- The client-agency relationship is a partnership that deserves to be nurtured and maintained.
- Although much of that burden falls on the shoulders of the agency, there are things a client can do to improve the relationship and make our jobs easier.
- Those things include a collaborative spirit, having clear goals, trusting us, sharing any insider knowledge with us, and being as responsive to us as we are to you.
- Ultimately, the better the agency-client relationship is, the smoother the campaign will go.
If you’ve thought about starting to outsource your SEO to an agency, there are a few things to think about first. At Redefine, the agency-client relationship is a partnership. For us, that’s not just some lofty goal but a reality that we’re lucky to live out every day. Sure – marketing expertise and a great product or service go a long way in this field. But at the end of the day, it’s the people who make the job, and we really love the people we work with. Want to know why?
The simple answer is that successful outcomes stem from strong client agency collaboration, where our clients show up and give it their all—just as we strive to do in return. But what exactly does this look like? If you’re beginning a partnership with a new agency or aiming to elevate your relationship with an existing one, here’s how fostering collaboration can make your agency partners overjoyed to give your campaign their all.
Six things a client can bring to an SEO agency partnership:
1. A collaborative effort
Digital marketing thrives on collaboration. At Redefine, our close-knit team works seamlessly across departments to craft digital marketing campaigns that are tightly aligned and impactful. This alignment doesn’t stop internally—it extends to our client-partners as well. Success comes when we and our clients are aligned with agency partners, working together to showcase just how remarkable they are.
The process becomes far more effective when clients are ready to brainstorm, compromise, and share their valuable insights, creating a true partnership.
Tips for taking your collaboration up a notch:
- Invite us into your world. One of our clients brings their customer service rep to every content meeting. Her insights into their audience’s concerns are absolutely vital to making content relevant to the people who need it.
- Treat every project as a team effort. Every digital marketing campaign, from a site migration to the launch of a new blog series, requires both marketing expertise and brand expertise. Plus, in such a dynamic field where creative problem solving is key, two heads are always better than one.
- Communicate openly and often. Clear and consistent communication is the cornerstone of any successful collaboration. Whether it’s sharing updates, providing feedback, or discussing new ideas, staying in sync ensures both sides can adapt quickly and keep projects on track.
2. Knowledge
Enthusiasm for collaboration lays a great foundation, but to really set your SEO partnership up for success, it helps to play a little show and tell. As a client, you bring something to the table your agency never could: firsthand knowledge of your brand, products or services, and audience. If you can walk us through this knowledge with documents and data, even better. Help us see your brand from your perspective so we can market it as if it were our own.
Tips for sharing brand knowledge with your agency:
- Develop a style guide. Share the style guide with your agency during the onboarding process so that all content projects are aligned with your brand’s look and voice from day one. If your brand is new or you feel out of your depth, ask your agency to help you develop a style guide.
- Share data. Are you sitting on sales data, customer surveys, or even a random social media poll that an intern from last summer took? We want to see it! The more information we have about how customers interact with your brand, the better.
- Provide real-world examples. Showcase examples of marketing campaigns, visuals, or messaging you feel represent your brand well—or even those you don’t. This helps your agency quickly understand what aligns with your vision and what to avoid.
3. Clear goals
Starting an SEO campaign can be challenging, especially when it comes to setting realistic goals. Google rankings are often unpredictable, and proper, ethical SEO requires time to establish. However, the key to success lies in clear communication from the very beginning. We’re here to meet you where you are, whether you have well-defined objectives or are still figuring out your digital marketing priorities. If your first question is, “What should my digital marketing goals be?”—that’s a great place to start. Together, we can build a roadmap tailored to your needs.
But in general, the more specific and clear, the better. Do you want to increase blog traffic? Raise conversions? Improve social media engagement? It’s not unusual to have several goals that may span SEO, content, link building, and/or social.
Why is this so important? Goals give us a roadmap. They help us figure out how we’re going to help you. Most importantly, they give us something by which to measure success. Not having the same goals, or not knowing a client’s goals, makes it pretty difficult to give our clients what they want, and that’s a recipe for disappointment and disaster.
4. Trust
We trust our clients to be the experts on their brand and audience, and we ask that they do the same for us. While there’s always room for us to learn and we’re committed to increasing our knowledge, we pride ourselves on being digital marketing experts.
That’s not to say you should blindly trust an agency. Like all professional agencies, we’re always prepared to show the receipts. We keep our clients firmly in the loop about our plans, rationales, and results.
That said, in the absence of red flags such as over-promising, lack of communication, or unethical practices, clients can make the relationship that much sweeter by trusting their agency to have their best interests at heart.
Tips for building trust with your agency:
- Know the red flags and green flags. When you have an idea of what makes a good agency vs. an unprofessional one, you can trust your agency’s processes without knowing how every little detail works.
- Ask questions and be curious. At the same time, a good agency should be willing to help you learn about how and why they’re doing what they’re doing. The key is approaching your agency with genuine interest rather than the assumption that they’re failing.
- Celebrate wins together. Acknowledging milestones and successes, no matter how small, builds camaraderie and reinforces the partnership. Recognizing your agency’s hard work also shows you value their contribution, further solidifying trust.
5. Responsiveness
There’s probably nothing you hate more than sending an email to your agency about a pressing project and then not hearing back for days. Well, we feel the same way!
We work hard to deliver top-notch goods to our clients, and we take pride in that work. Not only is it disappointing to have it disappear into the ether, but it’s also a shame for the client when a delay in response keeps our work from actually being implemented and getting the results our clients are paying good money for. A great partner treats our work with the same urgency we do.
6. Openness to Feedback
A strong agency-client partnership thrives when both parties are open to giving and receiving feedback. While agencies bring expertise, clients provide unique insights into their brand and audience. Being receptive to constructive feedback—whether it’s about strategy, content, or campaign performance—ensures the relationship remains dynamic and effective. Similarly, sharing honest feedback with your agency helps them refine their approach and better meet your needs.
Tips for embracing feedback:
- Create a feedback loop. Schedule regular check-ins to discuss what’s working, what isn’t, and what can be improved.
- Be specific. When sharing feedback, provide examples or details to help your agency fully understand your perspective.
- Focus on solutions. Approach feedback as a way to solve problems together rather than as criticism.
Being open to feedback fosters trust, collaboration, and continuous improvement, ensuring your partnership stays strong and productive.
Spreading the love
This article is a celebration of the incredible partnerships we’ve had the privilege to be a part of. It’s through these experiences that we’ve learned what makes a great client-agency relationship thrive. We hope these tips inspire you to build strong, collaborative connections with your own agency partners, so you can continue creating exceptional work together.
If you’re looking for a digital marketing agency that values partnership as much as results, the RMG family is always ready to welcome you. Let’s create something amazing— Reach out to us today!
