How to explain SEO to a client?

But it is possible to rank at the top of Google in many cities in the global search, just not in the local search results.

It all depends on how competitive his competition is, in the goal of owning the top of Google.

The best way to educate someone is to tell them the truth:

• No one can guarantee top results, because we do not work at Google;
• You can only be as successful in SEO as your competition is willing to let you be;
• There are hundreds of factors that influence one's ranking in Google;
• Top rankings don't always mean successful sales conversion;
• It is better to specialize than to try to be king of the mountain.

anyone else?

I think you should just tell him what you think about it.
That it is hard to get high results on all those keywords, and that he has to specify on 1 keyword. If that one is ranking well, go for another one etc.

I guess everyone else liked my answer best.

Yeah, I'd tell him that it's pretty much impossible to rank for that many keywords unless he has a crapload of capital to invest. I mean if he wants to pour 20k into SEO for his website, then sure maybe.

You don't because its very possible. I don't get what the problem is unless he isn't paying you enough. He's not asking to be the number one in google for the term landscaping and all he's asking you to do is get him on the front page for a local geographic location.

If he is paying anything send him to me (not really just saying you need help if you think thats undoable). If he isn't then hes getting the results he is paying for.

he asked to be on the first page for several different geographical locations...if it was just one i can understand, but now your talking multiple places pages with multiple #'s and addresses...And as far as on-site optimization, how in the world can you rank for 5 different cities on the first page? Your pretty much screwed..

I open to suggestions....or I can just tell like (like others mentioned) you need to choose just one location preferably the larger city with the most work...

I just sold a $20k package to my dentist last week right before he gave me a root canal. Basically it went like this:

Dentist: What line of work are you in?

Me: I help people get their websites on to page one of Google.

Dentist: Really? How in the hell do you do that?

Me: We just know how SE's like Google work.

Dentist: Are you any good at it?

Me: Are you any good at what you do?

Then the dentist started laughing and worked a deal out where he will provide $20k worth of dental service for my family of 9 in exchange for getting 15 of his keywords onto the top fold of page one on the serps.

The last thing you should do is get technical when pitching this to offliners. At least that's what works for me.

Even I would agree to tpw's answer. Just say it to your client directly plain and simple. Explain to him how it works and that's it. Problem solved.

nice post. thanks for sharing.

Telling your client what's the real flow of SEO will be helpful and explain the possibilities that will happen.

Break it down to basic bullet points when explaining SEO:

*Why search engine optimization should begin with the website's design?. Some SEO requirements call for compromises on the website's structure and building, like templates and CMS system choice, thus, it is easier to establish this from the beginning.

*What is duplicate content?. Equal or similar copies are duplicates. Every page is scanned by search engines to confirm the content in it is relevant and unique, if one page is equal to another in many aspects, one of them is discarded.

*What do search engines do to duplicate content?. Search engines strive to simplify their clients lives, so, they choose one version of each content to list it under their results for that search, the rest is discarded.

*Why care for link building?. Links are points in popularity. The more points, the higher you get, the higher you get, the more you are viewed and visited, the more you are viewed and visited, the more you sell.

*What links are good links?. Good links are relevant links. Relevant in relation to how much they complement your products and services and in relation to their status on search engines.

*How is search engine optimization a strategic move?. SEO guides you in marketing your website and deciding what quality content works for you. It knows how to effectively present you in the virtual world.

Yes it is very possible i do it all the time.
I do this for local businesses who are in Major cities like Houston or LA or New york .