Boyfriend having trouble with SEO freelancing

[vickyallison]

Hi everyone,

my boyfriend works full-time as an SEO for an agency, but he's looking to pick up extra work to do in the evenings and weekends.

He's brilliant at what he does, but so far he's made 6 pitches to various local businesses and had no success.

He's tried lowering his prices, but still no joy.

Just wondering what you would look for from SEO services for your business if you were approached by someone or even asked to give a quote and a list of work?

Thanks

 

[S-Marketing]

Hi everyone,

my boyfriend works full-time as an SEO for an agency, but he's looking to pick up extra work to do in the evenings and weekends.

He's brilliant at what he does, but so far he's made 6 pitches to various local businesses and had no success.

He's tried lowering his prices, but still no joy.

Just wondering what you would look for from SEO services for your business if you were approached by someone or even asked to give a quote and a list of work?

Thanks

Your question is very broad, and there is very little information to go on. We will struggle to give you any meaningful responses without knowing more.

 

[vickyallison]

1 sec, I'll see if I can find one of his pitches

 

[TheGuru2010]

Has he thought about acting as a client & getting some SEO pitches done to him?

See how the competitors work?

 

[vickyallison]

Okay, this is what he sent to a motorcycle training school he was referred to.
I've taken some bits out to protect identities and confidential info.

Thoughts and feedback?



Hi REMOVED,

It was good talking to you on Saturday.
I've looked over your website and some of your rankings and have come up with a strategy that should help to grow your business through online traffic


About Me:
I started life as a copywriter, got into SEO 4 years ago and never looked back.
After quite a varied career so far, I'm now the SEO Link Building & Content Manager for a specialist agency in Hertford.

Past clients:
REMOVED


Your Website:

Here's a break down of where your site is at and all the things I'm offering to do for you.



Current Rankings:
REMOVED


SEO Strategy:
There's no way you're going to rank 1st in Google for "REMOVED", because your business is not national.
Instead I'd recommend aiming to rank 1st in Google for "REMOVED LOCATION" and expand from there, targeting other towns and villages within the catch net area of your business.
"REMOVED" and "REMOVED" for example.

To do this I would:

1) Optimise your Home Page for "REMOVED"
2) set up Google+ Local (formerly known as Google Places) so your icon appears in the map top right of the Google results and also in other location related search engine listings.
This page will be fully optimised in title and description as well as with detailed on page content about your services, contact details, etc.
3) Build links to your Google+ Local listing as well as Homepage from review sites and other websites in order to increase the ranking in Google for "REMOVED" and similar search terms that these pages will be optimised for.


There is also General Work That Needs Doing to Website:

1) Optimise all of the Meta Titles and Meta Descriptions of all your pages to make sure they mop up as much search engne traffic as possible.
2) Create more detailed content on each page about your services. Content is very sparse right now and unlikely to persuade new customers to get in touch.
3) Social buttons added to website (facebook, youtube, twitter, etc)


Social Media Strategy:
I see that you're doing YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.
I actually have this system of social media integration where you post in one place and it automatically updates all the others.

We can set this up so you can run it all yourself based on a template, or I can do it for you if you provide the basics.

There are also other services I offer like
youtube optimisation
facebook optimisation
twitter optimisation

Questions:
Why is there a clothing page? Do you sell clothing?
What is the purpose of the Links page?
Helpful Info - What's a pillion?


Let me know your thoughts on the above.

Also, if you'd like a face to face meeting, I'm in REMOVEDl quite a lot, because my girlfriend lives there. I'm actually up next Saturday if that's any good for you?



TOP LEVEL SEO SUMMARY

SEO can be summed up in 3 steps

1) optimise pages
2) build links
3) watch rankings increase

That's on a really basic level. It's how you optimise and build links that's the tricky part.

You're probably wondering how long will it take to get you ranking 1st in Google for "REMOVED"?

Well, I estimate 3 months of link building, based on the age of the site (very young) and the competition of the search term. Unfortunately with Google, their rankings only update at the start of each month.



SEO PACKAGES
All of these packages would need to run for 3 months.
Half would be all of the on site work and optimisation. The other Half would be all of the link building required.

I won't bore you with the details of link building, because it gets very involved. But this can be explained in a face to face meeting if you like.


