Optimizing our clients\u2019 online presence for local intent searches has been deeply embedded in the\u00a0SEO services<\/a>\u00a0we\u2019ve provided for the past twelve years. Setting up an information-packed Google My Business, crafting content with local keywords in mind, and listing clients\u2019 businesses across relevant directories isn\u2019t anything new, nor revolutionary in the world of SEO.<\/p>\n In fact, much of what constructs today\u2019s concept of local optimization has been practiced by marketing experts for years.<\/p>\n However, the onset of\u00a0voice search\u00a0<\/a>and mobile devices\u2019 prevalence as the primary medium of Internet access have propelled the growth of location-based searches, crystalizing local SEO as an entirely new digital marketing concept for our (prospective) clients to seek help with.<\/p>\n According to Google Trends, the search for \u201clocal SEO services<\/a>\u201d\u00a0went up nearly five times in February 2022, compared to the same period in 2020.<\/p>\n So, if you\u2019re looking to leverage this hot digital trend and make your name in the industry, read on as we go through the things you need to consider to find local SEO clients.<\/p>\n Before pitching\u00a0PopArt Studio local SEO services<\/a>\u00a0to any potential lead, our task was to outline and specify the exact activities we\u2019ll be able to provide to future clients. Local SEO intertwines technical website optimization, social media marketing, backlink outreach, and content writing, to name a few. There are many points to cover\u2014and not everyone is keen on being a Jack of all trades.<\/p>\n We were lucky that our team has already boasted specialists experienced in and dedicated to different aspects of local SEO. However, if your agency is just beginning its endeavor in local optimization, and there\u2019s no clear-cut distinction as to what are each team member\u2019s passions, roles, and expertise\u2014this step will prove crucial for your business\u2019 success.<\/p>\n Take out the time and thought into this process. Remember that defining your\u2014individual or agency\u2019s\u2014scope of work is more than simply defining what you sell to clients.<\/p>\n Offering services that your agency isn\u2019t specialized in under the pretense of \u201cfake it until you make it\u201d is a setup for failure. Likewise, biting off more than you can chew can prove to be a pitfall as your team fails to deliver promised results and too much pressure causes cracks to begin to show.<\/p>\n Be frank as to what your team is capable of and what scope of work you can take on. Prioritize quality service and client satisfaction above all else, and avoid overwhelming your teammates with tasks they\u2019re not knowledgeable in.<\/p>\n Defining niche(s) to serve isn\u2019t a must\u2014after all, our agency has over the years successfully worked with businesses from across industries. Still, local SEO is unique as there\u2019s a limited pool of clients to acquire\u2014stores with a physical location or businesses that serve a geographic area.<\/p>\n If your team has experience in a certain business niche, leverage that knowledge by seeking clients whom you can deliver excellent results\u2014quickly and effortlessly.<\/p>\n Otherwise, you can opt for a niche that is prevalent locally, with many businesses in need of local SEO to boost your agency\u2019s chances of acquiring good accounts. Or, you could leverage a potential lack of companies that serve local SEO to a particular niche and set your foot in the door.<\/p>\n Of course, we\u2019d always recommend finding a balance between passion and profit. Serving an industry you\u2019re simply not passionate about won\u2019t yield results either to your clients or you.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t waste precious time wracking your head with the question of how to find local SEO clients. Instead, dedicate efforts and expertise to transforming your business into a local SEO agency clients will seek to partner with.<\/p>\n Wondering how to do it?<\/p>\n By demonstrating your local SEO expertise for your own business.<\/p>\n Of course, there\u2019s only one first spot in the SERPs, and ranking 1st or 8th doesn\u2019t indicate either agency will do a good or a bad job for their clients. However, the first-ranking agency definitely does something better than the latter one, and in clients\u2019 eyes, the quality of your agency\u2019s local SEO may make or break them converting to clients.<\/p>\n As an agency with several offices across the globe, optimizing our search performance for every location is an incessant endeavor\u2014but the trouble does pay off. For our local optimization purposes, we focus on polishing up our agency\u2019s GMB profiles with keyword-targeted client reviews and building our backlink portfolio from relevant local directories and websites.