We all know the value an integrated SEO platform can bring, but that doesn't mean it's all roses and sunshine. And believe me, after more than a decade, we've seen it all.

Here are the top four reasons we hear from enterprise brands on why they cancel their subscription despite the time savings, value, and ROI it brings in SEO.

When we sign up a new client, we want to be with them for the long haul. "Your success is our success" is our motto! So, not all SEO platforms will tell you this upfront, but we want to make sure you've considered everything.

With that being said, we want to share what you need to do in order to utilize the platform to its highest potential so you can fully adopt it within your organization and combat any internal strife. Having an understanding of the following main reasons that clients cancel their subscription can help you put together an action plan to guarantee you don’t lose your awesome investment in SEO. 

1. Loss of Executive Sponsorship/Buy-In

It happens to all of us at some point in our careers. Your executive, manager, or CEO leaves and is replaced with a new influencer or stakeholder who does not understand the value of the technology you use, and potentially has an affinity for other tools from their previous role. 

When new leadership comes into an organization, they want to make their mark, which typically involves making operational changes. If they don’t see the value in SEO or organic marketing to the degree that they should because of their other priorities or lack of understanding, they may be more likely to cut down the expense.  

Fortunately, to combat this, we are here to help you build a foolproof SEO business case that aligns with your company’s goals and objectives. We know that you know the value of SEO, and we’re here to help you prove that value to your executives! 

You want to make sure you are the champion and educator of the value of SEO, and that you make the time to invest in education and the building of an SEO engine. The platform definitely helps - it can teach others in your organization about SEO which will strengthen your business case for organic search and the need for a great technology solution.  

Recommended Reading: Work Smarter: How to Make the Case for an SEO Platform to Your Executive Team

2. Misunderstanding in the Difference Between an SEO Platform and a Specialized SEO Tool 

When it comes time for financial decisions, uneducated budget comparisons do not justify the expense of an all-in-one SEO platform to procurement, finance, or other stakeholders. Essentially, it all comes back to the value that the platform drives to the team. If the value of an SEO platform in driving ROI is not clear to those making financial decisions, it is difficult to understand what makes it more costly than individual point solutions.  

Having all of your information and reporting under one roof allows you to work from a single source of truth, which is beneficial to the entire organization.Working from a single source of truth allows you to move away from data acquisition, reporting, and research and into actual execution. 

In fact, we ran a study and found that SEO professionals spend so much of their time gathering and organizing data that they only spend 23% of their time on strategy execution. The adoption of seoClarity led to 70% of time being spent on execution. When it comes to SEO tools versus SEO platforms, the two are in totally different playing fields, so their prices should not be compared hand-in-hand.

We have many resources that will help you illustrate exactly what sets us apart.This makes it easier for financial decision-makers to see that you rely on an SEO platform for crucial SEO data and the insights from that data.These insights give the company a competitive edge, which drives the bottom line – and that is something everyone can get behind. 

Here are just some of the things seoClarity provides that’s different from a specialized SEO tool: 

  • Daily ranking data that is accurate, reliable and scalable
  • All SEO capabilities needed in one platform - rankings, crawler, content creation, analytics, etc.
  • Training
  • Ongoing support - Client Success Manager, Technical Support Services, and Professional Services 
  • Prescriptive SEO workflows customized for your own work
  • Single source of truth

Recommended Reading: Why Choose an SEO Platform Over a Specialized SEO Tool Like SEMrush?

3. Lack of Priority to Investment Time to Gain Productive Use of the Platform 

No matter the climate of the times we’re in, at seoClarity we always believe that you should be able to thrive in organic search. To make this a reality, we partner each client with a Client Success Manager who helps with the adoption and subsequent usage of the platform. When times are tough, your SEO can stay streamlined.  

Our Client Success team is a group of experts that will be there every step of the way to ensure you get the most out of our platform during onboarding, adoption, and execution. After all, we offer a robust platform and our clients want an account management team that is equally as amazing to help transition from old tools and habits to a new approach.

And I admit, it can be hard for anyone to change the way they work, but our platform streamlines this process and brings everything together during the onboarding process. We make the transition easier so your work isn’t disturbed and you can start to see insights sooner.

You need to buy-in to take advantage of all the efficiencies that come with an SEO platform like seoClarity. Our platform really does take a lot of complex data and presents it in a simple way, it’s just a matter of being dedicated to adopting a new process or approach that closely aligns to where organic search landscape is today. After all, it’s the technology’s job to stay ahead of the changes to keep your focus on driving the results. 

With continued use of the platform, and a connection with your Client Success Manager (they are your quarterback, your lifeline for SEO success!) you can adopt and operationalize SEO practices within your organization. 

Simply put, you have to use the platform to get value from it, so don’t be afraid to jump in and ask questions to move your organization forward in SEO!

Recommended Reading: 9 Ways to Get the Most from Working with Your Client Success Manager

4. In General, SEO is Hard

SEO is its own language that is rewritten often. This goes without saying, but enterprise SEO is even harder. You have many stakeholders involved, thousands (even hundreds of thousands) of pages to manage, and a large stake of revenue and traffic to protect. 

Without a strong, strategic SEO approach, it is easy to push it to the back burner and de-prioritize it. 

I’ve worked with many different clients at all different expertise levels – some of them just building their SEO programs, others ready to take it to the next level. Some of our clients have a superstar SEO manager who really appreciates the value of organic search, and are driving their company forward. Regardless of your situation, our approach drives that adoption and provides you the tools (i.e. technology, workflows, and education/training) to move your SEO efforts forward.

Fortunately for our current and prospective clients, we have a proven approach that focuses on the end user and structures your SEO processes to ultimately scale, all while evangelizing SEO within your organization. 

We get it – SEO is hard. We would love to help you understand the potential challenges that lay ahead, and help you develop and plan not just for the adoption of SEO software, but a comprehensive adoption of all things SEO for your organization. Allow us to make it easy for you so you can prioritize the ultimate objective: the user search experience.  

Recommended Reading: Building an SEO Center of Excellence Within Your Organization

Conclusion

When SEOs adopt an SEO platform, they are eager to uncover all of the potential insights it offers, and see how the data can help them update and execute their strategy. While you see the incredible benefits a platform drives, internal culture and changes may create roadblocks in your SEO efforts, or worse, wipe them out completely. 

Don’t be discouraged, however! Now that you understand the core reasons clients cancel their subscription with their platform and the benefits an enterprise platform provides, you can be proactive in your approach on how you present SEO and share your business case to your higher-ups. Just remember to utilize a platform to the fullest – when you are excited about the platform, others will be excited too. You got this!