An Online Tool To Find SEO Clients?

8 replies
  • SEO
  • |
Hello Warriors,

I recently decided to make some extra money freelancing my web development and programming skills and was looking for a way to find clients. I set up email alerts for CL and other job posting sites as well as spamming out messages on freelance websites(even though I know it is a very tough market). When reading up on how others had solved this problem of getting off the ground I read some interesting advice for the search. The post recommended going into Google Maps and looking at the websites of local businesses to see which ones weren't responsive(which can be an easy sell as half of all web traffic is mobile nowadays), loaded slowly, had poor search results etc. As I started clicking around and bookmarking potential leads I realized that it was taking a ton of time to even build a small list of leads.

I wondered if anyone had built a tool to automatically search through sites by area to find business websites with the above problems. I figured it would be an easy way generate an effective lead list to jumpstart a dev agency, get more work for a freelancer, or grow an existing web development or design business.

After a few hours of searching and not finding anything that solved the problem I decided to built it myself. I whipped up something useful in a weekend using Ruby on Rails and started building lead lists with the intention of distributing them to some friends of mine who have sales experience and would work for commission(I'm terrible at cold calls so I needed the help). The tool pulls in business names, emails, websites, addresses and phone numbers then checks whether the business website is responsive. If it isn't responsive(potential client!) it does further analysis for site speed, mobile usability, and page rank. It is currently in a half finished state but I have already made a chunk of money using it for only a couple weeks. Someone who could cold call/email themselves would be able to make even more than I am by selling white-label dev services or SEO.

My question for you guys is: does this kind of tool have any value to you or your business?

I'm not trying to sell you anything or wow you with my sales numbers from this "magic tool"(I have gotten a couple responsive design clients but i started with none so I consider it a big step). I am considering putting in time to rebuild it and make it much faster, easier to use, and prettier but I would like to hear from you guys whether or not this is something that you would use to help find paying clients for Web Development and SEO services.

Also if you think this is a good idea feel free to help me brainstorm names for it! So far it is just called "Lead Builder"(but that isn't very sexy).
#clients #find #online #seo #tool #web
  • Profile picture of the author naveena4nk
    Speak at events/hold site clinics
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    • Profile picture of the author repressedemu
      Please elaborate. I don't understand what that has to do with this tool.
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  • Profile picture of the author octalsoftware
    There is no tool to find SEO clients. You need to search database for business-man manually and contact them if they have business requirements for you.
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    • Profile picture of the author repressedemu
      What database are you using to search for them? And I guess a tool that automated that process would be helpful for you?
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  • Profile picture of the author Hearn
    If the tool:

    -searches for businesses in your niche and extracts the contact details
    -audits their website and lets you know which websites need major improvements. Can make screenshots or some pdf reports
    -has an email system so I can add templates, auto attach reports, and send emails


    A software like this would be pretty good, although it basically only saves you time and manual work. The main problem is converting those leads to clients. If it can provide great reports with screenshots or other documents to convince leads, it could be useful. And if you could upload/download email swipes, each having a conversion percentage then it would be even better especially for beginners.

    Imagine entering a keyword and the software does everything for you. That could be really useful.
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    • Profile picture of the author repressedemu
      So far it allows you to search by location and business category. I could add keyword identification to it so that you could search by niche. I originally thought of it as a lead gen for in-person sales which is why location search was a big feature. That way you can search all the towns around you and meet someone in person. I find most of my clients are much more responsive to the idea of someone local they can meet with. Having a local focus was a way to raise the initial conversion rates of the list but I hear what you are saying.

      Having the tool make shiny and responsive email reports is definitely something I was thinking about to add as a feature. You're right that just saving time isn't as big of a value as saving time AND helping to close more sales. Thanks for your input! Any chance you'd be interested in being a Beta User when it gets up and running?
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  • Profile picture of the author MaxxC
    I heard Mobile Renegade(dot net or dot com) does what you're asking, and more.
    Last price quote was ~$100.
    Cheers.... and good luck !
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    • Profile picture of the author repressedemu
      I looked at mobile renegade and you're right it offers a lot of the same features as the tool I built! Thanks, I would've been really baffled that no one else had the same idea. I think offering it as an online tool rather than a standalone offers some benefits. Their mobile emulator didn't look very convincing although it was a good idea. I think a product that could automatically pull those screenshots into a responsive email template could be a valuable tool. I also wouldn't want to charge $100+ for it. I think a tiered subscription based model would make more sense so that smaller users(such as I would be) could try it out and then scale up their searches as their businesses grow. Thanks for the info!
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