What is a good way to explain to a client that SEO is not an "ad service"?

[Atlanta-SMO]

(I provide thumbs up and "Good Answer" for responses as deserved)

I have a client who wanted to get his keyword rankings improved for local keyword terms.  He owns a service company.  We have provided a dramatic increase in his keyword rankings however he is not happy because his business has not increased much.

I have tried to explain to him that there are many factors that contribute to increased business such as website design, calls to action, review sites etc.  I guess I am not wording it correctly.

The client said that if they don't get better "results" (meaning more business) they are going to have to hire a new "ad agency"... He did not hire us to be an ad agency.  What is a good "soft" way of explaining the differences between SEO/SMO and an ad agency?

[Mike_Davis]

This is the reason why you need to be picky when selecting who to work with.  If I was you I would only work with brands that have a good website and are willing to put in the time and money to develop good content.  SEO will only do so much if the content and website are crap.

SEO:  Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine's "natural" or un-paid ("organic") search results.

SEM: Search engine marketing (SEM) is a form of Internet marketing that involves the promotion of websites by increasing their visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs) through optimization and advertising. SEM is generally understood as being paid.

From Wikipedia

I hope that helps

[danatanseo]

Honestly, the best way for him to understand the difference is for him to hire an ad agency.

That being said, I think this is a perfect example of why we, as SEOs, need to educate clients from the beginning regarding what we can and can't do for them. It sounds like you are in a situation where you're having to do the educating after-the-fact, which isn't a comfortable place to be (i'm sure I don't have to tell you that), but given where you are this is what I would do:

1. If you can, ask to meet with the client in person over coffee or lunch
2. Explain that you understand why they are frustrated and that you want them to be satisfied with your services
3. Apologize (even if you think you didn't misrepresent your services) and say that you didn't mean to be misleading in any way and ask what you can do to help make things right....even if that means referring your client to a good ad agency.
4. If you have the skills and man-power, offer to help with some usability testing or a CRO project. SEO in a silo just doesn't work any more. Explain that the goal should be revenue, not rankings, maybe it's time to reconsider which keywords this fellow is targeting?
5. Get feedback - Ask your client what it was in your approach, your verbage, or your advertising that led him to believe that you were an ad agency. Tell him you want to know so you can change it so that you can avoid future confusion with potential future clients.

This is what I would do. I know the dynamics of the situation may not be exactly the same as my scenario, but hopefully you can diffuse the situation and retain a happier client.

Dana

[EGOL]

< this is fun reply instead of an "answer" >

**The client said that if they don't get better "results" (meaning more business) they are going to have to hire a new "ad agency"... He did not hire us to be an ad agency.  **

heh....   Well... this guy is probably an "old fart" who thinks just getting you working should make money fall from the sky.  He might not even know here is a difference between his walk in sales and the business generated from SEO - and he probably isn't tracking it.

I am an "old fart" so I am qualified to give this answer.

What is a good "soft" way of explaining the differences between SEO/SMO and an ad agency?

I think that I would use "words" instead of "SEO/SMO"... he might not know what those mean.  Old farts have a really hard time with acronyms.

Also, keep in mind that some "ad agencies"  think that they can do SEO or anything else that you are willing to pay for - I mean, its advertising too, isn't it?

My bottom line analysis is... this guy might not be a good client.  In that case refer him to your competitor.

[Atlanta-SMO]

I understand what you are saying.  However I did educate this client and told him what he could expect.  I also told him that ethically and professionally I wouldn't guarantee new business from our services.  I told him what we would do and I have provided the reports backing up our end of the deal.  He just didn't seem to retain this...

[danatanseo]

If that's the case, if you feel that this fellow is not a good client, in other words, no amount of explaining seems to get through, I would do as EGOL recommends and refer him to a competitor. I hope that helps a little. Let us know what happens.

[AWCthreads]

If he's an old fart like EGOL, I suspect he's going to be more interested in hearing your explanation for increasing sales than explaining the difference between SEO and an Ad Agency.

He may also be a bad client, but you may have done a bad job detailing your services and framing the expectations.

At this point I'd show him Analytics that reflect improved rank in his keywords>increased traffic to website>increased traffic to the contact us page>increase in phone calls, emails and walk-in traffic.

He has a right to hold you accountable for performance. If you're not performing to his expectations then reframe the expections for both sides.

If you're performing but he can't close a walk-in sale, a phone call or an email then punt him to your competitor.

[jesse-landry]

"this guy might not be a good client.  In that case refer him to your competitor."

^THIS!!

Haha Egol you crack me up.

I would do everything these guys are saying. Explain to him EXACTLY what you are going to do. Draw up a plan and provide the intended/potential results. If he wants to do it, great. If he doesn't, great.

If you get a month into this and he isn't seeing results (which he probably won't be in that short of time) and this frustrates him, refer him back to the write-up you presented which explained this all carefully. If he wants to fire you, refer him to your competitors. Damn I love that.