SEO agencies, consultants and internal marketing teams make up the current online marketing scene, each with their own unique strengths and their own opportunities. It's just my opinion, but I definitely feel like the current SEO landscape favors the internal marketer and I don't see that changing.

In order for agencies and outside SEO consultants to excel under the current conditions we need to become more like employees and less like vendors. But how?

Become an Expert on What Your Clients Do and How They Make Money

If you are an SEO, research should be second nature. Learn everything you can about what your clients do, what they consider success and how you can help them get there. If you are changing page titles and page copy without research into their industry, you may be missing the mark. The more you know about your client's world, the closer you get to becoming a part of it.

Take action: Sign up for Google Alerts related to their industry (and document the influential people you discover along the way).

Do More Marketing and Less SEO

Align your goals with that of your clients' and start thinking more about long-term strategy and less about short-term tactical wins. Chances are you need to "sell" your tactics each month, so choose tactics that are a part of a larger goal and that are supported by data.

Here is an excellent post by Annie Cushing of SEER with my favorite part:

http://www.seerinteractive.com/blog/craziest-internet-marketing-audit-checklist-on-the-interwebz

News flash: Most developers won’t be excited to receive your audit. They get paid the same whether their company’s homepage (with all the links) 302 redirects to another page or not. So I try to make their job as easy as possible, knowing I’ve just created a crap ton of work for them and (inadvertently) exposed some of their ineffective deployments.

If your recommendations are filled with "SEO speak" that non-SEOs might not understand, change them!

Take action: Ask this before sending every audit or recommendation: Can my contact explain this to someone else easily?

Another simple tactic is the "5 year old test". After everything you recommend, ask yourself, "but why?"

- I need to change the title of this page to Blue Widgets | Widget Co.

5 year old me: But why?

- Because it needs to include the keywords Blue Widgets and the brand.

5 year old me: But why?

Because we believe that page titles are an important on-page signal that search engines use to identify what a page is about and I want Google to associate my customer's brand with this term.

Communicate Often and Communicate Efficiently

Making your SEO recommendations easy to understand is part of efficiency, but make sure you title your email subject lines with a detailed description. This can help your clients reference previous conversations quickly via search.

Bad example: Page Titles

Better example: Page Title Recommendations for X Widget

Respond quickly to your customers and make sure they always know that they're top priority. I personally use Gmail and Mailstrom.co for email management (and then shamelessly tout my inbox zero status).

Be Agile

I know, I know... this term was thrown around a lot in 2012, but it is important. Watch Jonathon Colman of REI explain agile marketing:

Celebrate Your Clients' Victories

As a part of your client's marketing team, share in their victories, no matter how small. If you work in an agency, share each success with everyone in your office.

Show Your Face

Remember: if you can't see your client's facial expressions, you may not see important signals that shout, "hey, I'm lost!" or "I disagree."

Educate Your Clients and Their Teams

Become a resource of knowledge and trust. Share industry insights and news with your clients at regular intervals. Include why changes may affect their campaign specifically and how you plan to respond.

If your clients are willing to learn more about SEO, teach them! Educated clients tend to implement recommendations faster and may even help you come up with the next big idea.

TL;DR

• Become an expert on what your clients do.
• Only recommend tactics that support a larger strategy.
• Communicate often and use specific keywords in emails.
• Be able to respond quickly to industry changes.
• Celebrate every win.
• Meet with your clients face to face in person or online.