Is SEO Worth It for Service-Based Businesses That Already Get Referrals?
If your business is doing well and most of your clients come from referrals or word of mouth, you might be wondering if SEO is worth it. Your referral partners are already sending work your way, so marketing may not seem like something you need to do. And SEO may not seem like it’s worth your time, effort or investment if you’ve got a steady stream of clients showing up on your doorstep.
Referrals are awesome and usually provide “best fit” clients but referral sources can dry up and when they do, it can really devastate your business. And, it’s not always a guarantee that a referral will follow through.
What Comes After a Referral to Your Business is Made
When someone gets a referral to a business, the next thing they usually do is check you out. They Google you, look at your website, read your reviews, and try to figure out if you’re a good fit for their needs. At the same time, they might do a quick search to check out other options and if your business doesn’t come up in search but your competition does, there is a risk that they will go to the competition if they’ve got a really strong digital profile and show up well in search.
SEO helps to support the positive things people may say about your business. It makes sure that when someone searches for your services, they can easily find your business. It also builds trust by making sure that your online presence matches the good reputation you have built offline. Without that additional layer of visibility, you could lose warm referrals just because your website doesn’t show up well in the search engines. When a business shows up well in search, it increases the trust factor in the eyes of your prospective clients.
Why Relying on Referrals Alone is a Risky Marketing Strategy
Referrals can be an awesome source of new business but you can’t always rely on them. Referral partners change jobs, close businesses, move cities, and market conditions can change too. When referrals slow down or disappear, a lot of businesses realize too late that they don’t have any other reliable ways to get new customers.
SEO helps you market your business in a different way so that you don’t need to rely on just one source of leads. So, instead of going into panic mode when referrals dry up, you build a solid online presence that keeps working in the background. This ensure more stable business with less stress during those times when business is slow or when things change unexpectedly.
How SEO Builds Trust and Consistency
SEO isn’t just about getting more website traffic or growing your business. For service-based businesses it’s also very important for credibility. The trust factor goes up in your prospect’s mind when they find that your business has a strong online profile with a website that shows up well in Google.
SEO takes time but many of my clients have started to see results in as little as three months. The important thing to remember about SEO is that your results will usually be long lasting and will serve your business for months and even years to come. That means fewer ups and downs and more predictability for your business.
Final Thoughts…
I’m an SEO Specialist in Waterloo who works with local service-based businesses in the home improvement, health and wellness, and therapy fields. Many of them get most of their business through referrals. SEO usually improves what is already working instead of replacing it. It helps your reputation, fills in the gaps when referrals slow down, and helps you build a business that will last for the long term.
If you’re curious whether SEO is the right next step for the growth of your business, then set up a discovery call so we can talk about your long-term, and whether SEO would be a good addition to your marketing plan.