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6 Ways To Get Local SEO Clients You Really Want

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6 Ways To Get Local SEO Clients You Really Want

Local businesses are often the most interesting SEO clients to work with due to the creativity and strategy it takes to appeal to a local market.

While the basics – Google Business Profile optimization, localized content, etc. – still apply, local businesses must often think outside the box when trying to rank locally.

Acquiring these types of clients also takes skill. To SEO professionals, attracting positive, ambitious, and proactive local SEO clients is ideal.

Here are some tips for getting local SEO clients you truly want to work with.

1. Start Conversations With Local Business Owners

A few years ago, I was due for a haircut and started my search for a local barber. I saw a barber with great reviews on Google, so I visited their website to learn more about their prices.

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Unfortunately, I was met by a “Warning! Your connection is not private” error on their website.

As an SEO strategist, I knew this was due to the business not having their SSL certificate enabled on their website.

So, I called them to book an appointment and, in person, gave a heads up to the owner that they had website security issues.

The owner was unaware of the issue and managed the website herself, so I offered to set up their SSL for free.

Later, she paid my team to diagnose additional technical SEO issues and continued into a longer engagement.

The lesson here is that often the best way to attract local SEO clients is to simply start genuine conversations.

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It doesn’t have to be as glaring as a site security issue, but if you can identify a need, chances are the business will be happy you let them know there are issues impacting their business.

In addition, they’ll be grateful that you gave them a heads up and helped them avoid missing out on new business.

For example, a local business may not know that their Google Business Profile address is not up to date. Or that they have 404 errors on their website.

Or that their contact form isn’t working.

Often, your advice may be seen as a massive favor and could turn into an ongoing engagement. Or, at the very least, open the door to referral business once you’re seen as the local SEO expert.

Whether you’re looking for a haircut, buying a latte, or picking up a gift for a friend, keep your eyes open.

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If you notice an SEO issue and make the time to offer some free value, you might be surprised by how this could turn into a new client or referral connection.

2. Identify Businesses Investing In Marketing

It’s well-known within the marketing community that tight-budget clients are often the most demanding clients.

This is not to say that having a small budget necessarily makes one a bad client, but that having an attitude of getting more for less is often backward when it comes to marketing.

In short, your ideal local SEO clients are those who recognize the value of marketing and are willing to invest in it toward reaching a larger goal.

They want to put their marketing dollars to work to achieve long-term growth.

Like in the previous example: A simple oversight was leading to site security issues, but the business was otherwise on top of its GBP (Google Business Profile) optimization and social media marketing.

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The owner was receptive to feedback and saw the value in improving their web presence.

When looking for local SEO clients, look for businesses that meet the following criteria:

  • Do they have a responsive website? If so, does it appear that it’s being updated regularly?
  • Is the business posting consistently on social media?
  • Is the business running paid ads?
  • Are they keeping active with their blog and content marketing?
  • Does it appear that they have done some degree of SEO?
  • Are they updating their website with new deals, events, offers, etc.?
  • Have they optimized their local search presence?

A company that appears to have invested in its marketing is more likely to be a great client.

You want a client who understands the need for marketing and will actively participate in their business growth.

Once you have identified local businesses that appear to tick off some of these boxes, reach out to them.

A free offer – like an audit or a friendly consultation – could be your foot in the door to a longer engagement.

3. Attend Speaking Events, Webinars, And Networking Meetups

I’m a fan of having your local SEO knowledge speak for itself.

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Rather than cold messaging business owners with a sales pitch, it’s best first to provide free, no-strings-attached value.

This can be in the form of a friendly email or, in this case, sharing your knowledge at in-person or online events.

One of the top sources of local SEO leads for my business is speaking events –specifically, speaking events and webinars tailored to law firms (my target market).

Often, you can attract clients by sharing your expertise through a professional talk, online interview, networking event, or conference.

And remember, business owners who are proactive about attending such events often make good clients.

