One of the major issues that an SEO consultant faces is attending to his client’s expectations. The client, for one reason or another, almost always expects more results than can be provided in the given timeframe and price.

SEO consultants face a dilemma: They can either promise extremely optimistic results and then under-deliver or they can undersell and then overperform. If the SEO consultant under-delivers, he gets the project in the beginning but by the end of the project, loses the client’s trust. If he over-delivers by first underselling, chances are that he will have a diffcult time getting the project in the first place.

While there are many SEO companies out there, they provide result benchmarks mainly in terms of ROI, traffic, rankings and sales. Although these benchmarks are used time and time again, most of them are not under the control of the SEO consultant. Therefore, it would be wise to look at the points below so you know what NOT to expect from an SEO consultant. It will also help you make more sense of your SEO campaigns.

1. Never expect a certain search engine ranking: The majority of SEO clients "want a certain ranking for a certain keyword in a certain timeframe for a certain price". This simply is impossible to achieve. Even though it is implied and might even be written in the contract in print that an SEO consultant does not have a direct influence on rankings, clients mostly gauge progress by rankings. Do not use rankings as a measure because it is subject to Google algorithms as well as a thousand other variables and it is outside the power of your SEO guy.

2. Never expect a one-time SEO: The majority of off-site SEO is recurring i.e. it needs to be undertaken from time to time. Even on-site SEO needs maintenance when you optimize for new keywordsand change the layout of your website. Most clients expect a one-time SEO job to take care of all their rankings and their traffic etc. This promise simply cannot be made as it is not practical.

3. Never expect the cost to be set in stone: The costs of SEO packages change because your rankings, algorithms and competition changes. A lot of buyers out there do not look kindly upon an increase in price to accomodate more competitive keywords etc. The price an SEO consultant charges is proportionate (in a reasonable manner) to the amount of work which needs to be done.

4. Never expect a quick ROI: Some clients check their website statistics every 4 hours after the SEO campaign is undertaken, hoping to see a drastic increase in rankings, a flood of traffic and an endless supply of cash in their bank accounts. Even the best SEO practices take weeks to take effect, so give it some time.