July 6, 2023
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Looking to build a scalable service business without solely relying on word-of-mouth?
Every service-based business comes to the same realisation.
At some point, referrals will dry up. Cold outreach will stop working. And your pipeline will suddenly look a lot thinner.
Your business needs more than just referrals.
Let's be clear
You can't survive on referrals alone. Not if you want predictable revenue month after month.
But here's the good news…
There's a roadmap you can follow to build a predictable client acquisition strategy. And it all starts with being found online.
Let's start with where most service businesses go wrong…
Paid Ads. Yep, they fall into the trap of throwing money at paid ads before taking care of organic.
Let's back up for a second. Did you know that according to recent research, 53% of all trackable website traffic is organic? Paid ads, social media, and email channels don't come close.
More than half of your website visitors found you on Google… somewhere on page one at least.
For service-based businesses that rely on local clientele, search engines are the #1 driver of traffic and leads.
Here's the kicker…
Better rankings don't just equal more traffic. They equal better traffic.
When someone clicks on your business through organic search, they're already looking for the service you provide. This creates much higher conversion rates and lower customer acquisition costs than outbound methods.
For these reasons (and many more), working with a professional Local seo services company is one of the best investments any service business can make towards long-term website ranking improvement.
Before jumping into the specifics of what you can do to start ranking better, here's a review of what affects rankings in the first place.
SEO isn't magic, and there are three core pillars that Google (and other search engines) look at when determining rankings.
Tick all those boxes and you're well on your way to ranking on page one.
Sure, SEO can seem complex at times. But the basics aren't hard. And search engine optimization has never been more critical to building a scalable service business.
Okay! Time to get into the good stuff. Here are 4 tactics that actually work to create predictable flows of new clients.
Content remains king. This is especially true when it comes to attracting new clients.
Why? Because the more relevant content your service business publishes, the more likely you are to attract your ideal client.
Blog posts, guides, and even case studies that speak directly to your target audience help to position you as an industry authority. It also allows you to showcase your service or product to prospects at no cost.
Win-win.
For this to be effective, you need to stay consistent. One blog post won't make a difference. Service businesses need to be creating valuable long-form content on a consistent basis.
If you're reading this, chances are your website could use some on-page optimisation.
SEO may be complex, but on-page SEO is not. It's totally free to do and can help you see almost instant results if done correctly.
Any service page, location page, or blog post on your website should be optimised for maximum search visibility. Things like title tags, meta descriptions, header tags, and internal links all need to be in check.
You really shouldn't skip this step. It's the foundation of letting Google know what each page is about so it can be served to the right people.
Backlinks are like votes of confidence from other websites.
If you've got reputable websites linking back to your service business, that helps Google know that you're worthy of ranking well.
Did you know B2B companies see more than twice as much revenue from organic search than any other digital channel?
There's a strong reason for that. And building a healthy backlink profile is just one piece of the puzzle.
Some of the best ways to start earning quality backlinks include guest posting on other industry websites, getting mentions from industry publications, and local business listings.
Last but certainly not least…
Local SEO.
Service business = local SEO.
Most customers / clients won't find you from searching for your service. They'll type in a location along with it.
That's why every service business needs to make sure they're following the right steps to dominate their local area.
Local SEO can be powerful for service-based businesses. If done right, you can sit atop the Google map pack and collect high-intent leads day in and day out.
The goal with any client acquisition strategy should be longevity.
You want to create a system that keeps fueling your pipeline month over month. Here are a few ways to do just that:
These are just a few examples of how you can keep the momentum going. Part of why this works is because the more you put into it, the more you get out of it.
Think about content.
You write one blog post and throw it on your website.
vs
You create new blog content consistently.
Exactly
Everything you do should be done with a mindset of keeping your acquisition strategy sustainable long-term.
Building a client acquisition strategy for any service-based business starts with one main thing…
Ranking!
Without visibility, your phone won't ring. It doesn't matter how many blogs you send out or who you know.
So make sure you're taking care of your website's organic presence by:
It takes time, patience, and consistency. But that's what will set you apart from the competition and allow you to generate a consistent stream of new leads.
That is a client acquisition strategy you can count on.
You should focus on organic search because it accounts for over 53% of all trackable website traffic. People finding you through search are already looking for your services, which results in higher quality leads and lower acquisition costs than outbound methods like paid ads.
The three core pillars that search engines like Google evaluate are content, technical soundness, and authority. This means you need to publish valuable content, have a website that is easy for Google to crawl, and get backlinks from other sites to show you are a credible source.
Local SEO is the practice of improving your visibility in local search results. It is vital for service-based businesses because most of your clients will search for a service along with a location, like “plumber in Bristol”. A strong local SEO presence helps you appear in the Google map pack, attracting high-intent local leads.
To ensure your strategy is sustainable, you need to treat it as an ongoing process. Consistently create new content, track your keyword rankings over time, actively seek new backlinks, and conduct regular technical audits of your website to maintain its health and performance.
