Waiting is part of the process.  It’s a painful part for most clients, because while they’re waiting, they’re still writing checks to me for SEO work.  Their level of trust with me is incredible, and I’m appreciative of it.  I’ve done my part to sell my trust to them, and now they wait to see if I can deliver.  Which I do.

In recent months, however, I’ve noticed a trend among my newer clients.  Seems they’re being hit hard by the economy, as are many business owners.  And that I can understand.  They came to me in the first place because their customers were slowly dwindling away and they saw the need to get in front of them again.  The best way nowadays to do so is online. Find a good Internet marketing company that can help them get in front of customers, and they’ll be on the track to profits once again.

Well, if it were only that simple.  Sure, that’s the first step, but there are more.  And some of my clients aren’t fully understanding nor committed to the long haul (as I’m finding out).

I’ve often said that SEO is like a person pulling a train.  Pulling such a heavy thing isn’t easy, and seems impossible at first.  But finding someone (like me) who is willing to take on the challenge is the first step in getting the train moving.  And getting that train to move isn’t easy either.  But pulling and pulling will soon result in a bit of movement.  Slow at first, but as time goes on the pulling gets easier and easier.  Soon the train is moving, (traffic is coming) and the task of getting things moving (sales, conversions, profits) isn’t so hard.  But it takes time.

I used to require a six month minimum from all new clients.  But now I’ve moved that up to one year, and I’ve also bottomed out my exclusive starting price.  This has done a few things for me:

Requiring a one year commitment from clients has helped me weed out some of those who simply wanted a quick fix for their lack of SEO effort and web design crappiness.  No longer am I having to fix a ton of problems before I can even get started on the traffic part.  And no longer do I have clients that want to throw a few dollars at it when times are good.

It has also helped me as a business owner build a stronger relationship with all my clients.  Six months isn’t a long time when you come down to it.  Especially when the first few months of time is used fixing pages, doing keyword research, etc.  They don’t see a lot of results, and they get (understandably) antsy.  These fears are quelled as time goes on and the relationship grows.

Lastly, by setting a minimum price per month to hire me (exclusively), I’ve once again removed myself from those businesses who are just looking for a quick cheap fix, and I’ve set myself up to help those that are willing to put in their portion to the goal (both financially as well as mentally).

Education is a big part of what I do.  I don’t just take your money each month and perform magic.  I tell clients what I do.  I involve them in the process.  I invite them to free classes that I teach.  The more informed my clients are, the better I can serve them.

Once they understand the SEO process, even at a basic level, the more they understand that waiting out the results will yield great benefits.

In the end, we both win.