The Truth About Multi-Location Franchise SEO (And Why AI Isn’t What You Think)

Multi-location SEO is messy, misunderstood, and rarely done right. In this episode, Greg Sterling, Mike Blumenthal, and Steve Wiedemann break down the real challenges of scaling local SEO across franchises—and what’s actually working. From internal organizational hurdles to content strategy, reviews, imagery, and long-tail search behavior, this conversation dives deep into what drives visibility today. Plus: why AI isn’t yet delivering meaningful traffic—and what multi-location brands should actually be doing to prepare. 00:00 Intro & Steve Wiedemann background 02:30 Why SEO is hard to “teach” (and constantly changing) 05:00 The scientific approach to SEO testing 07:30 Biggest multi-location SEO challenges 12:40 Photography, reviews & user-generated content 17:00 Getting franchisees to actually take action 20:10 Common SEO mistakes brands make 22:00 Long-tail search behavior & menu-driven queries 25:30 The shift toward conversational search ⸻