Here are some tips for making events work for lead generation:

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  • Find events tailored to your preferred market (if applicable). For example, if you primarily work with tech businesses, consider going to DevOps Day in Seattle. On the other hand, perhaps the Annual Employment Law Conference in Coronado may work if you seek to work with law firms.
  • Apply to speak. If there is an opportunity to speak at an event, take it. Assuming you are comfortable with public speaking, this can be a great way to get noticed and attract clients.
  • Many conferences host parties or happy hour following the event. Others host a lunch hour. This in-person networking can be invaluable.
  • If you are speaking, it should not be a non-stop pitch fest. They will be stricken by your expertise and willingness to share information.
  • Participate in online interviews and webinars. There are tons of online speaking opportunities. Look out for chances to be interviewed for blogs and podcasts. Then offer to speak on online webinars or YouTube. Reshare this content.
  • Don’t forget to follow up. If you make connections online or in person, get their contact information. Then, following the event, send them a message. Thank them for the opportunity to meet, and encourage them to reach out to you if they need anything. Or continue the conversation you were having in person online.

Demonstrating genuine knowledge with business owners in your niche is one of the best ways to attract engaged clients.

4. Connect With Business Owners On LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a top business-to-business (B2B) platform, helping professionals forge new relationships and find clients.

However, it is a platform that’s often abused – with marketers spamming users with cold pitches and spam.

Don’t be “that guy.”

Instead, use LinkedIn to cultivate genuine connections with business owners, so they’re excited to work with you.

Here’s how to use LinkedIn to get local SEO clients:

  • Optimize your profile. Add a professional photo to your personal profile. Fill out your tagline and “about” section about what you do. Ask past clients and peers for Recommendations to boost your profile.
  • Post valuable content. Post videos, articles, images, and posts that share value with your audience. Talk about issues, topics, and stories relevant to their business needs.
  • Send Connection requests to local business owners and agencies. Feel free to introduce yourself, but not talk about your services. Imagine you are meeting someone at a conference and shaking their hand. No pitching!
  • Nurture the follow-up. Once someone has accepted your Connection request, send them a follow-up message. Ask them questions about what they are working on, what interests them, etc.
  • Follow niche-specific accounts and respond to their post with comments or questions. Also, send connection requests to other users following the same accounts.

Again, inbound marketing is all about providing value first.

If you nurture genuine engagement, users will begin to see you as the local SEO expert and may reach out to you on their own accord.

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If you get far enough in a conversation, offer to help the business owner solve a problem.

If they are interested, this could be in the form of a free audit, consultation, or resource.

Remember, the best clients are those who actively want to work with you versus those who are stiff-armed into a project.

5. Keep Your Business Card On Hand

Don’t underestimate the value of traditional marketing.

Many local businesses are small “mom and pop” shops that like a personal touch.

They want to connect with a real person rather than a faceless agency.

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When you are out and about, keep your business card on hand. Keep your eyes and ears open to conversations where business owners are looking for marketing solutions.

While someone may not be ready to work with you immediately, at least they will have the connection to offer referrals.

Referral business is one of the other top sources of leads for my law firm SEO company.

You’ll find that people are much more receptive to working with you if you have a friendly conversation first.

Having your business card on hand will mean you’re always prepared to offer your information and continue the conversation into a business relationship.

6. Forge Partnerships With Marketing Agencies

I’ve talked through some ways to connect directly with local business owners, but there’s another smart workaround to get more local SEO clients: agency partnerships.

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Chances are, there are tons of marketing agencies in your area that offer marketing services.

However, not all of them will offer SEO. Forging a partnership could be an excellent way to get referral business or white label your services.

