Once a client hires your SEO firm to improve search rankings then they will also expect a rise in web traffic. Usually, clients expect instant results and may badger you if their sites do not witness high volumes of traffic and conversions within a few days or weeks.
You will not only need to calmly convince your clients that their websites will witness increased traffic in due course, but will also need to provide proof of your efforts. Here are some tips on how you can convince your clients to wait and witness increased traffic to their sites.
You can begin by educating your client with related articles published on respectable websites such as Moz, Search Engine Watch, Google, etc., that explain the actual process of running a successful campaign and the time taken for rankings and traffic to improve. In addition, you can also provide details of your client’s competitors along with concrete data to show the time taken for their sites to witness increased traffic after SEO implementation. This will provide them with a basic overview of how SEO efforts take time to show results, especially when they are implemented using White Hat techniques.
Your next step should be to show them data related to their own sites. You can show them rankings reports and how your keyword strategy has increased your client’s rankings. This may not result in high traffic within a short time-frame, but will indicate that you have put in efforts that are in the right direction. You can click on Sources, then on Search, and then on Organic in Google Analytics to show your client detailed data of keywords that are bringing in traffic. You can show your client the “before” and “after” traffic reports by changing the date range before and after you initiated your SEO campaign.
You must also remember to document all your SEO efforts by creating events in Google Analytics or any other SEO tool that you may be using for your client. You can allow your client to access that data so that they know just what you have been doing to improve traffic to their site. They will also be able to understand just how tough it is to boost rankings and traffic, especially in high-competition markets.
Sending regular reports to your client is a must since this pro-active approach will show that you are in control of the campaign and that you care for that client. You can send such reports through emails on a weekly, fortnightly, or monthly basis depending on your arrangement with the client. In addition, if there is a sudden upward surge in traffic or if you have initiated special steps to boost rankings then you can send a report without prior intimation so as to keep your client informed and happy about your efforts.
In addition to delivering rankings and traffic reports, you can also provide reports on other metrics that play an important role in enhancing website visibility and boosting brand image. You can compile and send reports to your clients about the presence that you may have established on social media sites including shares, tweets, fans, etc., along with details of their own sites that include number of site visits, pages viewed, bounce rates, live links, conversion rates, etc. You must ensure that your client’s position is in a better state than before you were hired when you present these statistics, if you do not want a dressing down from them.
The above tips will keep your clients informed about your SEO efforts as well as present proof that their rankings have improved and that they can slowly witness an increase in traffic in coming times. A combination of statistics as well as patience in explaining that it takes time for organic results to bear fruits will convince your clients that the SEO campaign will yield positive results. These steps will also allow you to maintain a healthy working relationship with your clients on a long-term basis.