As I have often stated, I work with many small clients, especially in the medical field. There are few problems associated with this market, none of them unique, but they're a pain to deal with for the revenue that you make on taking on small clients.
1. Explaining SEO – It’s hard enough to explain SEO processes to CEOs and corporate managers who understand the purpose and benefits of SEO, but to explain to a niche market the benefit of good SEO and the ROI attached to it is time consuming
2. Creating a strategy that the client can understand – The website is, after all, the property of your client, so how you treat it is important. It's equally important to explain any or all modifications that you are making, the timescale taken to do so, and the benefits of such enhancements.
3. Fielding questions – usually after an introduction to SEO, clients take it upon themselves to research the subject matter – after all, these are educated people and specialists in their own field. The problem is, there is much misinformation on the web, especially since most people will end up using Google to research.
4. Working on a shoe string budget – many of my clients pay under $300 a year for their SEO services – and to work on such budgets, your strategy has to be focused and targeted.
The topic of this post is the problem from number 4. The most effective way of dealing with budget clients is often to have a set process that has some, but not much room to maneuver. Don’t promise them the world – show them what your processes will be and what the possible deliverables would be.
The key success of my small business strategy is its Keyword Development Strategy. The whole process begins with not an explanation of SEO, but the use of keywords and researching profitable keywords. I run a very simple exercise.
I ask the client to explain first, in one word, the service they provide:
One word: Widget
Photo Credit https://flickr.com/photos/dunechaser/
Then I ask them to specify the service in two words:
Two words: Widget widgetisation
Photo Credits https://flickr.com/photos/gadgetgirl70/
I repeat till we have run up to a 5 word combination, after which I switch the rules and ask:
If you had to look for another person apart from yourself, using Google, without using any of the words above, what would you look for?
As a rule of thumb, answers usually include:
- Common synonyms
- Similar (but not exact) or complementary services
- Layman definitions
- Other brands / providers / businesses
If you are quick to the hilt here, you will see the process taking shape.
Photo Credits https://flickr.com/photos/gadgetgirl70/
In the first instance I covered the most common and generic keyword and longtail variations based on definitions. In the second, I covered alternative keywords, complementary keywords, brand keywords, and competitor name / competitor brand keywords.
The third round of the Keyword Discovery Process (KDP) includes ascertaining the catchment area. Does the client serve universally, countrywide, regionally or locally? This then allows me to expand every one of the keyword sets above with location combinations of a potential catchment area.
The next step is to plug these into a common keyword discovery tool. Often with small clients I tend to use the Google Keyword Suggestion tool, which provides visual search data. Exporting the results after filtering allows the client to scan the list, which often covers most of the keywords we have collated via the first few steps of the process.
This has a double reward – first, the client is impressed with the data you have already accumulated by a few simple questions, and secondly, it allows us to identify any keywords that may have slipped the net.
Photo Credit Gayle Laakmann McDowell
This half hour process has now enabled us to identify a fair list of target keywords, while at the same time inspired confidence in a client who knows less about your specialty, but knows his / her own field well.
The next step would be to identify the difficulty of optimisation in order of hierarchy, and develop a strategy that would target the most cost effective keywords at the lowest possible cost. And that, my friends is for another day.
But, I would highly recommend reading another YOUmoz post written fairly recently: Gaining a Competive Edge By Optimising for Colloquialisms, which needs no more introduction than the title.
If you would like to know other processes that I use, please feel free to read my take on SEO Swot Analysis and the Boston Consulting Matrix.
If you enjoyed my writing, I invite you to catchup on my previous posts.
Having just finished a $500 project for a friend-of-a-friend, these are really great tips. On those small projects, you really have to maximize the bang for your buck and figure out where an 80/20 approach will work, but if you're going to cut corners on something like keyword research, you have to be very careful.
Your approach really illustrates how to quickly and effectively cover the two most important aspects of keyword research: (1) defining your client's goals, and (2) making those goals realistically actionable. Another key I found for small clients is helping them with basic discovery; often a simple site map or setting up Google Webmaster Tools can make a huge difference to a small site that spiders aren't finding.