Here’s how it works:

  • Find marketing agencies. Do a Google search for marketing agencies in your area. Make a list of those that don’t appear to offer SEO services.
  • Take down their contact information. For the agencies that made your list, find their contact information. A phone number or email address is preferred (over a contact form).
  • Send them a message. Contact the agencies over email or phone with the following message (or similar): “Hi [agency name], My name is [your name], and I am a local SEO practitioner in [city]. I’m connecting with you because I see you also offer marketing services in the [city] area. If SEO isn’t in your wheelhouse, I was wondering if we could form a partnership in which I refer [service you don’t offer] services to you, and you send local SEO needs my way. I would love to continue this conversation if you are interested. You can reach me at [phone number] or [email address].”

Agencies that see this as a direct pitch might not contact you, but others might see the value of a two-way partnership.

For example, you can send leads their way, and they send SEO clients to you. Or, you can provide a percentage commission on new business sent your way.

This can be a great way to get new clients passively, without active marketing.

Plus, agency partners could have many more advantages, like guest posting opportunities or networking.

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There’s No “Secret” To Getting Great Clients

You’ll find that the key to getting great local SEO clients comes down to genuine relationships.

So, whether it’s networking, speaking, forging partnerships, or providing free value, the best way to attract great clients is to build meaningful connections.

Skip the cold pitch, and think first about how you can provide a benefit to local businesses or agencies.

You’ll find that many people are receptive to professionals who take a chance to get to know them, solve a problem, and nurture a friendly conversation.

Want more local SEO clients you truly want to work with?

Use these methods to build connections and encourage long-term partnerships.

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Content Pruning: Why It Works, and How to Do It

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Content Pruning: Why It Works, and How to Do It

Content pruning sounds pretty appealing: delete a ton of content and see your organic traffic improve. But pruning has risks (like deleting useful pages and useful backlinks), and benefits are not guaranteed: So how does pruning actually work? And when

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8 Free SEO Reporting Tools

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8 Free SEO Reporting Tools

There’s no shortage of SEO reporting tools to choose from—but what are the core tools you need to put together an SEO report?

In this article, I’ll share eight of my favorite SEO reporting tools to help you create a comprehensive SEO report for free.

Price: Free

Google Search Console, often called GSC, is one of the most widely used tools to track important SEO metrics from Google Search.

Most common reporting use case

GSC has a ton of data to dive into, but the main performance indicator SEOs look at first in GSC is Clicks on the main Overview dashboard.

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As the data is from Google, SEOs consider it to be a good barometer for tracking organic search performance. As well as clicks data, you can also track the following from the Performance report:

  • Total Impressions
  • Average CTR
  • Average Position
gsc-performance-overviewgsc-performance-overview

Tip

If you’ve signed up for AWT using Google Search Console, you can view your GSC performance data in Ahrefs by clicking “GSC Performance” from the main dashboard.

But for most SEO reporting, GSC clicks data is exported into a spreadsheet and turned into a chart to visualize year-over-year performance.

organic-traffic-graph-showing-clicks-year-over-yearorganic-traffic-graph-showing-clicks-year-over-year

Favorite feature

One of my favorite reports in GSC is the Indexing report. It’s useful for SEO reporting because you can share the indexed to non-indexed pages ratio in your SEO report.

google-search-console-indexed-pages-reportgoogle-search-console-indexed-pages-report

If the website has a lot of non-indexed pages, then it’s worth reviewing the pages to understand why they haven’t been indexed.

Price: Free

Google Looker Studio (GLS), previously known as Google Data Studio (GDS), is a free tool that helps visualize data in shareable dashboards.

Most common reporting use case

Dashboards are an important part of SEO reporting, and GLS allows you to get a total view of search performance from multiple sources through its integrations.

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Out of the box, GLS allows you to connect to many different data sources.

Such as:

  • Marketing products – Google Ads, Google Analytics, Display & Video 360, Search Ads 360
  • Consumer products – Google Sheets, YouTube, and Google Search Console
  • Databases – BigQuery, MySQL, and PostgreSQL
  • Social media platformsFacebook, Reddit, and Twitter
  • Files – CSV file upload and Google Cloud Storage

Sidenote.

