How do I Sell SEO to Customers?

How do I Sell SEO to Customers?

How do I Sell SEO to Customers?

Selling SEO to potential clients requires a deep understanding of their needs and goals. By identifying who to target and why they need SEO, you can tailor your pitch, address their concerns, and highlight the manifold benefits of SEO.

Selling SEO can be challenging due to its technical nature and long-term commitment. The key lies in understanding your audience and presenting the tangible benefits of SEO. Let’s delve deeper.

Who will you sell to?

In the context of SEO, potential clients can span a wide spectrum:

  1. Local Businesses: These are companies operating within a specific region or city. Examples include local restaurants, gyms, or boutique stores. SEO can help them appear in local search results, boosting their visibility among local consumers.
  2. E-commerce Platforms: Online stores aiming to increase their sales need visibility on search engines to drive organic traffic. SEO can help them rank for product-specific keywords.
  3. Bloggers and Content Creators: For them, visibility on search engines can lead to more readership, potential advertising deals, and a higher affiliate marketing revenue.
  4. Large Enterprises: These are big companies aiming to dominate search results in their industry, improve their brand’s online reputation, or target new markets.
  5. Startups and New Websites: Newly launched websites need SEO to gain initial traction on search engines.

Why do people buy SEO services?

When you understand the ‘why’ behind the purchase, selling becomes easier. Here’s why businesses and individuals invest in SEO:

  1. Increased Visibility: At the heart of SEO is the desire to appear at the top of search engine results. This translates to more clicks, and potentially, more conversions.
  2. Cost-effective Marketing: Unlike paid advertising, which requires continuous investment, SEO offers sustainable results. Over time, well-optimized sites can maintain or improve their ranking without consistent ad spend.
  3. Building Credibility: Ranking high on search engines, especially Google, is often seen as a mark of trust. Users are more likely to trust businesses that appear on the first page.
  4. User Experience Improvement: Good SEO practices often overlap with good user experience (UX) practices. An optimized, fast-loading, and mobile-responsive site offers a better user experience, leading to longer session durations and lower bounce rates.
  5. Tapping into Organic Search: Organic search remains a significant source of website traffic. Businesses understand the potential of this untapped audience and invest in SEO to reach them.
  6. Staying Competitive: If a business’s competitors are investing in SEO and reaping its benefits, they don’t want to be left behind. They buy SEO services to remain competitive.

How to Write an SEO service proposal

Crafting an effective SEO service proposal is about more than just listing your services and pricing.  

Here is an example:

Greetings!

As an experienced SEO professional, I believe I am the perfect fit for your project.

I understand your specific requirements for SEO targeting the phrases “************” for your law firm website. I specialize in targeted SEO strategies and can help you achieve your goal of being the number one organic search result.

To further showcase the positive impact of my work, I have attached 3 SEO success stories.

Based on my analysis and understanding of your objectives, I have crafted an SEO strategy priced at $$$$ for the first two months. Please review the attached document for a detailed breakdown of the services included in the proposed strategy. The plan encompasses a range of strategic activities aimed at enhancing your website’s search engine performance and driving targeted traffic.

I am one of the Top Rated Plus Vetted SEO experts at XYZ – which means I am ranked at the highest position for SEO work on the professionals in my field. 200+ feedback with 5 star exclusively on XYZ demonstrates not only my expertise in the field but also my ability to consistently deliver exceptional results to clients. I am an SEO specialist with an impressive professional background spanning nearly 10 years. Renowned for offering premium quality SEO services,

I am an internationally recognized and award-winning SEO professional. My notable achievements include receiving the prestigious Award from XYZ.

I am confident that together we can achieve remarkable results for your website.

Looking forward to hear from you.

