An SEO elevator pitch is an introduction or summary of your SEO products and services. It’s specifically designed to be delivered in a short time frame, typically within the span of an elevator ride, which could be anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes.
A great SEO elevator pitch leaves a strong impression, opens doors to further conversations, and converts leads to real paying clients. But how do you make a great SEO elevator pitch?
Table of contents
- Know your audience
- Keep it short and to the point
- Focus on benefits, not features
- Simplify SEO concepts with analogies
- Tell a success story
- Anticipate common concerns
- Practice and refine
- SEO elevator pitch examples
1. Know your audience
Before you create an SEO elevator pitch, make sure you understand the audience you are pitching to first. Who are they, exactly? Are they business owners who are more interested in hearing about online visibility and revenue? Are they fellow marketing professionals who are more likely to respond to strategic and technical aspects of your SEO products and services? If you know your audience, you will know what kind of approach you will use for your SEO elevator pitch.
- Research more about your audience. There are many ways to do audience research. You can do it online with analytics tools, industry communities like forums, and social media. You can also do it manually by conducting interviews and surveys and attending networking opportunities like conferences, local meetups, and workshops. By combining these methods, you can create a comprehensive audience profile that can help you tailor your SEO elevator pitch more effectively to their specific needs, wants, and interests.
- Address their pain points. Identify the common challenges and pain points of your audience. For example, if your audience consists of business owners, you can address ineffective digital marketing and declining website traffic. And if your audience consists of fellow digital marketers since you are a white label SEO agency, you can address client acquisition and relationship-building. Position yourself as a provider of solutions for their problems.
- Speak their language. Use terminology that resonates with your audience. Some audience groups, such as tech-savvy crowds, may appreciate more technical SEO details. On the other hand, others, such as non-technical business owners, may prefer more simplified explanations.
2. Keep it short and to the point
Remember that an SEO elevator pitch is a pitch you can deliver in the span of an elevator ride. It has to be short and to the point to include everything you want to say in such a short time frame. There is also the issue of clarity as long pitches can lead to confusion. It doesn’t help that, in today’s world, people have very short attention spans. If you are not to the point, they may lose interest. Short but impactful messages are more likely to be remembered.
- Avoid jargon. Sure, you can adjust your language based on your audience. But as a general rule, it’s a good idea to avoid industry-specific and overly technical words. They may confuse your audience. When your audience is confused, they are more likely to disengage than ask questions. Lower the barrier of entry by using plain and straightforward language.
- Remove redundancy. Remove repetitive and unnecessary words and phrases. By eliminating redundancy, you are creating a more compelling and concise message. This doesn’t just improve your SEO elevator pitch. It also enhances your overall communication with your potential clients. It also makes your copy sound more professional.
- Use the classic elevator pitch format. Here are the elements of the classic elevator pitch format: who you are, what you do, who your ideal clients are, the problems you solve, and the benefits you offer. Combining these elements gives a bird’s eye view of what you have to offer, making them the perfect ingredients for your SEO elevator pitch. Just remember to keep each element short and to the point.
3. Focus on benefits, not features
Take note that your audience is in a business in one way or another. They can be a local coffee shop owner looking into local SEO. They can be digital marketers looking into outsourcing some of their SEO work. As business owners, they are looking for value, so make sure you are highlighting the value you bring to the table. This is why when making an SEO elevator pitch, you focus more on benefits and less on features.
- Know the difference between benefits and features. Features talk about your specific SEO products and services like “keyword research” and “on-page optimization.” Benefits talk about the positive impact of these features like “improved search engine rankings” and “increased organic traffic.” Your SEO elevator pitch becomes more compelling if you focus on the benefits over features because your audience will be able to see the positive transformation you can bring to their business.
- Address pain points and quantify results. With your audience research, you already know the typical challenges of your audience. Make sure to emphasize how your SEO products and services are solutions to these problems. For instance, if your audience has trouble with online visibility, you can say that your SEO products and services improve online visibility. And you can quantify the results by providing specific numbers and percentages to make them more tangible.
- Personalize the benefits and appeal to emotion. Make sure that the benefits are actually relevant to your audience. For example, if you are delivering an SEO elevator pitch to an e-commerce website owner, highlight benefits related to boosting online sales and visibility. And then use emotional appeal to resonate with the audience better. You can say that your SEO products and services can reduce their stress on online marketing, for example.
4. Simplify SEO concepts with analogies
SEO can be a complex field. Your audience may not have the proper knowledge and tools to easily understand it, especially when they are the non-technical type. This is why it’s important to simplify SEO concepts in your SEO elevator pitch. One way to do this is to make analogies and comparisons that your audience can easily understand.
- Find relevant analogies. Recognize the complex and technical aspects of your SEO products and services. And then look for real-life objects and situations that share similarities with these aspects. For example, you can compare search engines and algorithms to librarians sorting books according to specific categories. You can explain links and link building by comparing them to votes and getting votes from other websites. Similarly, you can simplify the concept of distributing content through various channels by likening it to the dissemination of news through Press Release Services, where the goal is to reach a wide audience with valuable information.
- Consider your audience’s interests and knowledge levels. For more compelling analogies, consider your audience’s background. For instance, if they are a B2B client, they may appreciate analogies that involve supply chain optimization, and if they are a B2C client, they may appreciate analogies that involve customer service and retail.