If you don’t have the time to create your own report manually, Ahrefs has three Google Looker Studio connectors that can help you create automated SEO reporting for any website in a few clicks

google-looker-studio-partner-connectorsgoogle-looker-studio-partner-connectors

Here’s what a dashboard in GLS looks like:

ahrefs-seo-audit-dashboardahrefs-seo-audit-dashboard
Ahrefs Google Looker Studio integration

With this type of dashboard, you share reports that are easy to understand with clients or other stakeholders.

Favorite feature

The ability to blend and filter data from different sources, like GA and GSC, means you can get a customized overview of your total search performance, tailored to your website.

Price: Free for 500 URLs

Screaming Frog is a website crawler that helps you audit your website.

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Screaming Frog’s free version of its crawler is perfect if you want to run a quick audit on a bunch of URLs. The free version is limited to 500 URLs—making it ideal for crawling smaller websites.

screaming-frog-user-interface-screenshotscreaming-frog-user-interface-screenshot

Most common reporting use case

When it comes to reporting, the Reports menu in Screaming Frog SEO Spider has a wealth of information you can look over that covers all the technical aspects of your website, such as analyzing, redirects, canonicals, pagination, hreflang, structured data, and more.

Once you’ve crawled your site, it’s just a matter of downloading the reports you need and working out the main issues to summarize in your SEO report.

Favorite feature

Screaming Frog can pull in data from other tools, including Ahrefs, using APIs. 

If you already had access to a few SEO tools’ APIs, you could pull data from all of them directly into Screaming Frog. This is useful if you want to combine crawl data with performance data or other 3rd party tools.

screaming-frog-api-accessscreaming-frog-api-access

Even if you’ve never configured an API, connecting other tools to Screaming Frog is straightforward.

Price: Free

Ahrefs has a large selection of free SEO tools to help you at every stage of your SEO campaign, and many of these can be used to provide insights for your SEO reporting.

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when-to-use-ahrefs-free-tools-across-the-seo-process-illustrationwhen-to-use-ahrefs-free-tools-across-the-seo-process-illustration

For example, you could use our:

Most common reporting use case

One of our most popular free SEO tools is Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (AWT), which you can use for your SEO reporting.

With AWT, you can:

  • Monitor your SEO health over time by setting up scheduled SEO audits
  • See the performance of your website
  • Check all known backlinks for your website
ahrefs-overviewahrefs-overview

Favorite feature

Of all the Ahrefs free tools, my favorite is AWT. Within it, site auditing is my favorite feature—once you’ve set it up, it’s a completely hands-free way to keep track of your website’s technical performance and monitor its health.

If you already have access to Google Search Console, it’s a no-brainer to set up a free AWT account and schedule a technical crawl of your website(s).

Price: Free

Ahrefs’ SEO Toolbar is a free Chrome and Firefox extension useful for diagnosing on-page technical issues and performing quick spot checks on your website’s pages.

Most common reporting use case

For SEO reporting, it’s useful to run an on-page check on your website’s top pages to ensure there aren’t any serious on-page issues.

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ahrefs-seo-toolbar-overviewahrefs-seo-toolbar-overview

With the free version, you get the following features:

  • On-page SEO report
  • Redirect tracer with HTTP Headers
  • Outgoing links report with link highlighter and broken link checker
  • SERP positions
  • Country changer for SERP

The SEO toolbar is excellent for spot-checking issues with pages on your website. If you are not confident with inspecting the code, it can also give you valuable pointers on what elements you need to include on your pages to make them search-friendly.

If anything is wrong with the page, the toolbar highlights it, with red indicating a critical issue.

severity-highlight-ahrefs-seo-toolbarseverity-highlight-ahrefs-seo-toolbar

Favorite feature

The section I use the most frequently in the SEO toolbar is the Indexability tab. In this section, you can see whether the page can be crawled and indexed by Google.

indexability-tab-ahrefs-seo-toolbarindexability-tab-ahrefs-seo-toolbar

Although you can do this by inspecting the code manually, using the toolbar is much faster.

