Should You Share Your SEO Secrets With Your Clients?

The search engine optimization (SEO) industry is shrouded in secrecy – the companies who are paid thousands of dollars for their services don’t want anyone else to steal their techniques or tricks. This often means, however, that these SEO companies are also keeping their clients in the dark about what they are doing to boost the ranking of their website. Even when someone is paying them for their help, they still see the threat of someone being able to use their secrets for their own gain. But is this the sort of attitude that SEO companies should be taking?

Ultimately, there are a number of reasons why SEO companies choose not to share their secrets with their clients. The main one is that these companies believe that they should be the sole entity researching and implementing the optimization strategy and that they don’t need the client interfering. Some of the other reasons include a fear that the client will pick up on the techniques and tricks for themselves (so that they will no longer need SEO services), and that the client may unwittingly disclose their secrets to a competitor.

At the end of the day, however, clients have a right to know what changes are being made to their website and why these changes are necessary. SEO companies need to remember that the client owns the website and that they have final say on anything that goes on. Take your car, for example – if it were to suddenly break down, you would take it to a mechanic and expect them to tell you what is wrong with the vehicle and how they plan on fixing it. The same goes for SEO. The client has a right to know where their money is going.

SEO companies can actually benefit from sharing some of their knowledge with their clients (no one is expecting you to disclose every little dirty secret in your arsenal). Believe it or not, sharing some of your SEO knowledge with your clients can actually go a long way towards strengthening your relationship and preventing the client from taking their business elsewhere. Whilst you don’t have to provide on-on-one training in absolutely every technique and trick up your sleeve, a little explanation can go a long way.

It really is time that the secretive nature surrounding the SEO industry was put to a stop. Everyone is so paranoid about competitors stealing their trade secrets that they are beginning to alienate their clients. Whilst this is not to say that you should share your pearls of wisdom with every person who rings you with an enquiry, it is to say that your loyal (and paying) clients are owed some sort of explanation about the SEO strategy you are implementing for their website.