Will Local SEO only get harder and harder?

[SEOLearning23]

Will there ever be a time where even the small suburbs and towns become highly competitive because everyone and their mom wants to do local seo?

Or does this stuff all balance out as businesses crop up in new areas, other businesses leave town, and new industries develop (creating new types of clients for SEOs)?

 

[DiscoHat]

Its getting saturated now but still a big industry.

 

[the_demon]

The SEO industry continually gets more competitive, it has not slowed down one bit since the inception of Google.

 

[Twynne]

It's becoming saturated, but it is still growing and there is room to make money if you work at it.

 

[andrecampbell]

Everyone and there mom want to do SEO just to make a quick buck. But many companies fail to provide actual results and they only have the ability to rank their clients for stupid keywords like "plumber in troy michigan on first street 49491"

So many companies are getting dumped by clients because their sh*t so try to be better than everyone else and stay ahead of the game and you'll have an advantage even when the market gets super saturated.

It's just like real estate. Everyone knows a real estate agent. That market is super saturated. But there are the average agents which don't provide the most results and top agents, which provide the best results and get the biggest clients.

 

[Worldwidebacklinks]

It will get more saturated over time, it is a given. However in saying that there is always room to thin the heard. Be better than the rest and you will have no issues.

 

[krishnanayak]

As you may know there have been various sightings extended Google Local results in Google's Web Search. Beforehand when Google distinguished a neighborhood seek they were showing 3 Google Local professional resources before the natural results, however now they are beginning to demonstrate ten.

 

[ZombieQueen]

Local SEO will always be a viable trade because businesses fail so frequently. There will always be a "new kid on the block" looking to compete with bigger and more established businesses, and Local SEO will be the only way in which a skilled and motivated small business owner can have a chance at getting a piece of the local market away from an established business.Also, given that most vendors of Local SEO are ignorant and dishonest scammers, anyone that actually knows what they are doing will also be in demand.

 

[Avid Learner]

Will there ever be a time where even the small suburbs and towns become highly competitive because everyone and their mom wants to do local seo?

Or does this stuff all balance out as businesses crop up in new areas, other businesses leave town, and new industries develop (creating new types of clients for SEOs)?

Local SEO will always be a viable trade because businesses fail so frequently. There will always be a "new kid on the block" looking to compete with bigger and more established businesses, and Local SEO will be the only way in which a skilled and motivated small business owner can have a chance at getting a piece of the local market away from an established business.Also, given that most vendors of Local SEO are ignorant and dishonest scammers, anyone that actually knows what they are doing will also be in demand.

A lot of people here are saying it is saturated. Nonsense.

Only in the narrowest of senses is that *maybe* true, but look around! How many local businesses have crappy websites, poor performance on search, mishandling or not handling reviews, etc.?

If all you want to do is sit at home, do some email marketing, do some remote SEO work, and rarely meet or talk to a client (astonishingly, read some posts here where SEOers think that is a good thing), then, yes, opportunities are thinning significantly. I don't think you have to be ignorant or dishonest even, but just poor customer service will do you in.

Instead, a way to think about it is like lawyers or accountants. Some are large operations, others are small operations. But, there are many offices around. Does every law or business student going through college worry that the market is "saturated"? No.

It doesn't have to be that businesses fail that opens the door for opportunity, though that is certainly part of a healthy, dynamic, and growing economy. In such conditions, it is not a zero sum game, but there is room to grow.

Like law and accounting, a good part of the service is relationship and trust over the long term, along with positive results. But, like every business, you have to also differentiate yourself to close the deal.

 

[erezman]

Yes, i aggree, seo is getting harder, the simple solution will be not to rely only on seo,
working on forum posts, advertising and banners.

 

[john-benjamin]

Things are getting saturated but the good companies will always get ahead! SEO is a huge niche and as industries are growing they are looking for SEO solutions.. It is getting saturated for those who are not good enough to get out and make their way!

 

[Andrew Scherer]

People say it's getting saturated but honestly I think it is still a really young industry. It might seem saturated if you troll around BHW for a bit, but once you step out into the real world and shake hands with business owners you will realize how few of these people have access to competent digital marketing help. The bar is super low and there are sharks all over the place. If you set an honest name for yourself, the sky is the limit.

