When things go as expected, everything sails along smoothly and everybody is happy. But, whaddya do when things go other than expected? There’s nothing worse than entering into a business agreement and you discover it’s not what you expected. It’s not good for the consultant, it’s not good for the client.

If your SEO Proposal contains elements of a scope document, you can manage client expectations…and your expectations. Below are some things you might want to include when drafting your next proposal.

Objective(s):
Get this straight. This should be one of the first questions you ask the client. Knee jerk answers are high rankings. If they say that, then ask probing questions. Objectives are almost always based on traffic and revenue. But it can be branding and engagement. Engagement meaning how many pages view, time on site, time on page.

Methodology/Process
You should have a process that can be easily understood. The client will want to know, “what’s next?” A methodology can play a valuable part in managing expectations. My full site optimization consists of 5 components to my SEO Methodology:
1) Keyword Analysis
2) Technical SEO Analysis
3) Content Analysis
4) Link Development
5) Traffic Analysis

Dependencies.
What resources do you need from the client. Your need to accesss their web analytics shouldn’t come as a surprise. Will you need ftp access also?

Deliverables
Will you be providing recommendation documents, ranking reports, etc? Will you be doing the actual code changes? Will you implement or make recommendations? How many pages will you be writing the tag copy?

Project Plan
Most clients want to know how long it’s gonna take to complete each stage of the process. What’s the timeframe for each step? How soon will you complete each component of your methodology/process? Create a project plan that contains dates which you’ll deliver each component. Answers to these questions can alleviate stress, and is a great way to manage client expectations.

Measure of Success:
These should be reflective of the campaign objectives. What will be the metrics to measure SEO success? In many situations the success metrics are:
1) First page Search Engine rankings.
2) An increase in overall visitor Traffic to your website.
3) An increase in Revenue per keyword

Payment:
Do you get a retainer? Will payment be made after the first deliverable? Is payment contingent of performance? Do you need to send an invoice, or will a Paypal link suffice? Can the payment be wired directly into your bank account?

Professional Agreement
It’s professional to have a contract. Either consult with an attorney, or write your own. There are plenty of templates out there. Personally, I use a very basic 1-pager. My brother is a bankruptcy attorney in Philadelphia, and he gave it the once over. (Yes, that’s a little link love;-)

Setting Limits:
You might want to add a clause in your agreement regarding phone calls. What happens if a client decides to call you a few times every single day? You could be a nice guy and take the call. But, that’s really not the most efficient way to manage your time. It’s interruptive. Perhaps a weekly status call is appropriate, and anything urgent can certainly be addressed on an impromptu basis. Restrictions can actually add to the value of a consultant.

Firing the Client:
Hopefully, you never have to do this. But there might come the time when you have a client that demands more than is realistic. Or, is calling/emailing daily making demands. Then it may be time to fire the client. But, if you do fire a client, do it nicely. It never pays to burn bridges.

I once had a halloween costume client. One month before halloween they wanted to optimize there site. I did my analysis, provided recommendations, and they implemented the plan. But, after 2 days they decided to remove my recommendations and try his own ideas. Waited 2 more days, and then, called me in a panic. I told them to change it back because it needed a little more time. This scene repeated itself every 2 days. The client was such a ball of stress, and extremely impatient. I couldn’t take it. I called him after 2 weeks and told him that I suddenly got too busy and needed to hand-off the account to a colleague.

That’s kinda like if the doctor told you to put cream on your rash twice a day and it’ll be gone after 1 week. But, after one week you go back to him and complain the rash still hasn’t gone away. He asks you, “Have you been putting the cream on twice everyday. You say, no only in the morning. He’d tell you no wonder you still have the rash. You don’t listen. Bad patient.

That’s a horrible situation for both the client & the consultant. And, I hope none of you ever get into that situation. Hopefully, this post will help prevent such a situation from ever happening to you.

Final thoughts
Having a defined timeline, and scope document presents you in a much more professional manner, and minimizes any confusion. Use your scope document to manage the client’s expectations upfront.

Having a good relationship with the client is worth it’s weight in gold, and can’t be under-emphazised. When the project is sailing on-time, and on-plan, you’ll have a much more harmonious relationship. And, isn’t it nice when your clients start referring other clients to you.

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