Recession SEO: 6 Free Things to Offer Your Clients to Close a Deal

As Internet marketing becomes more competitive, and client budgets become tighter, it has become increasingly difficult to stand out in the industry and offer powerful solutions on a budget. Here are some ideas which I have found useful in persuading clients to choose our firm over other firms. Read the full article on closing SEO deals in a recession.

1) Keyword Research and ROI Analysis. Many clients have difficulty during the sales cycle understanding what the potential ROI of an Internet marketing investment can be. I have found that performing quick keyphrase research in real time, with the client on the phone, can be powerfully persuasive. Explaining the traffic potential of various keyphrases and engaging clients in a discussion as to the amount of potential traffic to their site, multiplied by an average net profit per conversion, multiplied by a conversion rate (I usually am conservative and estimate 2%) allows a client to visualize the ROI. It also assists lower budget clients in understanding the usefulness of focusing on long tail keyphrases at first, and working towards the highly competitive "big money" keyhprases as their sales (and Internet marketing budget) increase.

2) Twitter. To those of us in the industry, this may seem commonplace. However the fact remains that less than 5% of the population uses Twitter and most of them are young adults. Business owners are likely unfamiliar with this, and although they have heard about it the concept seems foreign to them. Explain to clients the power of branding which can be accomplished through Twitter and offer to set up and maintain a Twitter account at no extra charge. This can only take an hour a week, but to clients it sounds novel and powerful.

3) PPC Campaign Setup or Review. Offer your clients a one time audit of their PPC campaign or a free PPC campaign setup as part of a client acquisition incentive. Make recommendations which will increase ROI and point out problems in campaigns. This can not only serve to separate you from your competition, but also can turn an organic SEO client into a PPC management client as well, thereby increasing their investment in your firm.

4) Competitive Intelligence. This is another thing which can be done in a watered down fashion quite quickly. Examining the backlinkage of major competitors, as well as finding social media accounts, news results, video results, and the like can show a client his or her weaknesses and convince the client that your firm is the one that knows what it takes to beat the competition. By offering a free competitive intelligence analysis in the presale process, you are demonstrating to your client that you offer a customized strategy to them based upon their industry landscape, as opposed to an out of the box, one size fits all solution. This type of approach can be very convincing, as clients hear many different things from different companies; providing solid data as to what your strategy will be and why the client needs it sets you apart from the competition.

5) Analytics and Reporting. Search engine optimization and social media can be somewhat esoteric subjects and many clients have trouble understanding what it is they are buying. Many of our clients are "second chance" clients - meaning that they have previously been burned or disappointed by another SEO firm. What I hear most often from these clients is that there was no accountability or transparency provided by the firm. Set your firm apart during the sales cycle by emphasizing accountability. Offer your clients a monthly report which includes an accounting of all hours worked, by day, task, and person working them. Include a monthly strategy review and a conference call with the project manager. Include an analysis of analytics in each monthly report, which shows traffic sources and numbers. Clients need to know what they are getting for their money, and transparency goes a long way to keeping client confidence high.

6) Usability Analysis. One strong selling point I have found is offering clients a "free ongoing usability analysis". I explain to clients that Internet marketing is not about rankings, as all the rankings in the world are worthless if they do not result in conversions. Explain to the client that you will, at no extra charge, provide a usability analysis each month, which examines the page bounce rates and conversion rates, and will assist in identifying problem areas on a client's site. If you explain to clients that your approach is a holistic one which is not just focused on rankings, but rather ROI, your clients will appreciate this.

About the Author: Matt Foster is the CEO of ArteWorks SEO, a full service search engine optimization company. Mr. Foster has been active in the industry since 1995, and specializes in search engine optimization and social media strategies for a global client base.

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