How do you gain budgets for SEO? Marketing Directors can spend their budgets on glamerous TV commercials, cute social media campaigns, and accountable PPC activity. Here are a few tips and tricks for presenting SEO in the best light, be you an in-house SEO consultant or an agency.

1. Sell the Sizzle, Not The Search
Tactics for Appeasing Marketing Directors
Chelsea Blacker
Search Manager, SEOptimise
@chelseablacker

2. Whether you’re in-house or agency side, SEO isn’t going to have the
glamour of TV commercials, the cuteness of social media, or the
accountability of PPC. How can we make SEO attractive?
@chelseablacker

3. The secretary or receptionist needs to be your best friend. Ask them
what they do on the weekend, how their kids are, because they can
provide you with invaluable insights into what your Marketing Director
is up to.
@chelseablacker

4. Say My Name. The sweetest word to anyone, in any language, is their
own name. Use it frequently to keep their attention and make them
feel involved.
@chelseablacker

5. Give something away. Receive a report with insight on a competitor or
have some extra tickets to a conference? Offer them up, it’s a great
opportunity to increase your face time with your targeted Director.
@chelseablacker

6. SMILE  People can hear you smile down the phone, smiles make you
seem more trustworthy and authoritative, plus – no one likes a sour
puss. So smile!
@chelseablacker

7. keeps them awake at night, their stresses and pressures.
@chelseablacker

8. Open Questions: A question which cannot be answered with a
simple YES or NO. “How did you last year’s media budget
performed?” will provide more insight than “Were you happy with
the 5 links Bob bought with £10,000?”
@chelseablacker

9. Break it down! Do not “Have I explained that
use fancy terms only clearly?” puts the
SEOs understand, it’s blame on you, instead
easy to forget your of “Do you get it?”
Marketing Director which means your
doesn’t know Marketing Director will
everything. have to admit she/he
doesn’t comprehend.
@chelseablacker

10. Stay positive. Don’t rain on your own parade by bringing down the
conversation, speaking negatively of others, and saying negative words
like “no” and “can’t”.
@chelseablacker

11. Shush! Zip it. This is 90% listening exercise and 10% asking open
questions. So keep your trap shut.
@chelseablacker

12. EVALUATE ORGANIC TRAFFIC VALUE SLIDE
What alternative avenues are available to pull in resources and budget
from? Is their a social media intern you can delegate link building to? Is
there extra PPC budget lost in a corner?
@chelseablacker

13. EVALUATE ORGANIC TRAFFIC VALUE SLIDE
So, what’s the impact of SEO? There are 4 simple ways to measure the
impact of SEO which I like to use.
@chelseablacker

14. Projected Revenue.
@chelseablacker

15. Compare the exposure you project for organic listings, with the media
budget costs that will take in PPC. For example, if ranking #1 for “dog
insurance” will cost £20K a month, and your SEO plan to get there
requires only a £10K budget – whose ears wouldn’t prick up?
PPC SEO
@chelseablacker

16. Rankings. Appeal to
their vanity! How
many times have you
been asked “we sell
dog insurance, so why
aren’t we #1 for dog
insurance?” (or
something to that
effect) – encourage
their excitement
regarding organic
exposure.
@chelseablacker

17. Organic Traffic.
@chelseablacker

18. You’ve listened to your
target Marketing Director
and moved from annoying-
employee-hustling-for-
budget to trusted-advisor-
who-cares-about-wider-
business. You know which
metrics to use and what
other business resources to
pull in, so raise your paw
and present the answer!
@chelseablacker

19. Make your Marketing Director look
good. Your SEO plan must
continually arrive back at the fact
that whatever is invested in SEO will
achieve wider business goals that
will make him or her look like a
genius to the board.
@chelseablacker

20. Take a risk. Guarantee your performance by asking for an overdraft of
Q3 budget in Q2, and if certain conditions aren’t met, you’ll forfeit that
budget lost. If you’re an agency, guarantee a discount/refund if targets
aren’t met.
@chelseablacker

21. @chelseablacker
www.seoptimise.com/blog
@chelseablacker