It’s pretty clear that digital marketing has now taken base in today’s business world, and businesses are rushing to attract organic traffic and dominate online presence within their markets. Thus, digital agencies are quickly sprouting, as it is a lucrative business with a promising future. SEO is a huge part of digital marketing.
If you have been thinking of starting a local digital marketing or SEO agency, now is the best time to hop on that ship. There’s one problem though, SEO Agency is demanding. It isn’t a business of one. You need a team.
When starting off, you have fewer clients, and so, unless you are a really premium agency, meeting your costs is quite a hustle. To be profitable, you need to operate at scale. This means offering affordable rates, delivering quickly, and taking on more clients every day. Without a team, this’s nearly impossible.
The good news, though, is that you can totally start an agency business without a team or the need to obtain your own licenses of some of the best SEO tools yourself. Think White Label SEO.
What’s White Label SEO?
To understand the term, let’s define what white labeling is. A product is said to be white-labeled if resellers are allowed to sell the program as their own, but all the logistics are fulfilled by the product provider. This means you can brand, sell and deliver it to your customers the way you like it.
You’ve probably heard of WordPress themes, plugins, and other products that allow you to white label them. You can change the name, add your own branding assets, etc.
Services can also be white-labeled. In other words, you can start a digital service business where you set up your own packages, manage billing and customer support, but the fulfillment itself is outsourced from your service provider.
There are several digital marketing agencies that offer white label SEO as a service. These companies are well established, structured, and have the ability to service your clients at scale. Starting an agency program isn’t cheap. These companies have invested in developing processes, relationships with competent content developers, and technologies that help them streamline their clients’ work.
Why White Label SEO Programs?
While you can build your own SEO agency from the ground up, there are several reasons why you may want to opt for the white label route:
Service bigger clients: Outsourcing SEO services from an established firm means that you no longer have to turn down that big local client just because you don’t have the human resources and the means to deliver SEO tasks in bulk.
Easier to get started: Starting an agency business from scratch is costly. However, with white label SEO resellers, all you need is to set up your own website, build your branding assets and start looking for clients.
Harness their technologies: Some of the SEO agencies have been in business for over ten years. Over these years, they have purchased or built software and relevant programs that make it easier to meet their clients’ needs. As a reseller, you get to tap on these technologies without paying anything extra.
Expertise: Starting on your own means that there are lots of mistakes that you will make as you strive to deliver results for your clients. By going the white label route, your business gets to enjoy the expertise that usually comprises 50+ heads and years of experience.
Deliver White Labelled SEO Reports: One way of prospecting is through offering SEO reports to your potential clients. While you can generate these with premium software that requires a monthly subscription, white label SEO resellers do provide a dashboard where you can generate them for free. All you have to do is set up your own branding identifiers such as logos, and the generated reports will embody your brand rather than theirs.
Enjoy Discounted Pricing: Reseller programs offer fairly discounted pricing, and the more clients you acquire, the bigger the discounts. Remember, you also set your own packages that allow you to be profitable. This flexibility is something you won’t get if, for instance, you were just an affiliate.
How to Start a White Label SEO Agency Business
To get started, there are a few steps you need to take, including:
- Plan and brand your agency business: If you can, write a business plan, profile the clientele you will be serving and then work with a brand strategist to help you nail your branding. The next thing you want to do is to start building your website, making sure that your brand really pops out. A generic website that looks like any other Tom, Dick, and Harry doesn’t cut it anymore.
- Select the best white label SEO provider of your choice: Typically, you want to go for one that has been in business for a while and has great client testimonials. Also, you can do your analysis to compare their tools and processes. Your business will be as successful as the provider you choose.
- Sign up with your SEO provider of choice and get acquainted with their dashboard and tools. Go through their onboarding process and ensure that everything is set up and synchronized with your website. You may be given a plugin or script to install on your website that enables your clients to access their own dashboards within your website that is completely customizable.
- Start promoting your new agency business: Once you successfully land a client, onboard them accordingly and notify your provider, making sure that you provide them with all the project details. The provider will advise accordingly and allocate resources such as personnel to your client’s projects. You may also request or generate reports such as SEO audit, analysis reports, etc., to email them to your client.
Getting started is as easy as setting up a website, signing up with a white labeling service, and recruiting clients. Well, the last part is a tricky one, and it may take some time for you to build your brand and increase conversions. That said, there are several ways you can promote your new digital SEO agency.
How to Promote Your White Label SEO Agency
The digital agency industry is really competitive, so if you want to succeed, you need to think small and profitable. Try some of the following recommendations:
Focus on local SEO: Instead of serving clients around the world, think of your local area, for instance, country or state, if you are from big countries such as the US. With the right content strategy and quality link-building strategies, you can rank for local search keywords within months.
Offer Free SEO audits: Audits do well for generating quality leads in this industry. If you want, you can even automate this process, but I recommend doing manual reports since you are starting out. It will only take you 30 minutes or less, but in the end, you will have really customized audit reports that will be more effective in crafting more personal proposals. Once you have, say, 5 clients, you can default to auto-generated reports to help you fill up your sales pipeline.
Partner with local freelancers: Freelancers work directly with your dream clients, so it’s the right group to target. Think of mutually beneficial partnerships. Since SEO is a complementary service, freelance writers and designers will be happy to work with you.
Target Local Small Business Owners: If you are from a community that is slowly embracing digital marketing, then this is an ideal group for you to market to. Visit their local stores and explain how your agency can help them rank for local keywords and attract highly targeted customers.
Attend and Speak at Local Events: From local meet-up groups, WordPress camps, business summits to trade shows, these events can help you meet people who are your ideal customers for your SEO agency business.
Leverage the power of content marketing: You run a marketing agency, so you need to apply the same to grow your own business. Publish highly useful content around targeted keywords, build quality links through guest posting on relevant sites, and engage in digital conversations within your industry.
Partner with companies that offer complementary services: Partnerships are huge in the agency spaces. Though you may not partner with your direct competitors, there are other firms that offer services that can be complemented by yours. These include web design companies, branding, and PR firms, consulting firms, etc.
Conclusion
Making money with a white label SEO firm isn’t really far-fetched, but you need to be strategic and focus on building a sustainable, forward-looking business.
