How to Get More New Customers Without Running Paid Ads
In simple terms, SEO is the process of manipulating the search results in Google for website and map rankings.
The idea is to create visibility, and subsequently traffic, to a website or Google listing when a user makes a specific search in Google.
This can be incredibly lucrative.
Example
A restaurant offers private dining.
The website page converts 5% of traffic into leads
The venue converts 20% of those leads into events
Average event value is $2k
With no SEO (visibility)
Page traffic / month = 100
Enquiry rate = 5%
Conversion rate = 20%
Event value = $2000
100 x 5% x 20% x $2000 = $2000 / month
Strong SEO (lots of visibility)
Page traffic / month = 500
Enquiry rate = 5%
Conversion rate = 20%
Event value = $2000
500 x 5% x 20% x $2000 = $10,000 / month
In this scenario, the revenue benefit of the extra visibility is $8k / month.
But wait, there's more...
A comprehensive SEO plan wouldn't just focus on one page, but many pages, winning more traffic from hundreds of search keywords - compounding the benefit.
Pubs have a huge SEO opportunity because they often have so much going on that people could search for; happy hours, trivia, live music, function spaces, Sunday roasts, hens parties and so on.
But wait, there's even more...
You can build an audience on Meta from your website traffic, then create low cost ads that people see on IG after they've visited your website. This is called retargeting.
Example
People see this page when searching for "restaurant marketing agency".
People see this page when searching for "restaurant website designer".
Then people see this ad on Instagram after they visited the website.
But, despite SEO's ability to create massive visibility, win bookings or enquiries, and build audiences on social, it's the last thing anyone wants to talk about.
And I totally get it. It's really, REALLY boring. No one got into hospo to learn about the 100 most important keyword ranking factors.
SEO is arguably the highest ROI marketing for local businesses. Search volume is staggering and success with SEO can be incredibly profitable. And, in most cases, it's not done particularly well - which is the opportunity.
