SEO Expectations Versus Reality
It’s hard to understate the value of SEO.
SEO is a service, when done correctly, that can really help a business grow by letting more potential visitors find them online.
SEO is a process that takes time and maintain high rankings. SEO is not a solution where you can just install a few features on the website an wait for the traffic to start to flow.
It is very important to be very clear with the client what to expect from their SEO in Bulgaria, otherwise retaining the client will become a problem, and can lead to unhappy clients who may leave before they can see the results that you know ca n be provided. So it is vital se to solid foundation of a good customer experience from the very first interaction at the start of the sales process to avoid any confusion.
Key Things that Happy Customers Understand About SEO
Onsite Edits Happen Within the First 30 Days
The SEO Audit will identify all the technical SEO work that will need to be accomplished in the first month. One issue is that this work is not very visible. It is the work that makes sure all pages work, that the site is mobile optimized, and that pages load quickly.
Some of this editing includes optimizing content and copy on a website, which is visible, but most items like updating the meta data are not. It is important to make sure that the customer understands these steps have been made by providing a detailed report of the actions taken.
Keyword Rank Improvement
Growth will be slow at first with the largest positive increases happening to rankings within 3-4 months of starting an SEO campaign. The goal is to reach page 1 by the end of month six of a campaign.
Ongoing Communication
Every single month, it’s important to check in to evaluate how a campaign is performing, and to change the approach if required.
Monthly reports that show the increased keyword rankings and website traffic reports must be provided. Reports from Google Analytics and Google Search Console can be very important in showing the traffic increase and which keywords are being searched for on your website.
SEO Requires a Commitment of at Least 6 Months
This is the biggest expectation of an SEO campaign that needs defining early and often. Because of all the steps and work that it takes in SEO, it requires at least six months before reaching page one for a website. Sometimes it’s less, but sometimes it’s more. It all depends on the industry, the competitive landscape for a keyword, and the location. But, in order to see an SEO campaign succeed, it’s important to set the expectation with customers that it will take at least six months.
Next Step Expectations
Once a website reaches page one of Google, SEO does not stop. If you simply stop a SEO campaign, a site will drop off the first page within three months or so. And in a competitive market or industry, that can make or break an industry with several organizations competing for that top spot. A full SEO campaign may not be required to maintain the first page ranking but regular SEO will still be required. If the client wishes to further improve their rankings then they may choose to keep going with the original plan.
Make sure customers understand this and have the budget to continue for the long haul.
Common Misconceptions that Lead to Unhappy Clients
In addition to setting the right expectations regarding SEO, it’s also important to help customers understand what SEO is not. We try to explain our strategies in simple terms to make our clients understand what we are doing.
SEO is not a short term solution
SEO isn’t something you can just turn on and turn off. It’s also not something you can just try for a few weeks and get substantial results. SEO takes time to build that relevance and trust with search engines. For immediate digital marketing results, it’s better to try a different tactic like Google Ads PPC.
It’s not possible to guarantee first page ranking results
Even though Optimized have a tried and tested methods to get results, it is not guaranteed that we can make a website reach page one for the required keywords. Sometimes a keyword insisted upon by a client is too competitive, or sometimes the goal of ranking is too broad, especially with national campaigns.
Each SEO Project id Different
At Optimized, we focus on what tasks we believe will achieve the best results for each client within their budget. This holistic approach helps us decide on which keywords to focus on and the kind of content we write. This approach also allows us to also work at scale and at cost for our tens of thousands of SEO customers.
