The problem

META eight had a neglected website. The only active online presence was Daryl’s LinkedIn profile, but to be frank, that was no biggie because clients find META eight just fine through word-of-mouth. However, there was a concern that those leads might one day (who knows when) dry up. Daryl wanted to get ahead of any potential shift in circumstances by optimising his website for organic traffic.

“I was unsure whether my website was worth Sarah’s website review, as it’s small, niche and slightly uncared-for, and the target market isn’t known for their patience when hunting things down online.”

Daryl Hewison, META eight

The solution

I’d been connected with Daryl for some time. He’d regularly engage with my LinkedIn content.

“Sarah is an interesting mix of clear-eyed rational and opinionated, which I think are both needed characteristics. I like how very different we are and I was pretty sure she’d look at things differently to me——I didn’t want someone who’d think the same. And if she thought something was wrong I was quite sure she’d say so. There’s not much point paying good money for someone to say ‘yes, that’s all great’. But really it was down to gut feeling. This project felt like Sarah’s kind of job, especially as it wasn’t a very normal review, given the potential SEO issues.”

Daryl Hewison, META eight

“…potential SEO issues.”? More on that in a bit.

The goal

“The aim for the website audit is visibility and credibility. I generally need a handful of leads per year, and most of those come by word-of-mouth, but it feels sensible to have the website as a back-up, especially as most of my visibility is currently at the whim of LinkedIn.”

DARYL HEWISON, META eight

The results

The monthly keyword volume was low:

Keywords relating to META eight’s offering were below ten searches a month, and some keywords didn’t give ANY results.

Shit.

What the hell was I gonna tell Daryl?

He’d spent a considerable chunk of change only to hear that SEO wasn’t going to work. In reality, Daryl already had a fair idea about what SEO could, or rather couldn’t do for his website.

Reassurance alone was almost worth the audit.

Almost…

But I didn’t think that was acceptable. There should be more value in it for his business. Besides, I love a challenge. I also quite like the unexpected (within reason) because this would call for some ‘blue sky’ out-of-the-box thinking (and any other business-speak clichés I could think of).

Outcome

“Very quickly, back came enough insight to reorganise the business, not just the website. Along with some fairly uncomfortable takeaways delivered with the grace and style on display in all of Sarah’s writing. Uncomfortable in the sense that I hadn’t reckoned on rethinking as much as is needed, and with the honest truth that SEO isn’t going to work magic for what we’re doing.”

Daryl Hewison, META eight

Next steps

My recommendations:

1. Establish general data work for META eight
2. Create service(s)
3. Focus website efforts on that market

I love a niche, but META eight is a prime example of being too niche for search.

One possible solution for META eight would be to apply its specialist knowledge to broader services. This widens the pool of potential clients. Effectively, META eight could create a second ideal client, specifically tailored for organic traffic. For example, B2B/B2C freelancers, startups and small business owners who require a CRM or custom database.

This doesn’t mean META eight should trash independent Epicor™ ERP services—hell no, those are bread and butter clients. Instead, Daryl could try a two-pronged website approach: cater for both ideal clients. For example, allocate web pages for referred clients who require credible Epicor™ information, as well as pages for clients he wishes to attract via organic traffic.

“The audit was a valuable basis for sorting out what needs to be sorted out. Sarah knows her stuff, and the advice is practical, honest, and genuinely constructive in the best way.”

DARYL HEWISON, META EIGHT

Are you like META eight, struggling to attract clients through search, totally unaware of what’s happening in your market? Get in touch…