Image source: Pixabay
In this jam-packed competitive market, building a successful business that will achieve stellar success is a challenging endeavour. With 9 out of 10 startups failing on their first try, it is evident one must take measures of precaution to ensure they fall in those 10% that accomplish their goals. Many are those who had to learn through trial and error, but you can take advantage of the opportunity to learn from other people’s experiences and mistakes. For the following article, we have listed the most important segments a young entrepreneur has to cover in order to build a strong SEO business.
How to acquire customers
Naturally, once you start your own business, the first thing you’re going to ask yourself is how to get first customers. Cold calls are a method that first comes to our minds, let us tell you – it’s not going to be a successful one.
Get to that first page
First, you need to get obsessed with ranking on the first page of Google for SEO services related keyword in your area. Most commonly, this includes a “your city + SEO agency” combination. For example, imagine you are starting an agency in Sydney, you will strive to rank for “Sydney SEO Agency”. Once the time comes to close the deal, this will give you credibility. Furthermore, not only will the high rank help your customers get to you more easily, but it will also be the proof of your own work. Just think about it – who is going to trust an SEO company that hasn’t even managed to rank themselves high?
Make strategic partnerships
In the digital industry, you will notice that most SEO companies focus on providing services in only several areas of inbound marketing, like PPC, PR, social media marketing, etc. Namely, concentrating on one or only a few areas in your niche is smart, since this way you will not scatter your resources, however, you can expect clients to ask you about the services you don’t offer. Your solution is to partner up with agencies that have different offer from you and offer them a standard 10% finder’s fee for sending you any business or form a white label partnership
Include live chat on your website
Although these were once considered annoying, lately they proved to be highly beneficial, since more and more people (63% to be exact) highlight how they are more likely to return to a certain website if it offers live chat. It notifies you when a potential customer is on your website; they have the opportunity to send you a message if they have any questions, or you can even get in touch with them.
Optimize your website
Clean and simple website is the hub of your SEO business. Ignore what the current design trends dictate, since those who have been in the industry for years say customers don’t so much care about the flashy graphics, they want to know only three things:
Who you are
Your prospects will appreciate transparency; when looking for a reliably SEO agency, people want to know the people they work with, so add real-life photos of you and the members of your team.
Your previous work
Nothing says more about the success of your work as the success of your past clients. After About Us page, a page dedicated to your previous work is the second most visited one on your website. People want real proof of your efforts, so make sure you include written testimonials, and if possible, a short video filmed by your previous clients about the positive experience they had with you
Contact information
Make the page with your contact information easy to locate on your website. Additionally, you can add a contact form on each page of your website, so that the moment a potential client wishes to get in touch, he has the opportunity to do it.
Carefully set the prices
Image source: Pixabay
In the digital industry, pricing is the trickiest topic to discuss. Some SEO agencies choose to charge an hourly rate, however, clients might ask you for a more open-ended price. The combination of the two is probably the best practice: the SEO Strategy Report and Website Optimization could be listed under fixed costs, while Monthly SEO reporting under hourly costs.
Legal contracts
Certainly, it is always advisable to have an experienced lawyer as your right-hand man, but when you are only at the beginning of your venture, you are probably not going to be able to afford one. So when drafting contracts, keep in mind that they have to be simple, short and clear. By getting rid of fluff, you can cut down the decision time and close more deals.
Tools and Software
Finally, to help you get started and manage workload that awaits you, we have prepared a list of the most essential SEO tools every marketer should take advantage of:
- Basecamp – Project management software
- Checkli – Productivity tool
- Moz – Management and monitoring the clients’ SEO (Also, Majestic and Ahrefs are good alternatives).
- Google Analytics – Monitoring and traffic report
- Google Keyword Planner – Keyword research
- MySiteAuditor – SEO audit tool for website visitors
- SEOinvoice.com – Tool for creating free invoices
- Less Accounting – Accounting software
- Tweet Deck – Social media profiles management tool
- GrooveHQ – Customer support
Do you have any SEO tools you find absolutely essential and cannot imagine a day without using them? Feel free to share your experiences and ideas with us!
Bio: Amir Noghani is the general manager of GWM, a Sydney SEO Agency. He has a Master’s degree in engineering and has spent the last seven years working as a digital marketing and communications expert. His strong sides are online marketing and Public Relations, as well as writing journal articles and blogs.