SEO is a dynamic business that has attracted the attention of many in recent times. This shouldn’t be a surprise anyway. Online businesses are thriving, and everyone wants their products on top of every search page, so it is easy to understand why more people are focusing on SEO. Therefore, if you must be part of this business, then you must get your strategies right.
That SEO is lucrative doesn’t mean it will be profitable to everyone. The business techniques are changing, and only those that can keep updating themselves will maximize their chances. That is why you must learn the tricks to get SEO leads at all times.
SEO focuses on optimizing web pages to make them rank high in search engine results. That means it must follow the pattern the search engines use for ranking the pages. But the search engines’ algorithms are changing from time to time, so effective SEO techniques always change.
Nonetheless, here are some tips that will help you get the maximum SEO leads and ensure you achieve success in your SEO business.
1. Choose an Area of Specialization
Don’t be a “Jack of all trades but master of none.” As a beginner in the business, you cannot be a specialist in all aspects of SEO. You must choose your area of specialization and let your clients know you for it. SEO consists of keyword research, on-page and off-page SEO. We also have local SEO and visitor message publishing, among many others. Decide which area you want to concentrate on and focus on it. Let people know you for it, make sure you are better than your competitors, and let your clients know that is your area of specialization.
2. Choose Your Preferred Niche
Not only do you need to specialize in a particular area of SEO, but you also have to choose a niche and concentrate on it. Don’t accept all clients. SEO is broad, and no matter the niche you specialized in, there will always be clients if you are very good at what you do. So, your target shouldn’t be to capture as many clients as possible but to be the best in what you do. If you are outstanding in one niche, there will always be enough clients for you, and your job will also become easier.
Put yourself in the shoes of a customer. Would you rather go for someone with no specialization or someone who specializes in your specific niche? Compare the two taglines: “we offer SEO for all web contents” and “we offer SEO for financial services.” If you have a financial blog, won’t you prefer the latter to handle your SEO?
By the way, you don’t have to choose only one niche. As there are thousands of niches available, you can choose two, three, or even five comfortable and convenient niches for you. With that, you can target your clients and outperform your competitors.
3. Start Ranking From Your City
There are many SEO businesses before you. They probably have gone far ahead of you. Don’t worry; you don’t have to compete with them. But compete with those in your city. Being the highest ranked SEO company globally may seem impossible now. But you might attempt to be among the best in your city. So, go for Google ranking in your city. You can contact a consulting company to help you get the best Google ranking in your city. After capturing your city, then you can start expanding. By then, it will be easy for you to spend money on adverts, marketing, and pay per click adverts.
4. Begin to Blog
As you plan to promote your clients’ websites using blogs, you need to start blogging too. You can utilize your skills for your benefit. Own a blog to promote your business. You can also use it to test run new methods and rate your services. If you can’t do it for yourself, you won’t do it for others. Once you start blogging and optimize your blog’s visibility, you will get more and more followers, and you can market your services to them. On your blog, post articles on SEO and what bloggers can do to increase traffic to their posts. Give free guides to SEO but encourage your visitors to patronize you.
5. Offer Free Website Audit
Many website owners will be interested in auditing the SEO of their websites. They will want to know how their site is ranking in search engines. There is much software you can use to analyze the website SEO performance and audit their sites. The site owner will have to provide information about their site and personal information like an e-mail address to audit a website. After the audit, you can use the information to generate SEO leads. All you need to do is to send them the audit report and then advertise your business.
This way, it is easier for you to tell the website’s owner to improve their site traffic and SEO ranking by hiring your services. Since your audit is free, many websites will be interested in something free and beneficial. Moreover, sites that are interested in such audits are more likely to be interested in SEO services. Hence the free website audit will generate good leads.
6. Publish Your Achievements
Many people are interested in knowing the probability of success of a project before embarking on it. So, tell your customers what to expect by sharing with them your previous achievements. But be transparent and truthful. Don’t fabricate figures. Show them evidence that whatever you are telling them is true and genuine. You can publish this information regularly on your blog.
SEO business requires adequate case studies. Your clients will be convinced when they see case studies they can relate to. Publish the steps you take to turn things around and the results obtained. If there are challenges, be truthful about them as your clients will respect you more if they realize you are telling the truth. To make it easier for your client to digest and understand, you can publish your story in pictures or videos. Make a video of your story and publish it on YouTube. Then put a link to your YouTube channel on your blog post.
