What is SEO?
This is a common question that most people, especially those who are new or unfamiliar with online marketing, might be asking. SEO stands for search engine optimization. In plain language, it is the process of capturing traffic from search engines, such as Google listings. Through this reading, I will give you insights into the SEO business, the current state of the SEO market, and future projections in this field.
Major SEO Players
Like any other industry in the world, the online SEO business has its players. This includes local providers of SEO tools, such as small digital agencies, SEO freelancers, and web designers, among others.
Returns for SEO players
The main reason people get involved in business is to make a profit and expand their economic status. In the field of SEO business, the rates of return are promising. That’s because recent research on SEO returns over a 12-month period shows that at least every player had something to take home. However, returns vary depending on the hard work and skills of the players on the field. For example, according to this research, 34% of SEOs interviewed said they received less than $30,000, while another group of respondents, 17%, said they received returns greater than $500,000.
From the above statistics, it is evident that the size of an organization played a role in determining the number of returns received. It stands to reason that one would expect a large organization to receive low amounts of returns and vice versa. Furthermore, the presence of part-time SEOs, as well as the entry of newcomers to the market, could have contributed to low turnover rates due to low operational capacity. However, it is difficult to predict the direction the SEO market is likely to take due to the lack of a clear turnaround in SEO earnings since 2011. However, the demand for local SEO services seems to be growing day by day and this is attractive. more players, reinforcing competition among SEO service providers.
The Emerging Issues With Current SEO Returns
With the distribution of returns above, several questions arise. This includes the following:
• From the statistics, a large percentage of SEOs receive low income, which suggests low prices for SEO services.
• Small and medium-sized businesses may also not understand the value of the SEO services provided to them.
• People with low incomes from SEO, those who received less than $30,000 annual return, are also in doubt whether they can provide quality services while earning so little.
• It is also unknown if most SEOs will continue to operate if their income remains static.
Current SEO revenue per client
Just like annual SEO returns, SEO revenue per client also varies. This is because there are customers who would pay less than $100 per month while others will pay more than $5000 per month. This variation in revenue per client can be attributed to the type of services provided, as well as the depth of services. The size of the company for which a client is seeking SEO services also plays a role in determining the amount to be charged. For example, small businesses are charged less simply because their requirements are much less compared to large franchise businesses with multiple locations.
Research also shows that some SEO service providers operate in high volume. Such SEOs provide simple SEO services at very low monthly rates. As a result, such SEO service providers end up having a high customer turnover with a large dedicated network of sales team.
Similarly, some SEO service providers provide services that are more comprehensive in a much more professional manner personalized according to the client, leading to a low number of clients.
Due to the above statistics, it becomes essential for any SEO service provider in today’s market to operate in a way that matches their setup.
Ability to handle modern SEO
Currently, SEOs handle more clients compared to previous years. Statistics show that about 40% of SEOs in the market handle at least 11 clients, while 23% of SEOs handle at least 21 clients. Such a large number of clients to handle leads to more audits, many tasks, investigations, reports and even more client calls to handle. The high number of clients also demands a high level of efficiency so that clients can be assured of quality services.
Market structure for most SEOs
SEOs have been using various marketing techniques to promote their businesses. Offline marketing channels such as word of mouth have been cited by most SEOs as the most effective marketing technique. This can be attributed to the level of trust, business reputation, and relationships built during offline campaigns.
Along with offline marketing, SEOs also practice online marketing such as using LinkedIn and social media. However, most SEOs have cited LinkedIn as the better option compared to social media because it is in a better position for lead generation and networking.
Services offered by SEOs
Most of the SEO players offer on-site optimization with 91% of SEOs practicing this. Google+ optimization also has a good number of SEOs practicing it, with 86% claiming to be offering this service to their clients. For affiliate marketing, only a small percentage (11%) of SEOs offer this service to their clients.
Other services offered by SEOs:
• Content creation/optimization
• Link building
• Preparation of quotes
• Social media marketing
• Website development
•CPAP
• Mobile site development
• Video marketing and mobile marketing.
The most demanded service by SEO clients is onsite marketing, while the least demanded service is affiliate marketing. The other services are somehow moderately requested. However, most small and medium-sized businesses do not understand the opportunities that video and mobile marketing can open up for them and therefore tend not to use these services. Therefore, SEOs must educate their clients about these marketing channels so that they can choose them.
When asked about the online SEO services that SEOs find effective, 82% of them said that general search is the most effective for generating leads. Local search appears to be second best after 62% of respondents in an SEO survey voted for it. PPC is third at 53%, while social media is fourth at 26%. Daily deals seem to be attractive to most SEOs because only 1% voted for it.
Tedious SEO tasks
55% of current SEOs in the market consider link building to be the most tedious and time consuming job. Others though 15% only believe that content writing is the most tedious and time consuming task among all the tasks they do. Thus, it emerges that for the 55% who find link building tedious, they also find this task boring.
future projections
This is a summary of what we expect in the near future when it comes to the SEO business.
SEO Business Expansion
Compared to previous years, SEO companies have been steadily growing and expanding. The majority of SEOs (about 93%) are not only optimistic about expanding their business, but also hope to grow their business. In what appears to be a determined move to grow their businesses, the majority of SEOs (82%) are willing to hire more staff to achieve desired growth levels.
Social networks are also expected to grow and become even more effective than local directories. This is because most SEOs believe that social networks can work better thanks to recommendations from friends. The use of mobile devices is also expected to grow further and become relevant for local businesses.
Increased Confidence in the SEO Business
Unlike other businesses, the SEO business is showing positive growth in trust among players. Even though it is a dynamic and innovative industry, most SEOs are still willing to hire more staff to help boost their business. 84% of SEOs sampled in the SEO research are also optimistic that the SEO business will become more profitable from this year 2013.
There is also a lot of confidence that if the SEO players increase the understanding of SEO/social among the business owners they serve in the future, they will not only increase the investment rate of the business owners, but also cause them to transfer your marketing budgets from other channels. to digital channels.