Selling SEO benefits?

8 replies
Hi all,

Just wondered how you guys approach selling benefits of SEO to local businesses.

Just for example, for a plumber in dallas - the keyword 'plumber in dallas' might only get 20-30 searches per month, so selling traffic benefits is not so good.

Do you guys mention traffic levels when selling to local businesses? what approach do you take?

Thanks,.
Steve.
#benefits #selling #seo
  • Profile picture of the author jgsketch
    I'm always honest and upfront on numbers. I don't want to waste my own time on a search term that is not going to deliver results. It's a little easier for me during the sell process. If I think the niche is too competitive or has too few searches, I will up sell Social media or something else that would work for them. Maybe PPC or facebook advertising.
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  • Profile picture of the author redlegrich
    If you are going to sell SEO then good luck, businesses hear from SEO firms all the time. What businesses want are leads. They don't care how you get them for them. Try creating a site for a plumbing service in Dallas (dallastoiletunclogging.com for instance). Get some traffic to that and then lease it to an interested business. Doing SEO for existing sites is a no win battle. Most sites don't convert anyway so they never see any change in the number of leads and think they wasted their money.

    Find a niche, build a good site that converts (really, not all that hard, there are plenty of good samples on WF), find a business on page 2 of Google for that phrase and lease the site to them. I use Twilio for the phone number and have it forward to the client.

    This is a much better business as you are in total control.
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    • Profile picture of the author sprks79
      Originally Posted by redlegrich View Post

      If you are going to sell SEO then good luck, businesses hear from SEO firms all the time. What businesses want are leads. They don't care how you get them for them. Try creating a site for a plumbing service in Dallas (dallastoiletunclogging.com for instance). Get some traffic to that and then lease it to an interested business. Doing SEO for existing sites is a no win battle. Most sites don't convert anyway so they never see any change in the number of leads and think they wasted their money.

      Find a niche, build a good site that converts (really, not all that hard, there are plenty of good samples on WF), find a business on page 2 of Google for that phrase and lease the site to them. I use Twilio for the phone number and have it forward to the client.

      This is a much better business as you are in total control.

      This is exactly what I do. I do however have some regular SEO clients as well but "leasing" sites is much easier for me. Build the site once, lease it till its dead. I have had some going on 3 years now and still going strong.

      As far as SEO, just be honest. Most businesses get calls everyday "guarantee" that they hit #1 spot in Google. Fact is, No one can guarantee that they can STAY there. Hitting #1 could be a Google dance fluke. Be upfront and tell them how your services can bring paying customers in. Thats what they want.

      Have fun and good luck
      scott
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      PBN site builder. Expired domain scraper. Website Hoster.....Oh, and an amazing guy. :)

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  • Profile picture of the author Walter White
    even if its 20-30 searches, it could be 20 customers for a local business. deppending on the keyword. yours is perfect as if someone searches for 'plumber in dallas' he exactly knows what he wants. he isn't browsing the internet for fun, he is in need of a specific service. chances are he will hire whoever ranks on #1 or #2. explain it to your customers like that that usually works!
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  • Profile picture of the author MikeFriedman
    If I was talking traffic numbers in a situation like that, I take several keyword phrases...

    plumber in dallas
    plumbers in dallas
    plumber dallas
    plumbers dallas
    dallas plumber
    dallas plumbers
    best plumber in dallas
    plumber (whatever the area code is)


    I combine the traffic numbers for all of those phrases and say something like, "What would (x number of customers a month) be worth to you and your business?" or "On average there are XXX customer a month looking online for a plumber in Dallas, and they have no idea your business even exists."
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  • Profile picture of the author Rus Sells
    Basically there are two things a business owner desires in his local market.

    Leads for new potential clients and being seen as the most trusted and authoritative business in his area for his niche.

    Now you can get leads pretty easy but that does not address the second desire.

    The thing is, the latter will generate crap tons more new business in the long run.

    Lets take an example of wedding and engagement rings.

    Bride to be starts looking online for local jewelry stores to visit but isn't quite ready to start making her visits.

    As she is searching on Google or Bing lets say, one listing and site just keeps appearing in the top spots. Over and over again, eventually she's gonna realize that Diamond Jim's is the best and most trusted jewelry store in town. When it comes time to actually shop, who's name is at the forefront of her mind?

    Stop selling traffic, stop selling monthly searches, stop selling SEO.

    Start selling, market positioning, trust and authority.
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    • Profile picture of the author StevieJK
      Thanks all.

      Rus,
      You da man - you are right, percieved authority is awesome. Thanks!
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  • Profile picture of the author successfulgeek
    Your best bet is to be honest about SEO and also don't call it SEO, you can call it search engine optimization but in my experience it scares businesses away when you start using acronyms.
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