Our efforts for clients always provide some level of success. But the projects that really “take off” are the ones where the client is more involved than not. We are always hired by clients as a resource because the expertise is not found in-house. Secondly, we are hired because nobody in-house has the time to address the needs of an SEO effort. The client projects that produce the least success come from those relationships where the client has virtually no understanding of SEO and aren’t particularly interested in learning about it.

So what does a “group effort” look like and how much does a client have to put into a project for it to succeed?

1) A basic understanding of SEO best practices is very helpful. Wikipedia is not a bad place to start. Google itself has reams of information. With a little knowledge you can then query prospective SEO consultants to find a good fit for your business. A good fit is someone you think you can work with that others recommend,  who charges a fee you can afford and takes the time to set expectations with you that are reasonable.

2) At the onset of the relationship find out how much input the consultant is going to need from you. We want to have a short conference call each month with our clients. This lets them know what we have been doing and lets us know what they plan to be doing in the coming month. This way our efforts are meshed.

3) Too many web site owners treat their sites like a brochure project. Once it has been built and deployed, they feel the job is done. Actually, this is when the job has just begun. After the initial deployment it is time to refine and clarify the information, add more and better graphical communication (pictures/videos/graphs/maps/etc) and most importantly, create a plan to grow the site with additional information pages. After the site is built is also the time when we can begin to gauge its effectiveness. Are we creating interest, inquiries, orders, leads ? How can we create more ? Brainstorming sessions in this vein can produce new ideas to test.

4) The biggest mistake we see web site owners make is a disconnect that occurs when a regular conference call is not employed in the process. Soon, the web site owner is making changes and adding pages to their site without notifying us. Before long, the site is “out of optimization” and after a while it requires a complete SEO audit to uncover incomplete or ineffective work.

Collaborating in a “group think” atmosphere helps keep everyone shooting for the goal. Everyone is kept in the loop and an effective project continues to march forward rewarding the web site owner with the “best bang for the buck”.

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