In 2023, 53% of all traffic on the web will come from organic searches. Most companies and blog owners understand the importance of SEO and are looking for help optimizing their sites.
Selling SEO services requires a strategic approach, persuasive communication skills, and an in-depth understanding of the client's needs.
In this insightful guide, we’ll provide you with a comprehensive roadmap to success, revealing the secrets of how to sell SEO services that make your clients want to come back for more.
What you will learn
- How to effectively identify your target customer by understanding the SEO market.
- The four essential pillars for getting SEO sales.
- How to build your agency's brand.
- The most effective way to establish trust with your potential client.
- How to pitch a result in your proposal.
1. Identify your target customer
Before you invest any time trying to figure out how to sell SEO services, you first need to figure out who exactly you’re targeting as your customer.
Understanding your target customer requires the ability to speak the language of their niche and identify their pain points.
Understand SEO trends
Google makes up 92% of search engine results online, and that makes Google the perfect place to understand the SEO market.
You can do this by visiting the Google Search Central Blog once a week and taking notes.
This blog is run by Google itself, and it’s where you can find all the official updates and announcements about the newest SEO trends.
You should also subscribe to leading SEO email newsletters and join SEO-related forums and communities. You can also follow some of the most influential people in the field on social media.
Identify consumer trends
Keeping up with market trends will help you figure out what customers want and how you can position yourself in front of them. This will affect how you go about finding SEO clients.
You can gauge interest on a topic within your browser with the help of the free Keyword Surfer Chrome extension.
For example, let's say you want to research websites that sell men's grooming products.
The monthly search volume and cost per click data shown here can establish a decent market size for your business to go after.
Scroll down to the SERPs and you will find websites that you can use to narrow down for a target persona.
Look at those that are ranking beyond page 1 of Google because they need the most help to optimize their rankings.
You can also refer to Google trends to analyze if this is a growing or shrinking market.
Adjust the timeline filters to reveal interest over time in this niche.
Looks like a slowly growing market so it's safe to say that you can find a decent amount of SEO leads here.
Scroll down to find even more related sub niches that your SEO services can be sold to.
Create a customer avatar
A customer avatar, also known as a “buyer persona,” is a popular way to identify potential customers.
This is done by studying the behaviors, characteristics, and motivations of prospective clients.
Building a target customer profile can help you identify potential customers faster and perfect your positioning.
Here are a few factors to consider when creating an ideal customer profile:
Demographic information
- Age
- Gender
- Location
- Income level
- Education
- Interests
- Values
- Occupation
These are the basic building blocks of a customer avatar.
Goals and challenges
- What is the goal for your potential client’s SEO needs?
- Is it to increase traffic, leads or website sales?
- Is the niche saturated or is there room to rank?
- What are the problems and challenges that your prospects are facing?
You will uncover several goals and challenges by directly engaging with prospects and existing clients.
2. Determine your SEO services
Search engine optimization is an umbrella term that covers different types of website enhancement activities.
Broadly speaking, there are four types of SEO services that you can market yourself with:
on-page SEO, off-page SEO, technical SEO, and local SEO.
You may want to consider bundling these services together to position yourself as a full-service SEO agency for your potential clients.
However, it is entirely possible to start an SEO agency without offering all these services.
What's more important is that you specialize in an industry or niche, and grow your business from there.
For example, you could offer SEO strategies and implementation to improve search engine rankings for startups. Unlike a local business, startups would probably not interested in local SEO services.
Here are 4 broad categories of SEO services offered by SEO agencies.
On-Page SEO
On-page SEO is the act of optimizing the elements on a website to improve visibility and rank higher in search engines.
This can include keyword optimization and keyword research to guide a client's content strategy.
Although these are time consuming tasks, the use of AI in keyword research means that you can potentially tackle these in a matter of minutes.
Surfer's Content Editor provides a content score that can track your article's use of recommended keywords and their frequency.
All you have to do is enter your main topics and start writing inside the editor.
Using Surfer Keyword Research, you can also generate a content plan, complete with pillar and supporting pages in a matter of minutes.
