Generating leads for agencies is one of the most important things a business has to accomplish. You know your company is only as successful as the number of successful leads you generate. There are many textbook methods to reach as many people as you want. However, generic methods aren’t meant to work for everyone.
If your agency is still in its infancy, you need to start at the very beginning. Unless you have a clear idea of how lead generation is done, you might not benefit from it as much as you anticipated.
Generating leads will provide you a steady demand for your company’s products. Eventually, you will be able to automate your business processes with ample leads for agency. There are many ways to accomplish this type of business plan. However, you must know the basics before you begin.
So, what are leads? Leads are basically customers who are interested in your company and its venture. The lead generation process is a combination of content creation, content writing, and more to lure customers to your business.
Leads are not generated by cold calling potential customers. It is one of the most annoying experiences for people to get called out of the blue for products. Cold calling is not the right practice for lead generation, and it might even end up costing you customers.
So, what is the right way?
The correct way to generate leads is a simple and straightforward technique. Here are a few things that you will learn about if you want to generate leads for agencies.
You will learn about the following techniques throughout the module. These will help you attract attention to your venture and gain popularity. The techniques are as follows.
• Creating content: This is what you want to show to your clients and use to lure people towards your agency. This includes blogs, webpage content, and every other type of literature that promotes your company and its products.
• Basic remarketing: This technique is popular among websites that have a separate budget for marketing. You will need to remarket or retarget the ads to the customers who visited your page previously.
• Ad funneling: Market your product and promote it through ads and other methods of publicity. Your targeted audience will come across these ads and will be immediately drawn towards your products.
• Networking groups: Talk to businesses like yours. The lead generation process requires you to stay in touch with people who are in the same business community as you.
• Hosting meetups: Meetups are a great place to get acquainted with people who can benefit your business. Host a meet up in your office space. However, if you don’t have one, then you can collaborate with others to help you host a meet up in their space.
• Outreach (cold): Cold calling is never a great idea for generating leads. However, cold outreach has proven to be helpful in certain cases. You can reach out to your customers and follow up with their former interest in the company through vide pitches.
• Speaking engagements: Talking to people is the best way to create awareness about your agency and your brand. Develop this skillset to get better at advertising your products to your clients.
• Guest posting: Post some of your content on other niche websites of the same type. You can find out people who work in similar industries as you. Then you can post your content on their platforms for more publicity.
• Referrals: You must get your former clients to vouch for you. This will help you increase your credibility. Moreover, it will also make your business seem more reliable in the eyes of new customers.
Content creation for your agency
Before you delve deeper into the tactics that will help in lead generation for companies, you need to know about content creation. You must have heard before that content is king and that you need it as a foundation for your SEO agency.
Without proper content, you will not be able to convey your message to your targeted clientele. Content creation for an agency is a very intricate technique that is the very base of any agency. Once you learn the masterful ways of content creation, the lead generation process becomes significantly easier.
Why is content creation necessary, you ask? Content creation for an agency is the best way to generate leads. It is a very important tool in online marketing, and it helps agencies advertise their operations the way they want to. Without this valuable content, your audience will have a hard time understanding your operations.
If you want to establish your agency, you need to create viable content. You need to get the word out about your agency in order to build relationships. People spend a fortune on marketing strategies but overlook content, which is a huge mistake.
Here are four crucial truths about content creation for agency that you need to be aware of before you make your own for your agency.
Fun fact: Generating leads with a great content plan on your site is a lot easier than cold outreach and some of the other alternatives. It’s like a sales team that works while you sleep.
1. Content is usually not given a lot of importance
As erroneous as it sounds, many agencies overlook their content needs. A major chunk of their resources is spent on marketing. This marketing is generally centered around their clients, and not too much attention is given to personal content.
If you want your clientele to know what your agency is all about, you need more personal content. This will help you generate traffic, and more people will be attracted to your agency because of content writing. People care more about what your brand stands for than what your clients are all about!
2. Know how to incorporate content in your agency
Generally, agencies assume that content equals long blogs and boring articles. However, this is not true. Your content is everything from your web pages to your ads. There are many different areas where you will be in need of content. No matter what you pick, all the content you create is going to help you generate leads for your agency.
