SEO and content strategies for local businesses

From: gregisenberg

For anyone looking to start their first company, particularly in the service sector, focusing on local businesses and leveraging specific content and SEO strategies can be highly effective [00:00:00]. These businesses are often easier to start and scale [02:08:29].

Leveraging YouTube for Service Businesses

One powerful strategy is to create a YouTube channel that addresses specific local business needs, often tied to search queries like “Google ads for XYZ” [00:00:02].

Google Ads for Specific Industries

Many companies and individuals search for “Google ads for [industry]” (e.g., “Google ads for apartments,” “Google ads for car dealerships”) [00:10:02] [00:31:30]. When searching for these longtail keywords on Google, the top results often include a “snack pack” of three YouTube videos [00:15:00] [00:20:00]. By naming a video “Google ads for apartments” and providing a detailed tutorial on setting up these ads, you can rank on Google for high-value keywords that would be difficult to achieve through traditional SEO [00:32:32] [00:33:55].

The monetization strategy for these YouTube channels includes:

• Ad Revenue: Long tutorial videos (20-30 minutes) can generate significant ad revenue due to high watch time, especially for high-value search terms like finance or digital marketing [00:32:54] [00:37:30].
• Affiliate Commissions: Upsell high-value tools with affiliate commissions, such as Supermetrics (a data pipeline tool for agencies) [00:33:05].
• Agency Inbound Leads: The primary goal is to generate inbound leads for a specialized agency offering unlimited Google Ads services for a monthly fee (e.g., $3,000/month) [00:34:40] [00:34:45]. Many businesses find the process of setting up Google Ads “mind-numbing” and prefer to buy the service [00:37:57].

This approach applies to various marketing tactics, such as Facebook ads for churches or lawyers, or Google Maps optimization for truckers or boaters [00:39:16].

Niche-Specific Marketing Agencies

Focusing on a specific vertical or “rich person service category” allows an agency to become highly specialized and create a competitive moat [00:49:55] [00:50:00]. Examples of suitable niches include:

• CrossFit gyms [02:53:23]
• Estheticians [03:41:25]
• Tattoo removal [03:42:25]
• Pool cleaning services [00:18:06]
• Pilates or bar classes [00:16:23]
• Car washes (e.g., Suds Creative, an agency focused solely on marketing for car washes, doing multi-million dollar revenue) [06:36:20] [08:00:20].
• Car dealerships in specific geographies [09:22:25].

Once a marketing strategy is figured out for one business within a category, the exact same “stack” can be replicated for others [04:21:46]. This creates a “moat” of expertise and efficiency, as the competition in the local space is often less sophisticated [11:21:00].

Client Acquisition for Local Service Agencies

Scraping Google Maps for Leads

A key method for generating leads is to scrape Google Maps for business listings within a target category [03:55:00]. Services on Fiverr can provide scraped lists of 100,000 listings for around $100 [04:00:00]. These services can also find publicly visible email addresses from websites using tools like Hunter.io or PhantomBuster [05:10:00] [05:17:00].

Cold Email Strategy

Once emails are scraped, they should be validated using tools like ZeroBounce [05:27:00] [05:30:00]. A robust cold email setup involves:

• Buying 20 different domains (at least) [05:38:00].
• Setting up two inboxes per domain using Microsoft 365 [05:40:00].
• Using cold email software like Instantly to send emails [05:45:00].
• Sending approximately 40 emails per inbox daily, allowing for 32,000 cold emails per month [05:54:00] [06:02:00].

When sending cold emails to non-English speaking countries, ensure the emails are in the local language [0:12:34]. Using Loom videos within emails can significantly increase conversion rates compared to plain text [0:12:48]. Showcasing “growth graphs” (up-and-to-the-right visuals of success) is a powerful “show, don’t tell” approach [13:25:00].

Leveraging Existing Networks and Referrals

Within specific industries (e.g., gym owners), professionals often know each other through forums and events, leading to a strong referral network once a good service is provided [11:27:00].

Overcoming Operational Challenges

While client acquisition can be systematized, managing operations for service businesses, especially maintaining client face-time, is a challenge [11:56:00]. Tools like Loom and Slack channels can help, and with AI automation, one person can manage tasks previously requiring offshore teams [12:06:00] [18:18:00].

Local SEO and Rank & Rent

The “Rank and Rent” strategy involves creating multiple websites optimized for specific geographies and keywords (e.g., “pool cleaning XYZ”) [18:30:00]. These sites aim to rank high on Google, then sell the generated leads to local businesses [19:18:00]. This model can be applied to recurring services like window cleaning or high-ticket items like yacht rentals [19:50:00].

For local businesses, optimizing their Google My Business listing is crucial. Basic SEO practices like ensuring keywords in the business description, completing all profile fields, and adding photos can get a listing into the Google Snack Pack within 72 hours in less sophisticated local markets [10:22:00].

TikTok SEO for Local Businesses

Gen Z is increasingly using social media (Instagram, TikTok) instead of Google for local searches like “bars Denver” or “nlife XYZ location” [46:04:00] [46:09:00]. This presents a massive arbitrage opportunity for marketing agencies [48:51:00].

Agencies can offer “TikTok SEO as a service” to fine dining establishments, cocktail bars, or pizzerias [48:02:00]. This involves creating user-generated content (UGC) style videos like “The five best pizzerias in [neighborhood]” [48:49:00]. Unlike traditional SEO with long time horizons, social media SEO can be refreshed monthly and have immediate impact [49:09:00].

Building Local Social Media Presence

• City-Specific Accounts: Create a set of accounts per city (e.g., “Cool Spots Denver”) to act as a local “Yelp” on social media [49:47:00].
• Leverage Local Creators: Pay local micro-influencers (e.g., $100-$200) to review and cross-promote businesses on their personal pages and your city-specific pages [49:57:00].
• Build Follow Funnels: Use Instagram-only ads with a call to action to follow the account for more content [52:54:00]. These ads convert followers at 30-50 cents per follower [53:18:00].
• Remarketing: Anyone who touches the profile can be added to a remarketing audience to show them content repeatedly, building brand awareness [53:24:00].
• Engagement Tools: Use tools like Lelo (a “drop CRM” for email, SMS, and Instagram DMs) to engage audiences through automated responses to DMs (e.g., “DM me with XYZ keyword”) [50:53:00] [51:44:00].
• Subscription Models: Offer local businesses monthly or quarterly subscriptions for consistent social media content and promotion [54:01:00].

Considerations for Local Service Businesses

When choosing a local service business to target, prioritize those that offer:

• Recurring Revenue: Services that involve weekly or monthly purchases (e.g., Pilates, pool upkeep) [16:21:00] [17:27:00].
• High Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV): Services where customers have a high CLTV, making client acquisition more profitable [02:55:00] [16:49:00].
• Non-Obvious Niches: Avoid highly competitive areas like HVAC and focus on less saturated “rich person service” categories [17:53:00] [18:00:00].