A major challenge any service industry expert can expect to face is having a customer that knows enough to be dangerous and who is eager to assist you with your services. This participation could result in interference with your job and cause a strain on the partnership. We have all experienced that person who has used the web to research, or read books from the library on a specific trade in order to become a “do it themselves” type of person. Below, our SEO team has provided some feedback on how to keep the communication open.
Determine The Expectations and Roles
If you have a customer that attempts to help you perform the services you provide, we would recommend setting clear expectations and understanding precisely how the customer would like to be involved in the project they are hiring you for. Depending on the service being performed, having their assistance might help in the long run or it might hinder the job you are performing.
A Website Analysis – Several Questions We Ask
As an Omaha SEO Company, it is extremely important to ask the right questions about a customer, business prospect or expectations. Preparing yourself with the right questions explains to your client that you are here to help their business, and you want to know everything you need to know to get them results. Below,we have listed a few questions we ask during a free consultation for a website analysis.
- What do you sell?
- Who are you targeting?
- Where do you sell? (For example, our Omaha SEO customer might target the whole U.S.)
- What do you currently know about SEO?
- Have you performed any SEO techniques in the past?
- What are you trying to accomplish with your website?
Over the years, we have learned there are two types of customers: the participator and the do-er. The participator is willing to pay a price to have someone else perform a service for them. They want the finished results without much hassle. The do-ers want to know why and how you are performing techniques. Some clients will ask these questions with the good intention of simply wanting to understand your business. However, there is a slim chance they are asking in-depth questions so that they can learn what you are doing, and how you are doing it in order to perform these services on their own. This of course results in them not needing the services any longer.
What is Black Hat SEO and Why Stay Away
Within SEO, if the client knows enough about the industry and interferes by using black hat techniques, all the hard work performed for them within Search Engine Optimization can be cleared away practically overnight. Within the SEO world, Google has rules which present a good way of doing things and a bad way of doing things. The bad way is described as Black Hat SEO and it is considered cheating. Black Hat SEO can also be done by getting fast results which come only because someone is breaking the rules. Performing bad activities that Google does not allow can result in a website being removed from Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). These consequences could also result in a site being placed at the very bottom of a search query for its industry. Even worse, that person could to have to start their SEO campaign all over again.
Is Pay Per Click Right For Me
Within SEO, a client can decide they are not getting results fast enough and may be tempted to take matters into their own hands. At Big Red SEO, we avoid client interference by determining what our client needs versus what they want. At times, a need and want will align, but if they don’t, it provides us with a great opportunity to show them our expertise in SEO. For example: Our client wants to target organic SEO but they want quick results. A PPC (Pay Per Click) campaign might be a better fit for this person, as instant traffic could be achieved. Organic SEO can take several weeks or even months before seeing results. We let our clients know that we are happy to perform the service they requested, but the PPC campaign will truly give them the fast results they are looking for.
Do you have questions about starting setting expectations with your customers? At Big Red SEO, we can help you with our consulting services packages. Feel free to fill out our contact form, or call us today at (402) 522-6468 for your first hour free.