How to Beat Local Franchise Competitors with Smart SEO (James Dooley Chats With Luke Bastin)
Download MP3In this episode of the James Dooley Podcast, James Dooley sits down with franchise SEO specialist Luke Bastin to break down exactly how multi-location and franchise businesses can beat local competitors in crowded markets. They cover the real-world strategies that move the needle for franchise locations, including why proximity and dominance in a tight radius matters first, how to optimise Google Business Profile categories and opening hours consistency, and why relying on just a website + GBP leaves money on the table
Creators and Guests
Host
James Dooley
James Dooley is the founder of FatRank which is a UK lead generation company. James Dooley is the current CEO of FatRank that provides high-quality leads for UK business owners.
Guest
Luke Bastin
Luke Bastin is a fractional in-house Search Engine and LLM Visibility Lead known for his work in entity-first SEO and search visibility systems. He specialises in technical SEO, semantic SEO, and LLM visibility optimisation, helping businesses improve how they are understood and surfaced across search engines and AI-driven platforms. Luke works with multi-location and franchise businesses, as well as SaaS and B2B companies, where he builds scalable SEO systems that drive pipeline growth, increase qualified inbound demand, and improve conversion through website performance. He also advises C-suite and senior decision-makers on search strategy, helping organisations strengthen brand equity through increased visibility in AI-driven search experiences.