Your content writing needs to have variety. If your agency wants to generate leads, you need to get creative. Maintain your blogs; however, keep finding ways to make new content. This could include case studies and factors, in general, you want your clientele to know about.
3. Keep expanding
The key is to know how to scale your agency’s content needs properly. You know your brand better than anyone else. So, naturally, you need to create original content for yourself. However, this doesn’t always work for people.
There are many facets that you need to look over when a brand is growing exponentially. If you are busy with these other aspects of your business, you need to find a way to fulfill your content needs from other sources.
This includes hiring people to write this content for you. However, you need to be very careful when you outsource these content needs.
4. Spend some money
Investment is always a very subjective issue for agencies. Often you don’t know where you should invest your capital for maximum benefit. If your SEO agency is not as financially strong as other, more seasoned competitors, then you need to make provisions.
It is very important to trust yourself and your agency. Spend that money on your marketing plans and strategies and invest in yourself. Everything you do will be worth it in the end, so make sure you trust and believe in your plans enough to spend money on them.
Should you create a niche
A niche is basically an area your agency specializes in. There are innumerable options for you to pick from. Finding a specialty can be both very beneficial to your agency and can backfire too.
You must know the difference between a general SEO agency and a specialist one. A general agency aims at providing its clients with almost all of their SEO needs. On the other hand, a specialist agency only works in one direction with respect to SEO needs.
Both agencies are prospering in the market in the current age. It is a personal choice for you to pick what kind of agency you wish to be. There are pros and cons to both facets of this argument.
Many agencies are choosing to be specialists because clients are in search of professionals. Continue reading to find out more about the ins and outs of becoming a specialist SEO agency in the current times.
Pros:
• You are an expert in your field
• You have insider knowledge about your specialty
• Working with copywriters becomes easy
• Your client base is solid
• Clients don’t leave you for other agencies easily
• You cut out the competition
• Easier to grab customer’s attention with your knowledge
Cons:
• You might end up developing a tunnel vision
• You will lose out on clients
• Your competition will be tougher
• You will need unique ideas and techniques to stand out
• It is easier to blend in with the other agencies as a niche agency
It is for you to decide whether you need to be a niche agency or a general one. The upsides of being a general agency is a wider clientele. You can find customers in every arena without too much difficulty. However, if you want regular customers that stay, specialization agency is a far better approach.
How to generate leads?
As mentioned earlier creating content is the best way to generate actual leads for your business. Here are certain things that you must take note of. These points are going to explain to you everything you need to know about lead generation for agencies.
1. Case Studies
So, what exactly are case studies? Case studies are relevant examples that you can take inspiration from in the future. These are mere instances where people were formerly exposed to. You can use them as a standard your new clients judge you on.
Case studies, hence, become essentials you need to have on your websites. This is a very important part of content creation for agencies that can land you serious leads in the future. They do not generally create more traffic on your website.
Case studies are used to divert traffic to your website instead. People will be more interested in your work when they know more about it. Case studies are an easy way to tell people how you work and what you work on.
Why are case studies important?
Case studies are important for the following reasons.
1. Result-oriented business
All business is result-oriented. Your clients want to know what they’re in for. They care about results more than the way you market your work. Case studies show your big wins to the potential clientele. They assess your competence based on your past performances with the help of case studies.
2. Essential for sales processes
Case studies are very important for business and sales processes. They help you expand your business in various domains. Moreover, they are a vital part of the industry now. All your new clients will want to take a look at your case studies before hiring you. You need to keep them ready for the future.
3. Clients need original instances
Not all your case studies have to be a result of your excellence in the past. Some of them can be general instances that your agency relates to. However, if you don’t have original case studies, you need to work harder and get some of those. You can do free work to get some case studies if you are desperate.
Where can you get case studies online?
It is advised that you get case studies from your own experience. You can fill up those pages on your website with your client’s stories and their testimonials too. Basically, you need these case studies as proof of your competence, and you need to show it to your clients.
(Source: https://klientboost.com/case-studies/?source=website)
You can take inspiration from platforms like KlientBoost. This platform has a great webpage full of case studies. The platform only promotes paid case studies. However, all of them are thorough and very insightful to the people.
