Enjoy the following guest post, courtesy of SEO pro Jennifer Watts.
The views expressed in this post are those of the author and not necessarily that of Return On Now.
It’s easy to imagine the benefits of building a shiny, professional new website. Every CEO knows about the advantages of a professional website over one that looks like it came straight from the 1990s.
The problem is, having a professional website is not enough. You also need to be found by people if you want your expensive, eye-catching new website to be of any use.
SEO services are a must-have for any company with a desire to be found. Here are five tips to help you win the CEO over.
Five Tips to Sell SEO to your CEO
Point Out the Competition’s Strategy
If your competition is ranking better than you are, remind your boss about this. Show them the actual search results for the keywords you’d like to rank for.
Next, explain that the reason the competition is showing up on the first page and you’re not is because you don’t have SEO services.
It will take months to see great SEO results, but showing live search results that favor your competition is a great way to win over a boss.
A verbal explanation isn’t always enough.
Show them the statistics about how many companies use SEO, how important SEO is to rankings, and how many people search for companies before visiting or hiring one.
A great infographic or chart about SEO services will help win over even a reluctant boss with the numbers.
Facts counteract the myths of online marketing such as “my website will rank on its own” and “some people don’t use search engines” – many bosses just don’t know better and continue to repeat these phrases.
If you already have some form of analytics, such as Google Analytics, on your site, use these statistics to win over a reluctant CEO.
Show them the bounce rate, where visitors leave your site, and how much time people spend on your site.
Many people don’t know you can even look at these numbers, so analytics will help win the CEO over by showing that results are concrete and measurable.
Doing this also shows the boss the specific areas where you need help, which makes hiring a SEO service sensible.
Explain the Future of Marketing
Chances are good your CEO still watches TV. This is an outdated marketing method, and most companies are moving to the Internet.
On Cyber Monday alone, retailers sold $1.5 billion of goods online last year, so why not get in on that action this year?
Apps and ads that take advantage of the appeal of online marketplaces will succeed, and old advertising methods will fall by the wayside. Help them understand this fact.
Offer Free Tools to Start
If you want to get started for free, show your CEO tools such as the Google Keyword Tool and Wordtracker.
Use these services for free at first to show them some statistics about how well this is working, then ask for funding for better, paid tools.
Everything from keyword research to content creation can be done faster and more efficiently when you have a budget.
Conclusion
Pointing out to your top executive how SEO can help is simple if you remember the phrase: what’s in it for us?
You need to be able to show them how SEO services will help your company get on the front page of Google or be more easily found on social media.
These five strategies can help you win over a reluctant CEO.
Jennifer Watts is an SEO consultant. An avid believer in the technical aspects of the practice, she cares greatly about factors including site speed and quality of hosting.
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