How do you 'sell' SEO services to your local clients?

14 replies
Hi All,

I figured this would make a useful thread for SEO'ers and newbies alike - how do you 'sell' your SEO services to your local clients?

What I mean is, if you have a small, local business that operates within your local city and you are trying to sell the benefits of how SEO can help their business and to convince them to hand over their cash for your services - what angle do you take? what benefits do you sell them? Especially if Google KW tool only shows a total of maybe 100 phrase match searches every month for related keywords in their city etc..?

It would also be interesting to hear how you guys sell a recurring monthly figure to them and why this is better than set, one-off packages and why the need to keep paying that figure each and every month, long term...?

Thanks,
Steve.
#clients #ell #local #seo #services
  • Profile picture of the author Rus Sells
    I don't use words like SEO or Search Engine Optimization. I sell market positioning, authority and trust for the small business. They like that far better, SEO is just the means to get there.
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    • Profile picture of the author jrod014
      Originally Posted by Rus Sells View Post

      I don't use words like SEO or Search Engine Optimization. I sell market positioning, authority and trust for the small business. They like that far better, SEO is just the means to get there.

      I would agree. I try selling it as a internet marketing package with different services. In the past I would "sell SEO" but most business owners are often offered SEO services and wouldn't give me the time.

      Now I just ask them how they market online and offer a few ideas. Most of the time that gets my foot in the door.

      Jerry
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    • Profile picture of the author sgtsavvy
      hey steve, not to sound like a dick, but you might wanna have a look around and search posts, this question is like 90% of this boards posts. (maybe a bit dramatic, but you get the point.)

      i agree with Rus, i sell new leads and more business, if people want to be educated and learn more i'll tell em, otherwise i just speak english and give them the benefits and practical data.
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  • Profile picture of the author DazedandConfused
    As he says it is a small area -
    I would like to ask all how you sell (I like Russ's terminology) 'market positioning, authority and trust for the small business' in a small town - ? I completely agree with establishing a long term partnership with the business and creating new market share...but as far as seo goes for them
    They see they're on the first page anyway, and some businesses don't even think past the city limits...when they don't see global, and city/type of business usually puts them in the top 10 from yelp and others like it... any mindset to give them?

    Russ usually has some good ideas on this - so I pass the "thinkstick" to you Russ...
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    • Profile picture of the author StevieJK
      Originally Posted by DazedandConfused View Post

      As he says it is a small area -
      I would like to ask all how you sell (I like Russ's terminology) 'market positioning, authority and trust for the small business' in a small town - ? I completely agree with establishing a long term partnership with the business and creating new market share...but as far as seo goes for them
      They see they're on the first page anyway, and some businesses don't even think past the city limits...when they don't see global, and city/type of business usually puts them in the top 10 from yelp and others like it... any mindset to give them?

      Russ usually has some good ideas on this - so I pass the "thinkstick" to you Russ...
      Bingo!

      DazedandConfused has hit the nail on the head exactly - this is what I was getting at and why this is not just another 'how do I market my services' type thread.

      I am specifically referring to smaller, local businesses - and how you would convince "Joe Blog's window cleaning service" to invest upwards of $150 per month on your SEO services and why he should keep on paying you this each and every month long-term?

      I know selling points including brand authority and getting their businesses visible above their competition, increasing trust etc etc. But if a local business only gets 30-40 hits on their site per month even at the top of Google for terms relating to 'window cleaning in cityname' - then how do you justify them continuing to pay you $150 per month and not quit?

      Thanks if anyone can shed light for us here and what works for you guys
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      • Profile picture of the author danilolee
        Selling SEO services to local businesses in a small town can be tough. First, business owners do not understand the value of SEO. Education and trust plays a big factor in these kind of deals.
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      • Profile picture of the author Rus Sells
        Because just like anything else, you have to make a continued effort to remain at the top. Other companies are also spending money to have an online presence. If not now, they will in the future so you have to be firmly set in your position so you can remain at the forefront.



