Local SEO Industry Survey 2015 Type of Respondents: Local / Regional Agencies Local / Regional Agencies = 34% of all survey respondents Q1. How many people in your company are SEOs? Q1. Key Findings: The average no. of SEOs employed at a Local / Regional Agency is 4 The median figure is % employ 1-10 SEOs (vs 95% in 2014) 8% employ 11+ SEOs (vs 4% in 2014) Q2. What was your company revenue in the last 12 months? Q2. Key Findings: The average company revenue is $324,871 The median revenue is $150,000-$250,000 29% of Local / Regional Agency SEOs reported revenues of $100,000-$250,000 18% reported revenues of more than $1 million Q3. How many clients do you personal handle? Q3. Key Findings: Local / Regional Agency SEOs look after 16 clients on average (vs 12 in 2014) The median figure is % look after 11+ clients (vs 39% in 2014) 23% look after 31+ clients (vs 116% in 2014) 9% were new to Local SEO in 2014 Q4. What are your pre-tax personal annual earnings? (including salary, bonuses, etc.) Q4. Key Findings: The average pre-tax annual earnings for a Local / Regional Agency SEO are $71,400 The median earnings are $45,000-$60,000 18% are earning less than $30,000 per annum 52% are earning $30,000-$75,000 per annum 16% are earning more than $100,000 per annum Q5. Which channels are most effective for attracting new customers to your company? Q5. Key Findings: Word of mouth is the most effective channel for attracting new customers SEO is the second most effective channel Local Business Groups & Local Meet-ups are also rated highly Q6. How many new leads do you proactively contact each month? (via outbounds & calls) Q6. Key Findings: Local / Regional Agency SEOs contact 10 new leads per month on average The median number is % contact zero new leads per month 73% contact 0-10 new leads per month Q7. What is your success rate at converting leads to customers? Q7. Key Findings: Median success rate for converting new leads is 30% 37% have a less than 20% success rate at converting new leads 22% have more than 70% success rate at converting new leads Q8. Do you serve a particular vertical industry or do your clients come from many different industries? Q8. Key Findings: 69% serve lots of different industries (vs 68% in 2014) 21% serve 2-3 vertical industries (vs 25% in 2014) 10% serve 1 vertical industry (vs 7% in 2014) Q9. What does an average customer pay you each month? Q9. Key Findings: The average customer pays $1,183 per month The median income per customer is $500-$1,000 65% receive less than $1,000 per month from clients (vs 68% in 2014) 35% receive more than $1,000 per month from clients (vs 33% in 2014) Q10. Do you expect to grow your business in the next 12 months? Q10. Key Findings: 92% definitely expect to grow their business in the next 12 months (vs 95% in 2014) 7% maybe expect to grow their business in the next 12 months (vs 5% in 2014) Only 1% do not expect to grow their business in the next 12 months (vs 0% in 2014) Q11. Are you planning to recruit more staff in the next 12 months? Q11. Key Findings: 75% expect to recruit more staff in the next 12 months (vs 76% in 2014) 25% are doubtful or have no plans to recruit more staff in 2016 (vs 24% in 2014) Q12. Which of these phrases best describes your hopes & expectations for the next 12 months? Q12. Key Findings: 36% say its going to be a great year (vs 50% in 2014) 46% say its going to be a good year but hard work (vs 36% in 2014) 19% are unsure about the outlook for the next 12 months (vs 14% in 2014) Q13. What SEO/online marketing services do you offer? Q13. Key Findings: GMB optimization, On-site SEO, Citation Build / clean- up & Web design / development are the most popular services offered by Local / Regional Agencies Video Marketing, Google penalty recovery & Affiliate marketing are the services offered least by Local / Regional Agencies Q14. Which service is most in demand from your customers? Q14. Key Findings: On-site SEO, Web design / development & Content Creation / optimization are the services in most demand Link building, Video Marketing, Google penalty recovery & Affiliate marketing are the services offered least & with little demand Services that have increased in demand YoY are Content Creation / optimization & Citation Build / Clean-up Q15. How much of your work do you outsource to 3rd parties & white-label SEOs? Q15. Key Findings: 61% outsource less than 10% of their workload to 3rd parties (vs 44% in 2013) 21% outsource more than 25% of their work (vs 36% in 2013) 11% outsource more than 50% of their workload (vs 19% in 2014) Q16. Do you believe that Social Media is an effective marketing channel for local businesses? Q16. Key Findings: 57% believe that social media is very powerful for local businesses (vs 52% in 2014) 29% believe that social media works for some local businesses (vs 38% in 2014) 14% are unsure, or believe social media is over-hyped / doesnt work (vs 10% in 2014) Q17. Which of the following SEO & Business tasks do you tackle in a typical week? Q17. Key Findings: Onsite optimization, Reporting / Analytics, Client Management & SEO audit & analysis are the most tackled tasks per week Content outreach, Review generation & Self- marketing are the tasks which are often neglected Q18. Which of the following SEO & Business tasks do you find to be the most time-consuming and tedious? Q18. Key Findings: Link building, Citation build / clean-up & SEO Audit / Analysis are considered the most time-consuming & tedious tasks Q19. Which of the following SEO & Business tasks do you wish you could do more of? Q19. Key Findings: On-site optimization, Reporting / Analytics & SEO Audit & Analysis are the top tasks that Local / Regional Agency SEOs wish they could do more of View full survey at: bit.ly/localseosurv ey Thank you