Is it still a good idea to start an SEO agency in 2020?
Most businesses don’t spend a lot of time on SEO because it is very complex and it takes time to see positive results. However, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a long-term marketing strategy and it brings a lot of benefits to your online business.
Most of these online businesses would turn to SEO agencies for their SEO needs. They only need small business funding since SEO is not as expensive as other traditional marketing strategies.
With more and more businesses turning to online marketing because of the “New Normal” brought by the COVID-19 Pandemic, the need for SEO increased in the past few months. Nowadays it’s even easier and profitable to run a business from home during a pandemic especially an online business.
If you plan to start an SEO agency, what are the things that you need to do?
1. Choose a Niche
We’ve seen a lot of SEO companies come and go and it is mainly because they are generic. If you won’t focus on a specific niche, it is very unlikely that you can attract other companies.
There are tons of SEO companies out there so you need to focus on a niche that you know best. By choosing a niche, you can remove the majority of the competition out of the way.
Another benefit is that most companies would prefer to work with a specialist and not a generalist. Online companies don’t need a Jack of all trades, they want someone with in-depth knowledge of their niche.
2. Start with your City
One way to show that you are capable of ranking your customer’s website on the search engines is to rank your own website in your city.
How can you attract customers if you can’t even bring your website to the first page of Google? You have to start small and work your way up from there. Start with your city and try to bring your website to rank one to three.
Besides, starting with your own city is better than targeting multiple cities at once as you won’t have to deal with a lot of competition from the beginning and just focus on making a name for yourself.
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3. Create your SEO Methodology
If you are just doing random SEO methods, you won’t get anywhere. You need to create your own SEO methodology if you want to offer something of value to your customers.
The first thing that you have to do is to list down the strategies and techniques that you want to use. you cannot offer anything to customers unless you’ve tried it yourself.
You can use the same methodology that you used to rank the website of your SEO agency. You can use it as a testament to the effectiveness of the SEO methodology that you created.
4. Project Management
SEO is a continuous project and it is totally different from web design, which is only a one-time project. In order to rank a website on the search engines, it has to be optimized consistently. This is the reason why you need to learn how to manage projects, tasks, expectations, and more.
Project management in SEO can be divided into two: Planning and Fulfillment.
When you are planning something, you need to do your research, evaluation and you need to have a strategy. This will be the core of your Google search campaigns so you can have a clear direction on what to do to your clients.
After planning everything, the next step is to execute these strategies and this is what it means to fulfil your promises to the clients. You have to make sure that you do not only deliver results, but it has to be consistent and scalable. As long as you are following a sequence and you have a plan in place, you can improve the rankings of your clients consistently.
5. Market your SEO Agency
You need to market your agency properly. We’ve already mentioned this before. If your customers can’t even see you on the first page of Google, why would they trust you with their business?
By marketing your SEO agency, you can establish your online presence. It’s better if you have social media accounts before you even offer your services. Start by building your following and offer them something of value.
Even if you are focused on SEO services, you are not going to use SEO alone. There are a lot of other ways to get more leads and more customers for your business.
6. Sell your SEO Services
Once you’ve successfully marketed your SEO agency, perfected your own SEO Methodology and you’ve created a good team to handle the projects, the final step is to sell your SEO services.
This is the hardest and the most complicated part of the process because it not only requires showcasing your skills and knowledge, but you need to have a platform where you can contact or meet the businesses that you are targeting.
You can get clients through referrals, people within your professional circle, people you meet on social media networks, and prospects from industry events. If you’ve managed to bring your website to the first three on the search engine rankings in your city, most businesses would want to connect with you.
You just have to know how to approach them and offer your services. Don’t brag too much and just show the results. Make sure that you explain that results won’t come fast and it would take months before they see significant changes in their rankings.
Conclusion
It is not too late to start an SEO agency. Although there are literally thousands of SEO agencies around the globe, you don’t have to be intimidated by the numbers. If you think that you have what it takes to help other businesses and you have a background with SEO, don’t hesitate to start your SEO agency.
There are a lot of opportunities out there. Build your team, create a solid marketing strategy, and develop an SEO strategy that would help other businesses get a good foothold on the search engines.