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Hey there,

Have you ever found yourself…

“Just get to the point.”

The sentiment is common within the workplace, one shared among stakeholders and marketers, alike.

Now, I love sharing stories and, if you get me going, I’m a talker.

But, as enjoyable as an elaborative narrative can be, it can compromise effective communication and deviate away from a clear, consistent message.

Today I want to share why and how clear communication wins out in our SEO recommendations and consultancy.

Clients want us to get to the point

A client experienced a drop in organic performance in one of their site sections after a recent update.

I was tasked with identifying the cause and found that recent site changes had left them vulnerable to back-to-back algorithm updates.

To illustrate the issue, I overlaid the update release dates with the performance decline.

My recommendation was to revert to a previous iteration, but instead of getting straight to the point, I buried critical details in a grandiose narrative on a PowerPoint.

• Slide 1: The updates.
• Slide 2: Their significance.
• Slide 3: Why they were impacted.

Before I could continue, the client cut me off: “What’s the plan forward?”

My ego had shaped the presentation to highlight my investigative skills, but the client didn’t care about the process, they wanted a solution.

They needed me to get to the point.

👉 Related: Improving My SEO Proposals – How I refined my approach to delivering concise, results-driven SEO recommendations.

Taken aback by my manager’s approach…

When I started in e-commerce, we held weekly teleconferences with clients to provide updates.

During my SEO reports, I noticed my manager would subtly spin his finger in a circle, his way of telling me to move it along.

At first, I found it rude. But as I grew into a managerial role, and later as an independent consultant, I completely understood.

Clients aren’t paying for the backstory - they want the key drivers of success. They don’t need every detail; they care about the results.

👉 Related: Mastering SEO Collaboration – The importance of clear communication in building trust with clients and SEO teams.

When I get to the point…

Needless to say, experiences like the above hel my ability to strip unnecessary details from updates.

For example, in our family business, I get straight to the main points, providing a brief recap of goals before diving in.

This serves as both a refresher and a way to highlight key takeaways for a busy team.

At times, my direct approach may seem abrupt, especially when keeping an agenda on track.

But my intent isn’t to kill the conversation; it’s to keep our campaigns aligned with the bigger vision and drive meaningful progress.

Prioritizing information with the inverted pyramid

The inverted pyramid is a writing style that places critical information up front, leading into broader details.

Originally designed for journalism, I apply this approach when reporting findings, delivering project updates, and writing content.

By highlighting key points at the start of a conversation, I help keep audiences engaged and focused.

In web content, where users skim for information, the inverted pyramid ensures that essential details aren’t buried; they’re prioritized.

👉 Related: Writing an Effective SEO Development Ticket – Best practices for structuring SEO requests clearly to ensure smooth execution.

Don’t hold back; just get to the point

Crafting elaborate explanations for audiences was how I structured several of my presentations and reports until I noticed clients losing interest.

These experiences taught me that results matter more than the narrative, no matter how juicy of story you can tell.

Now, I apply a more direct and succinct communication style to ensure clarity, focus, and impact in every SEO recommendation, when the situation calls for it.

I encourage you to review how you're presenting information and whether it is streamlined or there is room for improvement.

Edwin Romero

Independent SEO Consultant

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