[T2DMan]

WebProNews has some great articles. Apparantly 64% of clients fail to follow SEO recommendations.

http://www.webpronews.com/insiderrep...tml#frequently

That point was proven in a recent survey commissioned by Boston-based SEO firm iProspect that showed approximately 64% of businesses outsourcing search marketing,"... encounter obstacles that prevent them from implementing their vendor's SEO recommendations."

Conducted by JupiterResearch in August 2005, the study surveyed 626 people involved in search marketing and 224 search marketing firms. Its findings attach tangible numbers to experiences shared by several professional SEOs. In short, SEOs have reason to feel a trifle under-appreciated. Their informed and often pre-paid advice is overlooked or neglected more often than not. At the same time, the survey also shows that the SEO industry itself needs to assume more responsibility around helping clients make informed decisions.

According to the results of the survey, the reasons most cited by search advertisers for not implementing outsourced SEO advice are; a lack of human resources, no budget set aside for outsourced IT services, and timing issues surrounding site or document updates. For many of the respondents, much of the responsibility rests with SEO vendors who seem to shy away from setting achievable goals and articulating realistic expectations.

The initial expectations set by the SEO or SEM vendor set the tone and thinking for the search advertising client. Quite often, respondents reported a key obstacle was their SEO vendor establishing unrealistic expectations as to "...how much time and effort will be involved in implementing the recommended SEO changes", based on the vendor's level of experience as opposed to the resources available to the client. In other words, SEO vendors often base time and cost estimates on their level of experience, not the client's.

Frequently, clients do not set aside sufficient time or financial resources to optimize and maintain their sites. While their SEO consultant or vendor has given them an estimate that says X# of hours are required for initial optimization and Y# of hours will be needed for maintenance, the estimate was based on how long it would take the SEO to do the work. Not only does the professional SEO have established work-habits that speed the job, they are likely able to spot and correct critical issues as they go along, thus saving even more time beyond that outlined in the estimate.

For larger firms that employ highly skilled IT staff, the initial experience working with a professional SEO firm can be a difficult one. From basic territory, overwrite and task-responsibility issues to the typical designed-by-committee corporate website, there can be numerous points for friction between SEOs and their clients' IT staffs. It should also be noted that most IT divisions have full workloads already. If their employer has outsourced organic search marketing to a good SEO firm, that workload often gets much larger very quickly with a new set of legacy tasks that need to be performed at least once per month.

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http://www.webpronews.com/insiderrep...tml#frequently