In the beginning of my SEO career, I had the opportunity to work for a person who was interested in learning about SEO as much as I was. He virtually gave me carte blanche on the resources and time I needed (within reason) to make sure I had what I needed to learn and produce results. Because of this, I was able to suggest strategies and lines of thought with very little resistance. He also understood there was so much to learn about the subject, and nothing could change that except time, effort, and trial and error.
So, this brings me to another story. So let’s say “I have a client” who is implementing a very large SEM / SEO strategy involving multiple websites across multiple geographic regions. Let’s also say I’ve prepared a comprehensive SEO strategy based on proven results and we’ve reached the “push back” part of our process.
This brings me to a few questions. Do I:
- Listen to their concerns, stand my ground and say “this is the way it is… no ifs ands or buts”. OR do I …
- Listen to their concerns, explain why I made the decisions the way I did and try to make them understand my logic? OR do I…
- Disregard my strategy and do what the client wants done because they are the owner of the website?
I believe it needs to be a combination of all three. The client hired me to develop their SEO strategy because they have neither the expertise nor time to implement it on their own. I also think there is a fine line between showing the client I know what I am doing versus doing whatever the client thinks is right. I think there are also subtle ways to remind the client that they chose me for a reason.
There must be a “period of education” for the client so that I can teach them some basic concepts of what their SEO strategy involves. This period of education needs to start at the very beginning of the SEO process to make sure the client is aware of my methodology and has an understanding of the direction of the strategy. Conversely, the client has the opportunity to teach me about their industry. Sometimes I have to remind myself that just because I know how to develop an SEO strategy, doesn’t mean I understand all the nuances of their business. By taking a little more time learning about their business, will I truly become good at developing an SEO strategy for that particular business and their industry.
Lastly, I believe I need to keep an open mind because I might not hear something the client says that could spark a completely brilliant thought process. I can’t tell you how many times my first boss and I would sit down over coffee and just talk about the real estate and mortgage business when I would have a flash of brilliance (or at least I thought it was) about a particular part of the SEO strategy I was working on at the time.
To Be Continued…. SEO vs. EGO Part II
