It can be very interesting to read about conflicts and disagreements between a client company and a local SEO service provider. Such anecdotes may help other clients and contractors to anticipate similar conflicts, or it may even allow them to resolve misconceptions or clarify their own goals before they ever find themselves in a position to butt heads over it.

Business2Community published an account of just such a conflict on Wednesday, and we believe that it is significant on at least two levels for SEO service providers and their clients. In the first place, it calls attention to a very specific issue, having to do with the position of specific campaign landing pages within a larger SEO effort. But in the second place, it points to larger issues that relate to the mistaken expectations that some clients are prone to.

The substance of the disagreement is that the client in question wanted to integrate a campaign landing page (apparently a fill-in form, in this case) into the main site, so as to benefit from the same search engine optimization strategy. The SEO service provider disagreed, and for what it’s worth we believe they were right to do so. You can read the article itself to better understand how a landing page and main site are often at cross-purposes with each other. But for the purpose of this post, we are more interested in the client-communication aspect of this story.

The linked article doesn’t go into much detail about that. It notes the disagreement but says very little about whether the client was satisfied with the contractor’s explanation. Neither does it discuss what would have happened if the two remained at an impasse, with the client demanding something that the SEO service provider expected to result in sub-standard outcomes.

These are serious issues that both a client and a service provider are likely to encounter at one time or another. To whatever extent possible, both should strive to enter into the relationship with as much relevant knowledge as possible, and with a demonstrated ability to communicate that knowledge effectively. And wherever these things are lacking, one person or the other should be willing to defer to self-proclaimed and properly vetted expertise.

This is all just another way of saying you should make sure you know what you’re getting into when entering into a relationship that – as other posts at this blog have pointed out – will hopefully be a long-term, mutually supportive partnership. One definite way of improving your prospects for a positive working relationship is by giving preference to a local provider of SEO service and other, related web services.

But wherever your partners happen to reside, it is important to remember that if they offer you the moon and the stars, they are probably blowing smoke. As the Business2Community article illustrates, a well-informed SEO service is one that is nuanced and prone to very long-term perspectives on a client’s overall website as well as the target pages for individual campaigns. Not every problem can be tackled in the same way, and sometimes one’s expectations and strategies must be altered and moderated in order to realize what can truly be achieved.