13 Aug SEO in Relation To Client Servicing
Today we wanted to discuss the relationship between the SEO marketing agency and the client itself. The reason being is that there’s so much misconception out there. SEO is a very complicated service, many understand what the concept is but don’t do enough research to make sure that they’re following current guidelines given by Google, Bing, Yahoo Etc. At times we see software and hosting accounts pitching what SEO is or free SEO when it’s not enough SEO to get your website on the first top 10 ranking. There is a lot of misleading information out there that makes you assume that everything is SEO. Often times it may help your website a tiny bit (.001%) however it’s not enough to be able to make a difference in your business or organization. Here are some tips and tricks to understand search engine optimization in relation to the client and marketing agency perspective.
Our Love-Hate Relationship with SEO
We consistently have a love-hate relationship with SEO services, SEO is an ever-growing effort to learn and implement. Sometimes we hit it out of the park and keywords index within a month. Other times it takes more than what we expected from the original research. We love SEO because by the time it does rank first page on Google, Bing or Yahoo, that it does stay 4 months at a time depending on how competitive the keywords are. The real gems are that even though you may not ranked first page right away, the more effort does equal more page rank and other long tail keywords can be picked up along the way. We love search engine optimization because it gives everyone the opportunity to work in an industry that you may not have thought there was an opportunity to do so. SEO gives you the chance to give an underdog a shot to be able to rank amongst competitors that have bigger budgets for other alternative avenues such as Google AdWords where the cost-per-click may be too expensive to even attempt.
Understanding SEO with regards to Client Relations
Unfortunately in our shop, we end up taking a lot of clients from other marketing agencies because of their lack of awareness and search engine optimization skills. Because this service is not a one-size-fits-all type of technique, there are various ways to go about ranking your search engine optimization words. Sometimes techniques may take a little longer, sometimes they make take less time, and that needs to be expressed to the client honestly and not up-sold into a misconception. Three main common issues when it comes to servicing search engine optimization are; there needs to be a clear set of expectations for the clients to fully understand, there needs to be an experienced person on their team that understands how SEO works, and the marketing agency needs to have a proof-of-concept before selling to a new potential client so that there are no hiccups along the way. If these elements are not being met, unfortunately the client will disappointed in the overall service provided by the agency as a whole. Sometimes it’s not even the service itself, it may actually be the lack of communication between the client and the process that it takes to be able to properly inform what is being done with the SEO processes taking place.
Is SEO right for the client?
The main issues when it comes to recommending a service to a client is assessing their needs in the beginning. SEO for marketing agencies is a preference because it provides the agency of reoccurring revenue however sometimes it may not fit with what the client is looking for. If the client is looking for faster results within the month itself, SEO may not be a good option for them because SEO does take 3 to 6 months for local or lower competition keywords. If this is not expressed properly to the client, the expectations of the client will be different than the actual results.
Why does this matter?
The information above is provided to not only help the client understand where the marketing agency is coming from but also the marketing agency to help service their clients better. Whether it is our agency hired for a job or another marketing agency, we hope to make sure that the industry gains more respect as a whole. The marketing industry for decades has been associated with MLM or other non-technical professions as well as having agencies that are not well-equipped to provide services because there is no industry standard and mediation that we can all a abide by.
Client Duties
As a client, to be able to successfully get your SEO plan on schedule please make sure to do your research on the company that you may hire for the future. Call their references and ask questions about their previous jobs. In addition to, please collaborate and make sure to be involved in the SEO process. In fact keyword research is one of the most important aspects of SEO because it will provide a map to how and how short your SEO keywords will rank. If the keywords are not good keywords sometimes you may find that when your ranked first page, you may getting any leads.
The company is yours so make sure that the content is tailored to how you want your brand to look and how it will be found for future opportunities. Don’t forget to ask questions, questions help you understand how this process works and it makes you aware of whether the company understands what they’re doing.
SEO Works
SEO is a process, understand that this technique works and has been working since beginning of search engines. The sooner you start the more opportunities that you’re providing to your business, organization or dream. If you do not have the budget for it right away, start writing blog posts about the topics or services that you provide. Search engine optimization is completely free so understand when you’re hiring someone to do that work you’re paying for their time, and expertise. Anything that has a search engine, (outside of social media) you will be able to use search engine techniques to help the rankings of those sites for example Ebay.
White-Hat Only
As a final note, please understand that if you use techniques that are considered Black-Hat or somewhat fishy, that Google will and has the power to hurt your domain. Yes you were trying to manipulate the search engines however do it correctly via their policies, so that you are not the hurting your business. First educate yourself in what are the differences in the techniques of SEO, then feel free to try yourself.
For those interested or have questions about search engine optimization, our marketing studio is based in Oakland Park, nearby Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Feel free to contact us at any time, we have a chat button on the lower right-hand side, and as well a phone number you can call during business hours.