Here's a snippet of a content hub with the pillar and related pages that was generated using Surfer Keyword Research.
As an SEO agency, you can export this list for your clients's content writers.
On-page SEO may also include content writing services.
Fortunately, your SEO business doesn't have to outsource content writing to a bunch of freelancers.
You can use Surfer AI to generate search engine friendly content at a fraction of the cost.
In the example below, the article is almost 5000 words and would have cost a significant amount for a human writer.
AI content can also help you scale and deliver results much faster.
If you're worried about your clients detecting AI content with Surfer AI, we also included an anti AI feature that evades AI content detectors.
Off-Page SEO
Off-page SEO services involve strategies involved in bringing visitors to a website without involving the website itself.
Backlinks and guest posts, for example, are common off-page practices in high demand. Off-page SEO can also include building social media profiles to enhance NAP for local SEO.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO focuses on optimizing the little technical elements of your site to help Google crawl your content better.
To provide technical SEO services, you’ll need to be familiar with common programming languages such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Local SEO
Local SEO is used to optimize a site for local businesses.
Often times, the search terms will involve phrases such as “near me” and the city’s name.
Selling local SEO services will also include optimizing Google My Business listings as well as gathering ratings and reviews on sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor.
All these SEO services should include reporting and analytics from tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console.
Doing so will prove your worth to a client, which will make extending your contract easier.
3. Set your prices
SEO pricing can average between $3,000 and $7,500 a month.
When pricing your services, consider the value you are providing to the prospective client.
What can you do that other SEO agencies cannot?
Pricing models
Every SEO service is different, and it’s important for you to nail down the way that you’ll be pricing your services to potential clients.
Each model has its own unique advantages, and it’s important to select the one that best suits your business and the needs of your clients.
Hourly pricing
Hourly pricing involves charging your client an hourly rate for the time spent working on the website’s SEO.
The rate can vary depending on how complex the work is.
Monthly retainers
With a monthly retainer, your SEO client will pay you a fixed fee every month.
This model is popular with long-term clients. It may include regular reports, keyword research, link building, and content optimization.
Package-based pricing
One of the most common pricing models, package-based pricing, involves setting up predefined sets of services at a set price. These packages are typically tiered as Basic, Advanced, Premium, or something similar.
Project-based pricing
With this pricing model, you’ll charge a flat fee for the project you’ve agreed upon. The project could be anything from a comprehensive SEO audit to a complete content marketing plan.
Results-based pricing
Results-based pricing is a performance-driven model where your client pays after an agreed-upon result is achieved. This model is attractive to clients due to the minimal risk on their part. This is only recommended if you are experienced in the client's niche and have delivered similar results before.
Service offerings
By offering various packages, you can attract clients with different needs and budgets.
To figure out what the best packages to offer your clients are, Google “SEO services” and look for the type of service that matches yours.
Once you find some good examples, study the price structure of each package. Make sure to take notes on what each package includes, such as:
- Keyword Research
- Site Audits
- Link Building
- Content Writing
- SEO Strategy
Once you’ve taken notes on at least three or four SEO service websites, you’ll have enough information to mold your own package offerings and prices.
4. Build your agency's brand
Your brand is more than just a logo or tagline.
Your brand is what sets you apart from your competitors and helps you stand out from the crowd.
It’s important that your potential clients trust you, and that connection starts with your brand.
Brand your business
One of the key aspects of your brand is how you market your services.
Here are the main points to consider when building your brand:
Your agency’s name: Make sure the name of your business is unique, easy to remember, and reflects the services you offer.
It’s also a good idea to add keywords such as “SEO” or “marketing” in your name to both convey the services you offer and help with search engine results.
Your logo: Your logo visually represents your brand, so it needs to represent it as accurately as possible.
A classic logo for an SEO service incorporates elements that relate to SEO, like a search icon or a graph that represents growth.
You can also create a clean-looking logo out of your agency’s name.
Your tagline: Your tagline is a short phrase that sums up your brand’s promise to the customer.
Your tagline should highlight your commitment to improving your potential client’s website. Focus on search rankings, online growth, and driving more traffic to their site.
