How to Become a Successful Freelance SEO

Surviving in the increasingly competitive market of SEO is a hard challenge for a newcomer. Because of this, the trial-and-error approach may not be optimal since you have to master your skills, control your marketing communication, and simply survive the initial ‘start up’ phase with limited resources. Here are some tips on becoming a successful freelance SEO.

1. Practice, practice, practice

In the rapidly evolving SEO industry, you need to constantly update your knowledge. Make sure that you are subscribed to the most popular news feeds in your sphere to learn about the recent technologies and solutions. Ideally, have several ‘pet projects’ where you apply new knowledge and test new ideas. By the time you start optimising your customer’s website, you will have the best tools for the job and be 100% certain about their effectiveness.

2. Authority takes time to develop

You do not become successful overnight if you do not have extensive advertising resources. Usually, word-of-mouth from satisfied customers will create a stable supply of work within 2-3 years. Don’t be scared away by initial problems, and seek a steady growth rate. You will know that you are on the right track as soon as you notice a growing number of repeat customers recommending you to others.

3. An owned website is a prerequisite

Hosting your whole portfolio on a third-party platform is a delayed mistake. Often, owners of these websites do not usually take any responsibility for server crashes, new policies or other factors that may disrupt the communication and cooperation with your customers. While you should definitely use them at the initial stages of your freelance career, create your own website as soon as possible. Having your own resource is also beneficial for publishing articles, listing your services, and merely showing off your skills as a SEO professional.

4. Backups are a must

Nothing is worse than a failed order when you are just starting up. In the cutthroat competitive environment of today, illnesses, failing disk drives or city-wide blackouts are no longer deemed as sufficient reasons to miss a deadline. Always plan for the worst-case scenario by making daily backups and organising a small group of freelance colleagues capable of helping each other in the case of emergencies.

Conclusion

Although you may be a genius in driving organic traffic to a website through back-links. However, this won’t give you the answer to all of your clients problems. Keep in mind that we learn most effectively through inspired imitation. Learning from other professionals can be beneficial for offering full-cycle services or working on large-scale projects.

Whatever path you take, make sure that you are actively developing your own brand rather than focus on one-time orders from various intermediaries.