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Two challenges that SEO agencies commonly face are acquiring new clients and keeping them. Research shows that even a 5% increase in customer retention rate can increase profit up to 95%. That is why keeping customers is so crucial. But what if you can’t? What are the reasons why some SEO agencies can’t retain their clients? Find out why here and get started on your new journey of retaining clients with ease.

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1. Expectations misaligned.

Failure to set realistic targets from the get-go - driving most clients away. In an attempt to entice clients, some agencies resort to promising their clients with results that they may fail to meet at the deadline. 

First things first - evaluate your client's goals: are you overpromising and underdelivering? Make sure to address these questions first to provide a feasible and viable SEO campaign plan for your client.

2. Failing to educate the client.

Clients are sometimes misinformed about the fundamentals of search engine optimisation and how it works - which can lead to unrealistic expectations for the agency to meet.

Inform the client about the campaign's progress on a regular basis and any updates or changes that may have occurred. Communicating with your client on a regular basis will also help to establish you as their go-to expert when they have any questions. They will also appreciate it is you inform them about any current industry trends that will have an impact on the campaign.

3. Lack of value for money.

Another thing with most clients is they want to see the value out of the SEO investment right away without knowing good SEO takes time to come to fruition.

One approach you can use with them is to agree on long-term goals - provided it matches their business goals. Demonstrate that your SEO efforts have a positive impact on revenue and conversions - not just rankings. 

4. Your clients have no idea how your agency works.

Don’t leave your clients guessing about how your agency works. You must consistently inform them about what’s going on and what the recent developments are for the project so far, don’t forget to inform them of recent wins as well.

It also helps if you send them reports about current progress, a summary of work, and any steps that will need to be taken moving forward. Creating roadmaps at the start of the contract also helps them view the direction of the entire project.

5. No visible results.

The results of the campaign might not reach your client's expectations - this could be caused by multiple facts including a downfall in performance. Here are a few things to keep in mind to ensure your output is enhanced:

• Check the internal processes. Are your current methods and internal templates ready and working? If not, revise the steps and make sure those are the ones proven to deliver.
• A solid management tool setup. Use these tools so you can oversee progress and execute SEO strategies properly at any scale.
• Extensive training. Training your team and preparing them for the upcoming challenges in the SEO field can lead them to implement surefire SEO strategies across the board. Keep them abreast with the latest industry updates, and expose them to SEO basics and details.

6. The product isn’t ideal for SEO.

SEO has proven to be a viable source of revenue and traffic for businesses. However, keep in mind that not all businesses will find the results to be positive. The readiness of a company to adapt to SEO is also a factor in the success of future campaigns.

According to Sam Wright, founder of Blink, some SEO campaigns fail due to a variety of reasons, such as ‘lack of product-market fit, pricing, poor positioning or categorisation’.

This concludes that an SEO campaign failure isn’t entirely attributable to the agency’s performance. It is rather part of the industry’s movement as well.

You should now be considering how to improve your customer retention. Understanding the situation and finding effective solutions are two essential ways to ensure you develop a strong relationship with your clients.

The Elephant in the Boardroom team offers premium holistic and semantic SEO services for your business so that you can easily be discovered on Google by your hungriest prospective customers and clients. Visit www.elephantintheboardroom.com.au for more information.