 

[ZombieQueen]

The question is wrong. The industry is not "saturated" nor will it ever be. 99% of all local businesses will never hire a professional to do their local SEO. The word "saturated" is misapplied and it's a low-priority concept compared to what's most important.

Do they need it? Yes.
Do they want it? Yes.
Will they pay someone to get it? No.
Never.

Never, never, never, never, never will 99% of all small businesses actually put down hard cash in order to pay a supposed "professional" to do their local seo. Too many scams, scammers, uncertain results, and the cost/benefit analysis isn't there. Small businesses are busy, and the small business owners don't survive by throwing money at people on the chance that there MIGHT be some reward.

Which is not to say that there isn't value to Local SEO. Depending on the location, niche, local competition, etc... there is good ROI on LSEO, but no one can predict what that is going to be in advance.

So, IMO, if someone wants to tap into the "non-saturated" LSEO market, they should be selling a DIY kit for LSEO or maybe some kind of hybrid where the local business owner is taught to do their own.

 

[Avid Learner]

So, IMO, if someone wants to tap into the "non-saturated" LSEO market, they should be selling a DIY kit for LSEO or maybe some kind of hybrid where the local business owner is taught to do their own.

Interesting take.

Similar to what has happened to website development. For example, in retail, you now have cheap DIY tools... two are: Shopify, and Big Commerce. They, incidentally, do provide some SEO and marketing capabilities.

https://www.bigcommerce.com/features/marketing/
https://docs.shopify.com/manual/settings/general/search-engine-optimization

I notice that some local M&P stores use something like this. Still, many do go the custom route (often see a link to the developer's website on bottom of their estore's home page).

So, yes, there will be a market for packaging something for DIYers... a smart idea, and the business model exists. More than likely, existing website providers like Shopify will extend their offering with more sophisticated SEO type features.

 

[PandaBacklinks]

Guys, I agree with you 100%!
It is young industry, but in the future you will not achieve anything with your homepage unless you have SEO, because all industry will be matured and even more competitive.

 

[sunny_clicks]

My Opinion: The SEO market gets saturated to a point and then the next big algo update hits and poof! gone are the fringe players.. I think only the serious ones with an aptitude for research and those who can keep up with the latest updates can survive for a long term.
Personally I am very happy when google rolls out a new update and it wipes clean the slate and the clients come running to the old and stable players.
These days every one who can google thinks he/she is an seo expert and all they have to do is to offer services at insanely low rates and promise the moon, damned be the long term side-effects and the clients already saturated with options jump at such offers or use them to renegotiate costs for old contracts.
Non the less people who work hard to gain knowledge and perform experiments and keep upto date usually are able to survive in this market.

 

[SearchScrape]

It will most likely be a little more competitive, but what will probably happen is everyone with half a crappy dream of running a "Million-Dollar Website" will put in about 10% effort into Local SEO.. So basically all you'll need to do to stand apart and get noticed is actually keep at it and not give up at small roadblocks. It's the sweat off your brow that counts!

 

[johnnyrover]

Never, never, never, never, never will 99% of all small businesses actually put down hard cash in order to pay a supposed "professional" to do their local seo. Too many scams, scammers, uncertain results, and the cost/benefit analysis isn't there. Small businesses are busy, and the small business owners don't survive by throwing money at people on the chance that there MIGHT be some reward.

I find this to be wrong, 100% wrong, within my market area. How many small businesses still pay for Yellow Page ads? They are throwing down hard cash for print advertising that is no longer effective, and this is changing.

and that is your hint to growth for the day

 

[Andrew Scherer]

Do they need it? Yes.
Do they want it? Yes.
Will they pay someone to get it? No.
Never.

Never, never, never, never, never will 99% of all small businesses actually put down hard cash in order to pay a supposed "professional" to do their local seo. Too many scams, scammers, uncertain results, and the cost/benefit analysis isn't there. Small businesses are busy, and the small business owners don't survive by throwing money at people on the chance that there MIGHT be some reward.

I hate to burst your bubble but there are already companies doing multi-million dollar revenues off of handling local for businesses. They might not be any good at it but they're doing it. Seems like you don't have enough experience in this industry to speaking so authoritatively on the topic.

 

[knightriderbh]

I dont know what is local seo. can some one help me with this/