Price: Free

Like GSC, Google Analytics is another tool you can use to track the performance of your website, tracking sessions and conversions and much more on your website.

google-analytics-screenshotgoogle-analytics-screenshot

Most common reporting use case

GA gives you a total view of website traffic from several different sources, such as direct, social, organic, paid traffic, and more.

Favorite feature

You can create and track up to 300 events and 30 conversions with GA4. Previously, with universal analytics, you could only track 20 conversions. This makes conversion and event tracking easier within GA4.

Price: Free

Google Slides is Google’s version of Microsoft PowerPoint. If you don’t have a dashboard set up to report on your SEO performance, the next best thing is to assemble a slide deck.

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Many SEO agencies present their report through dashboard insights and PowerPoint presentations. However, if you don’t have access to PowerPoint, then Google Slides is an excellent (free) alternative.

google-slides-screenshotgoogle-slides-screenshot

Most common reporting use cases

The most common use of Google Slides is to create a monthly SEO report. If you don’t know what to include in a monthly report, use our SEO report template.

Favorite feature

One of my favorite features is the ability to share your presentation on a video chat directly from Google Slides. You can do this by clicking the camera icon in the top right.

share-video-chat-google-slidesshare-video-chat-google-slides

This is useful if you are working with remote clients and makes sharing your reports easy.

Price: Free

Google Trends allows you to view a keyword’s popularity over time in any country. The data shown is the relative popularity ratio scaled from 0-100, not the direct volume of search queries.

Most common reporting use cases

Google Trends is useful for showing how the popularity of certain searches can increase or decrease over time. If you work with a website that often has trending products, services, or news, it can be useful to illustrate this visually in your SEO report.

Google Trends makes it easy to spot seasonal trends for product categories. For example, people want to buy BBQs when the weather is sunny.

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Using Google Trends, we can see that peak demand for BBQs usually happens in June-July every year.

bbq-google-trends-graphbbq-google-trends-graph

Using this data across the last five years, we could be fairly sure when the BBQ season would start and end.

Favorite feature

Comparing two or more search terms against each other over time is one of my favorite uses of Google Trends, as it can be used to tell its own story.

google-trends-comparison-examplegoogle-trends-comparison-example

Embellishing your report with trends data allows you to gain further insights into market trends.

You can even dig into trends at a regional level if you need to.

regional-trends-via-google-trendsregional-trends-via-google-trends

Final thoughts

These free tools will help you put together the foundations for a well-rounded SEO report.

The tools you use for SEO reporting don’t always have to be expensive—even large companies use many of the free tools mentioned to create insights for their client’s SEO reports.

Got more questions? Ping me on X 🙂

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Study Reveals Potential Disruption For Brands & SEO

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Study Reveals Potential Disruption For Brands & SEO

A new study by Authoritas suggests that Google’s AI-powered Search Generative Experience (SGE), currently being tested with a limited group of users, could adversely impact brand visibility and organic search traffic.

These findings include:

  • When an SGE box is expanded, the top organic result drops by over 1,200 pixels on average, significantly reducing visibility.
  • 62% of SGE links come from domains outside the top 10 organic results.
  • Ecommerce, electronics, and fashion-related searches saw the greatest disruption, though all verticals were somewhat impacted.

Adapting to generative search may require a shift in SEO strategies, focusing more on long-form content, expert insights, and multimedia formats.

As Google continues to invest in AI-powered search, the Authoritas study provides an early look at the potential challenges and opportunities ahead.

High Penetration Rate & Industry-Wide Effects

The study analyzed 2,900 brand and product-related keywords across 15 industry verticals and found that Google displays SGE results for 91.4% of all search queries.

The prevalence of SGE results indicates they impact a majority of websites across various industries.

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The research analyzed the typical composition of SGE results. On average, each SGE element contained between 10-11 links sourced from an average of four different domains.

