As more people become accustomed to working at home and enjoying the benefits of hybrid careers, there is an increase in the number of people who are considering a freelance marketing career over a traditional, in-office marketing career.
Working as a freelance marketer allows people to have more control over their careers, their finances, and their schedules.
One area in particular that can be a great career is being an SEO freelancer.
Rather than working at an SEO agency or as an SEO specialist in-house for a business, you can instead perform your services on a project-by-project basis and work for yourself.
In this article, we’ll help you learn how to become an SEO freelancer and give you some helpful tips on what you can do to improve your opportunities.
1. Look at What the Leading SEO Freelancers are Doing
Getting started as any type of freelancing professional can be difficult.
It might be a good idea to take a look at what other SEO freelancers are doing and study the work they do.
You can try to join different freelancing communities to join discussions about how to do your projects and structure your business processes.
They can give great advice on how to become an SEO freelancer and find new business.
2. Build a Website
As an SEO expert, you know the value of having a website as a source of organic traffic.
Having a website for your freelancing services makes it easier for clients to find you and understand more about what you can do for them.
You can use your website as a digital storefront for your freelancing, and put your SEO best practice knowledge to good use.
And updating your website regularly will help improve your standing on search engines.
3. Clearly List Your Services
Once you have your website built, you should make sure you have a section dedicated to the services you provide.
There is a wide range of different SEO tasks that you can do, so it’s important for you to clearly state what it is you will do for a client.
This helps your customers know what they get for their investment in your business and makes sure they don’t want to hire you for areas you don’t specialize in.
4. Clarify Your Niche
While it might seem like a good idea to offer your SEO services to everyone who is interested, it’s actually more beneficial for you to clarify a niche and find an area to specialize in.
When you pick a specific industry or niche, you can really begin to understand the specific SEO best practices and tactics that will work for that area.
It also means less competition as you become the go-to expert for your niche.
5. Create Systems and Prioritize as Needed
Just because you are working as a freelancer and aren’t in a traditional office job doesn’t mean that you don’t need to know how to create systems and prioritize tasks.
When you are a freelancer, you are your own manager, so you need to come up with the right systems that will lead to success.
You also need to know how to organize your tasks and projects so you don’t drop any balls as you work.
6. Keep Adding New Skill Sets
SEO is a constantly expanding and multifaceted area of marketing.
It’s important that you continue adding new skills to your personal portfolio and take the time to research new SEO developments and updates that can help you grow and succeed in your freelancing career.
You can try taking online classes, reading new research and search engine updates, and looking to see what other freelancers are doing in their businesses as inspiration.
7. Find an SEO Mentor
While it’s important to connect and work with other SEO freelancers, you might want to get advice from someone who has even more experience.
Looking for a mentor or a guru to inspire you could be a great idea to help grow your SEO freelancing business.
Look for people who have published books or have podcasts about SEO, and become a subscriber.
You can find someone with a similar work ethic as yourself and use their advice and guidance to structure your own business.
8. Have a Portfolio Ready to Go
Potential clients want to know that you have a history of success before they hire you.
Think about how you can demonstrate this in the form of a portfolio.
A portfolio allows you to showcase your best success stories and give them to clients so they can see the value you can provide and understand why you should work with them.
You can display your portfolio on your website as a powerful conversion tool for leads.
9. Establish Yourself as a Thought Leader
As an SEO freelancer and professional, you have a lot of valuable knowledge about SEO best practices and backgrounds.
When you share this knowledge and set yourself forward as an SEO expert, you have the potential to become a thought leader.
A thought leader is a source of information that people trust when they want to learn something new, and it sets you apart from other freelancers and allows you to stand out.
10. Use Your Existing Network
Finding new business can be difficult, especially when you have just started learning how to become an SEO freelancer.
Using your existing network and taking advantage of your current connections can be a great way to build up your client base, get more positive feedback, and expand your contacts.
Tap into your LinkedIn or professional network and ask your connections if they are interested in testing out your services.
11. Price Your Services Accurately
One of the biggest challenges that every freelancer has is learning how to accurately price their services.
It can be a difficult question to approach: you want to value yourself and get paid what you are worth, but don’t want to frighten off potential clients with a high price tag.
You might want to consider working backwards: decide how many hours you want to work and how much you want to earn, and figure out your pricing from there.
Don’t waiver from your price once it is set. The right clients will come along.
12. Gather Reviews and Testimonials
Word of mouth is an incredibly powerful marketing tool that freelancers should take advantage of.
Gathering reviews, testimonials, and case studies can go a long way in ensuring that your leads convert through your marketing funnel and want to reach out and learn more about what you can offer.
Positive reviews can do a lot of the hard work for you when it comes to convincing leads to become a customer.
13. Commit to a Work Schedule
Having total control over your daily work schedule is both a blessing and a curse.
You can organize your day as you please and take time off when needed for your personal life, but it can be hard to find motivation to work.
One way to help is to create a work schedule and then stick to it.
If you commit to working from 10-4, make sure you stay in front of your computer and work those hours regularly so it becomes a habit.
14. Boost Your Online Presence
As an SEO expert, you know how important having an online presence is.
Social media, Google My Business, and blogging are more than just potential business tactics, they are important steps to making sure that Google and other search engines rank your content high and build authority and trust in your website.
Make sure you are actively working on boosting your online presence as you work on freelancing.
15. Practice Your Sales Pitches
Working as a freelancer means you are a marketer, sales person, and customer service rep all at once.
Sales pitches in particular can be difficult for freelancers to master, as their skill sets lie in doing their tasks, not necessarily in making a pitch to a client.
Working on your sales skills and perfecting your pitches can help you close more deals and sign with more clients as your business grows.
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Learning how to become an SEO freelancer can open up many opportunities for those who are interested in a freelance marketing career.
You can have total control over the clients you work with, the prices you charge, and the ways you go about completing your projects.
Working as a freelancer means that you are responsible for the methods and technologies you use in order to do your work. Without the right tools, you can find it difficult to manage the tasks you need in order to succeed.
Thankfully, our blog on the best freelancer tools can help you out!
Click on the link above to check out the blog and discover some of the best freelancing tools that will help you run your business and impress your clients.
