Freelancing is idealized and portrayed as a way to get away from a nagging supervisor who doesn’t value you.
When people start working for themselves, however, they frequently discover that they ‘leave 9-5 to work 24/7.’
This can have a negative impact on your self-esteem and mental health, but it doesn’t negate the benefits of freelancing.
If you approach it with the appropriate perspective, it may be a rewarding experience.
You’ll learn SEO freelancing ideas in this column that will help you attract more (and better) clients, create a long-term career, and love what you do.
But first, consider why so many people opt to work for themselves.
Table of Contents
The Benefits of a SEO Freelance Career
SEO freelancing has a lot of advantages, but it can be difficult to break into if you don’t know what you’re doing. Both freelancers and enterprises must know how to effectively market themselves, attract clients, and do the duties they are contracted to accomplish without causing problems with their clients or the search engines.
More Control Over Your Time And Life
It is not necessary to obtain authorization to see the dentist during business hours. If your tasks allow, you can even take a complete weekday off. It is entirely up to you to set your own schedule.
Your Pay Has The Potential To Rise Quickly
According to a study published in Search Engine Journal, 60 percent of SEO practitioners earn the same as or more than the US median wage while working full-time.
However, one’s ability to advance is frequently limited by their years of experience, and it’s difficult to significantly boost your wage inside a single firm. To earn a greater raise, you’d usually have to move jobs.
When you work as an SEO freelancer, though, you don’t have to wait for a ‘3% yearly raise.’ You can produce more quickly.
Furthermore, because you may turn your freelance business into an agency or something else, there is absolutely no limit to how much money you can generate.
Direct Contact With Clients
It was one of the most essential advantages since you wanted to have a greater impact on the success of your clients.
As a online business owner, you have a better understanding of your customers since you have learned more about priorities and assessing work vs. impact.
It allows you to focus on the most important advice rather than trying to repair all SEO concerns.
Here are my top ten suggestions for getting your SEO freelance business up and running (and keep you sane while doing it).
Make Contact With Other Freelancers
If you want to make money as a freelance SEO, you have no choice but to network. There are those who have been there before you, no matter where you are. They have knowledge and experience that you can use.
Getting advice from such folks can save you months of research. Relationships can’t be replaced by freelance skills or search engine optimization knowledge. It takes time to form these relationships, so don’t get discouraged if you don’t have a lot of them yet; they will come. Find a local Search Engine Optimization Meetup and join Facebook and LinkedIn if you already have some.
Create A Strong Online Presence
We live in a society where there are so many voices on social media, and yours should be heard as well.
You may utilize LinkedIn to increase your visibility. You can utilize Twitter, launch a newsletter, or do it all at the same time. It’s entirely up to you.
Having a strong internet presence makes it much easier to talk to prospects.
Treat Yourself As If You Were A Company
You are now an accountant, a salesperson, an account manager, and a legal department when you start your own firm.
You also have to pay your taxes (which can be terrifying at first).
This must be factored into your service rate. Calculating the hourly rate you earned at a day job isn’t enough. To cover all additional costs, you’ll need a few times more.
Examine Your Abilities
If you want to work as a freelance SEO, chances are you already know what you’re doing. However, many people enter the SEO freelance market with little or no expertise, which means they may not be able to properly handle clients or set costs in accordance with industry norms.
Furthermore, having a solid understanding of SEO is necessary before starting your business so that you can assess your abilities and estimate how much—or how little—work you can do successfully.
Assemble Your Tools
When it comes to SEO tools, all SEO freelancers should be aware. Make sure you have access to all of them, including a keyword analysis tool such as Google’s Keyword Planner or Wordtracker, a site crawling and indexing tool such as Screaming Frog or Xenu, and a competitive backlink analysis tool such as Open Site Explorer.
Recognize Your Limitations
Make certain you’re aware of your restrictions. If you lack certain skills, don’t try to be a jack-of-all-trades (or have other commitments that make it challenging to dedicate time to your freelancing business). Learning to say no will help you avoid overstretching yourself. Keep doing what you do well and delegate work outside of your core talents to others.
Learn How To Charge For Your Services
Even if you’re now the only employee, you now have the knowledge that you’re running a firm.
Profit is the primary purpose of any firm. So the next step is to accept it and stop selling yourself short (it might be easier when you see your first tax bill).
Here are some pointers:
- Don’t work for free.
- Instead of billing by the hour, use project-based pricing.
- Continuously improve and raise your prices as a result.
Keep Up With The Latest Trends
SEO (search engine optimization) is a dynamic field. Not only are new SEO trends becoming more popular and relevant, but search engines are continuously updating their algorithms, making previous techniques obsolete.
If you’re a freelancer who provides clients with search engine optimization services, staying on top of current trends is critical if you want to keep earning money doing what you love.
Create Systems And Processes
Creating processes will help you increase the efficiency of your freelancing business and increase your profit margins. Processes can also be useful for delegating later on, if you decide to hire someone to assist you.
You don’t have to make anything elaborate. A process can begin with a simple checklist that you can build upon over time.
Practice
Whether you’re hoping to supplement your income from a full-time job or make freelancing SEO work a full-time profession, practice is essential. Don’t give up if you want to understand how to conduct keyword research, where to uncover long-tail keywords, and how to develop content that appeals to both search engines and potential buyers. To position yourself for success, learn everything you can about SEO.
Set Yourself Up For A Long Journey
It’s not easy to get started as a freelancer. You’ll have to find out a lot of stuff quickly. It can also be isolating.
All of this might lead to continual overworking and mental health difficulties.
It’s best to look after yourself and your work/life balance now, before it becomes too difficult to recall who you are outside of work.
Here are some suggestions:
- Have a group of people who will cheer you up (your spouse, friends, fellow freelancers).
- Have a pastime that is unrelated to your job (and, preferably, does not need the use of a computer).
- Make a schedule for your free time.
- Set clear limits for yourself; don’t work in your pajamas for 12 hours a day.
- All of these minor details will ensure that you’re running a marathon, not a sprint (yeah, this is an SEO reference).
Know Your ‘Laws’ And Follow Them
You can’t take on every SEO project that comes your way. You won’t be able to work with all of the clients who come to you.
Attempting to assist everyone will simply exhaust you.
Instead, you must be clear about what you do (your skills), how you assist (your services), and who you assist (types of clients you work with).
Because you’re a freelancer, don’t assume you have to accept low-quality tasks. Many freelancers have declined low-paying tasks because they would take too much time away from their main freelance jobs or other freelance jobs.
Don’t spend your time with a potential client who doesn’t perceive your value right away. It’s difficult to say no to money, but it’s necessary if you want to flourish as a freelance SEO consultant and earn money.
Initially, it will be difficult for you to say no to new projects. It will, however, pay off in the long run.
Final Thoughts
It’s far too short of a life to stay in a job you despise or work on tasks you despise. You will have no boundaries when you embark on a freelancing career for yourself.
Use these expert tips to level up your freelance SEO game, make what you’re worth, and enjoy a successful career as a freelancer.