Your color palette: The colors you choose to represent your brand can also communicate trust and reliability.
5. Pick marketing channels
Don't make the mistake of trying to master every channel for your SEO company.
Pick the most relevant platforms where your target audience hangs out.
This could be on Quora, Reddit or industry forums; or even via paid advertising.
Although because you are in the organic search traffic business, it will help to use SEO as one of your main channels.
Offering SEO services on your blog can also help reduce your cost of acquisition since your articles can continue to rank for a long time, without much maintenance.
Here are some ways you can attract clients on different marketing platforms.
Use content and SEO
Content marketing is one of the most powerful tools for showcasing expertise and authority. It will make it infinitely easer for you to sell SEO services if potential clients find you through organic search.
It will prove to them that you already know what you're doing. And can repeat similar results for their business.
Instead of spending a lot of time on keyword research and content creation, you can use the Surfer Keyword Research Tool to generate a content map for your website.
Here's a snippet of what that will look like for "SEO services."
On the left are topic clusters. Clicking on each will reveal the pillar page and suggested supporting articles for that cluster.
Generate tens of articles per week with Surfer AI so you can focus on selling SEO.
Repurpose your blog posts into video, e-books, and social media content.
Find clients on social media
Social media marketing is an excellent way to engage with potential clients when selling SEO services.
Make sure to choose the right platform. Not all social media platforms will work for your business.
Twitter and LinkedIn are better suited to pitching B2B services.
Instagram and Facebook are better for brand awareness and engagement.
Create a social media strategy. Are you jumping into the social media world to increase brand awareness, generate leads, or do something else?
Once you’ve determined your g
oals, decide the type of content to post, how often you will post it, and at what times.
Promote your services 20% to 40% of the time, which means you should have a healthy balance of educational material and promotion of your services.
Don’t forget to engage in conversations and respond to comments.
Network and outreach
Networking both online and offline, can help you connect with potential clients and establish yourself as an authority in your niche.
Attend industry events, join professional organizations, and form relationships with local businesses to expand your professional network.
It’s possible to find just as many clients in the real world as you would online.
This will mean actively scouting for conferences and local meetups in your area.
You can even sign up for speaking engagements that help you position yourself as an SEO expert.
6. Hone your sales techniques
When running your own SEO business, it’s important to remember that your job is not just about closing deals.
You also want to establish a long-term relationship with the people who visit your website.
Let’s delve into some key strategies that can help you start selling SEO services, win over clients, and boost your revenue.
Establish trust
According to a study by Dale Carnegie, 73% of those surveyed mentioned that trust is a key factor when building a relationship with a salesperson.
This foundation of trust will make your clients and prospects more likely to invest in your services and even refer others to your business.
Here are a few ways you can establish trust:
- Be as transparent as possible. Be open and honest about your process, your pricing, and what clients can expect from your SEO service.
- Provide value upfront by offering something small for free. For example, you can offer a free SEO audit or consultation. Doing this will give your potential client a taste of what you can provide for them, making it easier for them to choose you as their SEO service provider.
- Make certain that everything on your end is as professional as possible. A service provider who is unprofessional is a classic red flag for potential clients.
Demonstrate results
Clients want to see proof of success before investing in your SEO skills.
Showcasing past results and success stories in your SEO proposal can help build trust and confidence in your capabilities.
Some easy ways to demonstrate results on your website are:
- Case studies
- Client Testimonials
- Before and after results
- Screenshots of traffic and relevant metrics
Address objections
Potential clients will sometimes have concerns about your services, no matter how clear or transparent you are.
Assume that concerns about the cost, timelines and services you provide will frequently come up, so include their handling in your sales process.
Here are some of the best ways to alleviate these concerns:
Breakdown the SEO process: Explain the process of SEO to your clients in a transparent manner that educates them. Most often, business owners don't understand the intricacies and technical details that SEO entails.
By breaking down the SEO process, you can help alleviate these concerns and ensure that your clients have a better understanding of the work being done.
Offer a trial period: Offering a trial period allows your prospect to see firsthand how your service works and the value it provides.
