4 Key Ways SEO Agencies and Clients Can Improve Their Communication and Relationships

Businesses of all sizes need a slew of different support services to help them stay competitive, especially in the digital world where the number of brands and websites keeps growing daily. As a result, brands partner with SEO agencies with excellent reputations, often in their own location to make sure the agency understands the local market and the target audience, as well as the technical requirements to succeed. Those relationships, however, depend on more than pure SEO expertise. A great service provider also needs to be able to adapt to each client and to discover ways to improve that relationship over time.

Some SEO agencies in rapidly expanding markets like Australia need to go that extra mile to retain their clients for the long haul. So, basic service packages and unimaginative interactions in such situations cannot really set your agency apart or help keep the relationship a long-term one. Here, we’ll provide a few tried and tested suggestions to improve your customer relationships and strengthen your reputation among your clientele.

Consider the language barrier

If you plan to work with global clients, you need to speak a common language such as English, or do your best to find a way to communicate with them in their own native language. After all, top-notch SEO depends heavily on keyword optimization and integrating the right language phrases in the right places, which cannot be done if you aren’t well versed in the target language.

  • Go that extra mile to showcase that you can communicate with your clients without any issues. If you’re not a native speaker or don’t live in the region, present your language certification as well as your SEO expertise. 
  • Make sure that your client-facing team members know the cultural and societal norms of communicating with your clients professionally, but in a friendly and approachable way. 

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Share your previous client case studies

One of the easiest ways for your agency to build trust and credibility is to create specific case studies that your clients will appreciate. Have you already worked with clients in Australia, successfully so, and what do you have to show for your collaboration? Offer a visually appealing study with clear metrics of how you’ve improved a Melbourne-based business or how you’ve helped a Brisbane retailer rank better.

This gives your clients the much-needed perspective of where they can be in the future if they give you enough autonomy and trust your expertise. Your work speaks volumes of your value and relevance, so let your case studies do the convincing, and offer testimonials, too. 

  • Post case studies on your website regularly to update your portfolio.
  • Offer specific insights regarding your success when you’re presenting a strategy to your client. Giving them a previous successful example will be more convincing than pure technical jargon, especially for business owners who aren’t that proficient in SEO.
  • Give them a realistic overview of what certain strategies can and cannot do. The online world is already brimming with overblown offers, and they need to know what they should expect – to which we’ll get shortly.

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Regular reporting for transparency

Since SEO strategies aren’t your “set it and forget it” type of process, it’s not enough to merely list the tactics you’ll implement and leave it at that. Especially when you’re helping businesses rank better in a specific location, you should go above and beyond to show precisely how you have selected the approach that will benefit them.

When working with Australian clients, an agency should specialize in Sydney SEO tactics as well as methods that deliver results in each individual region where they have a presence. Sydney-based businesses might need a different set of tactics from those implemented and useful for a Melbourne business, or a New York one for that matter. The best way to overcome this communication issue is to regularly report your results and keep your clients up to date, in a transparent and measurable way. 

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Set client-specific expectations 

Every client is unique, and recognizing that uniqueness should be reflected in a dedicated marketing strategy you create for them. That alone will help you determine the specificities of your relationship from day one, and setting expectations, KPIs, and client-specific goals will allow you to prove and showcase your success in measurable, quantifiable ways. It allows you to show your value in ways your clients will understand and appreciate it.

Determining the exact scope of work and target goals upfront allows you to work more closely together and, most of all, toward the same goals. It also helps prevent mid-project changes and shifts in direction that could undermine your productivity. Not every small business owner understands the intricacies of SEO, so setting clear expectations makes it easier for everyone involved to keep track of the progress of your campaigns. 

In conclusion

Some clients might not be a good fit for your agency, and that’s fine, the world is filled with potentially wonderful professional bonds waiting to be built. As long as you make sure that you build those bonds on the right foundation, you will have all the potential to retain them for the long haul, earn their references in the years to come, and secure your agency’s success. 

Featured Image by Diggity Marketing on Unsplash

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By Mike Johnston

Mike Johnston is an experienced writer, blogger, and editor with a background in marketing and creative writing. He’s produced thousands of pages of original, engaging content for numerous online publications throughout his career. Mike’s specialties are business, marketing, and technology, but he also often covers professional development and work-life balance.

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