#1 SEO will give you control of your own lead generation

Recommendations are great, you will be in a great position when quoting. The potential customer will already know that the quality of your work is good enough for someone to put their neck on the line and recommend you.

However, you can’t predict or control when they are going to come in.  It is essential for any business to have a steady stream of new leads. Being able to conduct marketing activities that generate leads gives you much more control over your own destiny. Having a website will generate leads and enquiries for your business but only if people can find it? It is a fact that only 6% of people searching will make the effort to open the second page of Google. This is where optimising your website for search engines so that you appear on the first page becomes critical

#2 You can target the type of work and customers you really want

Secondly, you can’t control the type of enquiries you get for recommendations. If you are a large builder who wants to target customers extending their homes, then you don’t want phone calls from people asking about a small garden wall. You can address this with your website by optimising your website for the correct keywords that will enable people who are you looking for the product or service that you want. 

#3 You can target work in the areas you want to work in

Unless you are a national or global business you will probably want to target customers in a specific area. Whilst you make take on work outside of this area the additional distance will add cost, time and hassle all of which cuts in to your profits.  



You can be quite specific in this respect by adding keywords such as Christchurch, New Forest, Bournemouth, and Southampton will mean you will appear in searches for people looking for your product or service in these areas.

#4 You can charge more

It is the simple law of supply and demand. If you have more work of the type that is profitable and within your preferred area than you can fulfil then you can increase your rates to make each job more profitable. 

Alternatively, you might subcontract the work out and grow your business that way.

#5 You can be more particular about the work you take on

As stated above SEO will provide you with a more reliable stream of enquiries and leads. This means that you will have more control over your business and not as reliant on other people recommending you. Having more leads means you can be more choosy about the work you take on. You may then disregard the small jobs, or the work that is further out from your preferred areas of operation or maybe just because you don’t gel with the new customer.

Conclusion

Search engine optimisation gives you control over the types of work and customers that you target rather than relying on other people. It will allow you to target specific types of customers, work or geographic areas. These can be amended or refined as your business evolves allowing you to grow your business in the way that you want it to.

SEO can be expensive with many companies charging hundreds or even thousands of pounds per month, but it is an investment in your business and will help you to grow your business in the way you want to grow it.

Before you engage with an SEO consultant or specialist take a moment to read my other blogs on the subject of optimising your website to rank higher in searches

10 easy and cheap ways to generate traffic for your website



Improve your ranking in google with keywords & content

About Overt Digital Media

Overt Digital Media are a marketing consultancy specialising in helping small businesses grow using the latest digital marketing tools such as websites with artificial intelligence built in, feature rich mobile apps and search engine optimisation. All of our products and services are designed to be affordable for small businesses.

Please click here if you would like to know more about our affordable SEO services or if you would like any help growing your business and generating more enquiries from your website then please get in touch