Freelancing has become more and more popular over the last few years, and it’s easy to see why. The “SEO Freelancer”/Freelance business has grown to a multi-billion dollar industry, therefore, creating demand for more SEO Freelancers. Thanks to websites like Fiverr and Elance.

Can You Become an SEO Freelancer?

The answer: absolutely! The difficulty lies in figuring out what it really takes to become successful as a freelance SEO expert and then working hard enough to achieve it.

Many freelancers work from home, or anywhere with an internet connection and can work flexible hours, giving them the ability to make money online while also enjoying their free time.

If you want to break into SEO freelancing, this guide will help you get started on your journey!

Who is an SEO Freelancer?

An SEO freelancer is a specialist who offers search engine optimization services, which are designed to improve the ranking and visibility of a website. This is done by ensuring that the website complies with the latest guidelines from search engines.

“An SEO specialist should also be able to help you achieve high-quality backlinks from other websites, as well as resolving any errors that are preventing your site from ranking well.”

Some SEO freelancers will also offer additional services such as social media marketing, pay-per-click advertising, and writing new content.

Here are six tips for beginners looking to become Freelancers

• Make a plan. Successful freelancers know where they are going and how they are going to get there. You should consider creating a business plan to help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, what you need to do to succeed, and the obstacles that might prevent you from succeeding.
• Identify your skills. What do you have to offer? For some people, this is an easy question to answer because their jobs have been defined for them by society or a past employer. If you are one of those people who has been working in a job with a clearly defined role, then it is time to think about how that role translates into a freelance career.
• Build Your Personal Website. Having your own website is another great way to get involved in SEO without investing any money upfront. If done correctly, it could also lead to paid work down the road or serve as leverage when trying to find clients online.
• Treat freelance like a business. The most important thing is to treat your freelance side hustle as if it were your own business. You need to stay organized and have good time management skills because managing your time well will help ensure that your clients receive high-quality work in a timely manner.
• Make sure your finances are in order. Freelancing is inherently unpredictable, so it’s important to have a good financial cushion ready when you start out, especially with the average amount of time it takes for new freelancers to find clients running at about three months.
• Decide what kind of freelancer you want to be. Do you want to work from home? In an office space? In coffee shops? Will you work remotely with clients or meet in person? There’s no right answer here; the point is just to have an idea of what kind of work environment works best for you. This way you are more productive.

How to Become an SEO Freelancer

Job description, skills, and salary. Is it worth it? : Becoming a freelancer, especially if you’re interested in making money online through search engine optimization (SEO), requires quite a bit of preparation, more than some other freelance jobs.

This is because becoming a great SEO expert takes time. Whereas developing other types of skill sets can be done relatively quickly. But don’t worry: with enough work and patience, you too can become an SEO freelancer.

You might be wondering if you can profit from doing SEO freelancing? Absolutely! The difficulty lies in figuring out what it really takes to become successful as a freelance SEO expert and then working hard enough to achieve it.

“Note!!! This blog guide is based on those who most want to be Blog SEO specialists/freelancers. This doesn’t mean you can’t benefit if you are learning any other related thing/issue “

The best way to learn SEO Freelancing is by starting a blog – if you haven’t of course.

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Now, back to the topic …

What is SEO?

SEO is an abbreviation of search engine optimization. It Is just another way of saying search engine marketing. The goal is to help businesses show up higher in Google search results so that more people can find them and buy their products. One of my favorite ways to do that is with content marketing.

SEO Basics for an SEO Freelancer

To freelance or not? That is a question and one that isn’t always easy to answer. In fact, before you even consider freelancing, you need to ask yourself why. Is it for money? Or perhaps for freedom? When it comes down to it, only you can decide what your priorities are.

If money is your top priority then focus on building up your skills so that you can open yourself up to many different opportunities and make more money along the way. To do that, however, you need a solid SEO foundation.

Here are the basics of Becoming an SEO Freelancer:

1. Understanding SEO Before You Begin

There are several key components to ranking well in search engines. Without these components set in place beforehand, you will never be able to rank anywhere near where you’d like.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is important because it allows websites to be found through internet searches and ultimately provides a return for business owners by bringing traffic back to their site. However, if your website isn’t optimized for search engines then it won’t show up at all on any search engine results pages (SERPs).

This can become quite costly for companies that invest thousands into SEO services but aren’t able to get any return on their investment because they have no traffic coming back to their website or product/service. So what do you need to know? You need to understand SEO which basically means you need a deep foundation in Keyword Research.

Our next point is …

2. Keyword Research

“As an SEO Freelancer, you must be able to do keyword research at all costs!”

First, let’s go over what keywords are. Keywords should be thought of as tags that tell search engines what each piece of content within your website is about. In addition to helping people who may search for keywords find your page, including relevant keywords within your content also helps boost rankings in Google which gets you more organic traffic and better conversions from organic visitors.

How Do You Find Keywords?

Think about how you would describe your particular service or product to someone who doesn’t already know what it is. What words would come up in conversation when talking about your service? Are there other keyword variations that would make sense for certain parts of your sales funnel, such as during free trial periods or pricing discussion points with clients?

These types of questions help give you ideas when looking for new keywords to add to your website. We typically look at both our competitors and our own target audience when trying to figure out which words we want our own pages to rank for.

The best tools for keyword research are Ahrefs, Semrush, Ubersuggest, and Google AdWords, the latter is best for targetting an audience with ads. All the mentioned tools are paid for except Google AdWords. I have another blog on 15 Free Keyword Research Tools, visit the suggested blog.

Suggested Blog?

15 Best Free Keyword Research Tools For Blog Optimization

Are Keywords Still Relevant Today?

