How do you get SEO clients?

[PrettyPaws]

How do the majority of SEO pro's get new clients? I'm guessing as with most things word of mouth is the best thing but are there other ways?

 

[Babi Pur]

We get lots of emails from seo peolpe every day and also lots of phone calls. They must get customers this way or they wouldn't do it so much. I must admit I find it quite annoying as they don't research your business before calling.

 

[PrettyPaws]

We're the same, then my partner says "we're already page one for things like dog collar, pet id tags, dog clothing etc etc" Shuts them right up

I always think if they were any good I'd be calling them

 

Word of mouth always been my supply.I think you have to build a reputation In SEO or you go knocking on doors.I imagine its a very tricky area to market.


Earl

 

[directmarketingadvice]

I imagine its a very tricky area to market.
Earl

I would have thought it would be incredibly easy to market.

After all, if you can get results, you've got something loads of busineses want. All you need is the basic sales/marketing skills to craft the proposition (i.e. the terms of business), find the right prospects, pick the right way to approach them and then close the deal.

Steve

 

I would have thought it would be incredibly easy to market.

After all, if you can get results, you've got something loads of busineses want. All you need is the basic sales/marketing skills to craft the proposition (i.e. the terms of business), find the right prospects, pick the right way to approach them and then close the deal.

Steve

I meant in terms of convincing people that you were the company to go with.

So many snake skin oil salesmen out there.Most of the companies that head the SERP's seem to have dubious results and many do not wish to share there real time abilities with the world,apart from a lot of sales pitch.

SEO has a terrible reputation in general.


Earl

 

[PrettyPaws]

I meant in terms of convincing people that you were the company to go with.

So many snake skin oil salesmen out there.Most of the companies that head the SERP's seem to have dubious results and many do not wish to share there real time abilities with the world,apart from a lot of sales pitch.

SEO has a terrible reputation in general.


Earl

I agree. One of the major problems with SEO is that it's easy to be "dazzled" by sales men if you know nothing about it. It's quite a complicated area for many. You can set up a website/store with no design/coding knowledge at all so there are many on the hunt for SEO's who know very little about ecommerce in general let alone spacific areas.

 

[Tin]

Results and word of mouth, the two go hand in hand but I do understand the scepticism within the industry and can empathize with businesses that have fallen foul for one reason or another. As Earl says the industry is full of cowboys who do a really good job of tarring us all with the same brush.

Ray

 

[directmarketingadvice]

Most of the companies that head the SERP's seem to have dubious results and many do not wish to share there real time abilities with the world

If someone goes into a sales pitch which revolves around "I'm not going to show you any evidence to back up my claims, but I want you to believe me", then of course they're going to struggle... particularly as SEO is something that's not "logical" to most prospects.

So, yes, it can be a difficult thing to sell if you've no track record of results... or if you insist on trying to sell your services without sharing those results.

But, if someone can really do SEO, there's no need for them to be in that situation.

Steve

 

If someone goes into a sales pitch which revolves around "I'm not going to show you any evidence to back up my claims, but I want you to believe me", then of course they're going to struggle... particularly as SEO is something that's not "logical" to most prospects.

So, yes, it can be a difficult thing to sell if you've no track record of results... or if you insist on trying to sell your services without sharing those results.

But, if someone can really do SEO, there's no need for them to be in that situation.

Steve

Your right Steve.Serious question how many people have you met in the UK that you consider can do SEO to a professional level.?

Earl

 

[brownie]

How many people in the SEO business can show concrete proof of their results?

 

[directmarketingadvice]

Your right Steve.Serious question how many people have you met in the UK that you consider can do SEO to a professional level.?
Earl

I've no idea.

For a start, surely whether someone can "do the job" depends on how difficult the job is.

For example, I've currently got positions 1 & 3 for marketing consultant edinburgh. Does that mean I'm a "pro" seo?

No, it means it's an easy term and I've got on-topic sites with lots of content.

Steve

 

I've no idea.

For a start, surely whether someone can "do the job" depends on how difficult the job is.

For example, I've currently got positions 1 & 3 for marketing consultant edinburgh. Does that mean I'm a "pro" seo?

No, it means it's an easy term and I've got on-topic sites with lots of content.

Steve

I was not being flipant Steve .I would suggest maybe the benchmark for a pro is someone who will get you on page 1 of google no matter what the keywords.

Earl

 

[behigher]

I was not being flipant Steve .I would suggest maybe the benchmark for a pro is someone who will get you on page 1 of google no matter what the keywords.

Earl

or having the confidence to start work for them and achieve what they want. As an seo provider to small businesses we spend a lot of our time trying to manage peoples expectations against the results we can achieve - we quoted a guy who wanted to be on page 1 for "t shirt" "usb" and about 20 other similar keywords, when he did not get a guarantee of page one, he went elsewhere.

So many seo providers, all promising the world, its a minefield for customers in the marketplace for the right seo for them.

 

[directmarketingadvice]

I was not being flipant Steve .I would suggest maybe the benchmark for a pro is someone who will get you on page 1 of google no matter what the keywords.
Earl

Then that means the answer is 1.

(based on the fact that one person could SEO 10 sites for the same keyword)

we quoted a guy who wanted to be on page 1 for "t shirt" "usb" and about 20 other similar keywords, when he did not get a guarantee of page one, he went elsewhere.

So many seo providers, all promising the world, its a minefield for customers in the marketplace for the right seo for them.

