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When working with a local business client, they may not know that getting found at the top of online search results is one of the best ways to boost business. Even if they do, they may not initially see the value in investing money into SEO or local search work to do it.
With the right approach, you can sell your clients an SEO or local search product of true value. One that gets them results.
Let’s dive into all the reasons that SEO is essential for client success, and overcome the outdated objections to selling it.
Contents
Some well-established local businesses are lucky. They have no competition in their area, or they were established a long, long time ago and have a loyal customer base that would never waver. SEO? Who needs it!?
Throughout the years, a local business’ customer base will age and neighborhoods will go through changes. Thriving businesses with a weak online presence can fall into obscurity when consumer trends change or target demographics move outside of the area.
As a marketing agency or team, you need to make sure that your clients stay relevant as changes happen so that their business stays healthy. A business that isn’t using their online presence to stay on top of changes and expand their customer base is at risk of losing against the competition in their area.
And even if your client has a brand new, shiny business, why wouldn’t you be using every tool at your disposal to help them reel in new customers and make their mark?
Making it work online
The world has turned online, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic, and every piece of information on the internet about your client’s local business can be used to maximize the amount of traffic that the business receives.
SEO is a numbers game that your client could be winning.
Moving up just one spot in search results can increase the click-through rate (CTR) of a local business’ website by 30.8%. That’s a whole lot of customers to be gained by just one tiny SEO success.
It’s also wise to take into account the following stats from Pixolabo:
People really are using the internet to find the businesses they need. Your client’s business might be doing alright on its own right now, but just imagine the growth it could achieve with a little SEO help.
You might be thinking, “Hold on, getting a bunch of clicks on a website won’t guarantee my client more sales or business through their door.”
That’s true.
A young teenager may have a Pinterest board full of wedding dress ideas, but that sure doesn’t mean she’s going to buy a wedding dress any time soon. The same goes for your online customers. Casual web surfers who find your client online won’t necessarily want to buy your client’s products.
That’s why you need to get RELEVANT visitors online. And that’s what SEO is all about. Making sure the business is found with the keywords that people with high purchase intent search for is the game changer. When you boost the amount of relevant traffic to your client’s website, the results WILL be more sales!
SEO and even more specifically, local search, draws in people who are already interested in your clients products or services. These people are the ones who are currently searching for similar products, or the ones who are already in the neighborhood. They’re the people who are ready to buy!
Mobile
Location is hugely important in finding relevant visitors, so you need to make sure your clients are able to be found on the go.
With that in mind, it’s important to ask: are your clients’ web platforms mobile compatible? It’s extremely important that they are. Here are some mind-boggling statistics that prove just how much of difference a mobile-compatible web presence can make:
Impressed yet? Here are a few more stats that really pack a punch:
See the difference that relevant web traffic can make? SEO and targeted local search can get your clients noticed by the local customers that matter.
That’s correct, and it makes sense.
You can’t start a coffee shop with only coffee-making equipment. You also need space in a building to put that equipment, and some interior decorating to make it inviting. You need a name for the coffee shop and a sign to go on the front door. The list goes on and on.
It’s the same with SEO.
Local businesses need more than just SEO, the customer-attracting tool, to be successful. They need to use SEO in tandem with other business best practices to see results.
‘Check out our technology that enhances your SEO strategy’
Good SEO will find the right customer base and get people through your client’s door, but it’s up to your client to have a business worth buying from and visiting again.
Not so fast. SEO does have an upfront cost, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not cost-effective. That’s because SEO is an inbound strategy that increases its value over time, focusing on customers who are already prepared to buy a product or service.
After the initial investment in SEO, there are no set limits to how high your client’s business’ rankings can climb in search results, how many people learn about the business, or how many sales can be made. Good SEO means that relevant customers will find them and growth will happen organically.
Let’s see some numbers.
Cold-calling prospective customers can be very effective, however, the leads that this outbound strategy generates can be 61% more expensive than those from SEO.
And by industry, SEO boasts some amazing ROI numbers. According to First Page Sage, businesses in the financial, real estate, medical device manufacturing, and PCB design and manufacturing sectors had an ROI average of over 1000% over three years. Every other industry saw an increase of at least 300%.
Impressive? We sure think so!
The initial investment in SEO shouldn’t be a deterrent for your clients. It might take time, but if it’s done right, SEO can pay off in huge ways.
Here you can see Locafy’s reasonable plans and pricing for expert local search technology that gets businesses found fast.
Good things take time. A garden takes a full season to grow, and a composer takes months to write a symphony. So it is with SEO.
Consistency and credibility are two major factors in successful SEO, and both can take a while to build depending on your client’s needs and current web presence. In some cases an entire web presence needs to be overhauled, and in others, a local business may only need a few minor SEO tweaks before waiting for the magic to happen.
Remember, it takes time for people to search for your client’s keywords or products, time for reviews to come in, and time for purchases to be made. These things add to SEO success, so patience is key.
And if your client still needs super fast results after hearing this, we’re here for you. When you get started with Locafy, your clients can see meaningful SEO results at industry-leading speeds.
In any field, there’s tons of information to learn. Experts are constantly making new discoveries, finding new ways to do things, and improving their methods. SEO is no exception.
The online world has always been quickly evolving. And every year there are developments that change the way customers are finding local businesses online… In 2020 alone, Google made over 4500 changes to its Search feature.
Above: Google’s ‘Helping people and businesses learn how Search works’ article explains some of the tools you can access to better understand Search.
It’s a full-time job to keep up with these changes and learn how to navigate them. That job isn’t yours, and it definitely shouldn’t be your client’s either. To get the most out of their online experience, your client needs an SEO expert who knows the local search field inside and out.
SEO is more than just brand consistency and the use of keywords, backlinks, and alt text. A deep understanding of search engine algorithms and the ability to avoid being hit by a Google penalty are also necessary.
There’s a reason that SEO is its own industry. It’s got a lot going on.
While there’s no set formula to achieving SEO success, professionals in the field make it their business to know how to follow search trends and troubleshoot any issues that might come up. Their expertise can help a local business carve out its niche online so that the business appears at the top of search results to the people who are ready to become customers.
Professional SEO can achieve much better and faster results, and save your client a ton of time and headaches. Good SEO products will take advantage of every SEO strategy they can while avoiding counter-productive or penalty-worthy actions.
Sometimes, it’s best to leave it to the professionals.
You and your clients want to stay ahead of the competition online and in the real world. Expert SEO can help make that happen, no matter the objections that some might have about it.
The best time to start using SEO is now. The sooner your client builds their online presence and reaches the top spots in search results, the better it is for everyone! SEO and a local search strategy will attract relevant web traffic, the people who want to buy products, and your clients can stay relevant in their own right by keeping up with any changes going on in the world around them.
SEO is a wonderful, cost-effective tool to support and magnify the success of your client’s business. By taking the time to build a custom strategy tailored to your client’s needs, SEO experts can take the job of achieving online visibility for your clients off your shoulders. And usually, to very impressive results!
It’s time to start your SEO journey today.
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