49 replies to this topic

[leftbrain]

All you established SEOs out there:

What are your experiences on running an SEO or web design business from a small town, as opposed to a medium-sized-and-up city? Do you have no trouble attracting long-distance clients, whom you may never meet face-to-face? Or do most demand at least an initial on-site introduction? Does the majority of your business come from within a limited radius of your location, or is distance not a factor?

I am starting an SEO business in a small town of about 12,000, and family obligations mean that relocation is not an option. Operating an internet-based business should render geographical location irrelevant, but I am wondering what others in similar situations have experienced. If I am starting a business that will not thrive outside a large population center, I need to know now so I can start working on Plan B.

Any insights or advice would be welcomed. Thanks in advance!

[Kelly]

leftbrain,

I am not an established SEO, but that should not make my comments irrelavent. The size of the town you live in does not really make a difference, the quality of your work will. But that is not all that is required.

Are you willing to put in the time to find clients? Just because one is good at what they do does not guarantee them work. The statement "Build it and they will come" does not apply. I you wish to have a successful business you will need to work for it. There is a lot of competiton out there, how do stand out? What will make someone want your services? Are your prices competitive, do you have a good track record? Are you will to make each client feel like they are the only one?

I live on the outskirts of a small town, in a very rural area, there are about a dozen houses in a 1 mile radius of where I live, so as I said it is very rural. I have picked up a few clients that I have done some SEO work for. One is in Florida, and another in Washington (I am from Pennsylvania). I did not know either person, and found them through forums similar to this one. They were looking for help, and I responded, told what I could do for them, gave them ideas of what to look out for, and offered pointers on how to get better placement knowing that I may not get the job.

Because I was willing to help (offer suggestions) without signing a contract, I got both jobs. I had absolutely no experience in SEO at that point other than my own site, and a few years of reading and trial and error. Both customers are extremely happy with what I have done for them, and has resulted in other work from both clients.

Be the best you can be, treat each customer as if they were the only one, and you will not have problems getting referrals. There are many ways of attacking your business, you just have to figure out what will work for you. If you are not willing to work to build up a clientele, chances for success are minimal at best

Best wishes and hopefully others will join in.

[Haystack]

Hi Leftbrain. I haven't found location to have much effect on my business. I use Minneapolis as my hometown when I'm technically just outside the city because I think the recognizable city name might make a difference to some prospects.

I have some local clients who've found me by searching on regionally targeted search terms but the vast majority of my business is outside of my state with Florida being the state with the largest representation of my client base.

Having a toll-free number seems to help bring in national business as well. They're quite cheap and can be a deal breaker with some clients, which is kind of strange considering they're stressing over spending maybe a dollar on a decision that will cost thousands of dollars. For this, I use VirtualPBX.com which includes professional recordings. I can route that number to any phone an create additional extensions for sales and support people who can also be anywhere in the country. Pretty cool.

[omahonydonnelly]

I've got a few clients that I have never met face to face. Most of our correspondence is via e-mail, with maybe a couple of phone calls. This works well for me, partly to expand the market I can reach geographically, but also because I work from home and don't like to be tied into regular office hours.

Some clients like to have meetings, which I feel are real time wasters, but once they see that we can communicate just as well via e-mail and phone, they are less inclined that way. In fact most are relieved that they can save time and concentrate on their own businesses.

A better example: my husband is an accountant and over half of his clients are located outside of Ireland; in the UK, other places in Europe and the US. Some of these clients he kept when we moved here from the UK, but most generated via the great website I wrote for him (before I knew anything about SEO -- too bad I'm too busy to do more work on it)! Many clients he never meets face-to-face, though a few have travelled here to meet with him. We're quite proud to run an international accountancy firm in our little rural village. Our website comes up in the top 5 for relevant searches, above many of the top International firms.

If people can trust an accountant they've never met, they should surely trust a web designer or SEO expert!

Follow the advice given under other topics on this forum on finding your niche and developing a reputation as an expert in your field and you are on your way.

[compar]

I have some local clients who've found me by searching on regionally targeted search terms but the vast majority of my business is outside of my state with Florida being the state with the largest representation of my client base.

That's an interesting fact. We are located in Waterloo Ontario Canada about 70 miles southwest of Toronto. We do web design, web hosting and SEO. We have more customers from Florida than any other geographical location -- I guess that is not quiet true -- Florida come after customers from Ontario.

But I always marvel at the number of customers from Florida. Does anybody have any statistics? Are there more web owner in Florida or less people offering our services or is this just a coincidences?

[Jill]

FWIW, Florida was one of the most requested places for me to hold my SEO seminar also. Interesting.