This indicates brands may need to earn multiple links and listings within these AI-curated results to maintain visibility and traffic.

The research also suggests that larger, well-established websites like Quora and Reddit will likely perform better in SGE results than smaller websites and lesser-known brands.

Shifting Dynamics In Organic Search Results

With SGE results occupying the entire first page, websites that currently hold the top positions may experience a significant decrease in traffic and click-through rates.

When a user clicks to expand the SGE element, the study found that, on average, the #1 ranked organic result drops a sizeable 1,255 pixels down the page.

Even if a website ranks number one in organic search, it may effectively be pushed down to the second page due to the prominence of SGE results.

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New Competition From Unexpected Sources

The study revealed that SGE frequently surfaces links and content from websites that didn’t appear in the top organic rankings.

On average, only 20.1% of SGE links exactly matched a URL from the first page of Google search results.

An additional 17.9% of SGE links were from the same domains as page one results but linked to different pages. The remaining 62% of SGE links came from sources outside the top organic results.

Challenges For Brand Term Optimization & Local Search

The study reveals that SGE results for branded terms may include competitors’ websites alongside the brand’s own site, potentially leading to increased competition for brand visibility.

Laurence O’Toole, CEO and founder of Authoritas, states:

“Brands are not immune. These new types of generative results introduce more opportunities for third-party sites and even competitors to rank for your brand terms and related brand and product terms that you care about.”

Additionally, local businesses may face similar challenges, as SGE results could feature competing local brands even when users search for a specific brand in a regional context.

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Methodology & Limitations

To arrive at these insights, Authoritas analyzed a robust dataset of 2,900 search keywords across a spectrum of query types, including specific brand names, brand + generic terms, brand + product names, generic terms, and specific product names. The keywords were distributed across 15 industry verticals.

The study utilized a consistent desktop browser viewport to quantify pixel-based changes in the search results. Authoritas also developed proprietary “alignment scores” to measure the degree of overlap between traditional organic search results and the new SGE links.

While acknowledging some limitations, such as the keyword set needing to be fully representative of each vertical and the still-evolving nature of SGE, Authoritas maintains that the insights hold value in preparing brands for the new realities of an AI-powered search ecosystem.

Why We Care

The findings of the Authoritas study have implications for businesses, marketers, and SEO professionals. As Google’s SGE becomes more prevalent, it could disrupt traditional organic search rankings and traffic patterns.

Brands that have invested heavily in SEO and have achieved top rankings for key terms may find their visibility and click-through rates diminished by the prominence of SGE results.

SGE introduces new competition from unexpected sources, as most SGE links come from domains outside the top 10 organic results. This means businesses may need to compete not only with their traditional rivals but also with a broader range of websites that gain visibility through SGE.

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As Google is a primary source of traffic and leads for many businesses, any changes to its search results can impact visibility, brand awareness, and revenue.

How This Could Help You

While the rise of SGE presents challenges, it also offers opportunities.

Taking into account what we’ve learned from the Authoritas study, here are some actionable takeaways:

  • As SGE favors in-depth, informative content, businesses may benefit from investing in comprehensive, well-researched articles and guides that provide value to users.
  • Incorporating expert quotes, interviews, and authoritative sources within your content could increase the likelihood of being featured in SGE results.
  • Enriching your content with images, videos, and other multimedia elements may help capture the attention of both users and the SGE algorithm.
  • Building a strong brand presence across multiple channels, including social media, industry forums, and relevant websites, can increase your chances of appearing in SGE.
  • Creating a trustworthy brand and managing your online reputation will be crucial, as SGE may feature competitors alongside your website.

Looking Ahead

While the long-term impact of SGE will depend on user adoption and the perceived usefulness of results, this study’s findings serve as a valuable starting point for businesses and SEO professionals.

By proactively addressing the challenges and opportunities SGE presents, you can increase your chances of success in the new search environment.


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