Do you have what it takes to be an independent SEO freelancer? Do you know how to go about breaking into the business? If so, then you can quit your job and turn your side hustle into your main hustle! Let’s take a look at how to become an SEO freelancer so that you can quit your job in search of financial freedom!
Qualifications
It’s not easy to become a freelancer. You need strong skills in website development, search engine optimization, graphic design, copywriting, social media marketing and analytics. To become a successful freelancer takes years of training, experience and networking with other professionals. But if you have all those qualifications, here’s how you can quit your job and become a freelance SEO consultant:
- Network with local businesses
- Create a portfolio of services you offer
- Figure out where your target audience is going online
- Start looking for clients
- Do good work
- Repeat steps 1-5
The above process could take months or even years depending on your experience level.
Target Market
SEO freelance market is always looking for new talent. Freelance talent is hard to find because it’s hard to create a brand online. The best way I see people finding freelancers is through reddit. Post your portfolio, talk about yourself, why you would be good at it, how you got there, what companies you’ve worked with before. Build up your reputation as a quality freelancer. Once you have established yourself as someone who can be relied on for SEO jobs than jobs will come rolling in no matter where you post them; craigslist or facebook or whatever else is out there.
Do some market research on your own
Now learn how to research market for finding a niche, or a big keyword that you can rank for in Google. In fact, you should do some search on your own. Even if you’re not going to launch a business online, it’s nice know at least about SEO before hand. You’ll need to take up something that interests you enough that reading about it isn’t mind-numbing. Once you have a list of keywords, plug them into a search engine like Google Trends and see what kind of searches people are doing with them—this will tell you if they’re very popular or not popular at all.
Shop around for potential clients
After doing research on your industry, it’s a good idea to reach out to businesses in your industry. Start with local businesses, but don’t stop there. Use sites like Manta or Yelp or even LinkedIn if you have a personal connection with someone at that company; you might be able to get their email through your contacts list.
Register at freelance websites
Make sure to register on different freelance websites , especially those that focus on your specific niche, as well as those that post jobs for freelancers from all over. Some examples of these types of sites include Problogger, Upwork, Freelancer, SEOClerks, Guru and Fiverr. In addition to helping you find clients faster, registering with these sites also shows potential clients you’re serious about freelancing. If you’re good at writing content or come up with fun ideas for social media posts or email campaigns for your clients, write up a description of your services along with samples of some work you’ve done in the past. You can then submit that listing on sites like Problogger or Elance.
Begin pitching new clients
Now that you have short-listed potential clients, researched their business needs, written solid proposals, established value propositions for yourself, updated your resume with examples of relevant work, updated your LinkedIn profile with recent accomplishments, updated your website with pertinent information about what you offer your clients—you are ready to begin pitching. While there are many ways to pitch clients including cold calling and door knocking—there is no faster way than establishing a pipeline of leads via networking. You can further develop a larger pool of leads by attending industry events and contributing to online forums about marketing and search engine optimization (SEO). There is no substitute for getting out there and meeting people face-to-face. Let them know what services you offer as well as any certifications or experience you may have in those services.
Conclusion
Becoming an SEO freelancer isn’t just something that can be done overnight. You need to prepare for it, then jump in with both feet. The more effort you put into learning about your new career, speaking with others in your industry, and honing your skills; the better you’ll do when you start charging for them. (See above.) Additionally, don’t give up on your search job completely; staying connected in some way will help you learn about opportunities early, which is invaluable for any freelancer.
