Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is about getting to the top of search engines, like Google without paying for the privilege. The alternative is to invest in Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising which allows you to buy your way to page 1 of Google.
The first thing to do is Keyword Research. This includes finding out how many searches are carried out each month and what the advertising cost would be. For example, take the phase “Websites for Accountants”– I know there were 390 searches for this in March 2010 and the estimated cost per client is £3.84.
So, if I managed to get all 390 searches to click on my Website by SEO this would be worth £1,497.60 a month in saved in Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising. However, the problem with PPC is not only expensive but also difficult/impossible to get all 390 clicks because only 25% of people searching click on a sponsored link - 75% of searches will click an organic listing.
But, being top of Google for organic searches doesn't mean I will get all 75% searches because only 40% click the top link. But, if I assume my SEO efforts gets me to the top of Google then it could be argued that SEO would be worth £1,497.60 x 75% x 40% = £449.28 a month.
In summary, that is £5,390 a year for 1,404 visits to my Website.
But, this is just comparing the cost of PPC against SEO and thinking about clicks rather that profit or business value. The real value is what I make from the visitors over the lifetime of the relationship I get from the clicks.
If I assume 1.5% of visitors will end up buying from me then I will sell 21 Websites a year. By the way, if I was doing only PPC 1,404 clicks this would cost me £5,391.36 or £256.73 per Website.
If I make £500 for the design, build and Internet Marketing plus £50 a month and the client stays for three years then the lifetime value is £2,300. So, a year at the top of Google for a year is worth 21 x £2,300 = £48,300.
Think about what winning 21 clients is worth to you?
If you are an accountant with an average fee is £1,500 and you know can sell clients for 1.25 GRF then this is worth £39,375 a year.
The trouble with SEO is that it takes time to get to the top of the Search Engines. But, the good news is that what you need to do to get there will last so the investment can be leveraged over time and you can get a good idea of the investment needed by doing competitor analysis.
Let’s assume you need to invest £6,000 (being a mix of time and money) to get to the top of Google. Over three years this means an investment of £2,000 could bring you almost £40,000. Is that a good return compared to your other investments?
But, this is only thinking about what you can sell clients for NOT what they are worth.
If you assume you make 25% net profit, clients stay an average of seven years and one in ten clients will refer you then the lifetime value of a year’s SEO is 23 (21 clients plus two referrals) x £1,500 (average fee) x 25% (net profit) x 7 (years) = £60,375....not bad for a £2,000 investment.
SEO is part of Inbound Marketing which is where clients find you. This is the opposite of Outbound Marketing (e.g. telemarketing) which is getting harder and more expensive all the time. So, I would argue that every firm who is serious about building a profitable and sustainable practice should be doing SEO as part of the Inbound Marketing strategy.
Think about your Outbound Marketing efforts and consider re-investing some or all of the money. How much are you spending on Yellow Pages? Can you cut back of your PPC advertising?
Purpose is such an important word in business because it drives your strategy, marketing, sales, pricing and your employee engagement programme.
The first part of purpose is being selfish and thinking about why are you in business? Do you want a business that makes you £50,000 a year without working everyday or are you happy to work long hours and earn £75,000 a year? Or, is the purpose of your business to enable you to enjoy what you do more than working for someone else?
Having monetary targets helps you make decisions and you will know when you are finished. But, because things are always changing it is best to check carefully and make sure your financial goals accurately reflect what you really want. Perhaps you don't need as much as you think or more likely maybe you need more than you think you do.
Complete a personal expenditure statement for your life now, think about if you are happy with this and how this will change over the years. Consider the effect of one-off financial events like paying for a Wedding, helping a child on the property ladder or incomings like you taking a tax-free lump sum from your pension fund or downsizing your house. This should tell you what your business needs to return you every year.
