For a time, I wanted to be a professional bull rider. Infatuation could be linked to one bull in particular whose name alone was brassy as all could be: Bodacious. He was one of the most fear-inducing bulls, known as ‘the greatest bull to ever buck,’ allowing very few cowboys the safety of an eight-second ride. Most rides ended after Bodacious performed his signature move – a one-two combination that started with a jump of the rear-end and ended with a swift swing of Bodacious’ massive (and very hard) head into the rider’s face.
These days, I sometimes feel like I realized my dream of bull riding. As a Penguin-wrangling SEO ‘cowboy,’ I often feel like I’m in the starting chute, preparing for the ride and not really knowing what way the ‘bull’ is going to shimmy and shake. While the SEO Bull rider’s eight-second ride doesn’t end with physical harm, each ride is just as exciting as the last, leading to the growth in a diverse skills set that can apply to the next ride.
Client Guidance Under Penalty
Bodacious the Bull photo credit: mixingonbeat.com
When Penguin hits a client, it hurts more than just visitors and traffic; it guts a website of its ability to achieve its purpose and often quite a bit of income along with it. Take away revenue and website owners understandably can get a little edgy. It is likely that the Penguin penalty isn’t a result of the work that you did, but rather the work from a previous SEO or agency. The previous practices are what they’ve been taught to rely on and are now being unraveled along with other quantities of work. This is going to bring some trepidation when the client is not sure what way is up and who should be trusted. I’ve found that this predicament is the cause of some wild swings in emotions, but understanding this has allowed me to anticipate needs before they are first encountered.
- Rage, disgust grief and disapproval
- Terror and fear
- Remorse, acceptance and amazement
When the turn back comes, however it is displayed, empathizing and sharing in the client’s worry while understanding where they’ve been, what they’ve been taught and how what you’re recommending goes against this grain can help the SEO cowboy stay on the bull. Keeping an eye on the long-term results can be a lonely uphill battle but keeping firm with what you know and hold true is important to demonstrate early so that you always have the ability to do what is right vs. what the client believes is right.
Beat Penguin with Data Not Feelings
Desperate SEOs Will do Desperate Things; Not Always at Fault
I spent an enjoyable portion of my younger years employed at one of Boston’s best bicycle shops. The shop was on the higher end, selling bikes that were at the pinnacle of the sport, made with exotic and rare materials that came with the appropriate price tag to reflect their space-age construction. My employer would often exclaim to clients and visitors who remarked at the prices: “You can pay a dollar for a hamburger but you still have to eat it.” It’s a clever remake of an old adage that still drives the point – you can buy really cheap food, but is it really something that you’d enjoy and want to eat? I see a lot of the same rational with clients – counting the nickels and dimes and expecting supreme performance from them. You can buy large quantities of cheap links or have content created by people who charge pennies per word but, is that something that you want to have related to your website? Would you be proud to show what your digital marketing team is doing to someone you’re trying to impress or would you have to backtrack and explain why something is sub par? The SEO’s that have to work under these constraints make bad decisions not because they’re bad SEO’s, but because they’re under the pressure to produce under unrealistic expectations and haven’t properly communicated this with the client. Expecting magic to happen without any money to do so, or placing value on tactics that don’t provide the right kind of value to the client will enviably take them right back to where they came from. I don’t blame these SEO’s for doing these things, but I do blame them for not having the client’s best interest at heart and discussing with them why bad tactics are going to hurt them.The post Giddy Up! How to Ride the Bull and Help Clients with Google Penalties appeared first on DragonSearch Digital Marketing Services & Consultants.