Archive for the 'Business Development' Category

Have you ever received an RFP (Request For Proposal) for SEO Consulting? If you have, then you know they’re usually detailed and well-thought out. For a SEO Consultant not familiar with responding to an RFP, this process can be slightly challenging. Where do you start? How much site analysis should you do for free?

Within an RFP for SEO Consulting is usually a section where the prospective client asks about a Site Analysis.

A full-blown Technical Site Analysis consists of:

• Analysis of information architecture.
• Analysis of source code, and page layout.
• Site Navigation.
• Analysis of Flash & Javascript.
• Keyword usage.
• URL structure.
• Content siloing.
• Internal linking structure.
• Dynamic strategy.
• Robots.txt exclusions.
• Sitemaps (website & XML).

Once you land the consulting gig, there should be a deep dive into each of the Analysis factors above, and a detailed SEO recommendation and implementation.

But, for the purpose of an RFP, it’s certainly okay to provide an overview, or a brief abridged Site Analysis to demonstrate that you put in the time to understand their site & their needs. It also shows you know what you’re doing, and instills confidence in your ability.

The “abridged” Site Analysis can consist of a summarized statement for each of these:

• Sitewide TITLE tags.
• Sitewide META tags.
• Navigation.
• Site Architecture.
• Flash usage.
• Overview of Department, Category, Sub-category, and Product pages.
• Indexibility.
• Is there duplicate content?
• Canonicalization.

Remember, you’re just doing a quick analysis, and providing a summary statement on each of the above factors for the abridged site analysis.

It’s often helpful to also do an abridged Keyword Analysis consisting of:

• Keywords to be Targeted
• Keyword ranking.
• Keyword traffic.
• keyword revenue.

You will also want to examine their inbound link profile, and their internal linking structure.

As you can see, you don’t need to give away the milk for free. This is just part of the work involved to win the business.

Photo credit: sugadeaux

Using the internet for business development is easier than it was in our fathers generation. Contact information for people is everywhere. You just gotta know how to find it, and then know what to do with it once you have it.

It’s like fishing. You’re just fishing for new business. Sit back, relax, and enjoy.

For efficiency, you should set-up a process. A process which you can execute smoothly and quickly. You need to remember that this is a numbers game. So the process will help things move along quickly, yet smoothly.

Discovery process: How do you get the email? How do you find the right person to contact? Your goal is contact (via DM), and/or to find their email address.

1) Read about a company in the news, or get a list of companies from a trade show, or a list of companies from an association.

2) Linkedin & Hoovers are great for discovering who the right person is.

3) Use Google, Facebook, and Twitter to research the individual. Once you found the right person, follow them on Twitter. If they follow you back, you can communicate via Direct Messages. The same applies for Linkedin & Facebook.

Use Google to search for [email @companyname.com] to find the email format the targeted company uses. Use Google News to discover current events about the company you are researching. And, it might even mention something about your contact person. Then you’ll be better able to customize your email.

4) Use Domain Tools, and look for the email contact for the domain. This might not be your contact, but it could reveal what the company email format it. Then, once you find the right name on Hoovers or Linkedin, just send them an email using that format.

Writing the email: People don’t want to read more than 1 short paragraph about a stranger trying to sell them something. Get your message across in a few sentences. And, list your contact information, in your email signature. Make sure to include a link to your website, and possibly a social media site or two. Start by using that email as a base template to build on.

Personalize each email as best you can as it pertains to the potential client and any information that you discovered which may be beneficial in mentioning.

The structure of your email could contain 3 components.
- A short intro of who you are
- The benefits of using you.
- Close the email with 1 question, asking for a phone call.

Ask for the call. If they’re interested they’ll respond to your email. If they don’t respond, move on. Keep up a good momemtum. The object here is quantity. You’re fishing, and you need to cast out a lot of bait to get a bite. It’s all a numbers game. Keep plugging away at it. Eventually, you’ll contact someone that is interested in whatever you have to offer.

The Phone Call:
Start out by sending the email. Don’t be tempted to use the phone for the initial contact. Email seems to be less intrusive & less threatening. If people are interested, they’ll respond. Don’t be pushy. Be real. Be yourself. And, DON’T SELL too hard.

If you are very knowledgable about your subject, then sit back relax and enjoy the call. Ask questions, offer advice. But don’t giveaway the farm. Ask for the business. Be gentle though. Nobody likes pushy people.

Thats it. Happy hunting!

Photo Credit: Josh Sommers