Ep 177: How to Build a Sticky SEO Retainer Business With Just 5 Paying Clients | With Mark Herre of SEO Game

So what has it been like over the last few years? Really, really sort of, again, I mean, the agency model is always consistently having to pivot and change things because the platforms change and the regulations change and the policies change.

How big of a change has it been maybe from an internal level of going from specifically traditional SEO to incorporating all of the AI stuff into it?

I'm glad you asked because this is going to be different than what you thought the answer would be.

And the way that I service my clients, digital marketing agencies, SEO, SEO has not changed in 30 years since I've been a business owner.

So meaning the digital marketing agency, as you mentioned, is pretty stable.

They have their own little, you know, onboarding in with their own clients and things like that.

But the things that they do with their vendors is different.

So as a vendor for SEO companies, I have never received a blank check ever.

to have a digital agency or web designer, marketing agency, SEO company say, here, whatever it takes.

And then there's a second blank check waiting for you.

Now, maybe they're desperate enough to have one certain client get number one rankings.

But generally, my 30-day trial is always, or my 60-day trial, which is the same thing.

It's just more on the B2B tech, SaaS software, e-commerce, national campaigns.

Anything related to that requires more 60 days to get rankings.

And then the AI setup is a little bit more intense.

But the bricks and mortar companies like Home Services and Bricks and Mortar, Plumber, Roofer, HVAC, Bricks and Mortar, Doors and Handles, like the Lawyer, Dentist, Chiropractor, Med Spas, those clients have always been the same.

They've been around longer than 30 years.

And they've always had marketing advertising agencies that represent them to get more clients.

On the online digital side of things today, they have not changed with the relationship with owners of websites.

I mean, all business digital marketing agencies.

So business owners with websites like the home services and the bricks and mortar, they continually want a good relationship with their advertising marketing agency.

And I realized that they want a retainer.

Marketing agencies want that retainer.

And SEO is still the only campaign you can say, I can fix that.

A visibility campaign, let me show you before and after 30 days, it's going to take this long to implement all of this.