Search with Candour The key to client partnerships in SEO | Jessica Bettis
Mar 23, 2026
Jessica Bettis, Director of Strategy at Candour, who specialises in client partnership and aligning SEO with commercial goals. She discusses trust-building, turning technical work into business-focused outcomes, smart onboarding and roadmaps, matching teams to client needs, and simple habits like quick pre-meeting alignment and a shared client workspace.
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Remember How Much Influence You Actually Have
- Client partners keep the bigger picture: how much of the client's workload you actually are and what constraints they face.
- Jessica notes agencies may be 10% of a client's workload while specialists treat it as 70–80% of theirs.
Account Management Works Mostly Behind The Scenes
- Much of client-partner value happens behind the scenes and clients often don't see the negotiations and trade-offs.
- Jessica compares account management to film editing: invisible work that shapes outcomes and speeds approvals.
Cross-Train For Enough Technical And Commercial Fluency
- Upskill both ways: client partners need enough technical awareness to spot opportunities and specialists need commercial framing skills.
- Jessica says neither side must master the other, but both should recognise and translate needs effectively.
