We talk a great deal about the benefits of the Semify SEO reseller program. You know the drill by now. Transparent service delivery with industry-leading private label portal technology, accountability to results with a US-based Account Manager, high quality content creation and a breadth of marketing services you can resell that is simply unparalleled. Our services include PPC, Email Marketing, Social Media, Websites, Newsletters, Press Releases, etc, etc. Or - pick the search engine marketing services you want to compliment what you already do in-house.
But let's say you are sold on our back-office reseller outsourcing offering and sell in a local market (I will cover SEO for national niche players in another post). What is your reseller SEO strategy? In the end, sales and marketing is your responsibility. And I would assume you are favorably predisposed to search engine marketing because, after all, that's what you are telling your customers to buy from you. There is simply no better sales pitch than saying "we use this ourselves and it works." It's a great credibility booster in the SEO sales process for resellers.
So your reseller SEO approach should obviously include search engine optimization for your own website in your local market. Generally speaking, local SEO terms are achievable even for small web design, PR and Ad agencies. National SEO terms are probably not because you are up against some really large players. So go local! Dominate your local SEO terms. You have a huge advantage that others outside your town don't, you're actually there. Here are some local reseller SEO tips:
Go after links from local directories and strong sites You probably put a huge focus on links from Internet-related websites. But if your target is local, then the other half of the story is your city. For example, if we wanted to be on page 1 for Rochester SEO, we would go after links from Rochester-relates websites in addition to SEO related websites.
Pound the pavement Yes, go off-line. Go to marketing events. Make friends with other local businesses. See if they want to trade guest blog posts. Talk to as many local business owners as possible. This will likely increase lead flow all by itself. But I also know that interesting opportunities will arise from those conversations that will help your reseller SEO as well.
Register with Google places and encourage reviews Get your local reputation management program off-the-ground by claiming your local listings. Encourage customers to write reviews or use our MyCustomerReview feature built into your private label SEO portal.
While not SEO, we also advise that you run a local PPC campaign. You want to be in front of as many local business customers as possible. Remember, your local market WANTS to buy their services from someone local. They will just love the idea that you can come to their office or that they know where you work and/or live. These things communicate trust and that helps you sell. And the word-of-mouth effect can be significant for your business after you gain some momentum.
In summary, if you are going to be selling search engine optimization services, you need to be putting your money where your mouth is. You need to be working to improve your reseller SEO as much as possible to both increase leads and demonstrate how the process works to your customers.