Why I Turned Down a High-Value Client in My Niche Target Market
As an SEO professional since 2008, I’ve had to make difficult decisions, but turning down a potential client in an industry I specialize in was one of the toughest. Have you ever had to say no to a client because you simply couldn’t deliver what they were asking for?
Earlier this year, I was approached by the Marketing Manager of a Caribbean-based jewelry store, a brand with four locations in luxury Ritz-Carlton hotels across the Caribbean. This is exactly the type of client I specialize in—luxury tourism businesses in the Caribbean. So initially, turning them down wasn’t even on the table. However, after a thorough review of their needs and their website, I realized I had no choice.
The client wanted me to manage a Pay-Per-Click (PPC) campaign on their existing website. But here’s the problem: their website wasn’t set up for a successful PPC campaign. There were two major obstacles:
- Non-Targeted Pages: The site’s pages weren’t optimized for any relevant keywords. For a PPC campaign to succeed, the landing pages need to target specific search terms to reduce cost-per-click and maximize ROI. Their pages didn’t, meaning the client would end up spending more money with little return. I suggested we update the landing pages for better keyword targeting, but the client declined. They only wanted to run the PPC campaign as-is.
- Lack of Conversion Design: Even if we had managed to get visitors through the ads, the website wasn’t designed to convert those clicks into sales. The pages were more like brochures than actionable sales funnels. I recommended a redesign of the landing pages to improve conversions, but again, the client was set on launching the PPC campaign without any changes.
- Slow Website Speed: One of the biggest issues was the website’s slow loading time. In today’s digital landscape, speed is crucial—especially for a PPC campaign. A slow website leads to higher bounce rates, meaning visitors are more likely to leave before the page even loads. This not only wastes the client’s ad spend but also hurts their quality score, increasing the cost-per-click. When I raised this issue, the client didn’t want to address it.
Despite these challenges, the client insisted on moving forward with their existing setup. I had to make a tough call—I turned down the project. My reputation and expertise were on the line, and running a campaign doomed to fail wasn’t something I could stand behind.
Saying no to a project you know you’re an expert in can be incredibly hard, but sometimes it’s the right decision to maintain the quality and integrity of your work. In this case, it was the only option.