- Use relatable language. Your ability to deliver SEO products, services, and results is one thing. And your ability to simplify, explain, and sell these to an audience is another. Translating complex ideas to everyday situations that are more relatable is a valuable skill in the SEO industry. Start developing this skill by using simple language and avoiding jargon when making analogies.
5. Tell a success story
Social proof is a big part of digital marketing and SEO. There is a reason why many companies prioritize getting reviews on their website, social media profiles, and business profiles, like their Google Business Profile account. Satisfied clients and success stories are just great at showcasing your competence and expertise and demonstrating the tangible benefits of your SEO products and services.
- Choose a relevant success story. Again, this highlights how crucial knowing your audience is. When you know your audience, you can select the proper success story to share with them. Make sure the success story you share aligns with your audience’s concerns. Consider sharing a success story from a client who has experienced something similar to what your prospect may be experiencing.
- Highlight solutions and results. Explain the SEO strategies and techniques you have used to address the client’s challenges and pain points. Sure, you can be sharing your “features” here instead of the “benefits.” But you can share both.
- Use metrics and data. Include quantifiable data to support your success story. This makes your success story more of a case study with a narrative. Highlight the transformative power of your solutions and results. For example, you can say that your client has experienced a 150% increase in organic traffic, resulting in a 30% boost in online sales.
6. Anticipate common concerns
It’s important to understand your potential client’s concerns and reservations. If you do, you will be more prepared to address them and they will be more open to employing your SEO products and services. Communication is a two-way street after all. You don’t want them to just stand there and witness your awesome SEO elevator pitch. Involve them and address their concerns and questions. This will make your SEO elevator pitch more engaging, not to mention make you look really concerned about addressing their needs and wants.
- Identify common concerns and prepare answers. Costs, effectiveness, timelines, and transparency are some of the biggest concerns of potential clients. Research the common concerns of your audience, so that when they bring them up during your SEO elevator pitch, you know how to reply to them. Your readiness to reply can also affect their impression of you, and ultimately, it will affect whether they will get you for your SEO products and services.
- Acknowledge concerns and provide reassurance. Don’t be too defensive when your audience has doubts. Acknowledge their concerns about investing in SEO and trusting a professional like you. And then double down by providing reassurance. For example, if your potential client is concerned about budget issues, tell them that your pricing is flexible.
- Highlight the opportunity. Explain the approach you have developed to mitigate or solve their concerns. For example, if they have a question about your transparency, you can explain your client communication practices and reporting tools. Also, when addressing concerns, always link back the discussion to SEO opportunities, benefits, and of course, to your SEO products and services.
7. Practice and refine
An SEO elevator pitch is a dynamic tool to get the attention of potential clients, hopefully converting them in the future. It’s not something you create once and forget about. You practice your pitch consistently and refine it endlessly. With enough practice and refinement, your pitch becomes more engaging, persuasive, and even flexible for various types of audiences.
- Rehearse your SEO elevator pitch. Rehearsing makes you more comfortable with your SEO elevator pitch’s content and delivery. You should be able to deliver your pitch confidently and smoothly, without stumbling over your words. Recording yourself can be immensely helpful. Watch your recording to see aspects of yourself and your delivery and message that you can improve on. Recording and watching yourself just refine your performance to a different level.
- Get feedback and refine when necessary. Recording and watching yourself are great techniques, but sometimes, you have to involve others. Share your SEO elevator pitch with your colleagues, mentors, and even friends. They can provide valuable insights regarding clarity, delivery, and persuasiveness. Based on their feedback, refine your pitch. There are so many areas for refinement, such as your attack, wording, and even the order of your content.
- Be confident. It doesn’t matter how great your message is if you can’t deliver it properly. You have to be confident when delivering your SEO elevator pitch. This is actually easier to achieve than you think. Simply practice your pitch regularly. When you practice it, you naturally become more confident in delivering it.
SEO elevator pitch examples
Here are SEO elevator pitch examples. Let them serve as a guide when you are making your own.
1. Pitch focused on benefits
Are you looking to boost your online visibility and attract more customers? Our SEO services are designed to increase your website’s traffic, conversions, and revenue. We have a track record of delivering 30% or higher growth for our clients. And we provide measurable results that can significantly impact your bottom line.
2. Pitch using an analogy
SEO is like a GPS for your website. It guides potential customers directly to your online door. We are experienced navigators who ensure that your website isn’t lost in the online world. Think of us as your SEO GPS, guiding your website to higher search engine rankings, sales, and conversions.
3. Pitch with a success story
Imagine tripling your website traffic and doubling your online sales in just six months. That’s exactly what we have achieved for one of our clients. Our SEO executions are designed to deliver results, and we are confident we can do the same for your business.
Get more clients with a compelling SEO elevator pitch
An SEO elevator pitch may be brief compared to a full-blown SEO sales pitch, but its potential impact on your SEO business is huge.
Whether you are in a literal elevator or a networking event where you can win potential clients, don’t let the golden moments go to waste. Make a great SEO elevator pitch and watch it open doors for you, giving you more meaningful connections and converting more leads into real paying clients.
