When I first started learning SEO in the agency setting, I thought, “Why doesn’t everyone do this?” It seemed so easy.
I was taught to:
- Add schema
- Add service pages
- Add keywords
- Write mass volumes of content
- Optimize every product page
- Fix every 404 error
- Tell clients, “It depends”
- Wait 12 months
- Witness traffic spikes
And while the tasks were easy, I kept asking myself: Why is it so hard to keep the client?
Because of one key thing SEO’s tend to overlook. Revenue. Leads. Tying Actions to Outcomes.
Traffic was up, revenue was flat.
404s were fixed, revenue was still flat.
More keyword rankings, revenue still flat.
Tweaked CTAs on the homepage, revenue still flat.
Waited 12 months. Revenue still flat.
“It depends” led to no revenue gains.
No Revenue → Escalation → Churn → New Client → Repeat
I started to realize, it wasn’t me. It was the system.
The traditional marketing agency model rewards scale, templating, and client retention, not revenue outcomes.
You’re not praised for driving revenue, you’re praised for upsells.
Sign clients. Build a repeatable SEO package. Spam it. Hit bandwidth. Work Hard. Hope the client stays long enough while you repeat: “SEO takes time.”
The temptation to scale beyond capacity is the death of most companies. But especially marketing agencies.
So why isn’t your SEO working?
While SEO agencies are usually the problem, we also have to consider the brand (client).
Let’s break down the problem by company size, expectations, and constraints.
Here’s the framework I use to diagnose why SEO isn’t working.
Are you a larger company? ($10M+ per year, older domain)
If yes, your problem is likely your marketing agency treating your brand like every other client (like the story mentioned above).
No customization.
No real brand understanding.
No funnel knowledge.
No target audience depth.
No bandwidth.
No experience.
No real talent.
Temporary Solution: On your next call, say: “I’m considering switching marketing agencies. What are you going to do to keep me?” You’ll see their eyes get big and the promises start rolling in. “We’ll do anything to keep you!”
Don’t be fooled. Good agencies deliver on the contract. Great ones go beyond it.
Temporary Comfort: 75% of large companies are in the same boat as you.
Are you a medium-sized company? ($2M+ per year, SEMrush DR ~15)
If yes, your expectations of SEO might be too high.
You want SEO to supplement paid ads — now.
You want brand authority — now.
You want content to take off — now.
Temporary Solution: Think about your industry.
Are you in a niche like mobile grooming vans, or a saturated market like furniture?
Are you trying to rank for:
- “Best leather couches”or
- “Two-toned handmade armchair for adults”?
Stop chasing head terms. Stop trying to compete with Ikea and Wayfair. Even the best SEO teams won’t unlock that anytime soon.
Think back to how your business actually grew over the last five years. Word of mouth? Facebook ads? Social media? Referrals?
Are your customers even using Google or ChatGPT to find you?
Double down on what already works.
If you still believe SEO should work for your brand, get specific. Do you just sell hot tubs or do you sell custom luxury hot tubs with built-in massage beds?
Specificity wins.
Temporary Comfort: 90% of medium-sized companies are in the same boat as you.
Are you a small company? (Under $1M per year, early-stage)
If yes, ask yourself if you should even be paying for SEO.
When you’re a young brand, SEO is simple. So simple, in fact, that I usually don’t recommend hiring for it.
Temporary Solution: If you have 10 fingers and intellect:
- Write content for your brand
- Add strong product descriptions with a clear USP
- Write weekly blogs for your niche audience
- Send helpful, content-rich emails
- Post valuable insights on Reddit and build community
- Create how-to videos and publish on YouTube
Consistency beats outsourcing.
SEO agencies will be expensive, and they won’t know your brand as deeply as you do. You’ll still need to be heavily involved either way.
Temporary Comfort: 99% of small companies are in the same boat as you.
Summary
Large brands should hire SEO teams — but don’t get sold.
- Avoid long contracts unless you truly trust the team.
- Don’t settle for an account manager who says everything is great when they’re not the ones doing the work.
- If you haven’t seen revenue movement within 4-6 months, ask intentional questions.
Medium-sized brands should only invest in SEO if search is a meaningful conversion channel for them.
- SEO is not a survival tactic, it’s a long term brand equity builder.
- Listen to your customers.
- Stop chasing keywords you’ll never rank for.
Small brands should usually do SEO themselves.
- Write. Wait. Write more.
- SEO won’t be your fastest growth channel early on.
- Build brand, reputation, and authority through consistent, repeatable actions.
V10 Media 