What does the career path of GMB Local SEO look like??

[Leon Lee]

Total novice here and saw that this was a pretty cool & active forum. I am seeking advice about doing GMB Local SEO Client Work.

I am interested in this path because it seems really practical to start out. I can start in my own backyard so to speak and actually pitch/visit clients in person rather than offering services from far far away. I have experience with GMBs and getting to 3pack. I am planning on starting with a few GMBs and trying to get it to the local 3 pack on a variety of relevant keywords and once I have that skill down, try to scale if possible. Plus GMB sounds like a great way to get your foot in the door for additional services.

Here are my questions (assuming I can rank to 3 pack):

Stick to few select niche/industries or generalize?

How do you configure pricing? I hear about people charging 1k/mo for SEO, how is the pricing models for GMB Services? Is it set up fee + management fee? Management fees being gmb posts, photos, content, reviews, and what else? I don't see how monthly management fees can be too high for this type of thing. What do they typically range? I want to know how many jobs I will need to take in to hit a certain yearly target.

How do you prevent clients from not paying you after you've ranked them? It seems like the work is mainly setting up the GMB to the 3pack. Once it's up and optimized, it's easy skating from there.

What is the competition like? Are they fighting back or is it more like you set it (not forget it) and keep an eye on it? (generally speaking)

How do you deal with conflicts of interests between nearby clients? 1 per city or 3 per city (based on 3 pack map potential)?

How many GMBs can 1 person work on at a time?

I'm coming up with a list of a lot of neat tricks and tips that I found in various golden pockets of the internet.. let me know if anyone want to exchange lists!

 

[adammaxum]

you're asking a lot of basic, but detailed questions...

I would recommend finding answers to these in other existing threads, other popular SEO websites and simply google searching and reading what's out there.

 

[Leon Lee]

you're asking a lot of basic, but detailed questions...

I would recommend finding answers to these in other existing threads, other popular SEO websites and simply google searching and reading what's out there.

Hell yeah Adam, I have to get a good macro point of view to figure out which way I am going to take it. So far I found that:

Niche-ing down is better.

Pricing should be anywhere between $400 - $1000/mo

There are tactics to preventing clients from suddenly "not paying you"

Conflicts of interest really only comes down to relevant and direct competition

The amount of GMBs a person can handle really comes down to the tools they use.

Best of all.. my list keeps expanding =]

 

[adammaxum]

the problem with your thread is you're asking too much upfront and no one is going to write out an entire strategy outline for free.

- yes, niche is good

- price depends on what you're offering and what the business/market is. For example, you could charge 10k to an attorney in LA or 500 to a hair salon in some small city. It varies widely.

- you can sign businesses into contracts, yes, but that could have an impact on sales

- if you have multiple businesses in same city targeting same phrases - it can become an issue, but only if you tell the other companies you're working with another related company. That's up to you and likely not a problem you'll have until way down the road.

- I have a couple hundred GMBs that I have access to. Just make sure the ownership is in clients email and not just yours...otherwise there is no limit on how many you can manage because the only thing you're doing after claiming and optimizing the listing is maybe google posts if you want to include that.

 

[Leon Lee]

the problem with your thread is you're asking too much upfront and no one is going to write out an entire strategy outline for free.

- yes, niche is good

- price depends on what you're offering and what the business/market is. For example, you could charge 10k to an attorney in LA or 500 to a hair salon in some small city. It varies widely.

- you can sign businesses into contracts, yes, but that could have an impact on sales

- if you have multiple businesses in same city targeting same phrases - it can become an issue, but only if you tell the other companies you're working with another related company. That's up to you and likely not a problem you'll have until way down the road.

- I have a couple hundred GMBs that I have access to. Just make sure the ownership is in clients email and not just yours...otherwise there is no limit on how many you can manage because the only thing you're doing after claiming and optimizing the listing is maybe google posts if you want to include that.

I won't be asking too many questions at once anymore. Thanks for the heads up.

Also, thanks for the free tips!! PM me if you want to check out my list. I think its extensive enough.

 

[JoyHawkins]

So to answer a few.

My preference is not to stick to one niche. Personally, there are lots of different views on this and I think either option can work to your advantage.

For fees I would say you need at least $700 a month to do anything decent. Our minimum is $2000 and we will likely be increasing that soon.

Maintaining ranking is definitely not skating. It's consistent, smart work.

I wouldn't suggest ever taking on competitors (same market & industry) if you are working on them regularly.

Also we have clients pay upfront so we aren't chasing bills.

 

[Phil Rozek]

@Leon Lee, only managing GMB pages isn't much of a service. That's an important part of local SEO, but is only one part. The website, non-Google local listings, reviews, and links also matter. Together they matter much more than does the GMB component by itself. You'll need to help clients on those other areas, or they won't retain you for long, if at all.

 

[JoshuaMackens]

How do you configure pricing? I hear about people charging 1k/mo for SEO, how is the pricing models for GMB Services? Is it set up fee + management fee? Management fees being gmb posts, photos, content, reviews, and what else? I don't see how monthly management fees can be too high for this type of thing. What do they typically range? I want to know how many jobs I will need to take in to hit a certain yearly target.

Everyone does it different but we do monthly flat fee on a 12 month contract. There is a BrightLocal survey that talks about how much Local SEO's charge. Basically, you charge between a mix of what a client can afford and what is reasonable. Sometimes those two don't mix and you pass on the client. In the beginning, you may not pass on a lot of clients though just to get started.

How do you prevent clients from not paying you after you've ranked them? It seems like the work is mainly setting up the GMB to the 3pack. Once it's up and optimized, it's easy skating from there.

It's easy in a town with less than 10,000 people. Anything more and it can be difficult depending on factors. Big cities, where you want to be, are not easy at all.

We prevent clients from leaving with 12 month contracts. But mostly people will keep paying you once they see the value. Once they get the people coming in effortlessly from Google, they don't want it to stop.

How do you deal with conflicts of interests between nearby clients? 1 per city or 3 per city (based on 3 pack map potential)?

We used to do only 1 per city per industry but I've found it's just unlikely that any of our clients overlap. If you're marketing online, you'll get clients from all over the nation. It's highly unlikely this becomes an issue. If you're working a particular city door to door, networking, etc. I would limit it to 1 per location per industry.

How many GMBs can 1 person work on at a time?

As many as they want.