How do you prepare clients for reality of SEO? Options

[creativearc]

I finished a project for a client which was very heads-up as far as Internet marketing is concerned. They knew the basics, so we didn't spend much time on it.

Then, they launched their site which is in a very competitive market, and wondered why they weren't on the top page.

I did my best to explain why this is the case (using reasons everyone here could recite by heart) but it didn't have the effect I wanted.

How do you prepare your clients for the realities of SEO?

[bwelford]

Welcome to the forums, creativearc.

One of the great advantages of Internet marketing is that there is tons of data. It's not like traditional marketing. Remember the old joke, "Half of my advertizing budget is wasted. The problem is I don't know which half."

I always find it useful to look at how the competition is doing. Are there particular competitors who are doing better in the SERP's? If so how are they stronger than your client? One proviso before you do a lot of work is to remember that it takes a month or two for even Google, which is the fastest of the majors, to find and index your website.

One tool I'm using quite often is the variant of Google that shows PageRank and back links. It's called Prog. Just look at the top ten for each of the main keyword phrases and see what you learn.

[Black_Knight]

How do you prepare your clients for the realities of SEO?

With full and specific data and advice.

I never assume that a client will know anything that I don't tell them. Even if they do know some of the things, a refresher is always useful so long as it is kept informative and interesting.

I always ensure that they know that the only reason PPI exists is because it otherwise takes time to get included in the SERPs. After all, if they want instant results I can upsell them a PPC campaign on top, etc.

[NorthStar]

I never assume that a client will know anything that I don't tell them. Even if they do know some of the things, a refresher is always useful so long as it is kept informative and interesting.

Very important. This is always time well spent. Even clients that say they "know about SEO" normally don't.

Manage expectations up front - Pick competitive terms for their industry and explain why the top ranking sites are ranking for those terms and then explain what it will take to get to the top.

Manage expectations again - Explain about how long it takes to get a site indexed. Make them understand that all of their actions have an impact on SEO. Getting a suprise "relaunch" of a site in the middle of an SEO program can be quite a problem. I've had that happen several times.

Explain that this isn't "magic" or "trickery". It's science. If they are expecting magic then they will be disappointed.

[HHI Golf Guy]

It's ironic (for me) that this question popped up today. We are working on this very issue with a potential client. We even published a short article on this very same topic this week.

One of the points that we discuss with potential clients is managing their expectations. Unfortunately, there are many people that have been led to believe that the internet is a great way to get rich quick. In the past, they have been led to believe that just publishing their website exposes it to tens of millions of web surfers.

The analogy that we make is that opening a virtual storefront is not that much different than opening a physical storefront. You need to perform your due dilligence and have a well thought out business and marketing plan. Among the other topics that are touched upon include choosing the proper location for your web site, finding "drive by" business, "window shoppers", and word of mouth advertising.

But one of the most important aspects that we touch upon is the time that it takes to build a successful online business. Any would be entrepreneur that has considered starting their own business has heard or read that unless they somehow managed to catch lightning in a bottle, that it will take 3-5 years before their new business turns any real profit. While it does not take that long to create great content, optimize the site, build links, and get the site spidered and indexed - it can take up to one year for a new site to bring in a high volume of TARGETED traffic. After all, almost anyone can bring junk traffic to a web site.

Educating the consumer can be a daunting task - especially when there are some uneducated website designers that still believe in Field of Dreams web site marketing - "If you build it, they will come".

[Adrian]

Educating the consumer can be a daunting task - especially when there are some uneducated website designers that still believe in Field of Dreams web site marketing - \"If you build it, they will come\".

I think thats probably one of the biggest problems, there are so many 'professional' web designers who can maybe make a very good looking site, but don't understand many of the other aspects. Or they may only know some of the commonly known basics, which probably includes some urban legends, rather than actual facts.

I look at some of the advice in some of the newsletters my predecessor signed up to and its no wonder really, when some of these things are being sent out to some fairly large readerships as if they are hard facts.

I guess thats where the idea that, a little knowledge is more dangerous than having none, comes from.

[glyn]

I've found it best to explain building a presence online in the same terms as building a brand, it's a slow process that takes time, you can spend your way to getting a name or you can mix it up (ppc + optimisation).

Obviously if you're guaranteing keywords and not delivering then you are going to be in trouble, and I think you'll find that the a large proportion of the agencies are selling on the PPC just to buy some security for their clients.

Underpromise over deliver.

Glyn.