J

[markymark]

Time to optimise for 'seo florida' etc. then I haven't got any clients in Florida and I'm feeling left out. London and California are my best represented areas.

[cline]

I haven't found location to matter. I've only met one of my clients face to face, and they're the only one who is near me. I have clients in the US, UK, Canada, and Russia.

[leftbrain]

Fantastic input! I can see already that this forum is going to be a lifesaver.

I'm just getting started in the SEO field, after having become addicted to it in optimizing my company's web site (I still have a day job). In spite of my questions at the beginning of this thread, my first real client is actually about three hours away from here, in another state. I was just wondering if that was a fluke, or if I could hope for more of the same.

My specialty is optimizing pages, both for the search engines and for speed in loading. I still have plenty to learn in both areas, but as has been pointed out here before, we learn by doing. I am charging a small fee per page, which works out to a ridiculously low rate considering the hours I have put in. The big payoff will be in testimonials and referrals from the site owners, who have been very happy so far.

My selling points so far (other than working almost for free) are the speed of my service, and like Kelly, I am willing to work - on the first few jobs anyway - without a contract. Until I build more of a portfolio, I don't have much more to offer as inducements. And I do treat them as if they were my only clients, which is easy enough since they ARE my only clients. I know that it will become more difficult as I add clients, but I am determined to make my customer service second to none.

Haystack, thanks for the info on the 800 number. I don't think I am quite ready for that yet, but I have bookmarked the site for future use.

For everyone that left responses, it is gratifying to know that geography is not a limiting factor in acheiving my goal. Please let me know if I can do anything for any of you. And keep those cards and letters coming!

[Jill]

Leftbrain, it sounds like you have a good handle on things. I believe that most of us here started out the same way. Do things greatly and cheaply, and eventually more clients will come! The more clients you get, the more testimonials you get, the more high rankings you get, and the more word of mouth you get.

That's when you can start really making some money, and even quit your day job if you so choose.

Good luck with it!



Jill

[Mel]

Hi Leftbrain
as an SEO living in Malaysia, but with clients internationally, I second the idea that your location is not the be all and end all of getting clients.

But I often get requests for face to face meetings with clients, and I try to persuade them that we can have much the same discussion over the phone which is more convenient and cost effective.

[Beth_C]

If you think starting a business in a small town is challenging, how about starting a business from a little island in the middle of the Pacific ocean?

I co-founded an enterprise software business here in Hawaii 3 years ago. Our software is designed for large corporations with 2500+ employees. Hawaii only has a handful of companies that fit that target size so we needed to look to the mainland from Day 1.

We have kind of a running informal/fun goal to have 2 clients from each of the 50 (nifty) United States.

People are very surprised when they learn that our clients include, Campbell Soup Company, Fifth Third Bank (20,000 employees), Sabre, Girls & Boys Town, Missouri Department of Transportation and that we have not met any of them in person!
(Thanks to Jill for getting us top rankings in Google for our major keywords!)

Being based in Hawaii was initially challenging from a perception standpoint. Could a company in Hawaii produce quality software? (Or do we sit around in grass skirts dancing hula and fishing for mahi mahi all day?)

Once we got our first few mainland clients the perception problem went away. Now I see our unique location as a plus because everyone is excited when they find out we are in paradise. It's gives us something fun that we can talk about while trying to build some initial rapport. (I always joke with them about how they have to come to Hawaii to demo the system.)

These days with the Internet, the world has become really small. If you have a great product and provide outstanding service you can do business from virtually (pun!) anywhere.

Beth C.

[Jill]

Or do we sit around in grass skirts dancing hula and fishing for mahi mahi all day?)

C'mon, you know you do!

[leftbrain]

Beth_C, I would gladly work to overcome the difficulties in being in a remote location, just for the chance to be in your location! (We don't have a "green with envy" smilie - how about it, Jill or Scottie? - so just imagine one here).

Seriously, comments like that make me believe that the Internet has finally lived up to its potential of removing physical location as a factor in doing business. For those of us who do live in small towns, this is a lifesaver.

Thanks again to everyone who has contributed to this thread. Keep 'em coming!

[Scottie]

Leftbrain, aren't you in Newberry?

There is a marketing/promotions company up there that does MAJOR work promoting Hollywood movies. They come up with unique mailers, gift items, and promotional stunts to help studios launch their latest blockbuster.

There was a great story about them in the paper a year or two back; it was one of those things where I thought to myself, "If they can do that from Newberry, location really shouldn't matter for an online-based business!"

Seriously, it was one of those stories that makes you believe you can (and should) do what you want to do and not let things like location be an obstacle.