Here’s a post that Rob Pene put together for us.  You can get ahold of him here.

A couple weeks ago, I saw a post in one of the Facebook groups I’m a part of, about how people were acquiring their clients for Web Design and SEO work. There was a lot of feedback and of course a lot of great ideas.

So I took a cue from that question and started to track one particular method I use to acquire clients. I personally have a list of 25+ ways to acquire clients of various types, from the super small solopreneur to the mid-market company to non-profits, etc.

This specific methodology – “Cold Email Outreach” and the “Video Analysis” – is one that I felt would be a good method to share, monitor, and track. For this reason I did just that…I started a thread in the LCT group on Facebook, chronicled each step of the way and am proud to share that BOTH case studies I was tracking has closed to now become clients.

Get the FREE 16 point checklist for video analysis

I actually created a step-by-step course on everything I did, from the email template I used, to the response email, the structure of the video I created, even down to my direct source to where I get my leads…this course basically walks you through my journey in getting these 2 clients signed up. These 2 screenshots clearly show you how effective and unique my video approach is and the powerful impact it made. dan awesome email   john awesome video   One of the natural questions that come to mind when someone looks at these specific email responses from potential clients are…“What did you do?” or “What did you say in the video that was so awesome about it?” or “How did you do create your video?” In this blog post, my goal is to share with you the exact same tools & resources I used in the video and give you an idea on how I used them to wow these people. These are the exact 16 tools help make the magic happen for me. And this blog post will share with you the rationale on what I use the tools for. Of course, implementation is subjective and relative to the beholder lol, BUT…for me, these are what I use and have clearly worked! Enjoy and let me know if you have any questions: Fyi, I use Camtasia or Screenflow to record my screenshare videos 

  Get the FREE 16 point checklist for video analysis

Contents

1.Test Responsiveness of Website

Test_Responsiveness One of the first things I show in the video is whether or not the website is responsive. I use this google chrome extension to display that fact to the potential client. I talk about the 200+ ranking factors in google and that responsive websites are extremely significant today moreso than ever before. This tool helps me to visually make that point relevant to the viewer.

 

2. Demonstrate the Scroll Up Feature

Smooth_Scroll_Up Often times, the websites I come across are already mobile responsive. So now what? Well, I mention again that in the 200+ ranking factors, an element of UX is involved in the math equation. Things such as “length of stay” and “bounce rate” and “on-page interaction” hint at the User Experience and contribute to the ranking equation. One way I can quickly angle a UX play is to show a very simple feature for websites that give the users an option to quickly scroll back up to get to menu so they can browse more. The Smooth Scroll Up plugin on WordPress is what I use to get that going. And I show the viewer how it looks and the importance of giving the visitor something to interact with that is naturally a support to them. This site has that scroll feature so I quickly illustrate it so they see the difference between a site that has it, and a site that doesn’t (their site usually doesn’t have that feature).

 

3. Quick glance at FB Pixel

Check_FB_Pixel Another very super quick item to point out to the potential client is to show them whether or not they have a Facebook Pixel installed onto their site. As you can see in the gif above, the Facebook Pixel helper lives on your Chrome browser bar and its very simple to quickly identify if a site has the pixel or not. I talk about the ability to re-market to visitors on Facebook with the inclusion of the pixel. I talk about how the pixel is much like a rolling email list BUT in this case, you’re not asking them for something in return for their email…as soon as they land onto your site, its a wrap!!

 

4. Quick check for Google Tags & Analytics

Check_for_GA_or_GTM In the same fashion, using the Google Tag Assistant, you’re now able to quickly show the potential client that they either have a Google Analytics code installed properly on their site or they don’t. You can also mention that they do or don’t have the Google Remarketing tag implemented as well. Without proper analytics, it would be difficult to make informed decisions because you have zero to no data to run off of. This is a great place to throw out stupid acronyms to show your digital marketing prowess and preying on the ignorant. LOL you can toss out things like GTM, GA codes, Scripts firing, etc…Exemplifying “inner-circle industry” lingo can work to your advantage even if its super annoying! lol smh

 

5. Run a PageSpeed Insights Test

Page_Speed_Check Page Speed Checks are always great because you get to use a Google specific tool. Anytime you get to display data directly from the horses mouth, its always a good look, even if the data conflicts with other third party information. The fact that you get to show exactly what Google thinks about their website is a very powerful dynamic. Don’t underestimate the power of the tools the horse gives you to use. In this case, the Page Speed check is great!!!

 

6. Perform a quick On-Page Analysis

On_Page_Analysis Go and install this Chrome Extension, then hover over any part of the website you are analyzing, right click, hover over the SEO Quake tool, and choose the Diagnosis option. From there you will see a lot of very specific on-page optimization categories. You can have a field day here talking Greek and displaying your expertise. BUT, just remember, you’re goal isn’t to impress them with what you know, your goal is to impress upon them how much you know about where you can help them. Does that make sense? When going through the on-page in this fashion, I typically highlight the keywords, I focus on the Title Tag and making suggestions on what would be an appropriate option instead of it being blank or brand. You can take it anywhere you want, the main thing is to highlight the areas of specific improvement during this phase of your analysis.