Rishi,
I had to come back to this post after mulling it over last night because it stuck with me. I really struggled with how you could possibly offer these services for $300.
Obviously, there are a whole bunch of people much smarter than me, because they all picked up on this immediately, so I am just going to mimic what they've said.
You have presented a rather compelling model whereby you've removed one of the fundamental objections to SEO services. That is - the "snake-oil" argument.
While $300 may still be a significant bite for many small businesses, I would have to say, for the most part - that it's something that most could at the very least, gamble on. If you can take that opportunity to demonstrate an ROI (which it sounds like you do), then the likely next step is for them to invest more.
This has proven to be a winning strategy for many years in traditional offline businesses that use "loss leaders" to build their businesses. Even if you were breaking even on these small deals - or even taking a slight loss; you have your foot in the door and that's always the hardest sale to make.
So - hats off to you and thank you again for sharing a very valuable post with the community.
If you agree with my point - dont' thumb up me - thumb up the post.
Nice work Rishi!
You're not the boss of me! ;P
I gave you a thumbs up because I am a follower.
Why do I have the theme song to "Malcom in the Middle" stuck in my head now?
I'll say! I'd be focused and targeted on the closest exit!
Nice post though. I like the approach and the process. But I'm still lost for how anyone can have an annual budget of less than $1/day for SEO. Is that a typo?
Lol. Not a typo. Honestly thats what they pay. And I dont mind because its fun :P
Next post will be the second part and the tricky one too - link building on a zero budget :).
Funny thing is, after the first year, most of these clients move to my second tier service which is 3 times as much, simply because often ROI is in spend to Return 1:1000 region for first tier...
This post deserves teh Sphinn.
We work with alot of small businesses, too, and the key to getting them started with some of these things that are likely very new to them, is in pricing under $500. Higher than that often seems too risky to them. Once they can see the ROI, they often come back for more in the next budget year.
Edited for spelling.
It's infinitely more than $0 which is probably closer to what the average SEO budget is if you don't include the top 1% of internet businesses.
Even an Avon Lady could use some SEO (is there still such a thing?) if it was appropriately priced.
As long as you aren't giving away too much time per customer, those could be tremendously profitable if you have a good system - Which it sounds like Rishil does.
Great post.
Offering services to small local businesses is something I'm looking to get into and this post has been very informative.
How do you find the relation between local SEO and the uptake of PPC by the same businesses?
To be honest it works out well when the first few months of results are in. Clients see the benefit of top postions and appreciate the difficulty of ranking for more generic, or very profitable long tails that have high ROI. And very often the next questions are about "sponsored results".
I personally dont like taking on small PPC clients because the workload is high in my opinion, with small returns to you as a provider, unless pay based on lead generation or revenue share. Also, unlike the simple processes that I have set in place for my SEO strategies that are easy to run, PPC requires constant tweaking for optimisation.
However, I have linked in with a couple of White Label PPC schemes offered by much larger agencies for clients willing to spend in excess of $1000 per month.
I do what some would say "inexpensive SEO"
I work from home in a customized "luxury" office of 400sf I have a TV, WII Fit and so many toys it's untrue.
I've carved out a nice little niche here in North Carolina, South Carolina and my native England.
If I get 3 clients a week I am REALLY happy and can live well
I totally have no desire to be "big" and offer a variety of great seo services.
My clients rate me a 10 - my huge clients which have included Bojangles, Britesmile, Kendall Jackson, Robert Mondavi and more all rate my service high.
A grand a week + is cool and I practically always get a gift from my Amazon Wishlist
I've been doing this since 1997 - when my prices were high business was crap and the clients a PITA
GIMME LOCAL and SMALL
That's the American Dream you're living there. It's probably a lot like the dream of people everywhere for all I know.
Off subject, but how do you like the WII Fit?
I like it how this awesome post on keyword discovery turned into $300-a year-seriously-? just due to one tiny budget mention...
