The Local SEO Industry: Current Status and Future Prospects
what is SEO?
This is a question that many people may ask especially those who are new or unfamiliar with internet marketing. SEO means search engine optimization. In layman’s parlance, it’s the process of capturing traffic from search engines like Google listings. Through this analysis, I will provide you with facts about the SEO industry and the current state of the SEO market as well as the future prospects in this area.
Top SEO Players
Like any other industry in the world, the online SEO business has its players. This includes local SEO tool providers, such as small digital agencies, SEO links and web designers among others.
The SEO Players Are Back
Through this analysis, I will provide you with facts about the SEO industry and the current state of the SEO market as well as the future prospects in this area.
However, it is difficult to predict the direction the SEO market may take as there has been no obvious change in the benefits of SEO since 2011.
However, it seems that the demand for local SEO services is increasing day by day and this is something that exists attracting more players thus tightening the competition among SEO service providers.
The main reason people enter into business is profit and expansion of their economic status. In the field of search engine optimization, return rates are promising. That’s because recent SEO research from 12 months shows that all players at least have something to take home. However, returns vary depending on the player’s hard work and experience on the field. For example, according to this research, 34% of SEOs surveyed reported earning less than $30,000 while another group of respondents, 17% reported earning over $500,000 in returns.
From the above figures, it is clear that the size of the organization played a role in determining the revenue. It is beyond common sense that one would assume that a larger organization would have less capital and vice versa. In addition, the presence of part-time SEO as well as market entry for beginners could lead to lower turnover rates due to lower operating capacity. However, it is difficult to predict the direction the SEO market may take as there has been no obvious change in the benefits of SEO since 2011. However, it seems that the demand for local SEO services is increasing day by day and this is something that exists attracting more players thus tightening the competition among SEO service providers.
Emerging trends in today’s SEO feedback
With the above income breakdown, several questions arise. This includes the following:
• Statistically, a large percentage of SEOs earn low income which indicates low prices for SEO
services.
• It is also possible that SMEs do not understand the value of the SEO services provided to them.
• Low income SEOs, those with annual income below $30,000 are also sceptical about whether they can provide high quality services while earning such a low income.
• It is also unknown whether many SEOs will continue to operate as long as their income remains stable.
Current SEO Revenue Per Client
Just like annual SEO returns, SEO revenue for each client also varies. That’s because there are those customers who will pay less than $100 per month while others will pay more than $5,000 per month. This difference in revenue for each customer can be attributed to the quality of services provided as well as the complexity of the services. The volume of business for which the client seeks SEO services also plays a role in determining the amount to be charged. For example, small businesses are paid less because their requirements are much lower compared to large multi-location franchises.
Research also shows that some SEO providers operate at a higher volume. These optimizers offer simple SEO services at very low monthly rates. As a result, these SEO providers end up getting higher leads with a large dedicated network of sales team.
Similarly, some SEO providers offer more comprehensive services in a professional and personalized manner according to the client which leads to fewer number of clients.
Due to the above statistics, it becomes imperative for every search engine optimization (SEO) provider in the current market to operate in a manner consistent with its setup.
Ability to work with modern SEO
Now, SEO is engaging with more clients than in years past. Statistics show that about 40% of SEOs in the market deal with at least 11 clients while 23% of SEOs deal with at least 21 clients. These huge numbers of clients to deal with leads to more audits to be done, more homework, research, reports, and even more client calls to attend. A lot of clients also require a high level of competence so that the quality of services to clients can be assured.
Market Structure for Most SEO
SEOs use many marketing techniques to promote their business. Offline marketing channels like word of mouth are cited by many SEOs as the most effective marketing techniques. This can include the levels of trust and reputation of the company as well as the relationships created during offline campaigns.
Besides offline marketing, SEO also practices online marketing like using LinkedIn and social media. However, most SEOs cite LinkedIn as a better option compared to social networks because it is well positioned for lead generation and networking.
SEO services
The majority of SEO players offer on-site optimization with 91% practicing SEO. Google+ optimization also has quite a few SEOs, with 86% of them saying they provide this service to their customers. As for affiliate marketing, only a small percentage (11%) of SEOs offer this service to their clients.
Other SEO services:
The service most requested by SEO clients is onsite marketing, while the service least requested is affiliate marketing. Other services are fairly average. However, most small and medium businesses do not understand the opportunities that video and mobile marketing can open up for them, and therefore tend not to use these services. So SEOs need to educate their customers on these marketing channels so that they can search for them.
5% of SEOs today in the market find link building to be the most daunting and time consuming task. Others, though 15% still agree that writing content is the most boring and time-consuming of all the jobs they do. So it turns out that with 55% of those who find link building boring, this task is also boring for them.
future expectations
This is an outline of what to expect in the near future in terms of SEO business.
Expansion of search engine optimization companies
Compared to previous years, the SEO business is constantly growing and expanding. Most SEOs (nearly 93%) are not only optimistic about expanding their business, but also expect their business to grow. In what appears to be a decisive step to grow their business, most SEOs (82%) are willing to hire more employees to achieve the required levels of growth.
Social media is also expected to grow and become more effective than local directories. This is because most SEOs believe that social media can work best for peer feedback. Mobile phone usage is also expected to grow even more and become important to local businesses.
Increase confidence in SEO business
Unlike other companies, the search engine optimization (SEO) industry is showing good growth in trust among the players. While this is a dynamic and new industry, most SEOs are still willing to hire more employees to help move their business forward. 84% of SEOs sampled in SEO research are also confident that their SEO business will be more profitable as of 2013.
Confidence is also growing that if SEO players increase the understanding of search/social optimization among business owners who use it in the future, it will not only increase the investment rate for business owners, but they will also shift their marketing budgets in other and digital channels channels.
When asked about online SEO services that SEOs found effective, 82% of them said that general search is more effective for generating leads. 84% of SEOs sampled in SEO research are also confident that their SEO business will be more profitable as of 2013. Confidence is also growing that if SEO players increase the understanding of search social optimization among business owners who use it in the future, it will not only increase the investment rate for business owners, but they will also shift their marketing budgets in other and digital channels channels.
