Any time I mention to someone that I offer SEO, the usual response is either... "Oh, that's nice." OR "Oh... You're one of them." (or something to that effect) If I mention I do Inbound Marketing and Content Development, however, the response is completely different.. Even though that's pretty much the same thing as Search Engine Optimization. Why is there a stigma attached to the SEO industry? I believe it's more than the fact that there are black hats spamming the social web and adding to the clutter, noise, and sleaziness of the web. I feel we use too much jargon sometimes. Maybe it's because we want to sound extra smart and knowledgeable, maybe some of us are just plain arrogant. Whatever the case, clients hear this jargon and they think we're being smarmy, manipulative, or just plain condescending. This is why I urge ALL Internet Marketing consultants to change things up... * Focus more on people and how you can help them. * Speak their language and break things down into benefits, actual value, rather than jargon and hype, perceived value. * Be as transparent as possible and manage expectations properly so we're not overselling things. * Help clients understand all the data so that there is actionable insight. * Bridge the gap between what we deliver and how we can work together to improve things. The list goes on and on.. I welcome you to visit this link to see what others are saying about SEO. You'll be shocked what you hear. In fact, some folks feel that SEO has nothing to do with Social Media, creating good content, and conversions (CRO), to name a few... WHAAAAATT??! http://www.stumbleupon.com/to/1FIDJE/unbounce.com/seo/the-adaptive-seo-approach/t:4e510af0b9c2e;src:all If you found the article helpful, please Like it on StumbleUpon and Facebook, then share it via your preferred social networks. Also, leave any comments if you feel you can add value to the discussion without being a troll. *wink* I truly believe that, if you apply these ideas in your work, you'll have happier customers and you'll lower your stress levels immensely. We need to start thinking about positioning SEO as something that gives clients strategic benefits, not just extra traffic and higher positions on Google SERPs. There's really so much more we can and should do, folks! How can we improve the SEO business? What do you think are the reasons most are turned off to SEOs?