A recent survey by BrightLocal provides insights into the current state of agencies involved in local SEO. The survey gathered responses from approximately 650 digital agencies, SEO freelancers, and in-house marketers from both small businesses and larger enterprises. The results reveal a market segment facing challenges but maintaining a positive outlook, reflecting the fast-paced and evolving nature of organic search.
Agency Size and Revenues: Most local SEO practitioners (54%) are smaller agencies and small businesses. However, there has been a slight increase in the involvement of large agencies compared to two years ago.
Most participants reported having fewer than 20 SEO clients, with 53% managing fewer than 10. The majority (65%) earned less than $1 million annually from SEO services, while about 18% reported earnings between $1 million and $5 million, and 6% exceeded $5 million in annual revenue. Interestingly, 18% were unsure of their local SEO earnings.
Monthly retainer rates varied widely, with 59% charging between $100 and $1,000. In terms of hourly fees, 30% charged between $50 and $100, 34% charged between $100 and $150, and 28% charged higher rates. Among professionals, 83% earned $100,000 or less, with 17% earning above that threshold.
Delivering Results: A majority (56%) anticipate that delivering local SEO results will be more difficult this year, although this figure has decreased since 2017. On a positive note, 93% of marketers expressed being "fairly optimistic" or "very optimistic" about the overall SEO industry’s future.
Demand for local search marketing services was highest for the following:
- Web design
- On-site optimization
- SEO audits and analysis
- PPC
- GMB optimization
- Social media
- Reputation management
- Citation management
- Link building and content outreach
- Content creation and optimization
In terms of acquiring new clients, practitioners cited word of mouth as the top source, followed by SEO itself. Content marketing was third, followed by local business groups, PPC advertising, conferences, and Facebook, which fell from third to seventh place year-over-year.
Conclusion: Contrary to speculation about its decline, the SEO business appears to be expanding among surveyed agencies. Nonetheless, local SEO remains a domain primarily characterized by smaller players and modest revenues.
Many in the industry view local SEO as a niche or solely the concern of small businesses. However, it is crucial for any business or brand with physical stores or service locations to focus on local SEO.
For more detailed findings, you can access the full BrightLocal survey results. Additionally, Marketing Land’s new digital agency survey provides further context and comparison for larger agency trends.