Pixel Bella - I use a standard contract for my entry level clients (usually small, small businesses) I state exactly what I will do and for how much.
I am as helpful as possible with anyone as it all leads to more happy clients and nice reviews ;) Any unrelated questions I tend to answer a lot slower than I would SEO/M related.
I've gone the $ x thousands client route (hey that's how I started!) and the constant whining and complaining had me seek out Her Ladyship Sarah Bird not so long back for a spot of advice ;) Her advice was worth the price of membership alone.
Ann - you're right.
Thanks, wavydavy! Very good approach. You are setting expectations! Thanks also to saffyre9 for a PM sharing approach.
Big thanks to rishil for this. This post and the conversation has shown the need to focus. rishil said in point 2, "Creating a strategy that the client can understand," and setting expectations for client access to consultants is surely part of this. Just as rishil explained they need to understand modifications and benefits, I'm sure she must have some boundaries set as well.
Another big take-away is that rishil mentioned she's having fun with her approach.
Another big take-away is that rishil mentioned she's having fun with her approach
I am having fun... but hint - its HE :P
If you don't want people to think you are a woman, I think, another avatar might help :)
Note: I love the bottle licking woman but I still remember how you look in reality from your previous avatars.
Regarding the whole small account issue, Rand recently said this in his Answers post in regards to getting started in local SEO:
I think you have two real options - offer high-end, custom, boutique services that spend a lot of time on all the issues or build a scalable, low cost option that gets companies started down the local SEO path.
Clearly, Rishi is ahead of the curve on this one.
SEO done right and with success, can be it's own sales agent.
I had a client call me the other day to say he wanted some changes made. I told him it could incur some additional cost.
He replied that over the previous 18 months he had already saved over $50K on his Adwords spend because of the benefits realized from his previous SEO campaign.
He felt any additional SEO expense was a small price to pay for the increased traffic and conversions.
I am sure some of Rishi's clients will start to feel the same way.
What an excellent technique Rishil, thanks for sharing!
This alone is going to save me vast amounts of time and frustration, as I often find the most difficult part of SEO is inspiring confidence in new clients. Short of offering a "guaranteed #1, or your money back" or similar nonsense it can be exceptionally difficult.
Can't wait to see the next post about zero budget link-building (and of course anyother tips for dealing with small businesses)
Excellent post Rishi.
We've a couple of legacy PPC accounts where we only charge a management fee of around £75 per month. (They signed up when the business was very young - long before I started here).
They're loss leaders in terms of PPC, but the other services which we sell to them make us money - web design, SEO etc and (perhaps most importantly) the referrals which they've given us over the years have been fantastic.
I'm looking forward to your next post :)
Great post, made even greater with great images (I do love a bit of flickr Creative Commons use). Great.
And seriously, £300 a year?
lol yep. £150 a year! Doctors can be quite stingy.
Wow - $300, not £? Missed that. Blimey!
Amazing! Amazing! Amazing! My head is spinning while I'm bowing down to you at your approach. 100 clients? Soooo, do you work solo?
At SMX, the panelists for the SEM Agency Pricing/Model session mentioned their account reps can handle 4-6 clients a month. Of course, that's PPC for big spend.
How do handle the cross-over between SEO & PPC? You mention you link in with others for "White Label PPC schemes." For your other tiers of service, do you stick to pure SEO or enter into the social media space?
For everyone, or maybe for someone to post an article...How do you manage the time spent "elaborating, explaining, answering questions" from clients. Do you find you become their Excel or email or anything-tech guru?
Thanks for making me/us rethink strategy, again! Very enlightening. I would have paid for this post! :-)
Soooo, do you work solo?
Solo for strategy and consultation, but hire freelancers to carry out the work. You have to remember, 100 clients isn’t really a large number – its rought 2 a week for consultation and strategy – as I roll out more info on my processes, you will see how easily this is manageable.
For your other tiers of service, do you stick to pure SEO or enter into the social media space? Again, this is quite dependant on the client, only for one have I bothered with social media – I do however have loads of friends in the UK Asian music scene, for whom I have crafted successful Social media strategies – which may make their way into a youmoz post.
