How to build lasting relationships with SEO clients

Building lasting relationships with SEO clients is essential for sustained business success.

Retaining clients is far more cost-effective than continually acquiring new ones. 

However, many businesses overlook the importance of client retention. It can be really difficult in an industry like SEO where the client isn’t easily able to physically see the work that has been carried out, they often don’t really understand SEO either, which can present an additional challenge.

Setting expectations

It is so important to be open and honest and set expectations upfront when signing new clients. 

Promising results can be a tricky path to follow. Instead, you may find it better to offer up your experience and prior successes as evidence of your capabilities. 

It’s also vital that you ensure clients understand that SEO can take time to work and that expecting instant results is unrealistic.

Early days

Explaining your process and keeping your clients informed regularly in the early days of working together is really important. 

If you stay quiet and they don’t see tangible results, many clients can get nervous about the work you are completing. 

Sometimes, this can lead to buyer’s remorse and end the relationship early on. 

Instead, ensure that they understand the progress you are making, even if it’s not yet resulting in leads or sales into the business.

Client retainers

One of the most effective ways to ensure long-term relationships with your clients is through retainers. 

A retainer agreement provides a steady income stream and demonstrates your commitment to their ongoing success. 

It shows that you’re not just interested in short-term wins but are dedicated to helping them achieve sustainable growth. This stability fosters trust and allows for more comprehensive, strategic planning.

Tips for successful retainer agreements:

• Clearly define the scope of work and expected outcomes.
• Ensure transparency in your pricing model.
• Schedule regular check-ins to review progress and adjust strategies as needed.
• Include flexibility to adapt to changing needs and market conditions.

Performance and delivering consistent results

Performance is the cornerstone of any client relationship. Consistently delivering high-quality results is crucial to building trust and proving your value. 

Clients need to see tangible improvements in their SEO metrics, such as increased organic traffic, higher search rankings and better conversion rates.

If these results don’t come to fruition within the agreed-upon timeframe, then you’ll likely see the client move on.

One of the things you can do to mitigate this if you see things aren’t moving as quickly as you would like is to communicate this to the client before they bring it up as an issue.

This can give you time to adjust your strategy based on the data you have collected thus far. However, you will ultimately need to perform the job you’ve been hired to do and deliver improved results.

Dig deeper: 7 proven methods to explain the value of SEO

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Communication

Effective communication is vital for maintaining strong client relationships. 

Regular, transparent communication helps clients feel informed and involved in the process. It also provides an opportunity to:

• Address concerns.
• Answer questions.
• Make necessary adjustments.

If things start to drop, then don’t try to hide it. Explain what is happening and the plan to respond. 

There will always be fluctuations, some that are within the control of an SEO and some not (e.g., an impending election).

Being open and honest about this with your client helps to maintain trust over the long term.

Best practices for client communication:

• Schedule regular meetings to discuss progress and strategies.
• Provide detailed updates through emails or reports.
• Use project management tools to track tasks and milestones.
• Be responsive to client inquiries and proactive in addressing potential issues.

Dig deeper: How to keep your SEO clients engaged: 8 communication touchpoints

Reporting

Regular reporting demonstrates the value of your SEO efforts. Comprehensive reports should:

• Clearly show the progress made.
• Highlight key metrics.
• Outline the next steps. 

This transparency helps clients understand the impact of your work and reinforces your commitment to their success.

Make sure your reporting is tailored to the client’s requirements. Including complex or technical elements can often raise unnecessary questions or concerns. So keep it as brief as needed to present the key information in an easy-to-understand format.

In addition to reporting on prior performance, you can also include future tasks and strategies to illustrate what you will be focused on moving forward. 

For example, if traffic has dropped for a particular page on the website that usually does really well, you might include in your report that you are going to do XYZ work to address the issue.

Personalization

We all want to feel important when dealing with suppliers, personalization can ensure that you make every client special. 

After all, every client is unique, with different goals, challenges and market conditions. 

Tailoring your approach to meet their specific needs shows that you genuinely care about their success and are not offering a one-size-fits-all solution.

There are also personal touches you can add to help strengthen relationships and provide that extra level of service. 

Simple things like remembering the names of clients’ children, wishing them a happy birthday or asking how the big presentation that they were working on the prior month went. 

Things that add that human touch are key to long-term client retention. Doing it naturally is also important. If it feels forced, it can have the opposite effect.

Happy clients lead to successful SEO efforts

At the core of what we do as SEOs is helping our clients succeed. If we achieve that, then ultimately we achieve success in our own careers or businesses.

Constantly churning new clients through a service that ultimately falls short and fails to keep them on board is not much fun for anyone involved.

Instead, an open, honest and collaborative approach to SEO will have a much greater chance of building long-term relationships with clients.

You’ll keep these clients for years and they may refer others. If you work in-house, satisfied clients can also help you get promoted.

Dig deeper: Mastering SEO account management: The recipe for success