Get case studies on your own. You do not need too many case studies for your agency. It is up to you how you upload them and portray them to the world. If you are short on cases, you can upload a few of them on your website, like blogs. This makes them aesthetically pleasing and easy to read too.
How to make your own case studies?
Making case studies is an art. People don’t want to read countless pages worth of irrelevant information. They need to find what they are looking for instantly. Here are pointers that will teach you how you can create a case study for your SEO agency.
The key is to divide the case study into four sections.
1. Who is the client?
In this section, you need to introduce the client. Talk about who they are, the kind of work they do, and what are the problems they usually face. This section is brief and only comprises of little information about the client.
2. What was their primary problem?
This is where you mention the agenda of your case study. Talk about the problem in detail. You need to make sure you give out enough history in this section. Make it a thorough section in the case study with every little detail about the problem your client faced.
3. What was your solution?
Now you can talk about how you plan on tackling the issue. You need to find a way to curb these problems with substantial solutions. You must mention what you came up with to help your client. This shows your tactical knowledge, so, you need to be very detailed in this section.
Guide the reader throughout the solutions process. Right from its inception to how you carried it out.
4. Results
In this section, you need to talk about the outcome of your action. Tell the reader how your client benefitted from your services and how your strategy worked. This section does not have to be very detailed. You can just mention the key points and how your plan panned out.
Case studies are a great way to increase traffic on your website. Once you learn how to create case studies, you will certainly succeed in lead generation for your agency.
2. Acquiring customer reviews
Sales prospects are always looking for reviews from your former customers. This is because they believe that if your old clients had a good experience with your agency, they would be able to trust you with their business.
It is one of the best ways to generate leads for an SEO agency. You convince new customers that your services are worth their time and money. No matter what you write on your webpages, a single review from a genuine client is worth more than your service descriptions to an average customer.
Continue reading to learn more about how you can successfully acquire and publish customer reviews online.
Where your reviews matter
Having reviews of your services on your personal platform is great for your agency. However, there are many other platforms where you can put up your online review to generate leads for your agency.
Such platforms accept reviews from all customers. They don’t necessarily have to go through your agency first. However, all reviews on these services are very trustworthy because there is little to no chance of people counterfeiting their reviews.
These platforms include.
1. Google My Business
(Source: Google Images)
Google My Business is the most organic platform to put up your reviews on. It shows up on every google search, making it very easily available for customers to see. These reviews are given by authentic sources and verified users. So, you can rest assured that the reviews you see after going through google searches are not fabricated. They also get a lot of views online in general.
2. Clutch
Clutch is an up and coming directory online where you can see reviews for many SEO agencies. It is a very trustworthy platform and is a credible source for reviews online. Clutch is not just for potential clients who want to read reviews. They can also use this to look for the agencies they want. It helps you increase traffic to your website and is a great way to promote your services subtly.
3.Facebook
(Source: Facebook.com)
Facebook may not seem like the go-to option for many. However, advertising on Facebook has become one of the most popular techniques for generating leads for agencies. This is because it helps you boost your social standing online. People can see your ads, read reviews, and get redirected to your webpage in a matter of minutes. This is the reason why Facebook advertising is the fastest and cheapest way to generate organic leads.
Techniques that can help you increase traffic
There is no way that you are a pioneer SEO agency in your region. There has to be an agency before you that works in the same field as you. So, to keep these companies together under one URL, websites create agency listings.
(Source: https://clutch.co/get-listed)
Your job is to find these listings online and be a part of them. The best way to find these listings is by doing a quick google search. You can enter your targeted keyword in the search bar and hit search.
You will come across many websites that have listings for agencies like yours. Once you find them, your job is to get in on those lists. Build on these aspects and expand your business accordingly.
How to approach clients for reviews
Once your clients are satisfied with the work you have done, you can approach them for reviews. This is great for lead generation. You need to ask your former customer to provide you with a review of their experience. However, you cannot just ask them for one without any guidelines.
You need substantial reviews that can be used on your platform in the future. They need to have certain details that will help new customers determine whether they want to pursue your services or not.
This is the reason why you cannot simply ask your client for a review. A review that says, “Nice work done” may sound nice to you, but it is not that useful to other clients.
