Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many businesses shifted online. They started offering their services on websites, which created a huge demand for SEO experts.
If you have enough SEO knowledge and have always wanted to be an SEO professional, It’s the right time to kick start your career as an expert SEO freelancer.
A freelance SEO career can be a fulfilling experience in terms of finance and the kind of work contribution as well. But the competition is tough; there are so many people declaring themselves as SEO experts.
This means you’ll have to work on your branding as a freelance SEO expert to attract clients. In this post, we’re going to give some actionable tips on how you can brand yourself as an SEO freelancer.
Build a website and list your services
Before declaring yourself as a freelance SEO expert, you will need to create a website to showcase your skills and services. Having a website increases your credibility and brings you forward as a reliable candidate for potential clients.
List all the services you’re offering on the website; this will keep you clear about your SEO services. Additionally, It will save a lot of time for you and your clients who might get in touch with you to get their project started.
List yourself on freelancing platforms
Once you’ve made your mind opt for SEO as your full-time career, you will have to look for leads to get hired on projects. It is pretty similar to eCommerce, where you put out your business. Similarly, you can sell your freelance SEO service as well.
It can be an overwhelming job for many freelancers to find the right lead in situations where they are not aware of the leads’ sources. Below is the list of few freelancing sites where you can list yourself, and they can help you get hired quickly.
- Fiverr
- Upwork
- Guru
- People per hour
- Freelancer
- Simply Hired
Define a work schedule and stick to it
Freelancing requires commitment like no other profession. As an SEO freelancer, your job is to churn rankings for your clients quickly, and they will expect it from you. You will have to try your best to meet the client’s requirements. The client will expect you to deliver work on time. Therefore, commit to a work schedule and work on it.
Build a solid cover letter strategy
Always sell your services with complete dedication and create a strong cover letter strategy. This will increase your chances of getting hired for a job or project that you have applied for.
As an SEO freelancer, create such a cover letter that stands you out from other SEO professionals. It should include keyword development, online content strategy, website analytics, web traffic management, organic and paid traffic, SEO best practices, ROI analysis, etc.
Garner reviews as much as you can
You might not always catch the bigger fish in the early days of your freelance SEO career. But to get more significant projects, good work recommendations, and previous client reviews can do wonders. You will need to work on these two areas.
These reviews play a vital role in building your credibility as a trusted freelancer. Start taking up smaller projects and after completion, request the client to provide you with a review and feedback of your service.
This process can be helpful in two ways. The feedback helps you improve your quality of work, whereas the reviews will get you more clients.
Follow other SEO freelancers
You can’t analyze yourself without analyzing your competitors in this field. In branding yourself as an SEO expert, it is necessary to perform well. And if you want to make yourself able to do so, you are obliged to work like one. Studying and following the professional work ethics of in-demand or successful SEO freelancers will help you draft better cover letters, make better bids, and seal in on great project deals.
You can join freelance communities to keep yourself updated on the changes occurring in freelancing trends and even create a union of freelancers with the same expertise. Later on, these professionals can help you in dicey situations, such as when a client clogs your payment.
Keep adding a new set of skills
Once you have started your freelance SEO career, you will get a lot of experience. However, since you will be busy completing and working on projects for your clients, you might run out of new technological knowledge and skills that have just been introduced in the market.
Hence, it is crucial to keep yourself informed and take out some time from your schedule to add new skills to your existing skills and enhance your knowledge base. This will make you competent enough to expand your horizon and get new projects that you might have not even thought about earlier.
You can go through tools like SEO Buddy, Ahrefs and master them to increase your core skills.
Know your worth
Almost every second person goes for freelancing because of two reasons: the freedom to work and financial gain.
Freelancing makes you capable of making more money than a regular work professional. But all this will be possible only if you know your actual worth and can gauge the pricing for your projects.
Due to its growing digital prominence, SEO is a flourishing industry today. There are more professionals involved in the competition than ever. Many SEO professionals are ready to work at low rates than average, which negatively affects the pricing of projects. Clients also tend to go for cheaper SEO professionals.
While branding yourself, you’ll have to work on stipulated rates according to your skills and never accept projects at a lower rate than that. Consider yourself as a brand; never compromise on your pricing.
Final Thoughts
At the beginning of your freelance SEO career, you might face so many challenges, but it also opens the door to many opportunities. Before you make a move and sacrifice a considerable amount of effort and time to make the transition, it is extremely important for you to assess if this is right.
Once you have decided, the next step is to brand yourself to stand out from others. Adapt to the algorithm changes quickly. Other than that, follow the above tips to surpass the competition.
