How to retain SEO clients while results are still slow

To retain SEO clients while results are still slow, start in the first week and keep going each month. Say the wait up front, and use Google's own words for it. Show the work as it gets done. Report early signs before rankings move.

What helps SEO agency client retention while results are still slow?

What helps is telling the client about the wait before it starts, and backing it with a source other than you. Google's SEO Starter Guide says any change you make needs some time before it shows on Google's end.

The guide says a few hours might be enough for some changes, and others could take several months. It also says when to judge the work: "In general, you likely want to wait a few weeks to assess whether your work had beneficial effects in Google Search results".

Read those lines closely before you use them. They're about a change to a site, and they give no count of months for SEO as a whole, so don't hand a client one.

Here's how to say the wait up front:

1. Read the guide's lines to the client on the first call. Send the page the same day, so they can read it for themselves.
2. Put the wait in your welcome email, in one short paragraph.
3. Name the first changes you plan to make, and the date each one goes live.
4. Set a date to look at each change together, a few weeks after it goes live.
5. Ask the client to say back what they expect to see by that date. If their answer and yours differ, sort it out on that call.

The first week is also when you make your promises. For what to promise an SEO client in week one, see SEO client expectations.

Say the wait more than once. The same lines belong in the first report and on each call, in the same words. When a client asks why the numbers are flat, these lines help:

• "Here's what we changed this month, and the date each change went live."
• "This change hasn't shown yet. We'll look at it together on the date we set."
• "Here's what we're working on next, and why it comes next."

The slow start is one part of keeping an account. For the wide view, across every service, see how to keep an agency account.

What do you show clients who don't see value in SEO yet?

Show them the work first, then the early signs. Then ask what they expected, and keep the report on its date. A client who can't see rankings move yet can still see what you did, what it's for and when you'll check it.

Show the work as it gets done

Keep a running list of the work, and share it with the client. For each item, write down:

• what you changed, in plain words
• which page it's on
• the date it went live
• why you made the change
• the date you'll look at it again

Send the list between reports too, so the client hears about work in the week it's done.

Keep a second list of what you're waiting on from the client. That might be a login, an approval or the words for a page. It shows where the work is held up, and it gives the client a way to help.

Report early signs before rankings move

An early sign is something you can point to that came after a change you made. Tie each sign to its change, and say plainly that it's early. Common places to look include:

• the site's own search data, for pages that have started to show up in search
• the site's analytics, for visits that arrive from search
• the client's phone log and contact forms, for leads who say they found the business in a search
• the site itself, for fixes that are live and can be seen on the page

Don't dress an early sign up as a result. Google's guide also says some changes won't lead to an effect you can see in search results. When a change shows nothing, say so. Name the change, and say what you'll try next.

Ask what the client expected

When a client says they don't see the value, ask before you explain. These questions help:

• "What did you expect to see by now?"
• "Which number would tell you this is working?"
• "Who else reads the report, and what do they ask you about it?"
• "Which part of the work would you like me to walk you through?"

Then go back to what you both agreed in week one. Put the list of work beside it, and set the next date to look at results.

Keep the report on its date

The monthly report is where the client reads all of this, under your agency's name. For why a report with your name on it matters, see Why is white label SEO reporting important?.

Set the report's date first, and fit the month's other work around that date. If you do all the SEO and all the reporting in house, plan for your busy weeks. In-house work leaves you in control, and client data stays inside your shop. The risks to plan for are missed dates and thin margins. While rankings are flat, the report carries the news.

A report call gives the client a set time to ask questions. For the monthly report and its call, see how reporting helps you keep a client.