Today, SEO plays a critical role in the success of any business, especially those that rely heavily on digital marketing.
This is because people generally rely on the internet to discover new products and services.
With this shift from brick and mortar retail outlets to online e-commerce platforms, people find out about new brands through online reviews rather than word of mouth.
In this digital world, one of the major mediums through which businesses have been able to attract high online traffic to their e-stores is through search engine optimization, also known as SEO.
Through this process, businesses increase the rank of their web pages so that they are visible on the first page when people search for the relevant keywords.
If the rank is high the business can expect to receive a major chunk of the traffic from users redirected from the search engines.
Realizing the importance of SEO, many businesses are now trying to make sure that their website outranks its competitors so that they can potentially generate more revenue.
This has led businesses to hire experts who know how to navigate the complex world of SEO.
However, this has also amplified the pressure on agencies to meet the expectations of their client.
These expectations can sometimes take a toll on the SEO experts because the client is unaware of the complexities of SEO and how it actually works.
This is why it is necessary to manage client expectations before they spiral out of control.
The following are some reasons why this management of expectations is important.
Time Wastage
When client expectations become too unreasonable, then the efforts of the SEO expert might be wasted.
So if client demands are unreasonable, then the SEO expert may never succeed in satisfying their wishes.
Such unrealistic expectations can build up a lot of undue pressure on the SEO expert.
This puts a lot of stress on the expert, thereby preventing him from effectively completing the work.
Negotiating with the client to manage his expectations may seem daunting to most SEO’s but it is a necessary step that must be done.
Dysfunctional Relationship
When client expectations are not managed effectively, it can lead to a dysfunctional relationship between the client and the agency.
This negatively affects the work, thereby causing the business to lose potential business.
A healthy relationship is essential for achieving good SEO results. A poor relationship has an adverse impact, not only on the client’s business but also on the expert’s reputation.
This discourages other businesses to seek help from the relevant SEO expert because of his past reputation.
A well functioning relationship is in the best interests of the client and business.
A happy client eventually leads to more business for the SEO expert in the form of new clients.
Likewise, a happy expert leads to better work and eventually an optimized search engine performance.
SEO Doesn’t Replace Paid Ads
This common SEO misconception among clients can set unnatural expectations.
SEO works best in conjunction with paid ads rather than in isolation.
Each has a distinct, but complementary, role to play in driving traffic to the targeted webpage.
It is best to clarify this with the client at the beginning of the relationship so that the expectations are effectively managed.
Is SEO for You?
SEO, though crucial, does not improve overnight. The results may take some time, but a more long-term approach might be helpful.
When the results are delivered, they will eventually be worth the wait and improve your website traffic drastically.
This is why some SEO experts also offer a variable price, which allows the client to pay as per the performance of the expert.
This helps the client to confidently seek help from the SEO expert.
