There is a TON of SEO business opportunity out there. After all, SEO is a $80 billion dollar industry according to the latest data.
It may appear as though a few companies have taken a large majority of the market share and won’t ever let it go, but we know that’s just not true based on what we’ve seen in the entire lifespan of SEO companies.
What solutions were dominating just 5 years ago is no longer in the conversation today. Todays companies will need to continue to innovate, or they too will fall to the same fate as those that came before them.
With that said, there is greater opportunity in SEO than ever before due to the ever changing landscape of the industry, along with the decreasing cost of talent and barriers of development.
In all our years as SEO consultants we’ve continually come across the same problems, yet never wondered why a company has yet to spawn to solve it.
Here are a few anyone can take and run with:
- Google Sheets alternative that can scrape data (e.g. SERP results, tables, tags etc.) with straightforward formulas and can easily handle a large number of rows without crashing.
- All-in-one marketing CMS that covers SEO, email, analytics, feedback, landing pages and PPC management. In simpler terms, the likes of WordPress + SEMrush + Mailer Lite + Google Analytics + HotJar + LeadPages + AdEspresso consolidated into one ecosystem.
- Directory of SEO agencies where you can filter by exact budget, response times, event attendance, niche, previous work and after-hours availability. Also broken down into SEO subcategories such as link building, content marketing, local, technical audits etc.
- Certification authority where individuals can be independently tested, verified and qualified as an SEO “expert”. Synonymous to the Google Ads certification.
- SEO software that will tell me what to do, from point A to point Z and not allow me to proceed until it has been done — basically a glorified SEO checklist with accountability.
- Technical courses made specifically for SEOs to do their job with greater efficiency i.e. only teach the absolutely necessary aspects of Python/Shell/Excel/Regex/Xpath that a SEO may need when interacting with websites, data, servers etc.
- Mega batch URL analysis software — in the range of 5000+ URLs (not 200 like some tools offer), analyzing metrics such as backlink data, as well as last crawl, indexation status and meta data. Essentially, a cloud version of URL Profiler, with a few extra features tacked on.
- Shortlinking service that is actually short (less than 5 characters), does not require a login to use, acts as a 301 and has a legible path e.g. a link could be l.io/page instead of bit.ly/u2xM3iAo.
- A keyword tool that actually breaks down keyword groups by intent (transactional, navigational or informational) so we can understand what types of keywords to cater our content to. **UPDATE** This has been done thanks to GetKeywords.
- Affiliate program suited for recurring payments (e.g. SaaS), with SEO-friendly URLs, while having an open marketplace of pre-approved affiliates who can immediately promote it, without requiring to use their dedicated payment gateway. Think of a hybrid between Post Affiliate Pro and Clickbank.
- Search engine that is powered by a common crawl, but directed by social influence. In other words, the results for any search query would be determined by verified users (in any social network) who have indicated which resource is the most relevant, helpful and deserves the number one spot. This concept was once tried by a company called Younanimous/AfterVote, although they seemed to limit results to those within your own network. Bing seemed to lean in this direction at some point, but it was abandoned soon after.
- Software that will automatically attribute a link back to your site when someone copies your content, just like Tynt used to do before they were acquired.
- Broken link finder for entire categories of sites. The broken link checkers that currently exist only scan individual URLs, which is not ideal for larger campaign link building. The optimal broken link finder would be one where a user can highlight a specific category, then have the tool discover broken links in that niche. Ideally, it could also find the email address of each respective website owner, which would optimize cold outreach efficiency.
- Indexation status provider which can provide regular updates on how your website is being indexed and crawled, displaying metrics such as index page count, previous index page count, last three crawls (days/times) and overall visibility score. Basically, a user-friendlier version of Google Search Console.
As technology improves, there is no doubt a lot of these problems will go away on their own, or an existing tool will introduce a feature that manages to address them. Regardless of how it is accomplished, it will be an awesome day when it is!
