Blue Grid Media runs Google Ads and Local Services Ads for franchise systems and multi-unit franchisees, with franchise groups of 20 to 36 locations behind us: $599 a location for 2 to 9 locations, $499 at 10 and $350 at 20, month to month.
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Both sides of a franchise system call us, and they describe the same four problems from opposite ends. Each one is about who pays for which search.
Corporate runs brand ads in my territory, and I pay for the same clicks locally.
Item 12 of the FDD has to say whether the franchisor reserves the right to sell inside your territory through channels such as the Internet. The account should follow what it says, and split brand searches from local ones accordingly.
Half our franchisees run their own Google Ads and bid on our brand name.
Google shows one ad per business in a single ad location, so franchisees bidding on the brand are competing with each other and with the fund. Brand terms belong in one campaign, run centrally.
Website leads go to the wrong franchisee.
Routing by postal code against the territory list, set up before launch, ends the argument before it starts. A brand site with a store finder does not do it on its own.
We cannot see which locations the ad fund actually helped.
Item 11 asks how the fund was used, including the share spent on media placement. Reporting spend and booked work per location is how the fund answers its own franchisees.
The FTC Franchise Rule, 16 CFR 436.5, read on 6 October 2026, makes Item 11 of the disclosure document describe the advertising program: the media the franchisor may use, whether coverage is local, regional or national, and whether the franchisor must spend anything on advertising in the area where the franchisee is located. For an advertising fund it asks who contributes, how much, who administers it, and how the funds were used in the last fiscal year, 'including the percentages spent on production, media placement, administrative expenses'.
Item 12 covers territory. Where there is no exclusive territory the document must say: 'You will not receive an exclusive territory. You may face competition from other franchisees, from outlets that we own, or from other channels of distribution or competitive brands that we control.' It must also disclose whether the franchisor reserves the right to use channels 'such as the Internet' to make sales within the franchisee's territory. A Google Ads account is one of those channels.
Contributions, administration and the share spent on media placement. The account reports in the same terms.
Whether franchisees must join one, and how its area is defined. That area is a set of location targets.
Whether the franchisor may sell inside a territory online. Brand and local campaigns are split to match.
A franchise territory is usually defined by postal codes, a radius or a population. Google Ads can target all three. An account that targets each franchisee's city instead of its territory pays for overlap the agreement never allowed.
Where territories touch, the account decides which location appears and routes the lead to the owner of the territory it came from. Where there is no exclusive territory, the FDD has already told the franchisee to expect competition, and the account can say how it is shared.
Each location targets the codes in its territory, and nothing outside it unless the agreement allows.
Defended centrally from the fund, so franchisees are not bidding against each other for the name.
Calls and forms sent to the franchisee whose territory they came from.
A launch campaign and a Local Services Ads profile ready for the first day, not the second month.
Most of the friction in franchise advertising is about money buying the wrong search. The table sets out what each budget is for, and where it usually goes wrong.
| Budget | What it should buy | Who sees the results | Where it goes wrong |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand or national fund | Brand searches, and searches where no franchisee operates | The franchisor, and each franchisee for their territory | Spent inside territories without a rule the franchisee can read |
| Local or regional cooperative | Non-brand searches across a shared metro | The members, split by territory | One location wins every auction because nobody split the budget |
| The franchisee's own budget | Non-brand searches inside their territory | The franchisee | Bids on the brand name and competes with the fund |
| Franchisor-owned outlets | The same searches as a franchisee, under the same rules | Head office | Contributing on different terms from franchisees, which Item 11 asks the FDD to state |
Item 11 and Item 12 references are to 16 CFR 436.5, the FTC Franchise Rule disclosure items, read on eCFR on 6 October 2026.
Across the team's career we have managed franchise groups of 20 to 36 locations, including 56+ gym accounts across two franchise groups, and 250+ contractor accounts. Our gym page covers the allocation economics of a multi-club brand in detail.
We are a Google Partner. We do not publish franchise brand names or their spend without permission, so this page describes the work rather than naming the systems. Each account manager carries 20 accounts at most, which matters when one franchise system is twenty of them.
Run as a system, with brand campaigns central and local campaigns per location.
The largest share of our franchise work, across two franchise groups.
Across the team's career, from single shops to multi-location home service companies.
