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343 • Brad Fallon created an SEO radio show that makes it easy for him to get on-topic links. In an industry with a rather tarnished reputation, the value of having a voice that is seen or heard by many is a strong competitive advantage. For example, there is probably about a 99% chance you would have never bought this e-book if I did not write the associated blog. Ideal Clients There are many ways to find customers for SEO. One of the common problems is that many people do not know they need SEO services or what those services are. If you think of prospects in terms of the ideal prospect, what would be their common characteristics? • They have a profitable business. • They are in a market position that is not hyper-saturated. • They sell non-commodity products or things that are not easy to get elsewhere. • They already have websites. • They already rank (in the top 100 or so) for some of their keywords. • Their business model makes sense for the web—item is cheap to ship or requires customization, which makes it more convenient to buy online than to hunt at various offline stores. • They are well established on the web. • They are willing to spend enough money to see results. • They already know a bit about SEO. • They have reasonable expectations. • They are a similar-sized business or one that you would feel comfortable working with. Odds are that most leads are not going to line up with all your most desirable characteristics. Some people will align with many of them though. You probably do not want to spend the same amount of effort on all leads. Instead, it is wiser to place more effort on leads that seem close to conversion and leads that seem like they are a great match for your business. It is also important not to rely too heavily on any one potential client. Some people may just be feeling out the market or trying to learn as much from you as they can for free before doing their own services or trying to replicate your business model. Where to find Clients Here are some common places to look and things you can do to find clients: