each location gets back for its contribution. You can read more about these trade-offs in the marketing fee in franchising.

Examples of allocation keys
Method	Advantage	Disadvantage
Equal per location	Simple and easy to explain	Large locations get too little
By revenue	Aligns with the fee contribution	Small locations do not grow
By search volume in the region	Budget where the demand is	Requires more explanation
Base + performance budget	Fair and motivating	Requires good measurement

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What do we take off your hands with paid search for franchises?

Account structure, conversion tracking and linking with Google Business Profiles.
Keyword research per sector and per region.
Ad copy with local variables (town name, opening hours, offer).
Weekly optimisation of bids, search terms and exclusions.
Monthly report per location and for the franchise brand.

Benefits of centrally managed local Google Ads
Benefit	Explanation
No internal competition	Locations do not bid against each other
Brand protection	Competitors cannot simply take your brand name
Economies of scale	One good ad works for every location

Which mistakes do we often see in the Google Ads of franchise chains?

In almost every baseline measurement we come across the same patterns. They cost money without anyone noticing, because nobody looks at the account per location.

Franchisees advertise on the brand name themselves and drive up the cost per click.
Campaigns target the whole of the Netherlands, while customers only come from within fifteen kilometres.
No conversion tracking for phone calls and directions, so the focus is on clicks rather than customers.
Ads without a location extension, so the address of the nearest location is missing.
No exclusions for job seekers and people looking for freebies, so budget leaks away to applicants.

Fixing these five points often delivers more than increasing the budget. That is why we always start with an audit of the existing account before building anything new.

When should you choose Ads, and when local SEO?

Ads delivers immediate visibility, while local SEO builds lasting visibility. We mainly use Ads where a location is not yet at the top organically, for new locations and for promotions with a deadline. Once a location ranks strongly in Maps, the local budget can come down. That is how Google Business Profile management and Ads work together. To recruit new entrepreneurs, we use Ads alongside recruiting franchisees with online marketing.

Who does what: your marketing team, the franchisee and us
Task	Your team (head office)	Franchisee	Franchise-Marketing.nl
Setting the budget	Owner	Optionally chooses extra local budget	Advises on the split
Local promotions	Approves	Submits promotions	Puts campaigns live
Optimisation	Receives report	Receives own figures	Weekly

Frequently asked questions about paid search for franchises

What does Google Ads cost for a franchise brand?

There are two cost items: the media budget that goes to Google and our management. You set the media budget yourself; for management we quote a fixed monthly price based on the number of campaigns and locations.

Can a franchisee add extra budget themselves?

Yes. Within the structure, a location can use extra local budget, for example for an opening or a promotion. It remains visible separately in the report.

Who owns the Google Ads account?

Always head office. We work as a manager within your manager account, so you are never dependent on an agency for your data.

How do you measure whether Ads leads to visits to the location?

With conversions such as directions, phone calls, appointments and forms, and where possible with store visits. We link this to the revenue figures the franchise brand already has.

Does Google Ads also work for hospitality and healthcare?

Yes, but the approach differs. In healthcare, additional advertising rules apply; in hospitality it is often about reservations and delivery. We work this out per sector.

How do you set up Google Ads for a franchise chain with many locations?

Work with one Manager account (MCC) owned by head office, containing a brand campaign, local campaigns per location or cluster and Performance Max where it fits. Link location extensions to the Google Business Profiles. That prevents every franchisee from having their own account and locations bidding against each other.

How do you split Google Ads budget fairly across franchise locations?

Use an allocation key that suits your franchise. Equal per location is simple, but large locations get too little. Splitting by turnover matches the fee, but small locations do not grow. Splitting by search volume puts budget where demand is. A base plus performance budget is fair and motivating, but requires good measurement.

Which mistakes do franchise chains make most often in Google Ads?

The five most common mistakes are: franchisees advertising on the brand name themselves, campaigns targeting the whole of the Netherlands while customers live nearby, no conversion tracking for calls and directions, ads without a location extension, and no exclusions for job seekers and people looking for free options. Fixing these often delivers more than a bigger budget.

When should a franchise choose Google Ads and when Local SEO?

Google Ads delivers immediate visibility, Local SEO builds lasting visibility. Use Ads mainly where a location does not yet rank at the top organically, for new locations and for promotions with a deadline. Once a location ranks strongly in Google Maps, the local advertising budget can come down.

Should franchisees advertise on the franchise's brand name themselves?

We advise against it. When franchisees advertise on the brand name themselves, they bid against each other and against head office and push up the cost per click. That is why we protect the brand name with one central brand campaign from the national fund, while each location gets local campaigns for searchers within its radius.

Gijs Bodenstaff
Franchise marketer, local SEO and GEO specialist, author

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