For everyone, or maybe for someone to post an article...How do you manage the time spent "elaborating, explaining, answering questions" from clients. Do you find you become their Excel or email or anything-tech guru?
I highlight to them that they will have to pay $40 for an hours time after the initial consultation and strategy– and provide a list of common FAQs regarding SEO and my services – if they call about non SEO support, I do have tie ins with some companies that can help…
Thanks for making me/us rethink strategy, again! Very enlightening. I would have paid for this post! :-) Too kind !
Like the best things in life Rishil - simple and effective.
Good work sir!
I have to say - I apologise for not responding to people - have been in Yorkshire, and unfortunately my net cards didnt work!
Come back, and not only am I amazed taht this has been promoted to main blog, butr has gone Hot on sphinn! awesome, and thanks to all who supported it!
Oh dear and there was me having a little flirt ;)
this is kickass. thanks heaps rishil these sorts of practical and useful tips seem more rare nowadays.
Rishil, this is a great method -- minimum amount of time from start to seeing-something.
This kind of learning-by-experiencing must be really effective. Thanks for sharing it!
This is an extremely important blog in my opinion. Not all of us work with or for large companies. Many times these smaller companies are just completely lost when it comes to keywords. This is a definate model all of us should follow when dealing with small contracts or companies.
I said this somewhere else but I'll say it again as it is so onpoint. When I was working at 100% commission for Viking Components I started off literally taking a phone book and calling listings. I got a few small accounts. Then a couple from those accounts got better jobs elsewhere so I followed them there. Then some referrals started. Then I did some more prospecting and had a better hit rate because I was more experienced. Finally I got to the point I was handling 75 or so small to medium clients.
Then Amazon.com took off for me . . . I started to weed out the smallest of the small accounts. Then Buy.com . . . weeded some more small accounts. Then walmart.com . . . more weeding.
Bottom line is that small accounts are fine . . . they give you a paycheck and a TON of experience while you sift through accounts and find the ones that are the most profitable for you.
I think Rand is a classic example of this. He still does consulting . . . but it is for about a dozen or two accounts and they are ALL very strong ROI accounts for him. I believe he charges the most in the industry but some accounts are willing to pay that for his expertise. Not a lot of accounts but enough accounts that it works for him.
Free market does work . . .
Brent
Awesome post Rishi. Congratulations on the promotion. I'd give you another thumb up if I could.
Since I can't, here's the Sphinn address:
https://sphinn.com/story/52025
Nice one Rishi... great post. Something about it inspires me to take a trip to Legoland.
I read this a while ago and I didn't like it but I just re-read it and I'm just dumbfounded on why I thought that.
This is an amazing post and see why it was promoted. Great job.
For your SEO keyword research, you should consider Keyword Spy.
Great article, rishil. I did a practice write up for a test "business" site and came out with some nice results.
Thanks!
this is one of the best Youmoz post i have ever read, i love your work with the client, what a great way to get them participating. I will certainly add this to my process. THanks very much for the tip
Great Post! I've just started getting in touch with seo because of private interists and i was wondering which methods there are to discover keywords. And your Method is great. Its very simple. Thanks for sharing this strategy.
a great post and great strategy i already do a form of this but your explanation has given me a few more ideas :)
maybe ill write my own youmoz
Any quick suggestions for a small business with zero or small budget for this?
The first part of the answer is in my latest post .
I am in the process of compiling the second answer to your Q as a follow up to this post, as promised. However, if you need urgent advice, PM me and I will drop the rough ideas to you, depending on the nature of your business.
neat process.
I am going to second or third the small client model. In the '90s we wouldn't dream of doing a project that wasn't 6 figures. Then in 2001 we launched a new business offering online services for $30 per month. When you have enough small clients and you keep your services automated and focused it does work. Lots of small clients add up and some of those original $30 per month clients from 2001 are still with us today. We may only talk to them once a year if that, but they are happy, paying customers.
