With more and more customers doing their shopping online nowadays, SEO has become increasingly important to the success of online businesses while making ranking well on Google extremely profitable. However, Google’s algorithm has changed considerably over time and some former SEOs and people outside of the industry are not yet caught up with these changes.
Clients may dismiss your suggestions or actions surrounding SEO, but there are a few ways you can respond to persuade them. The goal is to acknowledge their tactics as legitimate but use real-world explanations to direct them to the correct path.
If you have trouble convincing your old-school clients that things have changed, check out these tips.
1. Being Respectful
Often, old-school clients simply do not understand the degrees to which SEO has changed. Some clients may ask about meta keywords, for example. It’s important to not make them feel embarrassed about being wrong. Yes – meta keywords haven’t been used in a long time, and Google may never have even used them – but the best way to approach this situation is to start by validating their idea then positively explain a modern tactic.
2. Being Honest
A good tactic is to support your suggestions based on client anecdotes, past experiences, the word of Matt Cutts, and Google’s official blog. Basing your tactics on quality sources will make your suggestions more reliable and persuasive, and could win over your client. That being said, don’t make up facts or arguments to prove your assertions, for your argument could appear less reliable and persuasive.
3. Being Direct
For any response or answer to your clients’ questions, it’s important to give a brief answer followed by a deeper explanation of that answer. Support that explanation with information or evidence and then reiterate your ideas. Follow this format and avoid rambling. Keeping your message succinct will keep your client satisfied and informed.
Source: Moz