I’ve met so many prospects and clients who spent a lot of money getting SEO recommendations, but the SEO recommendations never got implemented. That is one of the drawbacks of working project-based vs retainer: if nobody owns the SEO project management, the recommendations are very quickly forgotten.

The issue is that SEO is a bit like a stone in the shoe – we know we need to get it sorted, but we can still walk with the stone in the shoe. So we keep walking… Without getting the web traffic our content deserves.

The technical aspect of SEO is enough to make people run away and obscure vocabulary like “canonicals”, “duplicate content”, or “structured data” sounds scary for many and is enough to put people off trying.

With a retainer-based service, the SEO recommendations get implemented and new content gets regularly published and optimised.

On the Google Ads side, there are ways to secure the account when you set it up so the budget is spent on the right keywords without too much mater involvement, but some campaign types require ongoing monitoring and optimisation (for example adding negative keywords to Google Shopping campaigns).

Retainer benefits

• Recommendations get implemented
• Existing content gets full ROI quickly
• New content gets published and optimised regularly
• Search Marketing gets included in the overall business, acquisition and content strategy

Retainer Drawbacks

• Higher investment in year one
• One year commitment required
• 3 months notice to end collaboration

Project benefits

• Lower investment in year one
• Existing content gets full ROI
• SEO Boost gives directions for further growth

Project Drawbacks

• Recommendations might not get implemented
• New blog content doesn’t get published regularly, and stays under-optimised
• New products or services don’t get optimised
• Increase in ranking and traffic will be slower than with retainer
• Google Ads account won’t be 100% optimised