Once you know the specific purpose of your business from your perspective you can start to decide what services and products you can offer to return you what you want. For example, if you would like to make £50,000 without working IN the business this could be achieved by building a fee block of bookkeeping work and getting others to do the work for you, or maybe a low cost accounting service for micro and small businesses. I mention these two strategies because Crunchers and MORE have been designed to help bookkeepers and accountants achieve this outcome.
It is important you know why you are IN business so you can make sure you get OUT what you want. The key is investing a little time working ON your business strategy. Create a financial model of your business and work through the resourcing requirements.
When you do this you will know what services and products you will offer, how many clients you will need, what the average fee will be, what profile will the right client be, how many employees you will need and how big your office needs to be. You will also be able to start to consider what will the business be worth and how much you are prepared to invest in time, money and energy to build the business.
The second part of purpose is thinking in terms of what purpose your business has for your clients. A business exists to create an outcome outside itself. What specifically will your business do for your clients? When you know why your business exists from your client’s perspective it is a lot easier to shape your sales and marketing strategy.
The third and final element of purpose is for your employees (including you). When your business has a purpose it can effectively engage its employees with a compelling vision.
Design can give you an unfair advantage, when you do it right!
This was the Corporate Identity of a sole-trader accountant. The name CMA comes from the owners name and the logo was designed by the printer without going through any strategic discussions.
The use of "Ltd" in the logo is a big no-no because it adds no value...who cares if you are a limited company or partnership or sole-trader? But, at least the "C" and the "A" bleed out of the circle which suggests creativity and out of the box thinking.
When we started working with this firm we suggested that although the design was professional it didn't really convey what he was about. So, we started to do some work and picked up that tax savings is a lead service.
We developed some ideas around this but it was felt the designs were too narrow. After a while and by probing we hit the jackpot. We discovered what this firm was really about and managed to capture this in the design:
Now, this is an expression of what the firm is about and it works well on the Website to the point where the URL was chosen www.handsonaccounting.co.uk.
We worked on some basic Search Engine Optimisation together and the Website is now in the top three on Google for the search phrase and is generating regular leads. What prompted this post was the firm has just won a client worth £8,000 a year which could rise to £18,000 and the design and branding made it a one-horse race.
It is vital the the experience of the prospect from enquiry to signing up is consistent. The Corporate Identity, Website and way the firm handles enquiries and clients is a powerful proposition.
I was doing some research about developing a Social Media Strategy and came across a case study of Ketchup. I find it useful to look outside professional services and particularly like products like Ketchup. This is because, on the face of it, Ketchup appears to be a commodity which is where many professional service firms are stuck.
The role of the marketeer is to differentiate the firm and many people go about this by exploring USPs and USBs (unique Selling Propositions or Unique Selling Benefits). However, marketing has moved on because everyone has USPs and USBs, who cares? And to be blunt if you think about accountants, most firm’s features and benefits are the same so what you really need to do is search for is your passion. Once you discover this you can focus on it and communicate it through your marketing, including your use of Social Media.
When it comes to passion, BMW has Joy, Volvo have safety, Apple has design, Disney has magic and Portfolio has freedom. Anyway, back to Ketchup and in particular Heinze who ran a campaign called Talk to the Plant. This is where they took two tomato plants and did an experiment.
One plant was put in a room next to a speaker and linked to a computer. You could visit a Website, type a message which would be spoke to the pant. The other plant was in a room with no sound.
The experiment was to see if talking to plants improved the tomato and monitored by a professor. Running the campaign allowed 65,000 Ketchup fans to participate and I am sure many others heard about it through word of mouth, like you are now.
The campaign used Social Media including a separate Blog but crucially it was driven by the wider strategy - Heize's tagline is “Grown not made”. You see, Ketchup are not just focussing just on the 57 varieties or the fact they started in 1869 - the key message is the journey from seed to plant.
This is a great example of how marketing can be done with joined up thinking. This is not expensive, but it does require creativity which is priceless.
I came across this video and have thought for a long time what accountants should be more interested in what they make and link their income to their client's outcomes.