SEOAly, an up-and-comer blogger who has been writing some really great blog posts lately, has shared the reasons why "SEO consultation" is ruining the reputation of an entire industry. In the piece, she explains that SEO is not about implementation -- it's about education. The right kind of client relationship is one where the small business owner is ready to apply the advice provided by the SEO.
The consultant may be holding their hand along the way a bit, but the site owner is ultimately responsible for actually doing all of the work that will be required to make the site perform better in the search results.
But not every small business owner is ready to do the work. They expect the SEO to do the work, and that's why the entire SEO consultancy practice ends up being blamed, says Aly. The article goes on to say that SEO can help everyone, but if unrealistic expectations are being placed on the SEO, they may not benefit from SEO after all. All in all, it's a really good read for small business SEOs.
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