The industries that need SEO the most are:
- Home service and repair businesses
- Healthcare and medical services
- Restaurants and food services
- Blogging
- Ecommerce
- SaaS
- Professional services
- Fitness and wellness
- Salon and spas
- Real estate
The target audience for SEO services are businesses without mainstream branding, whose audience commonly finds their offer through Google. These are typically small and medium-sized businesses. SEO can offer these types of businesses an effective marketing channel that is much more affordable yet highly effective compared with traditional channels, like television commercials and billboards.
Big companies do need SEO. The big companies that need search engine optimization are the companies that rely on an online presence to generate revenue. For example, Forbes uses SEO to rank for many high traffic keywords. They generate profit by promoting the products of other companies for a fee or commission. Major brands with Ecommerce channels like Walmart use SEO to appear at the top of Google for product searches. However, big companies typically aren’t optimal to target for SEO services. Most of these companies already have in-house SEO teams. This ensures SEO campaigns are well aligned with branding and other marketing initiatives.
Local businesses are particularly good to offer SEO services to. These businesses can benefit tremendously from organic traffic. Data from Google shows that nearly half of all searches have local intent. That means customers commonly use search engines to find local businesses. Local businesses need SEO to show up on Google for these searches.
I have over a decade of experience doing SEO. I've ranked hundreds of websites for local search and rank globally for some of the most competitive keywords on the internet. In the following article I detail which industries need SEO the most and which services you can sell them for high profits.
1. Home service and repair businesses
Home service and repair businesses offer installation and maintenance for various systems in the home. Common home service and repair business include:
- Plumbing
- Electrical
- HVAC
- Roofing
- Pest control
- Appliance repair
- Landscaping and lawn care
- Painting
- Cleaning
Home services need SEO the most because people don’t find these types of businesses at a physical location. People often search on Google to discover home services businesses in their area. That is where these businesses have the greatest visibility and reach outside of traditional channels. For instance radio, newspaper, and direct mail.
Although they aren't found at a physical location, their service is location dependent. These businesses can leverage SEO tactics like a Google Business profile and website to show up in local search.
Approximately 80% of people searching for home services don’t have any specific company in mind, according to Sixth City Marketing. That means a potential customer has minimal bias for these service providers. A company ranking on the first page of Google for home and service keywords has a good chance of attracting a new customer.
2. Healthcare and medical services
Healthcare and medical services maintain and improve individual and population health. Healthcare and medical services include professionals like:
- Doctors
- Dentists
- Laboratories
- Physical therapists
- Psychiatrists
- Chiropractors
- Acupuncturists
- Nursing homes
- Optometrists
Many people use digital channels to find local medical services. In fact, a study published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics found that 58.5% of US adults use the internet to find medical information. Google is the most common channel for this. Data from Google shows that 5% of all Google searches are health-related. As such, it’s important for healthcare and medical service providers to optimize their online presence for Google search.
The unique SEO challenges that medical providers may face include:
SEO agencies that focus on these areas can support medical service providers to maximize their visibility.
3. Restaurants and food services
SEO is important for restaurants and food services. Data shows that 90% of people search online before making a dining decision. Without establishing a solid online presence, restaurants have trouble attracting new clients.
Review management is one aspect of SEO that is especially important for restaurants these days. People typically won’t eat at a new restaurant without first verifying they have good online reviews. There are many places where restaurants can collect reviews online. As such, review management for these businesses relatively complex.
A Google Business Profile is one of the main places that restaurants can collect reviews. Solid reviews here can help a restaurant show up in the Google Map Pack for local searches. In fact, a restaurant’s Google Business profile actually gets 7 times more views than their website on average, according to Mobal.
However, modern restaurants also need to manage reviews on other platforms where people look for reviews. These include Yelp, Foursquare, and OpenTable. These days, a major portion of the population orders food through food delivery apps like Uber Eats and DoorDash. As such, reputations on these platforms should also be managed to maximize restaurant profits.
The average profit margin for food services is slim at just over 10%, according to New York University. Proper SEO enables restaurants to maximize profits and stay in business.
4. Blogging
SEO is the main traffic channel for blogs. Pure blog businesses like Making Sense of Cents and Minimalist Baker wouldn’t exist without SEO. 53% of bogging traffic comes from organic search, according to BrightEdge. Blogs create content for the purpose of attracting a niche audience. Some of the most popular blog niches include travel, personal finance, lifestyle, and food. Blogs monetize this traffic through a variety of methods. These include affiliate marketing, digital products, sponsorships, and display ad networks. Without SEO, blogs wouldn’t be able to attract very many visitors and capitalize on the interest in the niche and its products.
When a new blogger on Reddit asked if SEO still works for blogs, another Redditor notes the importance of focusing on user intent for blog posts.
5. Ecommerce
Ecommerce is selling products online. You can sell Ecommerce through a website, like by using Shopify or WooCommerce. You can also sell Ecommerce through a marketplace, like on Amazon, eBay, or Etsy. Ecommerce stores can use a variety of tactics for driving traffic, including running PPC ads and posting social media content. However, investing in SEO can help Ecommerce business owners to maximize profit margins.
Take the example of an Amazon FBA business that sells a private label product. Amazon is the largest search engine specifically for Ecommerce. Most Amazon sellers need to pay to run Amazon PPC ads to get product visibility. Amazon PPC ads cost between $0.02 and $6.00 when the ad is clicked, depending on the product’s competition level. It’s important to be on the first page of Amazon because 70% of Amazon customers never click past the first page of results, according to Thrive Agency.
