I hope you find this advice useful when you’re next needing to turn around an SEO skeptic. Remember that if they’re talking to you in the first place, the battle is half-won – good luck with the rest of the fight!

On the other hand, if you’re a local business owner reading this who wants to feel less alone in their distrust of SEO, I hope this guide has shown you that while you may have had bad experiences in the past, there are plenty of other fish in the SEO sea (okay I’ll stop now.)