As you know full well, the search industry is constantly changing, and that means SEOs must adapt. This is always made abundantly clear at the change of each year as the previous year is reflected upon and predictions about trends in the upcoming year are discussed. You know that adaptation and ongoing education are crucial. The problem is that clients don't always understand just how much the search landscape actually does change. This can present a whole different set of challenges for the professional SEO.

What are some SEO tactics you've had a hard time convincing clients to employ? Discuss here.

Searching for Profit founder Amanda Watlington recently discussed some arising trends in the search industry and how education of clients is of vital importance. One example of change is the possible inclusion of site speed as a ranking factor in Google. Matt Cutts dropped that bomb a couple months ago, and while many welcome it, a lot are dreading it.

For one, clients simply may not be so eager to put forth the time and money required to make the necessary adjustments to their sites to optimize for speed, although it is clearly in the best interest of the customer's experience anyway.

Another challenge, as Watlington mentions, is personalized search. Companies don't always get that not everybody is necessarily going to see the same search results for any given query, and it can sometimes be difficult for SEOs to convince them that this is the case.

Although things appear to be looking up, budgets have been tight, and clients are demanding better results for their bucks, but they are not always aware of the big picture, which is why it is up to the hired SEO professional to educate them as best they can.

Luckily, there are plenty of industry resources freely available on the web. After all, you've probably read about the very tactics you have in mind there yourself. Find instances to back up your case to convince stubborn clients. Some of them are just hung up on outdated trends. Obviously this can make it hard to produce the results they are after.

"The evolution has been slow, and I don't think we've helped it as much as we could," Watlington says of clients' understanding of SEO trends.

As she notes in the interview, metrics are very important, and luckily there has been a great deal of focus on them in the industry in recent years. New metrics come about, just as new tools do. Metrics can help illustrate the bigger picture, custom-fit to a particular client's goals.

For related reading, SEOmoz has several interesting articles with titles like "8 Arguments to Convince Jaded SEO Clients That You Are Trustworthy", "Educating Our Clients is Good for SEO", and "Top 10 Client Objections to Your SEO Services". Comments on these articles are worth perusing as well.

What are the biggest challenges you face when dealing with clients? How do you educate clients about the ever-changing search landscape? Comment here.

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> Can You "Rank" in Google if Everyone Has Different Search Results?

> What's Better: PPC or SEO?

> Things to Consider if Page Speed is to Become a Ranking Factor