7. Offer Discounts and Add Some Value Upfront
Sometimes you need to offer discounts on your services to attract customers and challenge your competitors. SEO business is highly competitive, and you must adopt all strategies to compete successfully. There are many ways you can offer discounts to your clients, blog visitors, YouTube subscribers, and the general public. Options like free trials are common.
You may offer your first-time customer a one-month free trial in which they receive some basic services for free during that month. After that month, they may pay for your services if they enjoyed the value you added. In fact, within that month, they may pay for some services if they desire additional value than those included in the trial plan. Moreover, you may also offer something like a money-back guarantee on your services. You can do this by letting them know that they can demand their money if they’re not satisfied with the job you’re doing.
You may also offer free services up to a particular monetary value. For example, they may get up to $200 services free before they start paying. Another option is to render a discount on their first purchase. You can let your new customers enjoy a 50% discount in their first three months. Strategies like these will let you remain in business while you also keep your customers happy.
8. Add Live Chat to Your Customer Services
The most common way to communicate with many businesses is through e-mails. But research shows that sites with live chat options have more than a 50% increase in conversion rate. Many people today prefer to chat live. Remember, your business requires good communication. Many of your clients will like to chat with you live, and you can generate SEO leads from regular conversations with your site visitors. Hence, as you set up your blog and post high-quality content, ensure you have the live chat feature on your site.
9. Use Quora to Your Advantage
Do you know the number of visitors to Quora every day? In case you don’t know, the question-and-answer platform has over 2 million daily visitors. No section or niche does not record-high traffic all the time on Quora. Even if there is, it is certainly not a niche like SEO. Therefore, you can use the platform to your advantage by answering questions. Make sure you give detailed answers to demonstrate that you have a good knowledge of the topic discussed. After answering the question satisfactorily, then provide a link to your blog or your landing page so you can direct the visitors on Quora to your landing page. People who got the solution to their problems from the answers you provided on Quora will be willing to hire your service. It is one of the best ways to generate SEO leads. Many people are using this platform to get traffic to their sites, and you, too, can benefit from what it offers.
10. Add High Profile Site to Your Portfolio
Some people will always ask for an example of a job you have done before they can give you theirs. Having a high-profile site in your portfolio will be of great advantage here. However, you will need the website owner’s permission before you can make the work you did for him public. Hence each time you work for a website, always ask if they will want you to add the project to your portfolio and make it public. While some will refuse, many will not object.
Moreover, you also have an alternative. You can build a website of yours, develop it and render SEO services for it. Then, add the website to your portfolio. In that case, you will always have something to show whoever demands your previous work.
11. You can Also Make a Podcast
A podcast is another way you can showcase your SEO business. Not many people understand the influence a podcast can have on marketing. But many people today listen to podcasts, and it is a good and easy way to explain your experience in the business and your achievement. When the podcast seems like an interview, you will also be marketing your business. If you have a good podcast, it may get to a large audience. Hence it will help to market your business to more people.
12. Market Your Business on YouTube
Do you know that YouTube is the second most visited website in the world? The site generates over five billion views every day. So, it is an excellent platform to advertise your product. Therefore, make regular video clips that provide answers to common questions people were asking on SEO. You may also provide general information on SEO. When your viewers realize that you have an in-depth knowledge of the art, they will be eager to patronize your services. Make sure your clips contain your business adverts and call to action. Note that watching videos is easier for many people than any other way you can advertise.
Final Thought
SEO is a competitive business, and it is also dynamic. To generate SEO leads, you must continuously update your knowledge and strategies. Among the important actions to take is to choose a niche that you know you are good at, and that is not competitive and concentrate on it.
You can also use social media and paid adverts to generate leads and build a customer base. But you will benefit a lot if you start blogging and market your services to your blog visitors. On your blog, you may share your stories and the achievements you have made in the industry. You must also add the high-profile websites you’ve worked with to your portfolio. To attract traffic to your blog, you can answer questions on Quora and then make a call to action.
Video clips and podcasts are other ways to generate leads as several people are interested in videos and audio content. Moreover, you must also offer your customers free services or a trial period so that you can attract them from your competitors.
Implement the tips in this article, and you will experience an exponential increase in your SEO leads.