If you or someone you know is a business owner whose business has been shut down or severely hobbled by Coronavirus regulation or the like, I’m glad to offer a bit of local SEO/search/visibility advice free of charge or obligation. All you’d need to do is read the stuff below and email me your questions.
It’s possible you’re not legally allowed to see customers / clients / patients at all, or in the way you usually do. In that case maybe you have a plan B you want to get off the ground, or you’re rolling out a remote, “socially distanced” version of your service, or you just want to use your downtime to maximum effect so that business is OK once this has stabilized. For goals like those I can probably help.
Some things to know – please read all of this before contacting me:
1. I can offer only a limited amount of help. My family and clients are my first priorities, and I have a full dance card. I can’t do hands-on work for you, or spend much time. The ideal situation is you have some specific and pressing local-search-related questions, and just want clear guidance on what to do. I’ll email you back. There’s a chance I’ll also suggest a quick phone call, if that’s the quickest way to convey my suggestions.
2. Your struggles need to be specifically because of Coronavirus. I’m thinking of dentists who aren’t allowed to see patients at all, doctors who can’t perform elective procedures for a while, and restaurant owners who rely on butts in the chairs more than on takeout – for example.
3. Some groups of people I can’t help. If you’re a marketer/SEO with a client who’s been clobbered by recent events, you’ve got my empathy, and you can send this to a client and he or she can contact me and CC you, but I wouldn’t send you advice that you white-label and charge for. If you’re a competitor of one of my clients, I probably can’t help (for obvious reasons). If your business is one that’s in a temporary slowdown, but not in a real pinch caused by COVID-19 regulation or aftermath, then I can’t offer any pro bono help, because you’re in the same situation as probably 80% of businesses. My SOP is “I know it when I see it.”
4. You may want to check my list of posts first, to see if I’ve done a blog post that does the trick. (I’d love to hear if that’s all you needed.)
5. Send me at least a brief rundown on the situation CV has created for your business. I will ignore “I’m here for the free help, k thx”-type requests. I just want to make sure you truly need help, and that it’s entirely or mostly because of regulations (or similar fallout) that hit your business unusually hard.
6. If you need or want more help than I can provide pro bono, I’ll need to point you in another direction. I’ll tell you one of three things: (1) “Just follow those suggestions and see how far you get,” or (2) “Consider such-and-such service I offer,” or (3) “Contact so-and-so, who may be able to help – though probably not for free.” I’ll still point you in the right direction on whatever questions you send me, if possible. It’s just that I have an obligation to “flatten the curve” on the time I spend on any one situation.
7. Some problems don’t have a local search/SEO solution.
Why am I offering to help Coronavirus-clobbered businesses for free? Just for good karma. On the one hand, I’m stingy with my time, because I need most or all of it to meet my commitments. But on the other hand, if in the short time left over I can help people in a pinch, that makes me feel good. I’ve helped veterans pro bono in a similar way for many years, and that’s worked out well. We have an understanding, and so I can offer a little help to people who can and do use it. Should be a similar situation here.
Plus, I always like an up-close success story.
Anyway, if all that describes your Coronavirus conundrum and the fine-print sounds reasonable, feel free to email me or to pass this along to someone you know.
Other people offering pro bono local SEO help during the Coronavirus crisis:
- Chris Barnard of Social Dental Network. Consider contacting Chris if you’re a dentist who’s had to hunker down, consider contacting.
- Dani Owens of Pigzilla. I’ve worked with Dani on many client projects over the years. Dani also builds websites, so if you were already considering a new site, but need to hold off until things settle down, now may be a good time to get to know her.
You can leave a comment on this post if you have questions about the above. (No specific SEO questions in the comments, please. That’s what your email is for.)
I am a hands on body worker, craniosacral therapist, in a wealthy town. Everything closed down last week. I have one home bound client for the fore seeable future. I am gifted and have partnered with another therapist and do long distance work over the phone. It is fascinating effective work. We have done nothing to build out this business. Primarily because it is up to me to figure it out. I don’t know how to do SEO without a storefront. I have a broad description and some testimonials for a webpage. I haven’t gone public with it as I don’t know how to. I know this isn’t your specialty but you may know someone who will be perfect. Lots of time to focus on this next step. Thanks for the opportunity to express.
That’s a tough situation, Gail. You can email me to tell me more about your situation. I want to keep the comments section focused on the pro bono offer itself – questions, clarifications, other people who want to help, etc. – rather than about specific situations and my SEO suggestions.
Phil – Awesome offer that can help some people who really need a boost. Good on you, man!
Thanks, Edgar!