Whether you own your own SEO company, or you are a lone freelancer, you know that SEO Leads are hard to come by, and turning them into clients is even harder. There are many ways to get leads, but most are very time consuming and usually expensive. If you are a freelancer then a few leads might be enough to get by, but larger SEO firms need lots of quality SEO leads to keep their companies afloat. Here are some very effective methods, if used correctly, that will keep your lead pipeline flowing.
Current SEO Lead Generation Methods:
Cold Calling for SEO Leads
This is probably the most annoying and difficult SEO lead generation method of them all, it can be effective if you have a highly targeted call list, but this usually takes a lot of research, or a big bag of your hard earn money. However, cold calling is worth a try, but I would not put everything you have into this method alone. If you have a low budget then stick to your local area, offer them local SEO, and focus on sites that are already established online but not doing well. This type of customer will be your easiest target and they also may already have strong websites that just need some tweaking instead of brand new websites that have to start from scratch and are 10 times harder to get ranked. I know this because this is exactly how I started, but that was way back in 1999 when the Internet was brand new and most businesses had no idea what a website was, let alone SEO. But the key is to have a targeted list, know exactly what you are selling before you pick up the phone, and also do a follow-up call if they are interested in the slightest. Always try to set the next appointment during your initial call and if necessary set another one during the 2nd call. Keep on them until they either tell you they are no longer interested or you make the sale.
Email Marketing for SEO Leads
Email marketing for SEO leads can also be highly effective, however, it has to be done carefully and correctly because there are strict laws in most countries against spamming. However, if done correctly and combined with other methods of online marketing, such as cold calling and the methods mentioned below, it can be highly effective, low cost, and easy to maintain and grow. The trick to a good email marketing campaign is also a good list. One of many ways to build a good list for SEO leads is to offer them something free in return for their email address. This could be as simple as a short ebook on how to take care of their website, to a full website audit that explains every detail of your website’s SEO strength.
Once you have their email address make sure you don’t spam it, keep sending them drip emails of useful information for at least the first 5 emails you send them. Send 1 per week and then on the 6th or 7th email create useful content again, but this time put one of your banner ads in it that promote your SEO services. Of course, this is only one of many methods you can use, it’s up to your imagination to find the most effective way that fits your business model.
Landing Pages For SEO Leads
Landing pages should always be split tested and continue to be forever, that is important because initially, the chances are your first try won’t do so well, but with lots of fine-tuning, you can make a lead generation machine. The leads you generate can then be fed into your email marketing campaign to turn them into clients.
There are several ways to market a lead generation page, such as via facebook.com ads, Linkedin.com ads, Google AdWords, and Banner advertising, as well as many others. You can even use email marketing to get them to the landing page, collect the lead, and then marketing further to them with email, phone, and even direct mail.
Generating SEO Leads with Your Website
I know what you are probably thinking; “why would I be reading this post if my website was generation leads?”, well even if your website is not generating SEO leads, it should be and should be an on-going effort to get leads from it. In my past 18 years as an SEO service provider, I have found that a blog or highly informative web pages bring in the right kind of traffic to generate the best quality leads. But I’m not going to go into this topic much, because if you are reading this post then the chances are you are an SEO expert, so you should know how to promote your own website.
