When The Client Might be to Blame for an SEO Mishap
A good SEO agency will be able to communicate what needs to be done on the client’s end. If this is successful, some things fall into the hands of the client, and this is where things can sometimes go wrong. It’s not always on purpose, but it happens.
The important thing here is to know when you as a client might be at risk of making a mistake. If you are aware of some of the common places clients don’t succeed when it comes to SEO it will be easier to prevent them in the future. Below are a few of these instances:
- Make design or content changes. Some SEO agencies will be given access to make design and/or content changes on their own, but in most cases something this major is still in the control of the client. If recommendations were made, it is the client’s responsibility to talk to developers and make it happen. It’s important that the client understands why the changes need to be made and is on board first, but then it’s time to act.
- Have a plan first. Going off of the previous point, it is important that there is a plan set in place so that the client knows what is happening. If an agency doesn’t understand the company goals, they could be optimizing all wrong and leave the client unhappy in the end. It is the job of the client to communicate what they want (or even communicate that they aren’t sure) so that things get done correctly.
- Too impatient. SEO takes a lot of time, and sometimes clients can get too impatient. If the SEO efforts are stopped, then SEO is obviously not going to succeed. As a client you want to be very aware of what steps are being taken because it is possible that the agency needs to go, but also remember to keep in mind that real results will come after a few months.
So when is the SEO agency to blame? All the time. If something is going wrong with your SEO and you’ve done everything that agency told you to do and there have been no Google algorithm updates in site, it’s the fault of the agency. It’s true that SEO is not something that can be guaranteed, and you can’t expect an SEO agency to get you results quickly, but that doesn’t mean they are free to make a lot of mistakes. Spend a few months and see how your rankings are doing, and know that if you did what they said to do, it’s not your fault!
How a Client Can React if a Mistake was Made
Playing the blame game really isn’t worth it in the end. A good SEO agency will take the overall blame, but there are little things that a client will still need to do in order to be successful. It’s a team effort, and understanding this idea is going to help your website be successful overall.
Have you ever been a client and felt like you could have done something to help your SEO agency? Let us know your story and your thoughts in the comments below.