£100 - Absolute Basic
Optimise Home Page
Set up Google+ Local
Build links to both Home Page and Google+ Local

£200 - The Bear Necessities
Optimise Home Page
Set up Google+ Local
Build links to both Home Page and Google+ Local

Optimise all pages' Meta Titles and Meta Descriptions
Create detailed content on each page about services
Social buttons added to website

£300 - The Full Monty
Optimise Home Page
Set up Google+ Local
Build links to both Home Page and Google+ Local

Optimise all pages' Meta Titles and Meta Descriptions
Create detailed content on each page about services
Social buttons added to website

Integrated and ongoing social media strategy, including;
youtube optimisation
facebook optimisation
twitter optimisation

Ongoing Best Practice guides for content and other long term support documents for you to manage all of the online marketing yourself from here on.



As before please let me know your thoughts on the above.
I'm in Hemel this Saturday if you'd like to talk face to face.

Kind regards

REMOVED
SEO, Copywriter & Internet Marketeer

 

[DJT1992]

I have recently joined a company called HCA a new business development agency. I am currently taking a year out in industry from my university course and was tasked with optimising the company website. After about an hour i had improved the google rankings across the board by doing a few simple steps.

My point is SEO is not exactly the most difficult task, i had no problem in the matter, as long as your a little computer savy i really see no point in hiring someone when you could do it in house

 

[vickyallison]

I
My point is SEO is not exactly the most difficult task, i had no problem in the matter, as long as your a little computer savy i really see no point in hiring someone when you could do it in house

So can you get someone's website ranking #1 in Google for a search term like "Tents" for example?

 

[DJT1992]

To get something to number 1 will cost, i managed to get our website on to all the first pages by simply editing the site adding in a few plugins, meta tags, adding the business to google directories, changing the coding of the site and boom done.

However if i wanted to improve it further i would look at purchasing software which would allow me to improve it that bit further for example google adwords.

Achieving a number 1 slot in the search ranking is getting more and more difficult and i can appreciate that maybe a professional would be able to get a website higher than 5th on the google listings when searching "New business development agency" but considering it didn't cost anything only 2 hours out of my day and when we originally searched for "New business development agency" we were on page 6....

We also installed a web analytics program to measure traffic to our website before my seo campiagn we roughly got 5 hits a day. We are now experiencing between 40-60. So its pretty apparent what i did worked and i would encourage lots of small business's to try this aswell!

 

[Deleted member 27344]

He's brilliant at what he does, but so far he's made 6 pitches to various local businesses and had no success.

Not that brilliant then!

 

[Dany87]

Not that brilliant then!

Give her a break, she's trying to help him... I think it's a nice move on her part. Anyway, it's not because your pitches are bad (and I don't even think they are) that you can't be good at what you do.

 

[edmondscommerce]

0/6 isn't bad, he simply needs to pitch some more and he will start to get the clients.

The first clients are always the hardest, once you have some under your belt and can refer to them and possible get testimonials from those clients then it reassures new clients that you aren't a cowboy.

I think SEO is plagued with cowboys so the trust factor is likely to be the hardest thing to overcome.

Tell him to keep his chin up and keep at it!

 

[gezzagregz]

Not that brilliant then!

to what gain did you receive in posting such a pointless and unhelpful comment.

my advice would be;

if he is confident that he can improve their rank then why not offer some form of money back if he doesnt manage to get them to the top of certain rankings? i.e.

He will need £x amount for a link building budget (this obviously would not be refundable as it ultimately is for the companys benefit)

He may also charge £x for his management fee (this could be refundable in 3 months IF he does not get them there)

Something like this puts a company in a win win really and they may show more interest.

hope that helps!

 

[quikshop]

As a business owner why would I use his services?

Given the vast number of spamming SEO agencies who email my company touting for business, and the frequent telephone calls why would I listen to your boyfriend at all :|

I want more money for no extra cost. Every business owner does.

However, if it could be proven that he was able to improve my websites SERPS and therefore lower my cost per customer, I would definitely consider paying for a continuation of the service.

It's a tough market to operate in, but unless I heard the words "free trial, no obligation to continue and paid on results" the conversation would end inside 15 seconds

 

[GreatSEO]

Tell him it may be best to build a site for the local area and optimise for terms that generate traffic that will generate leads for him.

He can then use this to showcase his skills and go from there.

In the meantime it is a numbers game and if I am honest the email is rather long and needs to be more compelling than it currently is.

I hope this helps

Dave

 

[InternetMarketingPlatinum]

Okay, this is what he sent to a motorcycle training school he was referred to.
I've taken some bits out to protect identities and confidential info.

Thoughts and feedback?



