9 replies to this topic

[bobmeetin]

I sat down across a potential I have been courting for over six months. He goes to his computer, goes to google and enters, "search_phrase city_name". Google local shows and his is the first listing. It takes you to his deplorable, middle-ages, website.

His comment to me, "We're already #1, what more can you do by redeveloping our website?"

Certainly I can give the website a more professional look and appeal. But in so much as it does show highly in Google local, how much more relevant is the need to have it there highly in the organic listings?

[copywriter]

But that's only one part of it. How are this guy's conversions? Micro and macro.

Yes, he's #1, but are people actually clicking to his site? (micro conversion) Are they then reading the info and clicking from page to page? (micro conversions) Are they contacting the client and using his business? (macro conversion)

If not, he's still got a long way to go. It comes down to this: Is his site making him money or costing him money?

If he's not tracking his performance, he won't have the answers to these questions. You'll want to get him to benchmark his conversions (using Google Analytics or some other decent program) then start making gradual changes so you can track each one. Then go back to him and say:

1. Previous micro conversion from SERP to home page was .001%. After rewriting the title and description tags, it shot up to 5%. (Or whatever)
2. Micro conversions from home page to services page was _____. After new design, it is now _____%.
3. Site-wide conversion from entry to contact was _____. After new design it is _____.

Then go back and add professionally written copy. Track the changes again. Give him a report.

The more you can actually show him that what you're doing is having a positive impact on his business, the more likely he is to let you continue working on his site.

It's called proof of performance and it is absolutely vital.

[Say Yebo]

And what will he do if Google Local moves the goal posts? One small, unexpected change and it could all be over for him. What's his contingency plan?

[rolf]

I second the above, and redesigns aside, I think showing him how to monitor performance, perform tests and make decisions based upon actual data is a worthy (and chargeable) service in itself.

I'd be willing to bet that if he's not already monitoring and acting on this info then there will be some low hanging fruit that would justify your fee pretty quickly.

[bobmeetin]

For practical purposes at this point he has nothing to monitor, his current site would scare away his Mother (and I say that in a kind way). He acknowledges this.

Voice-wise he had been running 2 yellow page (I use that generically) type ads going to a single number, paying huge sums of money, would get about 50 calls a month, 45 of those sales calls.

So he recently split into 2 separate phone lines and discovered that the one expensive ad produced nothing but sales calls, 45 per month, so he halted that ad.

This is his first baby step into proof, but not internet proof. This is a start to future analytical discussions. Also I should add that although his website is lame he sees his phone number laminated in GOLD in Google Local and that excites him.

Edited by bobmeetin, 06 January 2010 - 11:28 AM.

[copywriter]

Just think of how excited he'll be if he can see is number in gold in Google Local AND actually get some business from the people who click to his site. Boy! He'll be dancing in the streets.

Remind him of how he tested that phone ad and maybe it will give him the kick in the pants he needs to test his SEO/site performance.

[Michael-F]

It blows my mind that you'd have to work to convince someone that one #1 ranking for one local term is not the end-game.

Is this common in freelance work?

[copywriter]

Not just with freelance. You have to do this regularly when you own/work for an agency, too. It's lack of knowledge. People don't understand.

They've been told for over 10 years now that getting top rankings is it. That's the goal. People are just now starting to realize that that's a farce.

Sort of changing the topic (but not really)... the same applies to article marketing. For years and years now, people have been told that they need to put their articles on the article directory sites. So these people write crappy articles so they have *something* to put on the article sites. That's NOT the goal. That's the second step in a long process.

[rolf]

Is this common in freelance work?

Oh yes, unfortunately. One of my pet peeves (I written about it here before) is that occasionally a client will get a call from a slimy snake-oil salesman who convinces them they need his service (often this is 'getting to number 1 in G') and then the client phones me to ask if I can do it cheaper. This leads to a long and often unproductive conversation where I try to put them straight. I'm getting off my soap box now before this line of thought goes any further, but yes, there are a lot of people who can't see past the 'getting to number 1 in google' carrot.

[Catz]

He goes to his computer, goes to google and enters, "search_phrase city_name". Google local shows and his is the first listing.

Sounds like he is number 1 for one search term, what about all the rest of the search terms and phrases visitors might enter when searching for something like whatever he offers?

Do some research, enter terms you might use to search in Google if you were unfamiliar with the business but were looking for businesses/products/services similar to those the company offers. Does the site come up in the results for these as well?

His comment to me, "We're already #1, what more can you do by redeveloping our website?"

It is very short sighted to say we rank well for this, and that's all that matters.

Are there internal pages showing up in the results for other terms or just the home page?

Does he show up in the organic results or just Google Local?
His business must be right in the middle of town to show up #1 in Google Local.