Here is how you should approach your clients for reviews in the future.
· Write them an Email
You could write them a warm email thanking them for their business and asking for a review. This email should contain all the essential information you want your client to know. This can be any incentives you plan on giving them in exchange for a review or any information you want them to add in the review. Attach the link of the webpage you want them to write a review on at the foot of the email.
· Send them a feedback form link
If you are not one for personalized emails, then you can send all your clients a feedback form that has all the details pre-marked. This way, your client will have no trouble reviewing your services. Often, it is difficult for businesses to spend time writing personal reviews. With feedback forms, they can rate your services first and then write a little something about their experience in the end.
Once you have these reviews, you need to upload them online on your personal websites. However, make sure your reviews are easily accessible to people who visit your website.
Is there a difference between testimonials and customer reviews?
Testimonials and reviews may sound like the same thing. However, they are completely different from each other. Both a testimonial and a client review are crucial for your agency. However, you might find it a little tricky to get testimonials from people.
There are generally two types of testimonials:
• Video testimonials
• Written testimonials
A video testimonial is very helpful because people can see your client talking about your services. You can either hire a professional camera crew to get these testimonials from your clients. This may cost you a little more money than you anticipated, but in the end, it will be worth it.
(Source: Google Images)
On the other hand, you can get written testimonials from people too. However, it is important that these testimonials are acquired from credible sources. You need to get them from well-known people who have an influence on the industry.
You can ask them to keep these testimonials on their social pages. This is so that your agency can reach out to more people, but it is not a compulsion.
You can send your clients an email asking for their testimonials. Be sure to add why you need their testimonials, and much it would mean to you if they took some time out to do this for you.
3. You need to look presentable
If you think taking good pictures of yourself is a vain activity, you are completely wrong. You need to invest a little time and money into your appearance too. Make sure the pictures you upload on your website are professional quality.
(Source: Google Images)
If you choose to put up your pictures on online ads, you need to ensure they look professional too. You need to look approachable and welcoming online. You cannot put up selfies for ads and expect clients to trust your services.
The way you present yourself online has a great impact on lead generation too. If you want to generate genuine leads for your business, make sure you look into the presentation aspect of your business too.
4. Know why you need to create content
Content creation for agency is not a necessity. However, if you want to play in the big leagues, you will need to delve into creating relevant content for your agency. It has proven to be a very helpful tactic for many agencies across the globe.
The truth is, not all agencies need to create content to become successful. However, if you are a young agency and want to reach new heights of success, you will need to make content. It is undeniably the fastest way to the top, and you can try it now too!
All you have to do is create relevant content for your agency. After you do this, you need to start focusing on marketing it. What is the point of making content for your clients if they never get to see it?
What type of content do you need to create?
This is one of the toughest questions you will have to answer. This is because before you create content, you need to have a clear idea as to what it needs to be. The ultimate goal is to generate as many leads as you possibly can through this content.
The best way to know which type of content is best for you is by doing research. Understand your clientele. Go through social media and figure out what your targeted audience is like. This way, you will know what they are like and what their preferences are.
This research will help you curate better plans for your content. There is no textbook method of creating content for an agency. If you are struck by inspiration, you will find content for your website instantly. This is the easiest way to approach content creation.
Content creation for agency is not as difficult as you might think. You just need to have unique ideas you can use for your platform. After this, you can take the help of innumerable online tools to assist you in writing unique content.
If you prioritize content creation, you will find the time for it even in a very busy schedule. You can be swamped with work, but if you are dedicated, you will find a couple of hours a week to get this done.
Practicing your skills is also a crucial part of good content creation. You might not become a pro at content creation in the first go. However, if you keep practicing, it will eventually become a piece of cake for you.
Outsourcing is always an option
No one knows your business the way you do. So, it is important for you to create original content all by yourself. In the beginning, you will have to set the bar for quality all by yourself. The only way should by up.
Once you have the resources you can outsource content writing to other companies. It is easier and takes a lot off your plate. However, you need to be very careful with planning this out and hiring people to do it for you.
Hire Content writing services only if you trust their work and its quality. You cannot compromise on the excellence of the content your company creates. Reputable content writing services will offer you tips for publishing your content too.