Hi REMOVED,

It was good talking to you on Saturday.
I've looked over your website and some of your rankings and have come up with a strategy that should help to grow your business through online traffic


About Me:
I started life as a copywriter, got into SEO 4 years ago and never looked back.
After quite a varied career so far, I'm now the SEO Link Building & Content Manager for a specialist agency in Hertford.

Past clients:
REMOVED


Your Website:

Here's a break down of where your site is at and all the things I'm offering to do for you.



Current Rankings:
REMOVED


SEO Strategy:
There's no way you're going to rank 1st in Google for "REMOVED", because your business is not national.
Instead I'd recommend aiming to rank 1st in Google for "REMOVED LOCATION" and expand from there, targeting other towns and villages within the catch net area of your business.
"REMOVED" and "REMOVED" for example.

To do this I would:

1) Optimise your Home Page for "REMOVED"
2) set up Google+ Local (formerly known as Google Places) so your icon appears in the map top right of the Google results and also in other location related search engine listings.
This page will be fully optimised in title and description as well as with detailed on page content about your services, contact details, etc.
3) Build links to your Google+ Local listing as well as Homepage from review sites and other websites in order to increase the ranking in Google for "REMOVED" and similar search terms that these pages will be optimised for.


There is also General Work That Needs Doing to Website:

1) Optimise all of the Meta Titles and Meta Descriptions of all your pages to make sure they mop up as much search engne traffic as possible.
2) Create more detailed content on each page about your services. Content is very sparse right now and unlikely to persuade new customers to get in touch.
3) Social buttons added to website (facebook, youtube, twitter, etc)


Social Media Strategy:
I see that you're doing YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.
I actually have this system of social media integration where you post in one place and it automatically updates all the others.

We can set this up so you can run it all yourself based on a template, or I can do it for you if you provide the basics.

There are also other services I offer like
youtube optimisation
facebook optimisation
twitter optimisation

Questions:
Why is there a clothing page? Do you sell clothing?
What is the purpose of the Links page?
Helpful Info - What's a pillion?


Let me know your thoughts on the above.

Also, if you'd like a face to face meeting, I'm in REMOVEDl quite a lot, because my girlfriend lives there. I'm actually up next Saturday if that's any good for you?



TOP LEVEL SEO SUMMARY

SEO can be summed up in 3 steps

1) optimise pages
2) build links
3) watch rankings increase

That's on a really basic level. It's how you optimise and build links that's the tricky part.

You're probably wondering how long will it take to get you ranking 1st in Google for "REMOVED"?

Well, I estimate 3 months of link building, based on the age of the site (very young) and the competition of the search term. Unfortunately with Google, their rankings only update at the start of each month.



SEO PACKAGES
All of these packages would need to run for 3 months.
Half would be all of the on site work and optimisation. The other Half would be all of the link building required.

I won't bore you with the details of link building, because it gets very involved. But this can be explained in a face to face meeting if you like.


£100 - Absolute Basic
Optimise Home Page
Set up Google+ Local
Build links to both Home Page and Google+ Local

£200 - The Bear Necessities
Optimise Home Page
Set up Google+ Local
Build links to both Home Page and Google+ Local

Optimise all pages' Meta Titles and Meta Descriptions
Create detailed content on each page about services
Social buttons added to website

£300 - The Full Monty
Optimise Home Page
Set up Google+ Local
Build links to both Home Page and Google+ Local

Optimise all pages' Meta Titles and Meta Descriptions
Create detailed content on each page about services
Social buttons added to website

Integrated and ongoing social media strategy, including;
youtube optimisation
facebook optimisation
twitter optimisation

Ongoing Best Practice guides for content and other long term support documents for you to manage all of the online marketing yourself from here on.



As before please let me know your thoughts on the above.
I'm in Hemel this Saturday if you'd like to talk face to face.

Kind regards

REMOVED
SEO, Copywriter & Internet Marketeer

There's a lot of text there, I'd recommend him researching the niche, talking about his competitor's positions being above them, send lots of graphical comparisons because clients understand them, don't make them think, just send them easy to digest graphical data, images - in a PDF.

Too much detail, not enough of an overview.

 

[Deleted member 27344]

Agree with CC ^^ - way too much text.

Provide your (potential) clients with industry comparisons and a free trial.
Don't just slag off the competition but provide to-the-point information that will make them need you.

Also, leave out lines like - "I won't bore you with the details of link building, because it gets very involved" - as this makes your clients feel inferior.

 

Hi everyone,

my boyfriend works full-time as an SEO for an agency, but he's looking to pick up extra work to do in the evenings and weekends.

