How Honest is Too Honest?

I just completed a blog post about a recent email exchange with a potential SEO client, what are your opinions on whether I was too honest or not.

First a little background, she is a real estate agent and her new site is very bad...unattractive, looks dated with very poor usability and navigation.

"I just spent 2 months designing this site" (this is her reason for not wanting to spend any money on a re-design)

(and my reply)

To put it bluntly I guess that is why you are a real estate agent and not a web designer, but fret not because I could not do much better. We should all stick to what we are good at and pay the pros to do what we don't understand. When I have plumbing problems I call a plumber. I could go to Home Depot and talk with them for 2 hours and then buy all the parts and try and fix it myself but more than likely I will make it worse. So instead of spending lots of my own time and money on something I don't know how to do I call my plumber and pay him $65 an hour to fix my problems quickly and correctly. It really is the same with SEO (and web design), you can spend 100's of hours learning SEO strategies of your own and then go out and give it your best try but you might just get your site banned from the search engines and then all the time would have been wasted.

 

i voted the first option

 

JG, as a Web developer who loves SEO, you've just earned my respect. Bravo, and well done.

 

If they don't want to know the truth in the interests of improving their website, then you don't need them as a client.

 

In addition to this... you have very good english

 

This is true but unfortunately it applies to almost every single client. Especially when they have done the work themselves, they just can't be objective because it is their 'little baby' - as an SEO and not a web designer I really only push for complete re-designs if the site is in bad shape because sometimes it is hard enough to get them to go with a content/title change.

 

Speaking from a developer's perspective here - they'll usually listen when you show them how their site's problems are costing them sales (and profits).

 

nice one, first option

 

I agree that has been fairly successful with me, in this case it is a brand new site so I don't have metrics like bounce rate and time on site....makes it a little harder.

 

You have prior experience. Tell them that you've seen these problems before with other clients on their sites, and that you don't want to see this client go through the same thing. They'll thank you for saving them that pile of cash before they lose it!

 

The customer is (almost) always right.

I tell them what I recommend, and why, and cash their check. If they want something else they will eventually come back - with another check.

So, rather than telling them their site is garbage, better to suggest specific changes with reasons why. Something like, "This header image takes up a third of the screen space, which means that your money making content will not be immediately seen. If we shrink it down to about 80 pixels high I would predict a much higher conversion rate..."