October 7, 2006 SEO is a sticky subject sometimes. Many people have been burned by people claiming to be SEO Specialists, and are aprehensive to give another one a shot. There are plenty of resources out there on what a «shady SEO» is, even Google has a bit to say about it here, so I’m not going to go over that right now. Today I am going to try to give some advise on overcoming some of these walls so that we can all work together and be a happy online family. First and foremost, don’t be a shady SEO. No hidden text, no doorway pages, no spamware, no fake hits. None of these things are helping the stigma of an SEO and you will only hurt yourself and your client, and recently can get into a lot of trouble with the FTC. The ‘F’ in ‘FTC’ stands for Federal. That’s a whole new kind of trouble. Anyway, be honest. If you don’t wanna be honest, get into the spam business or hacking business, there are plenty of ‘Pen Pal’ services for inmates. You won’t be too lonely. Be Honest. Let your client know exactly what you intend to do for them and what processes you will take. Don’t be scared that someone will get this knowledge and do it themselves. SEO is far easier said than done. You know this. If your potential client does indeed try to take it on themselves, wish them luck, give a pointer or two, and let them know there are no hard feelings and that you will help in any way you can. They will be calling in about a month or so. Also, be honest about what your client should expect. We know how long it can take to rank, get traffic, and so on. Don’t set expectations that you can meet. You will end up working double time for less money. Be Diplomatic: Many people already have a designer and want help with traffic. Often times you will have to work with their designer. As stated above, most designers don’t know the SE’s like you do. Be patient. It’s not a bad thing. Their whole job is to make a site that looks and functions well. Besides, they had to deal with the same customer you are now dealing with. Let’s step to the side. There is a lot of animosity between designers and SEO guys. There really isn’t a need for this, and it usually fades as soon as you start to see eye to eye. It’s just the way of things as often times sites are designed with very little text or in frames or Flash. SEO Specialists understand the need for simplicity and content. Don’t smack them or anything. Try to find a common ground and hopefully you, the designer, and most importantly the client, can all come up with something that will be beneficial to everyone. Be Patient. SEO as an idea is growing, but there are still those that really don’t understand what it is. Don’t let it get to you. Try your best to educate and be clear on what can and can not be done in a certain timeframe. Sometimes people will come to you thinking the world will suddenly turn on their clock. There are times when you have to give your best advice, and let that customer go. But it’s OK, there will be more.

Man. I love this stuff.

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