I have trained several students in the art and science of local SEO and I want to pass on a tip that I always tell them. With my students I am always getting progress reports-usually weekly. Often, these reports detail very little progress…lots of thinking and lots of questions but no actual work. So this is a tool that I use to help them overcome their biggest barrier to success.
We all know that SEO is a complicated business, but Local SEO is often more complex than large nationwide SEO campaigns. Every decision you make may have a positive or negative outcome and the playing field is smaller with more varied results. So a little thing can mean the difference between page 2 oblivion or page 1 success. Now, when you care about your clients the fear of those swings and the uncertainty of the process can paralyze your progress.
Sometimes my students spend so much time thinking about the decisions they need to make and the plan they need to develop that they never get around to doing any work. So they never really make any progress. But a $5 purchase can turn their business around.
What is this mystery device?
An egg timer.
With EVERY decision you need to make for a client devote 5 -undisturbed- minutes to the decision. Plan out the pros/cons and the risks/rewards and then when the bell rings have your answer and implement the decision you just made. No mulligans or second chances. If you have your client’s wishes and needs in mind you will always come up with the right answer and you won’t waste a work day [or week] deciding what to do.
It may sound overly simplistic but the tactic works.