        Originally Posted by StevieJK View Post

        Bingo!

        DazedandConfused has hit the nail on the head exactly - this is what I was getting at and why this is not just another 'how do I market my services' type thread.

        I am specifically referring to smaller, local businesses - and how you would convince "Joe Blog's window cleaning service" to invest upwards of $150 per month on your SEO services and why he should keep on paying you this each and every month long-term?

        I know selling points including brand authority and getting their businesses visible above their competition, increasing trust etc etc. But if a local business only gets 30-40 hits on their site per month even at the top of Google for terms relating to 'window cleaning in cityname' - then how do you justify them continuing to pay you $150 per month and not quit?

        Thanks if anyone can shed light for us here and what works for you guys
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  • Profile picture of the author ADHardwick
    You have to make sure you're not speaking IM lingo to a small business owner. Dumb it down for them and highlight the value of increased google position.
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  • Profile picture of the author rbecklund
    You can target neighboring communities that they need better ranking for or ancillary services that they want to promote more. I figure at some point they will get to where they want to be and I will try to keep them on at a lower price on a maintenance basis so they don't loose their rankings.

    You have to talk to them like a normal person or they glaze over. When I cold call, I just ask if they are happy with their website - if they aren't happy they will pause or say so and you can start probing for their issues.
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  • Profile picture of the author RentItNow
    From what I have observed at least in my town, if you find someone that actually knows what SEO services are, they are likely going to do it themselves or pay a company in indian 1/10th what you are quoting. Sell it as a package deal not just SEO.
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    I have no agenda but to help those in the same situation. This I feel will pay the bills.
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    • Profile picture of the author StevieJK
      Thanks all for the advice!

      Although the thread is not really intended to be about the lingo used to sell SEO to non-SEO people, it is about how you justify the fairly high monthly recurring fee when all of the keywords relating to their business in their city only have around 100 searches per month combined?

      Ok, let's try and get the topic on track and list what I have come up with so far as 'benefits' as to why a local business owner should continue to pay me $150 each and every month forevermore:

      1.) Generate more leads online
      2.) Increase brand awareness
      3.) Increase trust in their business as an 'authority'
      4.) Increase offline 'word of mouth'
      5.) Future proof their business (as online becomes more and more popular)

      These are all easy to sell to a local business owner - but once I get their site to No.1 in Google for all of the related keywords in their city, they might still only be getting 50-100 hits per month (if it's a small niche etc).

      I guess we just gotta sell it to them by saying stuff like "well, you might only be getting 50 hits per month, but they are targeted people looking for what you offer specifically, so even if you can convert just 10% of these into new customers, then thats 5 new customers every month who may come back again and again yadda yadda....."

      Do you guys take this approach? If not, how do you go about getting more and more targeted customers to your clients site every month once you have exhausted the local city-specific keywords?
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  • Profile picture of the author Creativegirl
    Increased visibility, more leads, traffic, sales, etc. is plenty of justification. Local search continues to increase, it has yet to peak. Adding mobile friendly and doing Google Places greatly enhances YOUR value.

    Either they get the traffic or someone else does.

    To increase monthly search volume looking at optimizing other keywords to create a combined search volume of 300 to 1,000 monthly. It's not easy for every industry, but it's not as hard as you think when you start looking at related keywords, their search volume and competition.
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    • Profile picture of the author StevieJK
      Thanks CreativeGirl!

      That's the sort of thing yeah - great ideas!

      Can you please clarify how you go about optimizing other keywords? I mean, do you still target variations of city related keywords, e.g. landscape gardener birmingham' ? or do you get eve more creative? if so, how?

      Thanks!
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  • Profile picture of the author pingping11
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    • Profile picture of the author StevieJK
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      • Profile picture of the author sosthostha
        [QUOTE]I don't use words like SEO or Search Engine Optimization. I sell market positioning, authority and trust for the small business. They like that far better, SEO is just the means to get there./QUOTE]

        Ya what you said is exactly right. But may be few dont know what does market positioning mean. so better to go for both options
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