5. Journey of your content
Before you dive deeper into creating content for your agency, you need to learn more about keyword intent. Keyword intent is crucial for the content you write. It determines how well your content will be ranked on the internet.
SEO tools are available online free of cost. This makes it readily available to a large number of people who are usually beginners in the field. However, if you notice, all good SEO tools are paid. This is because only newbies go for unpaid tools that are generally not as helpful.
Keyword intent is important because people will end up coming across your website even if they are looking for something else. It helps you reach more people through social media platforms, google searches, etc.
Content by journey stage
Firstly, you need to know that not all your content is meant to generate leads for the agency. Everything you write is not going to help you gain traction online or increase traffic on your website. If you write content only to advertise your business, you will end up losing potential clients.
Your intentions with your content need to be pure. If you are writing something purely promotional, then you should commit to it. However, you need to throw in some informative content in the mix every once in a while.
This type of content will help raise awareness and educate your clients about the industry. In an industry where the competition is cut-throat, your credibility and knowledge are what sets you apart.
Your clients are not looking for clickbait content or spam that holds no value. Continue reading to find out more about the art of relevant content creation for lead generation.
The most popular marketing technique for content is the funnel method. There are three steps in this technique. You target a different kind of audience and filter them out at every step of the way.
Top Funnel
Your main aim, in the beginning, is to reach as many people as you can. At this point, you should not be concerned about people liking your content or not. Just put it out there for them to see and assess. This way, you reach a positive value for potential clients.
Connecting to people is very important in this stage. Use social media and other platforms to get to know your audience better. Then you can dish out generic content for them to enjoy. You can simply write about tips and hacks to make your job easier.
It is important for you to remember that your content does not have to be service-related yet. Keep it very general and industry-related so that your audience can relate to it instantly.
Middle
The middle funnel is where you start to filter out your clients. At this stage, you are going to appear before your potential clients for the second time. However, this time you will have a very strategic approach with your content.
You will not give them generic industry based content this time around. You will provide them with extensive case studies and technical content that holds some value to them. You need to show them what your agency is about.
Give your real audience examples, along with the details of your services. This will make it easier for them to understand your agency and its functions. Remember, the audience at this stage was only possible because of your general content in the top funnel.
Bottom
This is the final stage before you convert your clients into leads. At this stage, you need to advertise your services and show them why you are worth it. Give your clients incentives to stay.
You need to upsell your services and gain your client’s trust. This way, you get to nurture them and show them you care through your actions. You will not be able to convert a lot of your audience into leads. However, everyone who is impressed by your services will stay and stick around for long.
6. How to come up with content
After finally coming to the consensus that you need content for your agency desperately, you might want to know how you can do that. Here is how you can acquire quality content easily even if you are just a beginner.
1. Start with updating the content on your website
This technique is great for agencies that already have content up on their website blogs. If you have written content in the past, you can always change it up a little to make it more relevant to the current times.
SEO agencies face a lot of competition daily. This competition results in new trends that change very frequently. So, how do you keep up with these trends?
It is easy. All you need to do is go to your old content and update it. After doing ample research, you will know which keywords are trending. It will also be easier for you to find out what type of content your audience is interested in now.
(Source: Google Images)
You can find keywords on platforms like Ahrefs. What you are looking for are websites that are on the rise and not the ones that are currently on top. By the time you change your content, these websites on the cusp of success will reach success too.
Make sure you use the keywords correctly if you want to rank higher in searches. Use the keyword in your meta title, meta descriptions, H1, and H2 titles wherever possible, etc. These tricks may seem inconspicuous, but they make a huge difference in the end.
2. Create original content off the top of your head
One of the most difficult things that you face with content creation is the need to be original. There are innumerable platforms online that are trying to do similar things as you, and if you want to stand apart, you need something unique.
Making unique content is the easiest way to gain more traction on your platform. Agencies need blog posts that reach out to their customers. So, if you are planning to create new content, put a little thought into it and do something that is never been done before.
This works because when you come up with novel ideas, they are easy to rank in SEO. You can write a blog, validate it, and then use the necessary tools to make it better.
