When I am approached by a potential SEO client, they usually encompass a combination of wide-eyed fascination and squinty skepticism.  Even after becoming a client, these two reactions are prevalant whenever I produce something that they honestly hadn't thought of before.  Keyword Research?  Search Volume?

"He's either smart or sneaky," they seem to think, treating me as if I'm a whiz one moment and a used car salesman the next.  It's difficult to avoid when a company like mine tries to operate with a higher level of transparency, yet deals with industry terms and definitions that aren't in the common vernacular (I find it hard enough to explain how I rate keywords, which is made no less difficult when I have to actually explain what SEO stands for first).

When I really get them in though, when I know that their confidence in me has been bolstered and they've actually taken a leap along the path of trusting me, is when I talk about their industry and the market they're in.

If I can prove to them that I know their users and their business, then I'm well on my way to establishing a long-term client.  When I not only understand that their target demographic probably doesn't use the web to search for their particular product during the day and instead will be surfing at night from home, or that their potential users are going to use a one-letter variation on a word because most of them are from the U.S. instead of Australia, then it all of a sudden gives credibility to my Difficulty Ratings and Competition Analysis.

The majority of my research is actually done on the client themselves, and keywords and competition second.  Keyword research can yield some real gold mines in niche terms (boy, has it!) and Competition Analysis has shown me some great tactics for taking on the Big Boys in the top 3 spots, but nothing is as important in my SEO work than understanding who my client is and who they're going for.

I watch too many of my peers, in both web design and web marketing, focus more on what they want and what the client wants, especially what the client wants, without focusing first on what their potential clients are looking for.

I vacillate between wanting to tell them all, "Know the client and their market first!  It'll help your business!" and "Keep doing what you're doing!  It'll help MY business!"