With a candle, you can look for a customer who would not like the positioning service of his website to be at the PRO level. In a situation where the Internet provides the opportunity to obtain basic information on SEO along with (better or worse) hints on how to implement it yourself, a specialist must offer something more. So what is this unique PRO element that makes it worth entrusting the website to experts and paying for this service? What does professional SEO mean in practice?
Professional website positioning functions on several levels. This concept is not strictly assigned to SEO agencies or freelancers. In fact, regardless of the cooperation model you choose, you will hit right or wrong. What does “hit well” mean in this context? What distinguishes professional website positioning?
First of all … experience and professional SEO!
An experienced SEO specialist has already seen many pages. As a result, it is easier for him to spot errors, assess their impact and significance for the effectiveness of positioning, and develop a strategy. It is not about a misunderstood routine and the use of one developed template when creating a positioning strategy that does not take into account the specificity of a given website, individual arrangements with the client, his expectations, limitations related to the possibility of modifying the website, etc. Experience is associated with the knowledge of the specifics of, for example, various CMS stores and engines, their strengths and weaknesses, limitations, modifications and optimization. This experience resulting from working with many websites – “years of practice” – will increase the probability that it will be a professional and mutually satisfying cooperation.
Second… the ability to say no
A professional SEO specialist is not afraid to say no. Information from customers regarding their expectations, experiences with the positioning service, key elements of the offer are very important and will be useful for the positioner. Good communication increases the chance that the customer will be satisfied. But what to do in a situation where the customer’s idea or his expectations for the service are unrealistic, impossible to implement, exceeding the assumed budget or harmful (even potentially) to the website? The professional will not be afraid to inform the client about it. The apparent consent on such hot spots is usually a harbinger of future problems that will be much more difficult to deal with in the future. It is also worth remembering that the best agencies and freelancers are not under a drip and simply will not take on topics for various reasons hopeless just to squeeze out of them as much money as possible and few effects.
Third … realism in action and evaluations
This point is indirectly related to the characteristics of an SEO professional presented in the previous sections. Knowing at the start, among others customer expectations, budget and possible readiness to increase it can propose actions and solutions that take into account these elements and will at the same time give a satisfactory effect. The reaction of the client who hears at the very beginning that reaching the desired goal will take an estimated minimum of 6 months with certain assumptions (here you can insert information about the pace of approving changes or content development on the website) is different from that resulting from over-optimistic messages like ” after a month you will be satisfied ”.
Fourth … collaborates with other people involved in the project
It is not uncommon for an SEO specialist to be able to demonstrate the ability to communicate well and cooperate with people who do not necessarily know the specificity of the services they provide. In short – they don’t say “positioning”. Popular situations in which such contact occurs include the implementation of changes to the website in terms of programming, providing recommendations on how to prepare a new website in terms of SEO, how to create valuable content supporting the positioning process, etc. Depending on the situation, the SEO specialist must be able to convey your message to programmers, creators of a new website, people from the marketing department or the “boss of all bosses” in the client’s company. The real art in such a situation is to find a common language, communicate and convince your point of view communicatively.
Fifth … is not afraid of a conscious and educated client
Knowledge about SEO and awareness of how it works – there is an upward trend in this regard. We do not hide that, as Paraphrase-Online.com, we attach our hand to this trend, which deserves the most positive assessment. Our SEO lessons or blog entries are the contribution of Paraphrase-Online Team to SEO – education jug. We know that our clients like it and bring them closer to the specificity of the positioning service. Of course, the positioning service is not the same as an SEO course, but our experience shows that a client who is even at a basic level and equipped with actual knowledge, and not a set of myths about positioning, is a support for a specialist who cares about the high positions of the website. Professional website positioning also means taking care of the client’s knowledge.
Sixth … looks holistically at the website promotion process
Positioning is often one of the elements of a larger puzzle, which is website promotion on the Internet. It is relatively rare that a website is promoted in only one way. Therefore, it is worth talking to your client more broadly about his idea for promotion, about what he uses and what results it brings. For example, if in the case of an online store we propose to rebuild a category, it would be worth taking into account how the Google Ads campaign is conducted. The proposal to create a 404 page should take into account not only SEO issues, but also act as an incentive to stay within the site and look for something else from the current and available offer.
Seventh … it solves problems instead of multiplying them
Let’s be honest: perfect SEO services don’t exist. The vast majority of websites that we later come up with require at the start of the implementation of corrections and changes in terms of SEO – smaller or larger, depending on what case we encounter. The matter is simple: websites are created not only for the highest possible positions in Google, but about the presentation of the offer, increasing the number of customers, etc. These goals sometimes conflict with each other, so it is important to work out a compromise that will be accepted by all parties. A customer who likes their one page site may find it easier to accept the suggestion that the new pages should be listed in the menu at the bottom of the page. A similar situation will be the one in which we are dealing with a website without category descriptions, due to the fact that the customer primarily wants to display products belonging to this category and who will not accept the idea with a content block at the top of the page. Although it is a place preferred by SEO specialists to publish content, having the choice of the client’s disagreement for this location, and the compromise placement again at the bottom of the page, the choice becomes simple … The same is with the “read more” button, which does not it inspires the admiration of an SEO specialist, but it is a better solution than giving up content entirely. The role of the positioner is sometimes to propose something of a compromise if the best option cannot be implemented due to the lack of acceptance for such a plan. Of course, there are situations in which it is impossible to find a solution acceptable from the SEO point of view, reconciling both points of view. It is worth informing the client about this approach to the wall. After all, he is not an SEO expert and does not need to know what the consequences of his decision are for the success of the SEO process. Perhaps a simple and honest statement of the matter will convince him to change his mind.
Eighth… not to be pressured
If you are looking for a method of promoting your website that will bring instant results and you hope that SEO will provide them for you, then… you may be disappointed. Of course, there are cases of websites where meta tag optimization was enough to be happy and to be in the top 10. Such instant routes to the top, however, are a minority of cases. When this path begins to lengthen and at the same time puts the endurance of the customer to the test, using the immortal slogan “add more links“, you may be tempted to follow this path to keep the customer happy, or at least temporarily gain peace of mind. However, is this the best solution? Everyone should answer this question for themselves.
It is the positioner (or a team of SEO specialists) who is responsible for the strategy and plans actions in terms of its likely results. It is not surprising that during the term of the contract there are changes in the strategy, the effect of which is an intensification of activities for selected keywords – for example, for those that are not yet in the top 10. This approach makes sense, as opposed to changes implemented for the sake of peace. Patience pays off – website positioning is the cheapest method of acquiring new customers in the long run.
Ninth… ends the cooperation with the class
Not every SEO contract is extended – that’s a fact. There may be many reasons behind such a decision. However, it is worth making sure that the customer does not feel disgust after the breakup. Indexing the website from the search results, damaging it, placing links on it leading to other pages, risking manual punishment from Google… there will be some potential gimmicks in the SEO world.
It also happens that the client, not knowing the specifics of SEO, expects to maintain certain activities also after the end of the contract, and their failure to do so causes indignation. An example may be the links that the SEO specialist acquired for him during the term of the contract. It happens that the client thinks that they will stay with him permanently. To avoid such unpleasant situations, it is worth determining at the very beginning what will happen with the optimization, content added to the website or obtained links, whether they will be removed or will remain as a permanent effect of the positioning agreement for a given website. Clear arrangements in this regard will allow you to avoid unpleasant situations and negative opinions of a bitter or simply angry customer. Professional positioning of websites is therefore also the art of saying goodbye.