With regards,

(Your Name)

Here’s a step-by-step guide:

  1. Executive Summary: Begin with a brief overview that encapsulates what the proposal entails, the objectives, and the expected outcomes.
  2. Client’s Current Situation: Show that you’ve done your homework. Highlight any current SEO shortcomings, past efforts, or missed opportunities you’ve identified.
  3. Objectives: Clearly outline what the SEO campaign aims to achieve. This could be improving rankings, increasing organic traffic, or boosting conversions.
  4. Scope of Services: List the specific SEO services you plan to provide. This can include:
    • On-page optimization (keyword optimization, meta descriptions, etc.)
    • Off-page optimization (backlink building, guest posting, etc.)
    • Technical SEO (website speed optimization, mobile responsiveness, etc.)
    • Content creation and strategy
    • SEO audit and reporting
  5. Timeline: Provide a tentative timeline for each phase of the SEO project, setting clear milestones.
  6. Investment and Pricing: Break down the costs for each service. You could present this as a monthly retainer, a one-time project fee, or milestone-based pricing.
  7. Case Studies and Testimonials: Showcase past successes with similar clients to build trust and demonstrate your expertise.
  8. Terms and Conditions: Specify any contractual details, including payment terms, contract duration, service guarantees, and confidentiality agreements.
  9. Next Steps: Outline what happens after the client accepts the proposal. This can include the onboarding process, initial meetings, or audits.
  10. Conclusion: End with a compelling call to action, encouraging the client to take the next steps.

What SEO Services Are Prospects Looking For?

In the constantly evolving digital landscape, businesses recognize the value of online visibility. As such, they seek out various SEO services to enhance their online presence:

  1. Technical SEO: Optimization of a website’s backend structure to ensure search engines can efficiently crawl and index the site.
  2. On-page SEO: Refinement of the content on individual pages for improved relevance to targeted keywords.
  3. Off-page SEO: Building the website’s authority through strategies like backlinking and social media engagements.
  4. Local SEO: Optimization for businesses that cater to a specific geographic area to enhance their visibility in local search results.
  5. Content Strategy and Creation: Development of content tailored to answer specific user queries, target certain keywords, and offer value.
  6. E-commerce SEO: Targeted optimization for online stores to ensure product pages and categories rank well.
  7. Mobile SEO: Ensuring the website is mobile-friendly, given the increasing volume of mobile search queries.
  8. Voice Search SEO: Optimizing for voice search queries as voice-activated devices become more prevalent.

Determining the Client’s Needs and Goals

  1. Target Keywords and Market Research:
    1. Understanding the specific terms, phrases, or questions the client’s potential customers are typing into search engines.
    2. Using tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Ahrefs to identify keyword volume, competition, and relevance.
  2. Competitive Analysis:
    1. Identifying the primary competitors in the digital space.
    2. Analyzing competitors’ website structures, backlink profiles, and content strategies to spot gaps and opportunities.
  3. Website Health and Technical SEO Checks:
    1. Utilizing tools like Google Search Console or Screaming Frog to conduct website audits.
    2. Identifying issues such as broken links, duplicate content, slow-loading pages, and mobile unresponsiveness.

Educating Your Client

  1. Breaking Down SEO Jargon: Explaining terms like SERP, meta tags, anchor text, and canonical tags in a digestible manner.
  2. The Importance of On-page and Off-page SEO: Detailing how On-page factors (like content quality and keyword optimization) and off-page factors (like backlinks and domain authority) impact rankings.
  3. How Search Algorithms Work: Providing insights into how search engines like Google use algorithms to rank websites, and how these algorithms are constantly evolving.

Pricing and Packages

  1. Tailoring Packages to Different Business Sizes and Needs: Offering customizable packages based on the specific needs of small businesses, startups, e-commerce platforms, or large enterprises.
  2. Value Addition: What Makes Your Services Stand Out: Highlighting unique features or benefits, such as proprietary tools, dedicated account managers, or comprehensive monthly reports.
  3. Flexible Pricing Models: Offering a variety of pricing structures, like monthly retainers for ongoing services, project-based pricing for one-off tasks, or hourly rates for consultations.

Understanding the Value of SEO

  1. SEO vs. Traditional Marketing: Emphasizing the benefits of SEO, like targeted audience reach and continuous traffic, compared to traditional marketing methods which might be more interruptive and costly.
  2. ROI (Return On Investment) of SEO: Highlighting the long-term value and cost-effectiveness of SEO. For example, while paid ads stop bringing traffic once the budget runs out, SEO can bring continuous organic traffic.
  3. Long-term Benefits of Organic Traffic: Discussing how organic traffic is more sustainable and often more targeted, leading to better conversion rates and customer loyalty.