When selling a private label product on Amazon, the goal is to get the product to show up on the first page for the product’s target keyword organically. With proper Amazon SEO, you can get a product to rank on the first page of Amazon without ads. That way, you can avoid the additional expense of running Amazon ads.
There are also SEO techniques to get Ecommerce products to show up on the first page of Google SERPs. This helps avoid spending money on Google Ads to get sales for the product and increases the profit margin.
6. SaaS
SaaS, or software as a service, is selling cloud-based software. Popular examples include Salesforce, Zoom, Slack, and Microsoft 365. These softwares can’t be bought in a physical store but instead are purchased and accessed through the internet.
SaaS products are highly competitive. The industry is attractive because of the ability to sell a digital product at a premium price that can generate recurring revenue. As such, running paid ads for a SaaS product can be exceptionally high. Even small and medium size SaaS companies pay between $15K to $20K per month for PPC campaigns, according to First Principles Growth.
SaaS companies that can rank well on Google and other search engines organically for their target keywords can avoid spending as much on PPC campaigns. SEO is also just generally a great marketing channel for SaaS. B2B SaaS products achieve a 702% ROI on average from SEO campaigns, according to First Page Sage.
7. Professional services
Professional services are performed by an individual that has undergone special training to perform the service. Common professional services include:
- Lawyers
- Financial advisors
- Accountants
- Architects
- Marketing managers
- Scientists
Many professional services are highly saturated with competitors. Ranking on the first page of Google provides these service providers with a major advantage over the competition. In fact, the majority 79% of law firms report that SEO is their most effective marketing channel, according to The National Law Review.
Professional services typically have high local demand. As such, they want to be found by clients in the area. A solid local SEO strategy can help them accomplish this and get more clients by showing up in the Google Map pack.
8. Fitness and wellness centers
Fitness and wellness centers are fixed-location facilities that provide health-related equipment and advice. Local SEO is especially beneficial for this industry. Search engines are one of the main channels that people use to find these types of facilities near them. A Google Business profile can provide useful information. This includes proximity to a searcher’s home, open hours, pricing, reviews, and even photos of the facility.
The gym industry is highly competitive, with over 32,000 gyms in the US alone, according to ABC Fitness. Boutique gyms without brand recognition can struggle to compete against established franchises. These include Anytime Fitness and Planet Fitness. An optimized Google profile with good reviews can help attract new clients comparing their options. A gym with over 20 positive reviews is much more likely to sign the client compared to a gym with less than 5 reviews, according to the Fitness CPA.
A digital marketing agency owner on Reddit mentions the effectiveness of their local SEO campaign for their client. They note that local SEO is driving new membership signups weekly.
9. Salons and spas
Salons and spas are location dependent businesses. They offer wellness and cosmetic services like massages, facials, and pedicures. These businesses need SEO to attract local customers into their doors.
Proximity and ratings are two of the leading factors that people consider when choosing to visit these types of businesses. For example, approximately 90% of people will not consider a salon with an online rating less than 9 out of 10, according to Zenoti. As such, having solid reviews on Google and other platforms like Yelp is essential for an SEO strategy for these businesses.
One Reddit user mentions how photos and video testimonials are SEO tools that can help salons gain visibility in Google.
10. Real estate
The real estate industry encompasses professionals like real estate agents, investors, property managers, and developers. This industry needs SEO because search engines accommodate a high amount of real estate searches. In fact, 78% of all property searches begin with search engines, according to Surfer SEO.
SEO drives solid results for real estate professionals. SEO delivers an average ROI of 1,389% for this industry. It outperforms PPC with 36% return, social media with 182% return, and webinars with 430% return, according to Ranktracker.
What are the most profitable SEO services to offer?
Is SEO still relevant?
SEO is still relevant in 2024 because Google still processes approximately 8.5 billion searches per day. As such, many people are turning to search engines to find businesses and their information when making decisions. Businesses will continue to seek SEO services as long as people continue to use these search engines to find that information.
SEO is in high demand. The industry grew an incredible 18.3% from $75.13 billion in 2023 to $88.91 billion in 2024, according to Research and Markets. The industry outlook for SEO is positive. It’s expected to reach $129.6 billion by 2030, according to Fortune.
Can SEO make you rich?
SEO can make you rich. For example, James Dooley has an estimated net worth of $100 million dollars as a result of SEO. James does the SEO business model of local lead generation through his company Promo SEO. He has ranked thousands of websites using SEO and rents them out to local businesses in the UK to generate profit.
Besides local lead generation, starting an SEO agency also has the potential to make you rich. This is a highly scalable business model where you can stack as many clients as your business can accommodate. You should charge between $250 to $10,000 for SEO monthly.
Conclusion: Is SEO a lucrative career?
SEO can be a lucrative career. However, the average salary for an SEO specialist is just $63,540 per year in the US, according to Indeed. That’s not particularly lucrative compared to other career options. For SEO to be a lucrative career, it’s best to start some kind of business that leverages SEO to drive traffic to a product or service.
I recommend the local lead generation business model because it has enabled me to have a lucrative career in SEO. I consistently earn over $50K per month from my local lead generation SEO agency. This business model involves setting up websites that attract customers for business owners. Basically, creating and renting a readymade marketing channel that uses SEO to attract customers.
I teach a community of over 7K students the tactics I use to rank these websites and rent them to local business owners. If you’re looking to start a lucrative career in SEO, my local lead generation program might be a great opportunity for you.
