We feel we should be able to explain what we are doing simply so that clients feel still in command as well as getting good value.

But yes, we get our fair share of shall we say ‘challenging’ clients. I wonder how some of them treat doctors. (You WILL fix my son’s broken leg and he WILL win his football match at the weekend….?)

Thanks for reading and sharing your great thoughts!

Here is a heated discussion that I wrote about SEO guarantees:
http://www.searchengineoptimizationjournal.com/2010/04/23/guarantees/

Take Care!
Nick

Building solid content will get you ranked. Building links will get you ranked. Sitemaps, on-page optimization, clever key words and research will all help; but none of it happens overnight.

The web is a very big place. The site I am working on is spidered daily; but I don’t expect any significant effects for another couple of months. It is only six months old.

The reason being is that I’m only hearing one side of the story, the complaining client. I never get to hear the side of the SEO company, which I’m sure differs from the complainer. My bet is the complainer was a complete a$$hole and made unreasonable demands.

SEO companies get a bad rap from these types of clients who don’t know SEO from a hole in the wall. I do not believe the old adage “The customer is always right.”

You are also correct about contacting people to sell optimization services. Admittedly, I’m not a salesman. I let them come to me! Then I can calmly explain my services. And the first time they utter the word “guarantee”, I immediately put that fire OUT!

It’s almost hilarious when they say “So you guarantee bla bla bla?” “Nope”, I say. “I don’t guarantee a thing.” I just show them clients listings and where they are positioned. This speaks volumes.

NO WHERE on my site is the word “guarantee” yet they have the nerve to ask about it as if it is there is big red block letters.

OH! And lets not mention the client who tried to do his own Google maps listing, screwed it up to high heaven (merged listing nightmare, duplicate listings. I don’t take them as clients either) then expect YOU to clean it up. That’s why I check EVERYTHING before accepting them as clients and taking their money.

Thanks for reading and your question.

In my opinion and from my experience any SEO firm that send unsolicited emails, phone calls, etc for SEO services might not provide the best quality of service. Great SEO people don’t need to cold call for their services, they can get business through referral and various inbound marketing efforts (SEO, social media, PPC, etc.)

Hi Mark,

Great resource, thanks for sharing it with our readers!

I like what Gary said about managing expectations and educating the client particularly. I too am quite new to this and sometimes what seems like common sense to me is seen rather differently by the client who is still using the traditional old outbound marketing methods and doesnt really understand how the ‘interweb’ works.

http://marksprague.wordpress.com/about/its-easy-to-fail-at-seo/

TO EVERYONE … great comments … very much enjoyed the list Nick …

I’ll site a classic example of a combination of Trait #1 and Trait #2.

Once I had just discussed the SEO deliverables , our approach and what the whole SEO campaign shall include, he goes ahead and tells me – please don’t waste your time on all this on-page , off page stuff, XML sitemaps, etc.

Just give me the rankings , keywords and 1000s of links ASAP thats it.

Now to din the right meaning of SEO in such a person’s head is a real challenge.