He's brilliant at what he does, but so far he's made 6 pitches to various local businesses and had no success.

He's tried lowering his prices, but still no joy.

Just wondering what you would look for from SEO services for your business if you were approached by someone or even asked to give a quote and a list of work?

Thanks

Simple answer is previous results ,not a lot beats being able to say you got a company to N01 for" Home Loans"

 

[Raw Rob]

Maybe there is too much specific information in the pitch which the potential client could use to do it themselves?

 

[Esk247]

See, i wouldn't have time to read all that, i'd get to a few lines down and then think sod it, got about 500 other things that need my attention.

As has been mentioned, some sort of introductory trial or offer may be useful, although he needs to ensure he doesn't get the 'dragging of heels' brigade. They will happily take freebies, but ask for payment? haha erm, no, its OK, they still just want freebies.

He's only contacted 6, keep going at it, when he's got to 60 odd and not got any orders then he needs to rethink where he's going wrong.

 

[webgeek]

Tell him to give away his services for free to the first 5 decent sized customers he finds. Then, use referrals from those to get 20.

Also might suggest that he quits sending pitches via spam email and starts speaking to people face to face. The credibility factor goes up 1000x.

 

[edmondscommerce]

I would be happy to have a freebie

 

However, if it could be proven that he was able to improve my websites SERPS and therefore lower my cost per customer, I would definitely consider paying for a continuation of the service.

Very big of you.

Don't call us we will call you.

 

[ThomasBuckland]

1.) What I would recommend during my research is to target bigger companies. Im not talking tesco's but im talking estate agents, lawyers, dentists, professionals that will benefit A LOT from having a website ranking high on google. You first need to target richer industries. Also ask your boyfriend to offer what I call a "freeze" guarantee, it has worked for me in the past. This is simply say "if your website is not on page 1 after 2 months then your contract freezes until we get you on page 1!" - For the bigger contracts this gives the people some security.

2.) Stats - Use stats, if he has done SEO in the past he will or I hope should know about things like market samurai, google keyword tool and similar tools that will state: "this keyword gets XXXX/searches a month, a website ranking number #1 would get XXX/Visitors. If you have a website converting at between 1-5% then you will be getting atleast XX/Customers a month, which is a huge return on your investment. - This is literally the script I use for many of my clients.

3.) Personal Level - Just a common sense one really but try to make a connection and remember offering 1 month/discounted price (I don't like to go with free for SEO) is a lot better than not getting any clients at all.

4.) Its only 6 - Only 6 tries, don't worry! Took me around 15 direct mail campaigns before I even had a bite let alone a contract!

Just keep going I think you will be fine, espically if you do offer great SEO services you will get clients soon!

 

[Annoying Donkey]

Tell him to give away his services for free to the first 5 decent sized customers he finds. Then, use referrals from those to get 20.

I disagree. Offer a money back guarantee rather than free. Free is never valued and you're more likely to get cheapskate freeloaders.

Also might suggest that he quits sending pitches via spam email and starts speaking to people face to face. The credibility factor goes up 1000x.

Totally agree.

In addition, I'd learn to simplify and speak in terms the client might understand without being patronising. Don't use the term SEO, links, websites or similar on first contact.

The key to good conversions is understanding your customer. On first contact I'd aim for a meeting rather than trying for a sale. At the meeting try and gather information about the owner's pain and pitch the services in those terms.

Why am I helping a possible competitor...?

 

[webgeek]

It's 100x easier to give away something than it is to guarantee it, unless of course someone already knows and trusts you, in which case you wouldn't need to do either.

There's so many SEO horror stories, companies being bought by others, rebranding with new names to hide their Penguin disasters, and so forth...

I just don't get the basic premise of the post... if the guy is an SEO by day, why on earth would he be wanting to do more client work by night?

Wouldn't this be the opportunity to undertake a labor of love? Create an authority site, SEO it and then ditch the daytime employer after it makes good money? Get the degree in XYZ and move up into management instead of the trenches?

I also can't believe the daytime agency employer would look favorably upon someone starting their own SEO firm, operating one by day and the other by night. I know it wouldn't go down well with me...

 

[Big Pete]

to what gain did you receive in posting such a pointless and unhelpful comment.

Oh i thought it was funny .. so it was a brilliant post .. he gained a thumbs up and a thanks from me ..

 

[fisicx]

See, i wouldn't have time to read all that, i'd get to a few lines down and then think sod it, got about 500 other things that need my attention.