<\/p>\n Find More Local SEO Clients with Semrush<\/p>\n<\/div>\n You already know that every conversion begins with raising awareness\u2014so be the one to do it among your prospective clients.<\/p>\n Most business owners hear about local SEO from a fellow entrepreneur or read about it in an online magazine. They\u2019re perhaps aware it\u2019s something their business may need, but they\u2019re not convinced\u2014yet. So, before they start local optimization, they\u2019ll want to know\u00a0benefits local SEO<\/a>\u00a0can yield\u2014and this is where (y)our content enters the scene.<\/p>\n Valuable and informative content will establish your agency as a thought leader on the topic of local SEO. We have always taken pride in our agency\u2019s blog, which largely dons pillar content written for people who know nothing about local SEO, and the world of digital in general. Education, for us, proved to be the best form of encouragement for local business owners who need to be very tactful about their investments and expenses.<\/p>\n However, don\u2019t focus on demonstrating your expertise and authority only online.<\/p>\n Instead, pave your way to converting more local businesses by attending and participating in local entrepreneurs\u2019 events and marketing conferences. Work towards building your credibility among prospective leads\u2014online and offline.<\/p>\n It suffices to say we sprinkle our website\u2019s local SEO content with some location-based keywords to give it an extra layer of relevancy\u2014for readers and Google alike.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t be dissuaded from showing the initiative to gain new clients with arguments that it\u2019s an indication of your agency lacking clients or quality. Taking a proactive approach towards acquiring new local SEO clients is an entirely valid strategy\u2014and may we say an efficient one.<\/p>\n As an agency, we\u2019ve only recently begun pitching our services to prospective clients. And we can confidently say that this practice has done wonders for us.<\/p>\n First, it empowered us to refuse accounts that we felt weren\u2019t the right fit for our agency and instead choose the projects and clients that embodied the brand of PopArt Studio truthfully. Second, client pitching enabled us to define and refine our services and business model in general.<\/p>\n As for our local SEO pitch practices, we\u2019ve tried cold outreach via emails and LinkedIn, but in our experience, the latter proved more successful.<\/p>\n On LinkedIn, our Business Development team approached local SEO prospects via their profiles, and leads seemed to appreciate that extra touch of personalization, and being able to put a face to the name.<\/p>\n We also did a sort of A\/B testing of pitches\u2014to some prospects we\u2019d send an outreach presenting our agency and our local SEO services, but for others, we\u2019d do an analysis of their site\u2019s local SEO quality together with some actionable advice on how our agency could help them improve their rankings.<\/p>\n Guess what type of outreach did better?<\/p>\n Witnessing that leads were much eager to act upon our pitch upon seeing their website\u2019s problems for themselves, we shifted our pitching practices towards hyper-personalizing every offer.<\/p>\n All in all, when pitching a potential local SEO client, show understanding of their business, and personalize your proposition.<\/p>\n We also found that many leads liked the fact that PopArt Studio is a full-service digital agency, meaning clients can rely on us for any kind of digital service. As an agency, we provide graphic and web design, web development, content writing, social media marketing, and much more\u2014and even if our clients come to us for only one of these services, they almost always broaden the scope of our involvement.<\/p>\n So, if your agency provides local SEO services alone, it would be a good idea to partner with agencies that provide other digital services and thus create a full digital cycle offering.<\/p>\n Whatever the case may be, craft your local SEO pitch to mirror what you can provide for clients. So, if your team is specialized solely in backlinking, GMB optimization, or local SMM\u2014no worries\u2014being honest and transparent will always get you where you belong.<\/p>\n1. Define the Scope of Your Local SEO Services<\/h2>\n
2. Outline the Industries You Serve<\/h2>\n
3. Do Your Agency\u2019s Local SEO As You\u2019d Do For Clients<\/h2>\n
4. Become a Local SEO Thought Leader<\/h2>\n
5. Pitch to a Prospective Local SEO Client<\/h2>\n
6. Perform Comprehensive & Effective Local SEO Services<\/h2>\n