How to sell confidently across your pipeline with SEO audits

Coral Wood • 9 August 2023

One of the biggest challenges our clients face is navigating prospects through their pipeline. Using SEO auditing tools can not only help you through that but also ensure you’re providing value through the entire process (and not just at the beginning).

Prospects (and why your pipeline should cover cold outreach)

You may have guessed this one, but in case you’re not already doing so, sharing an audit with a prospect is a great way to engage them with your service offering.

This is because moving prospects through your pipeline can be difficult when you’re trying to sell services that are often intangible and hard to attribute to hard data. However, with an SEO auditing tool, this is where you can grab their attention. Show your clients exactly where they are going wrong, and the solutions you can offer them to improve their scores and performance.

Top tip:

There’s a step before this that most folks miss; cold outreach is bound to yield more when you offer your prospects a free audit when you first reach out, as this will offer a hook for your prospects to cling on to.

Lead qualification

So a lead has come through to you, but you’re not sure if they’re the right client for you? Use an SEO auditing tool to gauge the state of their site to understand:

  • What help do they need?
  • Is this something you can help with?

For example, you could find yourself a client in your target sector, but spending resources on trying to engage with that client could prove fruitless if their site is running and performing well. Alternatively, a lead that comes through to your inbox could show on an SEO audit report that not only do they need help with their SEO, but you could also help them with their PPC strategy, and so on.

Having an audit to hand will better help you, and your team, establish through the BANT method whether your prospect could become a worthwhile lead to chase.

Consideration

Once you have engaged your prospective client with an audit of their website, why not motivate them to close the sale by comparing them to their competitors? Whether you’re aggregating competitor results or using a tool like Insites, where you can compare your would-be clients with up to 3 competitors, comparing to competitors will let you show them where they’re doing better and how you can help them overtake.

Key point

Most SEO audits don’t include manual checklists. Depending on your tool, either you can include your parameters to measure (i.e. is the branding consistent across the website?) to track items that are a simple yes or no on your auditing tool or your report. Hard figures will strongly back up your manual checks that could include design relevance or whether their site is ‘on brand’.

Closing the sale

When you come to close the sale, or come to the end of your pre-contract pipeline, using an SEO audit report to set the benchmark of the improvements you will be delivering will better help you cinch the deal. And more importantly, give your team a QA benchmark to work towards when you are improving the site.

Customer satisfaction & upselling

Once you’ve finished improving your client’s site, you can show your clients just how much you’ve achieved. With two score reports to compare (the first when they were a prospect and the second after you’ve completed the work), you can effectively show your customers how and where you have made improvements to their online presence. Looking to re-engage the client? With the latest report, it becomes clear to the customer that you can add further value through additional work. Plus, with competitor analysis, you can show them how they now rank in comparison.

Insites audits everything, not just SEO

Insites audits don’t just look at your client’s SEO figures; our handy platform looks at your prospect’s whole online presence. Better yet, it delivers trackable scores across their whole marketing mix in just 60 seconds and delivers an easy-to-understand full report too.

Want to try Insites for yourself? Book a demo call with us for free.

Happy auditing!

The Insites Team

How to communicate the hidden costs of poor keyword research to your SMB clients

by Coral Wood • 7 May 2025
Small business owners often view keyword research as an optional extra or a luxury they can't afford. As a digital marketing provider, you know the truth is quite the opposite - poor keyword research can silently drain their resources while delivering underwhelming results. Let's explore how to effectively communicate these hidden costs to your SMB clients in language they'll understand. The invisible drain on marketing budgets When speaking with small business owners, it's crucial to frame keyword research as an investment rather than an expense. Without proper research, your clients are essentially throwing money into digital marketing efforts that may never reach their intended audience. For instance, a local plumber targeting generic terms like "plumbing services" instead of location-specific phrases such as "emergency plumber in Southampton" is competing unnecessarily with national brands and services far outside their coverage area. This means higher costs per click, lower conversion rates, and marketing spend that delivers minimal return. Time wasted on creating the wrong content Another hidden cost that resonates with busy small business owners is time wastage. Without strategic keyword research, businesses often produce content that simply doesn't align with what their potential customers are actually searching for. Explain to your clients how creating blog posts, service pages or social content without keyword insights is like opening a shop without researching what products the local community wants to buy. They might be investing hours creating content about boiler maintenance when their potential customers are frantically searching for "emergency pipe repair near me." Lost opportunities to competitors Perhaps the most compelling hidden cost is the competitive disadvantage. While your SMB clients hesitate on keyword research, their competitors may be capturing valuable search visibility.` Show your clients real examples of local competitors ranking well for lucrative keywords they could be targeting. This concrete demonstration of missed opportunities often resonates more effectively than theoretical discussions about SEO principles. Diminished trust and authority Small businesses rely heavily on reputation and trust. Without strategic keyword targeting, they miss opportunities to establish themselves as local authorities in their field. Explain how properly researched content that answers specific customer questions positions them as experts. Without this research foundation, they're missing chances to be the business that appears when a potential customer searches "how to choose the right accountant for my small business" or "best family dentist for nervous children." Making the case for proper keyword research When presenting solutions, focus on these practical benefits: More efficient marketing spend : Target customers who are actually looking for their specific services in their specific location. Better conversion rates : Attract visitors with actual purchase intent rather than casual browsers. Strategic content development : Stop guessing what content to create and start knowing exactly what your customers want to learn. Measurable results : Show how properly researched keywords provide clearer metrics for success. Start small and demonstrate value For SMBs unconvinced about keyword research, suggest starting with a focused pilot project. Choose one service area or product line and perform proper keyword research for just this segment. Track the results carefully and use this as evidence for expanding your research to other areas of the business. This approach allows sceptical clients to see real-world benefits without committing to a comprehensive strategy upfront. Once they witness the improved performance, the hidden costs of poor research become much more tangible. Translation before selling Communicating the hidden costs of poor keyword research isn't about technical jargon or intimidating statistics. It's about translating SEO principles into business language that resonates with small business owners' practical concerns: wasted money, wasted time, missed opportunities, and diminished market position. By framing keyword research as a crucial investment rather than an optional expense, you help your SMB clients understand why cutting corners here ultimately costs them more in the long run. Want to help your SMB clients avoid the hidden costs of poor keyword research? Discover the power of Insites Keyword Intelligence , part of the Insites for Sales solution. Book a discovery call today to learn more about our tools for digital marketing providers.
A woman is typing on a laptop computer.

