If you have not set up some goals and objectives for your new SEO business, then read
Part 1 first.
So learn how to deliver first so that you have a comfort level and know for a fact, EXACTLY what you can do.
Be sure to gain Personal confidence through experience.
This is probably the next most important step. The sooner you build your confidence then the sooner you will realize the potential for what you can perform. In the beginning, start with a few of your own sites where you have full creative liberty without the demands or pressures that come from a client.
Experience build's confidence. Set some benchmarks for yourself. As you get comfortable competing at a certain level, then you can progress to take on bigger challenges. It's surprising how fast you can grow your skills with a little daily practice on a regular basis.
Part Three
-
7 Ways To Separate Yourself From
Competing SEO Firms
The ultimate thing you are building is your reputation now.
1. Set Your Clients Expectations well - Under Promise but
Over Deliver
It sounds so simple and maybe a bit old fashioned, but it
still works extremely well. So many people are operating
under the auspices of being a skilled search engine
optimizer and yet they feel the need to over promise (and
often under deliver.) These days people are cautious about
exaggerated claims of being promised that they can appear in
Google's top organic results in a matter of hours or a
matter of days.
Have you ever taken time to explain to your client why they
would not want to be found in Google first?
Not many take the time to educate the client. For example,
one reason you would not want Googlebot to be the first
search engine visit, is because if it is the first to a new
Web site, obviously when it comes in, it will not be able to
find any link reputation, link popularity, link diversity
because there are no other directories or search engines
linking to the new site. Set yourself apart, by helping to
educate your client and teach them a few basics along the
way. Instead of offering high promises of quick results,
even if you are capable of delivery, you want to set normal,
moderate and average expectations. Then you'll have plenty
of room for good news when you excel on the client's behalf.
Why this is important is that it separates you from all of
those who make exaggerated claims for a quick sale, but are
only interested in making a quick buck instead of winning a
new client for longer term relationship. Under promise and
over deliver is one of the simplest ways to set your SEO
services apart from the rest.
2. Perform your Keyword
Forensic Research on the client's audience first, before
accepting them as clients.
These days, many professional
and non-professional SEO people are all to ready to
celebrate when they make the sale. Instead, you want to save
the celebration for after you actually make a difference to
the clients bottom line. One of the easiest ways to have
some quality assurance about this, is to do your keyword
research, before you choose to accept the client. Once you
explore the client's customer behavior with keyword
forensics, then you will know how easy or difficult it will
be to get the qualified traffic. Don't be so anxious to
close the sale that you skip exploring the marketplace
first. The ultimate result is that you take on each new
client with some piece of mind knowing, you have a potential
action plan. This is one of the quickest ways to build your
reputation sometimes in just weeks, instead of months or
years down the road.
Remember to use all of the principles you learn in your training along with good old fashioned customer service excellence. Eventually what occurs, as you choose your clients wisely (as opposed to going for a fast buck) is that your new clients will literally become your sales people. If your work makes their business
really sing, they tell literally everyone they know. Ultimately, in a short period of time, this generates genuine referral business for you.
Now instead of you chasing the prospects, the prospect is seeking you (based on referrals and the excellent successes that you have brought your first clients.)
3. Apply Yourself to
Your Inner Hidden Talents or At Least Be Sure to Develop
Awareness of Them.
As you took your SEO
training, did you notice that there is one aspect of
Internet Marketing that you really enjoy more than others?
Perhaps you enjoy optimization itself, or maybe it's writing
copy.
Perhaps you are an idea generator and notice that you
have fun coming up with creative original newsworthy ideas?
It will be something different for each person, but this tip
is to simply pay attention to the type of work you find
enjoyable. If you enjoy writing articles, then write them
more often. If you are into creative newsworthy content,
practice writing press releases for your clients. If you are
like me, maybe you find one of the most fascinating aspects
to be keyword research. Why you want to focus on the
favorite aspects of your work is simple. When you are
enjoying your work, you tend to excel at it and in time you
can become one of the very best by reason of practice.
Plus
when you do work you enjoy, it don't really feel so much
like hard work, because you enjoy what you do. It's just one
more way of separating yourself from the rest. |
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4. Network in the
Community and Go Places Where You Can Meet Other Business
People.
Of course lots of people will
join their local Chamber of Commerce, but try not to fall
into the typical habits of just promoting your business and
handing out business cards. Some may think that this is the
whole purpose of networking and be wondering, if I don't
promote myself who will promote me?
What I am suggesting is to
get more involved as a volunteer on one of the committees.
Get to actually know the members of your group and also take
an interest in their businesses too. Once you get involved
with groups like the local Chamber of Commerce or for
example the Rotary Group, it's your opportunity to get
involved and take part in the community events. This type of
networking will result in you getting to meet other business
owners who care about similar causes and they often have a
story to tell about how their business survived the early
days. It don't really take much time or that much effort to
become involved in your community and you'll be working
right along side other businesses. Try to resist the urge of
becoming what some people call a "knife and fork"
person, or someone who shows up for a luncheon, then
disappears right after and then goes home to complain how
they did not get any new business.
Be different - take an interest in the other members and
they'll take an interest in you.
5. For many more ways to
separate yourself from the competition, be sure to register
for this free Webinar coming up on
November 23, 2011 at Search Engine Academy.
In this 30
minute Webinar, How to Start an SEO Business, I'll be
sharing such things as:
- Who makes an ideal first
client and why
- Original strategies that I
personally used (to separate myself from the
competition)
- Ways to Find Win/Win
Partnerships in Your Community
- Methods of outperforming
your client's expectations
- Questions and Answers
All
seats for this Webinar are 100% free, but register early
to ensure you get a spot.
Check out our
whole list of upcoming free Webinar topics
Where can you build your SEO skills?
We actually teach students how to set up a new SEO business right from scratch, as one of our sessions. What I'd like to share here are some simple steps you can consider, as well as the sequence of those steps to be most effective in launching your proposed SEO business.
It sounds odd, but many people have the challenge of just getting started at all. Often it's due to a fear of some sort. It's easy to be busy all the time, but are you busy doing the right things?
Some people begin to work with SEO from a self-taught perspective. They may buy all of the popular tools. They buy all the latest e-books or hang out in the local forums. They may subscribe to various resources,
always looking for next great thing to sign up for.
But for some reason or other, they seem to have difficulty in actually getting started.
Grab a few hundred Free SEO Tips
(one tip each day.)
A few hours in obtaining new SEO knowledge can deliver a huge return for your online business - for life!
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