 

7. Check rankings for specific Keywords

Fat_Rank_KW_Checker I love the Fat Rank tool because I get to quickly check where a site is ranking for specific keywords. It doesn’t check in bulk but its perfect for the on-the-fly rank checker for random terms. I use it to check on the specific keywords websites have stuffed into their Meta Keywords or in the Title Tag. I can do the on-page, grab a keyword from the title tag, check it, then share the results, immediately.

 

8. Check overall rankings at SemRush.com

SEMRUSH_check SEMRUSH.com is an amazing site to show a volume of data that can be important to a website owner or not. Some people just want to know that their website can make them money. Some people want to know exactly what they’re ranking for and where they can improve. I use Semrush to give a clear illustration of some of the high volume keywords and where they are ranked for them. If they’re low I point it out, I also point out how they are loosing a lot of money because they are not ranking for that keyword with a lot of traffic.

 

9. Go into Keyword Planner to check more Keywords

keyword-planner-page Another great Google specific tool to display is the Keyword Planner and also show them specific search volume on a variety of keywords. This will give you a chance to talk more about valuable and voluminous keywords instead of generic brand keywords they are usually keen too. Business owners like to rank for keywords they think are important but not necessarily what is important to their customers. This is your chance at showing them estimated traffic etc. Which of course equates to estimated dollars in their wallet.

 

10. Quickly check Competitor Sites

Compare_Metrics I like this tactic because there are some great jump cuts and “action” happening with the chrome extension, especially in the realm of competitor analysis. When a business owner watches you dive into their competitor’s site, and watches the way you get there, its quite impressive, but more secret spy agent than anything. I use this to grab a similar website, run a quick on-page check to see what keywords they’ve stuffed into the extinct Meta Keyword portion of the website, take that keyword find out where the competitor ranks using Fat Rank, then I head to the potential client’s website and find out where they’re ranked…then BAM more things to talk about because of the hard data we now have as evidence.

 

10a. Bring up the “99 Web Tools” website

I use this tool simply to spark the conversation of Domain Authority and Page Authority. Again, this is another nerdy intimidation play to display “seo” knowledge BUT, it rarely has value other than the shock element and ego stroking for the service provider. smh But you can still use it, if you can angle it in such a way that you provide value, then have at it.

 

11. Briefly scan the Serps with Moz Tool Bar

MOZ_Serp_Check We all (I’m assuming) know about and are using the Moz tool bar. I highly recommend using it here because it rips open the serps (which is something very familiar to the potential client) and allows you to use your expertise by pointing out things like DA/PA, links, etc. It’s a great visual play during the video process.

 

12. Get a “Digital Marketing” Score

DM_Score This is a very cool tool because it spits out some hard data. Now, there’s much to be said about the data it does spit out, however, for the sake of effect and numbers, its a great way to start the conversation and keep the interest of a potential customer. I typically say its a great “digital marketing” score that measures how effective your website is with tool and features to help the website perform better for digital marketing purposes. From social, to blogging, to lead generation features, Hubspot has done a great job on this lead gen tool.

 

13. How many Social Shares do you have?

Social_Share Another significant ranking factor in 2015 and beyond is the concept of the “social signal” via social profiles, etc. I use muckrack to quickly show the potential client how many shares their website has garnered. The cool thing about this tool is that you can go to semrush, identify the keyword that has volume, locate where their site is ranking, pull the page that is ranking, then dump it into this muckrack tool and find out how many specific shares that particular page has. If its a low amount, you can easily tell them, “See, there are very minimal social signals going to this page and I can certainly help you rank this page better with garnering more social signals” blah blah blah 🙂 You get the picture.

 

14. What is your Local Listings score?

Local_Listing Moz.com/Local is an awesome tool when you’re trying to show specific data on the local side of things. Local companies focus a lot on the maps rankings and when they’re not ranking on the maps, they want to know how they can do so. Showing them the moz local data will work wonders because you can quickly point out areas of improvement right in front of their faces 🙂

 

15. Load video to YouTube

youtube-upload I load all my videos to youtube and “unlist” them. I like this because its no much easier but it also gives you branding opportunity off to the right of the youtube page where they’ll see more videos of you etc.

 

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“Now Go and Do the Same”

The cool thing about this blog post and set of tools is that I’ve actually structured it in the manner I walk through in the actual video analysis. From #1 down to #15, that’s exactly how I run through my process, from the content to the implementation, this is written so you can use it in chronological order.

Get the FREE Checklist

If you’re a “checklist” type of person, here is a direct link to a special checklist I put together so you can literally “check” off an item after you either install it or get the web app loaded right before you begin your video analysis.

Get the FREE 16 point checklist for video analysis

Thanks for reading this far and I sure hope this has been helpful to you!!

Leave a comment if you have any questions.