Get cited in AI : 7 strategies for digital marketing providers and their SMB clients

by Izzy Fletcher • 1 May 2025
Discover 7 proven strategies to improve your digital marketing company's AI visibility and get cited in ChatGPT, Claude, and other AI tools. Learn how to position your brand as an authoritative source for SMB digital solutions.
A group of people are sitting around a table talking to each other.

Selling SEO vs AEO if you're a digital marketing solution provider

by Izzy Fletcher • 23 April 2025
New research reveals that top Google performers aren't always winning in AI tools like ChatGPT. Discover how your digital marketing agency can leverage both SEO and AEO strategies to deliver greater value to SMB clients and stay ahead of competitors. Includes practical implementation tips and industry-specific insights.
A person is holding a button with the number 63 on it

Google's new landing page screenshots and what they mean for digital marketing agencies

by Izzy Fletcher • 15 April 2025
Google now shows landing page screenshots in Demand Gen ads. Learn how digital marketing agencies can turn this update into new revenue opportunities with Insites auditing tools.
A cartoon illustration of a robot with a smile on its face.

What digital marketing agencies need to know about the EU AI act

by Izzy Fletcher • 8 April 2025
Learn how digital marketing agencies can navigate EU AI Act compliance while turning new regulations into a competitive advantage. Discover practical strategies for AI governance that help win more SMB clients despite compliance changes.
A man and a woman are sitting at a desk with laptops.

Empowering non-technical sales teams to sell digital marketing services confidently

by Izzy Fletcher • 3 April 2025
Discover how large digital marketing agencies empower non-technical sales teams to confidently sell SEO, websites, and local listings without technical expertise. Learn proven strategies that help enterprise sales teams increase conversion rates while reducing onboarding time, and see how Insites helps bridge the knowledge gap for large agencies with 10+ sales representatives.
A cartoon of a woman looking through binoculars on a pink background.

How to prepare your sales team for the rise of the AI-literate generation

by Izzy Fletcher • 1 April 2025
Today's students are becoming AI fluent at unprecedented rates. Soon, they'll be the SMB owners your sales team is pitching to with different digital expectations. Learn how Google's education initiatives are accelerating this shift and what it means for enterprise marketing providers. Discover practical strategies to prepare your sales team for the rise of AI-literate clients who expect instant insights, sophisticated solutions, and AI-powered digital marketing approaches. Read our latest insights on navigating this transformation and positioning your services for the next generation of business owners.
A hand is holding a magnifying glass over a laptop screen that says top secret.

The secret lead generation tactic digital marketing agencies are using to attract small-medium businesses

by Izzy Fletcher • 31 March 2025
Discover how leading digital marketing agencies use self-service audit widgets to generate qualified SMB leads while providing immediate value. Learn how to implement this strategy with a proven flywheel approach and industry-specific tips.RetryClaude can make mistakes. Please double-check the responses.
A yellow arrow is pointing up on a pink and black background.

New tariffs spark fear with marketers. How can sales team can navigate the squeeze of ad spend?

by Izzy Fletcher • 27 March 2025
Discover how your sales team can demonstrate clear ROI to budget-conscious SMBs. Learn 3 key strategies that help digital marketing agencies convert more prospects even when budgets are tight.

These Google Business Profile updates will help your clients dominate local search

by Izzy Fletcher • 19 March 2025
Google's new review QR code feature creates perfect sales opportunities for digital marketing agencies. Learn about Google's expanded data sources, and how Insites' Local Grid can help your sales team close more deals with SMB clients seeking local SEO services.
Show More