If you think about it, no one will want to read a copy of a blog that was written by a more reputable agency than yours. So, by writing new content, you are not only making sure you eliminate competition, but you also become a pioneer in blog topics.
Try to think from your customer’s perspective and give them what they need. As mentioned earlier, once you figure out what your target audience is, you will have no trouble finding content. Just think about what you want to read as a customer and look for inspiration for the same.
· Research is a must
Your clients want to read well-researched content. This niche content has to be very carefully curated, so you will be spending a lot of time on research. Write things that can be backed up by credible sources.
· Niche content
Your original content should majorly be centered around your niche. Write about whatever your agency specializes in. This will make it easier for your clients to understand your business while still gaining knowledge from your blogs.
· Keep it crisp and SEO optimized
You may think it is okay to let go of new content because it will be ranked higher in searches without any competition. However, SEO tools will make your content rank high even when you start developing competition for your content in the future.
3. Competitive analysis
The final technique that you can use to generate content is by analyzing what your competitors are doing. It is similar to the first point. All you have to do is keep a close eye on the trends and the preferences of your clients.
Use SEO tools and platforms like Ahrefs to find out this information. Then you can compare yourself to these competitors and make any changes necessary.
7. How to find and outsource content writers
You don’t have to be a great writer to write content for your company. However, you cannot compromise on the content that your agency needs. So, you might have to hire writers from companies to write your content for you.
Initially, you might think of it as a futile investment. However, it does pay you back big time in the future. Additionally, hiring writers is a very difficult task that you must not underestimate under any circumstances.
Do not hire mediocre writers just to save a few bucks. Save up and prioritize content writing for your company. Here is how you can find good writers for your agency.
1. Get content writers who know about SEO
You want your content to have a great audience. SEO is the key to this success. If you were writing your content all by yourself, you would focus on its SEO too. This is why you must hire writers who know about SEO and can assist you with it.
2. Poach them
Poach top writers from firms you envy. This may seem like a harsh step, but it will benefit you eventually. You must poach writers who you know have experience and have proven their excellence when they worked for others. You can hire them to work for your business if you want great quality content.
3. Pay them good money
Content writers work hard to give you SEO optimized content with all the grammatical prerequisites sorted out. This is a tedious task, and they should be paid optimally for their work. You must set an average amount you are ready to pay writers and stick to it until you have the resources to modify it.
8. The final outline for your content creation
This is the final outline of all the steps that are involved in content creation. It is essentially a summary of the modules. You can follow these steps and find yourself in the right direction towards higher rankings and better traffic.
#1 Think of ideas
You need to create a plan and keep editing it until you are happy with it. This part of the process may take you the longest. However, you should invest time in it. Let these ideas come organically to you and be open to changes.
#2 Slide decks to put your thoughts in order
Creating slide decks is a very efficient way to organize your thoughts. You can use them in the planning process. This is so that you have a concrete plan ready before you move on to the next step.
#3 Make videos
Make a video on whatever plan you had read before. You can spend time with the recording and do it your own way. Make sure your points are in order, and they are comprehensible. This is considered the least time-consuming part of the process.
#4 Send it to content writers
Finally, you can send your videos to competent content writers. They will process your points and put them in words that are easily understood by your audience.
9. Know who you are marketing to
Knowing who your business caters to is a very important task. If you want to attract the same type of clients, then you need to set a persona for yourself. Setting a persona is like announcing to the world what your agency stands for.
It is important for you to remember that this persona is subject to change. It is not necessary that your agency’s persona will remain the same throughout its life. It can change with time and as your agency expands and evolves. Any agency will generally have small, medium, and large scale clients.
You can create sectors for the different types of businesses you cater you. These sectors will essentially be a database and your go-to directory for business information. This will be full of information and tools that will help you solve any issue that you might have with your clients.
Generating leads is not a very difficult job for agencies who follow all the right tips. Be sure to focus on your content, though! As long as you have a clear mindset and a vision for your agency, you will cross all hurdles you come across.
When you’re generating more leads for your clients, they’ll be knocking at your door to extend your SEO contract again and again. If you don’t have a contract with your clients, here’s some information on that.
We love working with agencies and SEO resellers, so feel free to use our guest post service for your client’s sites, and the rest of our SEO services.