Highlight your expertise: Clients want to be assured of their decisions. You can do this by pointing to your awards, clients and case studies.
Showcase past work: Sharing real-world examples of how you’ve helped other businesses can be a powerful way to overcome objections. Case studies act as tangible evidence that your service works.
7. Pitch results in your proposals
When sending a proposal to a potential client, one of the strongest things you can do is pitch an outcome within the proposal.
You can do this easily by spelling out your past achievements in the proposal, then promising a similar result.
There are two ways you can pitch results in an SEO proposal:
- Offer an increase in percentage of high level metrics you have control over. Backlinks or guest posts, for example.
- Project a conservative estimate of ROI if there is sufficient existing data to back up your assessment.
It's important that you don't get carried away with your projections.
Stick with conservative estimates, provided that you've delivered similar results before and have first hand experience.
But don't make claims that you don't have control over.
For example, keyword rankings and traffic are primarily upto search engine algorithms. It's not a good idea to explicitly state these are expected results.
When sharing outcomes in your SEO pitch deck, focus on showing the client that you have the credibility and experience to solve their challenges, but the final word will always lie with search engines.
8. Follow up
Qualifying prospects or leads for your SEO business involves determining the prospect’s current needs. These needs include the prospect’s budget, interest, and readiness.
Qualifying your prospects will help you focus your efforts on leads that are more likely to become customers. This can save you time and resources.
However, you will also encounter SEO leads that don't become clients, even if they have SEO needs.
These leads may have budget constraints or other factors preventing them from becoming customers at the time.
It is crucial that you continue to maintain contact with these businesses through regular updates, as they may eventually become clients in the future.
You may do this by using some of the following methods:
- Sign them up for your newsletter
- Share case studies and successes periodically.
- Add them to your LinkedIn profile, where you're sharing your success stories
- Review their website every few months and reach out with a few recommendations
- Connect with them every few months to see how they're doing and offer your SEO services, if they're interested.
Closing prospects
The best way to qualify a prospect is to create a solid sales plan:
Identify the right offer. Tailor your SEO tactics to address the specific needs of potential clients. This could mean offering customized packages depending on the size, budget, or goals of each client.
Set expectations. Make certain that your prospects understand what your services include. They must understand how your services function and what they might reasonably expect.
Ask for the sale. Once your potential customer agrees to your offer and understands your expectations, it’s time to ask for the sale. When you do so, be direct but respectful, and make it as easy for them to say yes as possible.
As you outline the SEO contract, make sure to outline these key details:
- The terms of your services
- What exactly will be provided
- The expected timeline for delivery
- Payment terms
- Details about termination
After your contract is written, send a quick email that spells out the next steps for the client.
Retain clients
After you’ve closed the deal, make sure to communicate with the client as much as you can through follow-up emails or phone calls.
Closing deals with clients and maintaining long-term relationships are crucial for ongoing business success.
By providing frequent updates on progress and success, you can demonstrate the reliability and trustworthiness of your SEO services, ensuring that clients remain satisfied and loyal to your business.
This helps to build a strong relationship between you and your clients and ensures that they are kept informed.
Ensure that your clients don't have to wait for answers, and be proactive in your reporting and communication.
Demonstrate how your services are beneficial to their organic search performance.
Key takeaways
- You can identify your target client by tracking prospect needs and creating a customer persona
- The four essential pillars of SEO services are on-page SEO, off-page SEO, technical SEO, and local SEO.
- You can build your agency's brand with SEO, social media marketing, and networking.
- You can establish trust with your potential client by sharing past success stories. You can do this through testimonials, reviews, and case studies.
- Make sure to pitch a result in your proposal by spelling out your past achievements and then promising a similar result.
Conclusion
Selling SEO services is about effective communication, building trust, and delivering tangible results with potential clients. With so many agencies vying for their attention, clients can find it difficult to trust SEO consultants and businesses.
A good track record, transparency and some persistence can help you land businesses that require your SEO services. Remember that closing a client is only one step, and you should aim to retain them for as long as possible.