I'll refer you back to what I wrote before:

"All you need is the basic sales/marketing skills to craft the proposition (i.e. the terms of business), find the right prospects, pick the right way to approach them and then close the deal."

Was this guy really a good prospect?

If he wasn't, why were you spending time on him?

If he was, then you have to take responsibility for the fact you failed to reset his expectations.

Steve

 

[seocomp]

Tom you know that he expect to be on 1st page so if you can not quarantee 1st page why you spend a lot of time on him? This is a real question

All SEO should understand that if clients pay for services they expect results. Is there aq reason to spend even £1 to improve ranking from XXXX to 11th? How many sales will TOP11 generate ? Was it worth to spend £1 and time with SEO?

 

[ScottB]

If someone goes into a sales pitch which revolves around "I'm not going to show you any evidence to back up my claims, but I want you to believe me", then of course they're going to struggle... particularly as SEO is something that's not "logical" to most prospects.

I agree - a lot of SEOs tend to be quite tight chested about their methods - not for any particularly insidious reasons - more because of paranoia about "intelluctal property", etc. Which is crap IMO.

Keep in mind though, for every enquiry a SEO gets, there a few others that are from freeloaders or competitors fishing for information.

I realise that clients want assured results - but I don't think it would be responsible for SEOs to guarentee top positions (not for a set fee or retainer anyway - perhaps on performance related pay scheme, but that's a different scenario) - SEOs don't control results, no more than advertising professionals can control the results of an ad campaign. Yes, experience can allow them to assure a certain level of results to a degree, but it's rarely set in stone prior to the campaign launch.

To answer the original question - as a freelance consultant, my work comes largely from personal referrals - I think this would be the most common source of business for freelancers, particularly in an area where experience is important. SEO agencies with more resources tend to source a lot more business from traditional marketing methods though (it's harder for a freelancer to do this - managing enquiries / pitches on this scale is time consuming).

Active forum participation can be a great source of enquiries as well, but it takes time to build up a reputation. Blogging is also another good way - anything really that lets you convey your experience in some form is generally good.

I also actively pass on leads to other SEOs for various reasons - largely because I'm working at near capacity and can't take on certain types of clients - but this process also works both ways and I've picked up some clients from other SEOs as well.

 

[mattsaw]

Most of our clients are word of mouth referrals or though SEO (we practice what we preach )

I work for a mid-sized london agancy, so most of our clients are well establised larger sized companies, not many of their middle managment spend too much time reading blogs or forums, so networking at events and relationship managment becomes more important.

 

[behigher]

Tom you know that he expect to be on 1st page so if you can not quarantee 1st page why you spend a lot of time on him? This is a real question

Sorry, I did not make myself clear, we did not spend a lot of time with that particular client, just a lot of time in general managing peoples expectations.

Let me give you another example - a customer of ours had spoken to 2 other seo companies, both offered guarantees, for £100 per month. When examined, it worked out they were in fact charging £35 per hour, so actually working for 3 hours a month on their site, and the guarantee? well there was no money back guarantee, no refund, no percentage refund nothing.

So when clients come to me one of the questions I ask is if they have already had work done, or got any quotes from anyone else. Thats usually what takes a lot of time - listening to horror stories and basic misleading information on search engine optimisation - especially for small businesses, where £100 a month is a lot of money.

 

[PrettyPaws]

Sorry, I did not make myself clear, we did not spend a lot of time with that particular client, just a lot of time in general managing peoples expectations.

Let me give you another example - a customer of ours had spoken to 2 other seo companies, both offered guarantees, for £100 per month. When examined, it worked out they were in fact charging £35 per hour, so actually working for 3 hours a month on their site, and the guarantee? well there was no money back guarantee, no refund, no percentage refund nothing.

So when clients come to me one of the questions I ask is if they have already had work done, or got any quotes from anyone else. Thats usually what takes a lot of time - listening to horror stories and basic misleading information on search engine optimisation - especially for small businesses, where £100 a month is a lot of money.

3 hours a month? I wouldn't expect to see much in the way of results from that, especially in the first 3 - 6 months where there is a lot of groundwork to put in.

 

[ineedcontent]

I am guessing half the problem is that you are selling something that is intangible; you can’t see it or touch it, like selling insurance. I would have thought that having a good position in the rankings yourself would be a great help, but incredibly difficult in that field where you are competing with people whose job is to get sites to the top.

 

[SEO Dynamiks]

Tip number one offer free analysis, i generate around 30 free initial analysis reports for clients every month. If you can identify and explain your proposition to client in this way you will greatly increase levels of trust and a higher conversion rate.

Cheers
Mike Harding - Senior Consultant
SEO Dynamiks

 

[behigher]

3 hours a month? I wouldn't expect to see much in the way of results from that, especially in the first 3 - 6 months where there is a lot of groundwork to put in.

Exactly! - it's just an example of how pricing differs between companies, check and double check what you are getting for your £

 

[aaliyahlim]

simply by word of mouth. Once a client is satisfied on your work then that client would tell others.

 

[Ali-v-8]

How do the majority of SEO pro's get new clients? I'm guessing as with most things word of mouth is the best thing but are there other ways?

We are on page one position one for optimisation. Google.co.uk and .com (4 years on the trot)
we have many single phrase page one results like SEO, Promotion, Marketing, Advertising and variations like website Promotion, online advertising...etc.
quite a few people look at websites on page one and basicaly ask us to do the same as we have done for them.
I think the best clients come from referal off people that we do work for. keep clients happy and they will bring you more business.