The most efficient asset available to your SEO agency is your customers. However, retaining clients is not an easy task. In this post, based on an insightful interview with Victor Karpenko, we delve into six common reasons clients leave SEO companies. We will also explore strategies to improve your retention rate.
Gaining new customers is a difficult task. While onboarding new clients, SEO companies devote a significant amount of time and resources. Therefore, the most valuable asset of an agency is its ongoing clientele. While certain companies succeed in keeping most of their clients, many others find it difficult to hold onto important clients.
You might notice a 29% boost in income with simply a 5% improvement in your customer retention rate. This underscores the critical importance of understanding and addressing the reasons behind client turnover. Let’s explore these reasons and learn from Victor Karpenko’s expertise on how to enhance client retention in SEO companies.
Reason #1. Unclear Goals
A primary cause of client loss for SEO companies is an inability to establish reasonable expectations from the outset. Setting them incorrectly often leads to client loss. This can happen for various reasons, such as sales teams making unrealistic promises about performance or not challenging unreasonable targets the client sets.
Having honest conversations with potential clients may result in winning fewer pitches initially, but it’s the best long-term strategy. Do you find yourself making too many promises and not meeting them? If there isn’t a perfect fit, it should be the opposite.
Additionally, many clients may approach your agency with high expectations and little understanding of how SEO works. According to Victor, the best approach to starting cooperation is to carry out an SEO audit. In this way, both the agency and the client know the website’s real state and can determine realistic goals and KPIs for the project.
It’s crucial for the agency not to agree to targets if you know you can’t achieve them. Being upfront and realistic is essential for maintaining long-term client relationships.
Reason #2. A Failure to Explain the Real Situation to the Client
As Victor says, “I frequently meet clients who are completely ignorant of SEO despite having dealt with one or two SEO services in the past.” And that is okay since they are not specialized in this. As we have clarified in one of our articles on our blog, it is our task to explain how it works and if SEO is worth it.
People will respect your knowledge and regard you with greater trust. Establishing this kind of trust with your clientele is critical to the long-term success of your partnership.
“For example, when Google announces a new update, we email our clients explaining how this can affect their rankings.” Their responses usually include:
- Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
- We are grateful that we keep them informed about developments and trends in the business.
- We understand the importance of the work and the potential for change.
Keeping your clients informed and educated isn’t a one-time task. It involves regular communication that reflects your expertise and adds value. In this way, you are their go-to expert. Your clientele should turn to you with any questions or concerns, not a random guru they may find online.
Reason #3. No Value for the Money Paid
Clients want to see the return on their investment in SEO companies as quickly as possible. This is always a challenge for SEO experts because quality SEO might take time.
One way to address this is to agree on long-term objectives, depending on the client’s business goals. SEO is a long-term strategy, but clients still expect to see progress. If there are no visible results over time, clients will become frustrated. Setting and tracking milestones, celebrating small wins, and showing continuous improvement are essential to satisfying clients.
Check Your Internal SEO Processes
Even agencies that excel in client work may lack transparent internal processes and templates. This can lead to inefficiencies and potential failures. Develop and refine your own tried-and-tested processes as part of the value you offer clients.
According to Victor Karpenko, their agency has been changing its process from the technical side of SEO to the hiring and team management process. Like SEO, it is a long-term process that brings results in the long run rather than immediately.
Ensure You Have a Solid Set of Tools
It is impossible to underestimate the importance of reliable tools. In Victor’s agency, SEO specialists use all the niche-trusted tools and a set of in-house developed instruments. This way, they can obtain all the necessary data for analysis and building effective strategies. This data-driven approach is the foundation of Victor’s agency work.
Regularly Review Your Processes
Hold team meetings every three to six months to review and discuss your processes. When there’s a new Google update, collaborate with your team to integrate the changes into your standard procedures. And be sure to listen to what the specialists are saying since they might come up with really valuable ideas.
Prioritize Continuous Training
Continually seek opportunities to train your team. While formal courses are beneficial, regular bi-weekly or monthly meetups to discuss the latest news and tips in the SEO world can be just as effective.
Encourage team members to identify skills or new areas they want to learn. Ensure they have the necessary time and budget to pursue these learning opportunities. Continuous training keeps your team sharp and up-to-date with industry trends.
Reason #4. Your Clients Are Not Aware of What You’re Dealing with
Don’t let your clients guess at the effort and time you put in for them. Inform them about your plans for the future and the ongoing actions.
For example, consider sending a weekly report that includes:
- Performance data and statistics.
- Summary of completed work and deliverables.
- Upcoming steps.
Additionally, check in weekly with a brief update on major initiatives or recent achievements.
Ensure clients understand the connection between SEO actions and measurable business outcomes. At the start of the contract, it’s also helpful to create a roadmap along with the project’s KPIs and update it monthly to show progress.
These regular communications are crucial for keeping clients informed about your activities. They also demonstrate structure and accountability, which clients value.
As Victor has mentioned, every task and every action taken is thoroughly calculated, and the agency can inform the client upfront of the amount of work that can be done for a specific amount of time. In this way, customers know the goals set and how and when the necessary steps will be taken.
Reason #5. The Product Is Just Not Ready for SEO
Victor Karpenko is often asked if SEO is a good channel for all businesses. While it can be a powerful revenue generator, its success depends on the project’s readiness. A good product has the potential to grow with SEO, but if a business isn’t prepared, SEO won’t be effective.
“Therefore, the key question is whether your business is at the right stage for SEO.” Otherwise, the investment in promotion will bring traffic to a website, but what’s next? For instance, failing to provide the service at an expected level will lead to poor conversions.
Many campaigns fail due to strategic issues like lack of product-market fit, pricing, or poor positioning. Small and medium enterprises, especially in e-commerce, often neglect these aspects before diving into SEO tactics. This leads to unstable foundations, which makes it difficult for campaigns to succeed. Some SEO companies proceed regardless, unaware or unable to address these fundamental issues, resulting in poor outcomes and client dissatisfaction.
That is why, at Victor’s agency, an SEO audit is necessary at the beginning of cooperation. It helps determine all the technical issues and study the niche/market properly.
As mentioned, educating clients is also crucial. Market analysis and proper positioning should be the initial steps in SEO projects. Traditional marketing agencies have long practiced this, but it’s less common among SEO-focused businesses. Effective strategies are essential for successful tactics.
Conclusion
All SEO companies will inevitably lose clients, which is a normal part of the industry. Client loss is often due to factors beyond the agency’s control, such as new management or investment changes. The goal is to minimize these losses by understanding their causes, recognizing potential risks in client relationships, and taking corrective actions to improve customer retention.
In the end, Victor also mentioned that his agency tried to be as flexible as possible and launched the SEO support plan. It aims to help businesses that cannot afford to pay an agency for SEO services but are ready to do everything on their own under the guidance of professional specialists.
