Here is the conflict: When you are sold SEO services you are typically sold the assumption that number one rankings equal money in your pocket.

But when they don’t, well, then what? Where is the return and how do you feel as a small business owner?

It is a fact that traffic volumes and click-through rates for most local business search terms are low.

It’s also often true that SEO services are charged at professional service rates that are, well, generous if you consider the returns they tend generate.

Sure, being number one for some keywords is helpful, but to automatically and religiously equate number one spots with money sets false expectations that may lead to your customers thinking:

“Cool! I’m number one now. I’m going to relax and wait for the phone to ring and the money to come it!”

When it does not they aren’t totally happy with the investment they made because they might have been led to believe that being number one equals cash.

Is there a smarter way to pitch S.E.O services if you are a Devon online marketing agency?

Sure, of course there is. There are lots.

First, you need to be where folks are looking and they definitely are looking online line to investigate, compare, evaluate and all that good stuff.

Second, if you aren’t well represented in the SERPs you then you can be sure that at least one of your competitors are. Why would you want to be there to fight for business that you have every right competing for? Think about it as offensive defence.

Thirdly, set pragmatic expectations.

If you do SEO you’re most probably at least in some measure self-taught and have doubtless paid at one point or another to learn from an online expert (I know I have – thanks StomperNet)

Because they often have a ‘SEO equals money pitch‘ it doesn’t mean that you need to sell to local small business in the same way, especially not in great Britain where folk are sceptical of exaggeration!

, the online world is bigger and more nuanced now and if you believe that optimising a website is the one and only solution to a client’s marketing wants you are wrong.

Offline marketing, mobile marketing, local marketing heck, just normal integrated marketing is where the real impact is for local small business.

S.E.O is just one part of that mix so why should folks give you all their money to optimise a site when they could make their money go further by getting someone to do S.E.O, local, offline and mobile all at the exact same time?