Per-location pricing is published, so a franchisor can budget it before the first call and a franchisee can see what their share will be. The calculator uses only our published rates and the numbers you type in.
Enter the locations and the group's monthly ad spend. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Published rates: $695 for one location on Google Ads ($995 with Local Services Ads), $599 a location for 2 to 9, $499 at 10 to 19, and $350 an account from 20, or 10 percent of spend when 20 or more locations run inside one account. The calculator shows the per-location rate; we confirm the structure on the first call.
The first month of a new franchise is the most expensive one to waste. A location that opens with no reviews, no Local Services Ads profile and a campaign still learning spends its launch budget on nothing. Most of the setup can happen before the doors open.
Postal codes or radius copied from the agreement into the location targets, checked against the neighbours.
Licences and insurance for the location gathered before launch, because Google asks for them per location.
The location page in the system design, with its own tracking number and booking path.
Higher in the first weeks while the location has no history, then set by the same rules as every other location.
Franchise accounts change hands: a location is sold, a franchisee exits, a system changes agencies. Whoever owns the ad account owns years of conversion history, and that should be decided in writing before the first click, not argued about at the exit.
We open every account in the name of whoever is paying for it, franchisor or franchisee, and say so in writing. If a location is sold, the account can pass with it. If we leave, nothing has to be transferred, because none of it was ever ours.
Stay with the system, whoever operates the locations.
Stay with the franchisee, and can pass to a buyer with the location.
Manager access that can be removed in a minute, with nothing held back.
The Item 11 and Item 12 wording is from 16 CFR 436.5, read on eCFR on 6 October 2026. The Google Ads and Local Services rules are from Google's unfair advantage, multiple accounts and Local Services help pages, read 17 September 2026. Account counts and the 20 to 36 location figure are Julian's. Per-location prices are our own published rates.
No franchise brand names, no client spend and no franchise case study, because none is published with permission. Nothing here is legal advice about your franchise agreement or disclosure document; your franchise counsel decides what they require. We build the account to match what they say.
A franchise system buys search for three different owners at once: the brand, the franchisee and sometimes a cooperative. Each line below has its own budget, its own campaign and its own answer to who sees the results.
The system name, defended once from the brand fund instead of by every franchisee bidding against the others.
Non-brand searches inside each territory, paid from that location's budget and reported to that owner.
A campaign and a Local Services Ads profile ready before opening day, so the first month is not spent learning.
Shared metro campaigns for a local or regional cooperative, with the budget split by territory.
One profile per location, each with its own licences, because Google asks for them per location.
Recruiting new franchisees is a different buyer. Item 11 of the FDD asks what share of the ad fund pays for it.
A call or form sent to the franchisee whose territory it came from, by postal code, before anyone argues about it.
Spend and booked work per franchisee, so the fund can show where its money went.
Google shows one ad per business per ad location. Every franchisee bidding on the brand is bidding against the others and against the fund.
Google names multiple accounts used to get around its policies as not allowed. More accounts do not buy more ads.
The territory list in the agreement is the targeting plan. An account that ignores it pays for overlap the agreement never allowed.
When a franchisee leaves or a system changes agencies, the history should stay with whoever paid for it.
Google says that where a business has multiple locations serving the same geographic area, Local Services will show only the highest ranking ad, and that a business serving in multiple locations must provide business and employee level licences for each location. We read both on 17 September 2026. Overlapping territories add paperwork, not placements, so each profile is drawn to the franchisee's own territory.
These are the terms franchise owners and marketing leads use when they shop for an agency, from Google Keyword Planner for the United States. The franchise terms sit at medium competition, and the multi-location SEO terms draw bids up to $70 a click.
| Search term | Monthly searches | Competition |
|---|---|---|
| franchise marketing agency | 320 | Medium |
| multi location seo | 260 | Low |
| franchise digital marketing agency | 210 | Medium |
| multi location local seo | 210 | Low |
| franchise ppc agency | 70 | Low |
| franchise lead generation | 70 | Medium |
| franchise advertising agency | 50 | Medium |
| multi location business marketing | 40 | Low |
| multi location marketing agency | 30 | Low |
| local marketing for franchises | 10 | Low |
| google ads agency for franchises | 0 | Unknown |
| hvac franchise marketing | 0 | Unknown |
Run on 6 October 2026, United States, English. Read from Keyword Planner on 6 October 2026. Franchise marketing agency is the head term at 320 a month and $16 to $43 a click. Franchise lead generation draws bids up to $144, and the multi-location SEO terms up to $70.