Agree with this.

Most of the pitch is jargon filled babble.

I didn't see any keyword research - how do you even know what to target until you know what converts and how competitive it is.

Keep it simple - Bullets points, some testimonials and lots of charm.

 

[Big Pete]

Agree with this.

Most of the pitch is jargon filled babble.

I didn't see any keyword research - how do you even know what to target until you know what converts and how competitive it is.

Keep it simple - Bullets points, some testimonials and lots of charm.

I agree i couldn`t be bothered either ... way way way way way to long and would go over the clients heads,if they did have the staying power .

 

[mlbmarketinguk]

As a business owner why would I use his services?

I want more money for no extra cost. Every business owner does.

It's a tough market to operate in, but unless I heard the words "free trial, no obligation to continue and paid on results" the conversation would end inside 15 seconds

Quote's of the day for me

 

[mlbmarketinguk]

I just don't get the basic premise of the post... if the guy is an SEO by day, why on earth would he be wanting to do more client work by night?

For money? There's a Recession on, not everyone survives on one measly paid job.

I also can't believe the daytime agency employer would look favorably upon someone starting their own SEO firm, operating one by day and the other by night. I know it wouldn't go down well with me...

It's why you don't tell them and it's probably exactly what the business owner did themselves to get their company going.

 

[webgeek]

Competing against your employer is a sure way to be in a negative cash flow position (unemployed and defending a lawsuit), unless for some reason they allow it to happen.

If you're good at SEO and enjoy doing it 16 hours a day, then pitch your employer for more work (overtime, outsourced, contracted or whatever terms). In this recession, SEO is a booming business not suffering the way High Street shops are....

If you're going down that route, put together your pitch and get in front of decision makers. Make 15 or 20 pitches a day, 5 days a week and you should be able to pick up a couple of clients without fail. If not, then you may need to revise the pitch.

If, instead, you're going to spam email the pitch, plan on sending thousands of them, as those pitches come in thick on a regular basis and most people don't respond well to canned spam, unless it's for dinner. Also keep in mind that you're burning bridges at an alarming rate. Those people who didn't respond positively to the email may remember you for some time (in a bad sort of way), depending on how good the pitch was...

 

[vickyallison]

Wow! Thanks for all the replies guys
I'll print this out and pass your comments on to him.
Also thankyou to everyone who has PM'd me

He's done some great work for really big brands, like getting #1 in Google for "tents", but I took those out to keep things confidential here.

For money? There's a Recession on, not everyone survives on one measly paid job.

We're saving up for a flat together, which is why he's looking for extra work.
He asked his employer if he could work extra hours instead of them outsourcing work, but his employer declined, even though it would work out cheaper for them

It's why you don't tell them and it's probably exactly what the business owner did themselves to get their company going.

We checked his contract and there's nothing stopping him from picking up work on the side. He always has side projects on the go, which they seem to love. So I don't think there will be a problem unless he's in direct competition with his employer.

 

[omnivore]

we get SEO pitches all the time and my two bob is:-

1) bit long and babble-ish

2) no clear benefit (above any other random seo company)

3) 6 pitches and no results means nothing

(he might do 15 and convert 4 out of the last 5 and have a 30% strike rate) keep going

(but bear in mind the need to keep the pitch short and include clear and include persuasive benefits)

 

[zigojacko]

Firstly, no-one likes cold calling/emailing and the web industry, SEO especially is absolutely annihilated by the exact same thing your boyfriend is attempting to succeed at. The effort to lead/conversion rate will be shocking - this is to be expected.

You could try cold pitching to 100 companies like this and I would be surprised if 5 of them would sign up.

Also, you say he is very good at what he does. How? Why? There is nothing in the pitch that demonstrates this at all, it is very basic and although miles better than the other 5 million generic templated garbage that gets sent out via email every day from other pitches, its still very basic.

Why doesn't he set up a website and showcase what he can do by ranking it for something worthwhile? Or do similar for client websites. The easiest way to win clients is to demonstrate your knowledge, experience and expertise in the field or showcase examples of what you can do/have done.

 

[RadiusBPO]

If he is any good tell him to just build his own lead gen / affiliate sites. More "techniques" are open to him which makes it easier and he doesn't have to baby sit anyone.

 

[trebor8]

I would get your boyfriend to check his spelling in his own sales copy

it's a Bear necessity

 

[njoo]

Try more personal techniques.. it was mentioned that no one likes cold calls/emails.. Try reaching out in twitter or other social media in a more conversational/personal approach.