For an aggressive, clever, and highly-caffeinated SEO, the small business landscape in almost any city is a treasure trove of opportunities. Unfortunately, getting your hands on that treasure can be a bit of an adventure. Those SEOs with a lust for high adventure and a cooler full of Red Bull, please read on.

As defined by most, a small business is characterized by having 100 employees or less (half that much for our European friends).That stated, it is important to note that a business with 50-100 employees is still quite large (especially in the present economy). For the purposes of this article, I am directing my advice to SEOs that are targeting businesses with 25-50 employees. Why so small? These businesses are lean, hungry, and ultra competitive. Additionally, it may be much easier to get some face time with a business owner (decision maker) in a smaller business than with the same counterpart in a larger business. In sales we call this “low-hanging fruit” and there’s no shame in the picking. This small business market is populated by all manner of business types that might benefit from SEO services to define their online business identity, attract targeted prospects, and enhance their presence in the competitive landscape. Picking the right verticals to attack is a matter of personal interest, savvy, and experience.

Sure, the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker might all love to hear about the prospects of conducting an aggressive PPC campaign built to crush and demoralize the competition down the street, but if you don’t speak their language, you may have a bit of difficulty getting them to cut you a check.

Rule 1: Leverage your commonalities.

Done some work (any kind of work) for law firms, restaurants, or photography studios? Yeah, you know stuff. You know people. This is where you begin. Hit the streets, use your references, dig out that old Rolodex and call on old contacts. They’d be glad to hear from someone that talks in terms they can easily understand, who knows the challenges of their particular business type, and who will answer all their questions. Keep in mind that once you’ve done a few jobs for a particular type of business, you may soon find yourself facing conflicts of interest. Obviously, you can’t work both sides of the street at the same time, unless you consider yourself a kind of rogue gun-for-hire in your own personal Sergio Leone film.

Rule 2: Go where the money is.

If the notion of delving into the small business market has you thinking that you’re standing at the base of the Big Rock Candy Mountain, you’re in for a rude awakening. This is common sense and simple math, folks. The average small business owner walks a razor’s edge between red ink and black. Most don’t have a “marketing budget” stashed away. You know what your hourly rate is for your services, so you may want to identify top prospects by their hourly rate as well. Doctors, Dentists, Elective Surgery Practices, Lawyers, Accountants… you get the idea. These businesses have money to invest in growing their business. What else do we like about these business types? They are highly educated, have considerable work autonomy, very competitive, and most are actively trying to attract and retain clients. Talk to them in terms of investment and return on that investment (ROI). Quantify everything you can in terms of dollars.

Rule 3: Discover (with your ears).

Like any good salesperson, get accustomed to asking open-ended questions. Listening and asking questions will greatly benefit you later on in the course of the SEO process. Don’t bowl them over with lengthy dialogues full of technical jargon. Ask them about their business. Get them talking. Good discovery is an identification of business goals, purposes, and needs. Find out where the business is hurting. You can attach SEO activities to each of their “pain points” as they come up in conversation. When you deliver an SEO proposal, each element can be easily tied to an identified need. This also helps them see how the money they’re about to spend is directly related to eliminating their problems. A spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down, yes?

Rule 4: Get everyone involved.

Think that nice guy you’re talking to is the final decision maker? Chances are, the business is actually owned by his parents, but the office manager holds the purse strings to the entire marketing budget. One should never fail to ask “who else should be in on this conversation, just so I know that I’m talking to all the right people.”

Rule 5: Offer solutions (that’s plural for a reason).

In the small business market, a cut-and-dried, pre-packaged SEO service offering may not work. One size does not fit all. Offering custom-tailored solutions that are built on business purpose and needs and that take the local markets and competitors into consideration will be well received. Suggest several courses of action. As budget is always a factor, you may wish to offer three proposals (good, better, best) with a range of prices.

Also suggest anything else that might help them out with their website and marketing. Position yourself as an expert and an authority. Even though you may not be in the business of web design, logo development, secondary marketing, brand identity, or PR, chances are good that you personally know someone who can help them out with these interests. Why would you do that? Strong relationships are a crucial element for ongoing revenues. The strength of your relationship with any client can be quantified by the number of times they call you for help in other areas. You become their “go-to guy” for anything web, marketing, or online related. You also feed your friends with these referrals and they are likely to do the same for you. Business brings business: it’s the multiplier effect.

Rule 6: Educate HEAVILY.

Most of this is common sense for us all. Here are just a couple of reminders for speaking to small business owners. Remind them that SEO is a process that is founded on good, relevant content. Explain that there are no “quick and dirty” fixes that will benefit them in the long-term. Tell them that the horizon for measurable success can be a bit longer than they expect. Explain that being at the top of the SERPs doesn’t necessarily mean that they are getting the lion’s share of the available prospects. Encourage them to adopt a continual improvement program for all their web marketing. Have them engage in their own internal market research (where did their new clients or customers hear about them). To further cover your rear end (against legal penalties or criticism), write it all down in your proposal boilerplate and have them acknowledge their understanding by signing it for you.

Rule 7: Touch back.

It is common to hear seasoned sales people say that it is 7 times harder to gain a new client than to keep 1 existing client. Good clients are worth the high-touch. Keep them in the know but don’t waste their time. Always call them for a reason. You may want to reach out from time to time and ask them for referrals. Make it worth their while. Small business owners are always looking for ways to save nickels and dimes, so offer a referral bonus (a percentage of job margin dollars) for any new business opportunity they bring to you personally (after the referral job is completed and the checks clear).   

Rule 8: Cardio, Cardio, Cardio.

Yes, the small business market is a great opportunity to quickly build your reputation and resume but it’s a lot of activity… all the time. Forget 9 to 5 business hours. Small business owners are busy people. They will want to talk before hours, after hours, and on weekends. Be prepared to run. Always take the meeting. Show up on time.

Additional Tips:

Looking to grow your own presence in the local market and hob-knob with small business owners? Join the Chamber of Commerce and subscribe to your local Business Journal. These are great tools to help you easily identify new prospects, network, and grow your SEO business.