$599 a location for 2 to 9 locations, $499 a location at 10, $350 an account at 20, or 10 percent of monthly ad spend when 20 locations run inside one account. A single location stays on our published $445 for Local Services Ads, $695 for Google Ads and $995 for both. No setup fee, no contract, month to month, and Google bills the ad spend directly.
Every location's account is opened in the name of whoever owns it, franchisor or franchisee, and that is written down before we start, along with the landing pages, call tracking numbers and conversion history. The multi-location page compares the three structures and their costs, and our 62-agency pricing study shows what others charge.
Blue Grid Media is a franchise marketing agency that runs Google Ads and Google Local Services Ads for franchise systems and multi-unit franchisees across the United States, has managed franchise groups of 20 to 36 locations including 56+ gym accounts across two franchise groups, publishes per-location pricing of $599 a location for 2 to 9 locations, $499 at 10 and $350 at 20 accounts, works month to month with no contract and no setup fee, and opens every location's ad account in the owner's own name.
Blue Grid Media provides exclusive franchise location leads in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Miami, Atlanta and Phoenix, and in roughly 50 United States metros in total, generated from a Google Ads and Local Services Ads account held in the client's own name rather than bought from a lead seller and shared, priced at $445 a month for Local Services Ads management, from $695 for Google Ads and $995 for both, month to month with no contract and no setup fee.
Both. A franchisor wants brand campaigns run once and a system each new owner can switch on. A franchisee wants their own territory full. We have managed franchise groups of 20 to 36 locations, including 56+ gym accounts across two franchise groups.
$599 a location for 2 to 9 locations, $499 a location at 10 and $350 an account at 20, or 10 percent of monthly ad spend when 20 locations run inside one account. No setup fee, no contract, month to month.
Usually not. Google shows one ad per business in a single ad location, so franchisees bidding on the brand compete with each other and with the fund. Brand terms run once, centrally, and franchisees buy the non-brand searches in their own territory.
By copying the territory list. Each location targets the postal codes or radius in its agreement, leads are routed to the franchisee whose territory they came from, and overlap is decided by the account rather than by whoever bids highest.
Under 16 CFR 436.5, Item 11 describes the advertising program and any advertising fund, including who contributes and how the money was used, with the percentages spent on production, media placement and administration. Item 12 covers territory, including whether the franchisor may sell inside a territory through channels such as the Internet.
Yes, with its own licences. Google says a business serving in multiple locations must provide business and employee level licences for each location, and that where locations serve the same area, Local Services shows only the highest ranking ad.
$599 a location for 2 to 9 locations, $499 at 10, $350 an account at 20, or 10 percent of monthly ad spend for 20 locations in one account. A single location is $445 for Local Services Ads, $695 for Google Ads or $995 for both. No setup fee, no contract, month to month.
You do. We open it in your name and it stays there, along with the landing pages, the call tracking numbers and the conversion history. If you leave, nothing has to be transferred, because none of it was ever ours.
We do not sell franchise location leads and we do not resell them. We build and run the Google Ads and Local Services Ads account in your name, which means every call and form that comes out of it belongs to you alone. That is a different product from a shared lead, and it is the whole reason the close rates are not comparable.
We provide exclusive franchise location leads in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Miami, Atlanta and Phoenix, and in roughly 50 United States metros in total. Campaigns are managed remotely, so the market is set by your franchise territories rather than where we sit.
Not on the list does not mean not covered. We run franchise location accounts nationwide across the United States, including smaller and rural markets where the auction is usually cheaper than any metro above.
Each franchisee gets a local page in the system's design, with its own number, territory and booking path, so the brand stays consistent and the lead lands with the right owner.
Most local searches happen on a phone, so the page is built to load fast there. Faster pages convert more of the clicks you have already paid for.
Every call and form is connected to tracking from day one, so you can see which ads and which pages actually produce booked work rather than just traffic.
On-page SEO and local schema markup so the site earns map and organic visibility over time instead of only working while the ads are switched on.
Bring your territory list, the advertising section of your FDD and which locations run their own ads today. Twenty minutes gives you where locations overlap, who should pay for which searches, and what it would cost per location. No charge.
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