This is a very informative post that could be useful for all SEO companies that manage small businesses. I really liked the information you gave about keyword discovery because it is very beneficial and cost effective. This blog is always a pleasure to read and I cannot wait to hear more about zero budget link building.
Hello Rishil,
Excellent post. Impressive business model.
Rishil,
I certainly can appreciate the strategy you have, I'm assuming there's no in-depth detailed report analysis that goes with that SEO campaign (that would be nice, actually...), and I love the tip about using Google suggest - it's actually quite handy, I forgot it was there!
That said, I'm on the other side of the fence on this one-let's see:
100 clients paying $300/yr = $ 30,000 or
30 clients paying between 3 or 5 grand each (for 6 mos) ~
$90-150,000/yr. +
Here's why we don't do anything less than a $1000 campaign:
1. It's worth it. Even if it only takes us a week to report and implement the changes, etc... the client has a definite ROI. We usually get the jobs because their $10,000/yr yellow page ads aren't producing results. Or radio, etc... they're USED to paying for marketing-and we give them real stats and ROI reporting. There is real value in doing SEO.
2. I think this could water down industry prices and make selling a big job tougher.
3. At $300 a client, there's probably not a lot of concern for proper implementation (Not necessarily you, Rishil, but other companies that see a way to profit, get out when the crap hits the fan or their clients sites tank, and get back in under another name...)--which would lead to increased regulation or certification.
4. You can also get a website for $300 out there, but I would avoid that as well.
Still an awesome post. Best of Luck!!!!
I totally understand where you are coming from. But remember, I mentioned I DONT carry out any onsite or offsite work unless required, where I use freelancers and bill for that Job - which would probably bring the client onto the third tier of the service.
I charge based on strategy, and review after strategy - which all in all is about 3 solid hours work in a year. A large number of clients do ask for additional work / reports - which is chargeable separately, something I disclose from day one.
Most these clients are in a niche where they arent selling anything online, but use the site to act as an online portfolio. I am assisting them to get the portfolio seen by their target audience cost effectively.
ROI depends on calls and conversion - this varies, as most services are about $5000 to $10000 in the niche I service - which means even one conversion covers the cost.
Now it's all making more sense! Thank you! You must be a master at time and client management.
Very to the point post, no matter the price point entry of a small business. I look forward to your next post. Cheers.
Another option for brainstorming keywords is to tap into your networks using seed keywords tool. Some folks are building great seed keyword lists with it.
d
Useful Post Rishil. But I am still not convinced serving SEO to such small business houses is such a good profitable idea. Companies who spend less than $300 on SEO really don't care about generating business on Internet (as they depend on their offline marketing channel) and hence don't value your best shot to rank the site even in such tight budgets. Hats off to you. I really would like to know how you manage such small clients and yet stay profitable?
This is probably the most difficult question yet. The short version of the answer:
1. The cleints are in extreme niches and have the advantage of first entry (or firstish) to market with commercially targettted site.
2. The series of processes that I have in place make it easy to manage, hence lower overheads
3. I know this specific niche inside out having worked in offline marketing in the field for 4 years.
4. Its all about volume ;) At present am servicing about 100 such clients, of which 10% will convert to a higher tier and about 4% to a full blown scheme...
"Its all about volume ;) At present am servicing about 100 such clients, of which 10% will convert to a higher tier and about 4% to a full blown scheme..."
I am impressed..!! So you are looking for long term benefits... May be you are right. Since these sites are too niche and smaller in size, the time required to optimize them can even be less than a day. Just keyword analysis, some HTML tweeks and hand full of links might just do the trick. That ways it might get profitable. Thanks a lot.
Your business strategy is incredibly intelligent, and is a formula for growth. Plus, you are offering them an alternative to those wonderful $19.95 a month SEO schemes that will do absolutely nothing for them.
Once your business grows to an even larger extent, you can train an SEO intern to manage the lower tier accounts, and go chase the "Big Fish". Heck, you can grow one of those lower tier clients into a "Big Fish".
Thumbs up for you.