Most people think that all keywords disappeared after Google updated its algorithm several years ago. Many people just feel like if they have a word on their page it will be penalized by Google because the big G knows everything about every single webpage and what is written on them so having a keyword strategy isn’t even worth it anymore.

So no need to worry if you aren’t seeing results from your content optimization because apparently, any attempts made are not only worthless but also dangerous! The reality is Google has put much more weight on links (backlinks) over content for years now since its inception into PageRank back in 1998.

Keywords are the basics of on-page SEO in general but don’t guarantee rank/show in SERPs.

3. Competitive Analysis

“You must be able to Analyse SERPs results and your competitors’ results.”

The next thing you need to do is conduct some competitive analysis. Look at what sites are currently ranking for your desired keywords and analyze their methods. Look at how many links they have pointing towards their site, how often they post, etc.

Figure out what works best for them and look for ways that you can duplicate that success with your own page. This will get you in a great mindset when trying to optimize any content that you have created or plan on creating in order to rank it effectively within search engines.

Why Is Competitive Analysis Important?

For starters, after learning more about what types of websites already dominate certain SERPs you’ll be able to see exactly where you fit into those SERPs as well as where you need to improve in order to make improvements so that people looking for information related to your niche will find your website instead of theirs.

If there is anything we have learned over time when dealing with our own clients is that “even if someone does something really well there’s still room for improvement – especially since things change all of the time!”

4. Keyword Density

Before I dive too much into keyword density keep in mind that this has changed quite a bit over time. In past years using exact match keywords and phrases was really important but more recently Google’s algorithm treats these phrases differently than it used to so when putting them on your page less is more.

“The greatest thing you can do is to create high-quality content using the other steps in this blog and implementing keywords naturally within your blog post.”

5. Anchor Texts, Titles & H1 Tags

Next, we have anchor texts, titles, and h1 tags. Each of these elements helps define your page for search engines and ultimately helps you rank higher within their SERPs. A lot of people like including keywords within anchor texts but be careful!

Including too many can actually get you banned from Google’s index which means that no one will ever see your website on Google. If a word is important enough it should appear naturally throughout your content without having to force it into any links or text on a webpage.

I have a blog on techniques to help you improve your on-page SEO.

Suggested Blog?

8 On-Page SEO Techniques To Rank Your Site Faster: Beginners Guide

6. Page Loading Speed & Site Speed

It doesn’t matter how good someone’s site looks or what content they’re providing if they don’t load quickly they’re not going to get much business at all these days, especially since more than 50% of internet users are using mobile devices now instead of desktop computers as a primary way to access websites and/or apps.

So make sure that when someone goes onto your site everything loads quickly – no exceptions!

You can read our list of “Google Ranking Factors” in the suggested article… Learn more about “Site Load Speed“

Suggested Blog?

Top 12 SEO Ranking Factors: What Matters To Google?

7. On-page Optimization

Most people associate SEO with backlinks and off-site optimization. While both are important, they’re far from your only options. In fact, focusing on improving your site’s user experience could have a larger impact on your bottom line.

Think about it: if Google rewards pages that provide users with valuable information in a friendly, usable interface, wouldn’t you want to provide that kind of experience? It might take some work upfront, but if you build great content, design easy-to-use site navigation, and make your brand easy to find (all aspects of UX), then you could significantly improve both user experience and revenue – which translates into improved search engine rankings over time as well.

Happy customers tell their friends; that people who have good experiences using your site are much more likely to share than unhappy ones are. Word-of-mouth is one of the best ways for any business to get new customers. Brand loyalty can be achieved through word-of-mouth marketing via social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter too!

Start small by making sure your website is written from a customer’s perspective so that visitors intuitively know where everything is located on your site. Remember, it’s important not only to optimize for on-site improvement but also for optimization away from your website!

Suggested Blog?

8 On-Page SEO Techniques To Rank Your Site Faster: Beginners Guide

8. Link Building Strategies (off-page optimization)

Lastly, we have link-building strategies. This is one of the most important aspects of off-page optimization because links tell search engines what your page is about – they validate that you’re a trusted source of information on whatever it is that you’re trying to rank your content for.

So how do you get these types of links?

Those are just a few ways you can attract more people and businesses who may be willing to link back to your website/blog from theirs. But as we all know not all links are created equal so make sure that you’re focusing on getting do-follow ones from pages that already rank in Google’s index. Don’t use any type of software for linking!

My personal recommendation for getting backlinks is writing guest posts for other sites and naturally linking back to your site. Our site offers “guest post” opportunities to talented writers. First, read our “Guest Post Guidelines Here“

Note!!! Regardless of the route you take, you still need to understand the basics of each SEO discipline and how they all work together.

– Link Building for SEO

It’s Hard but Can Pay Off

Link building is one of those necessary evils in search engine optimization that almost every company has to undertake. It’s tedious, time-consuming, and frustrating at times. But link building can be worth it in the end, particularly if you create a list of high-quality resources that other websites want to reference.

– Guest Posting

Getting your content published on other blogs is a great way to improve your own readership. To get started, begin searching for sites that are related to yours in some way. You could also search by topic and location if you’re interested in finding niche publications or publications geared toward local businesses.

Once you find a site you’d like to guest post for, make sure you’re familiar with their style guidelines and how they take submissions. Usually, they’ll either request a hard copy of your post by email or provide submission guidelines that detail exactly what they want from writers looking for exposure through guest posts.

If you don’t hear back after submitting two or three times, find another publication that might suit your needs better. Most websites are more than happy to have quality content on their sites but some don’t have as much traffic as others, making it more difficult for them to get noticed outside of Google searches and social media shares.

If you’re just starting out in search engine optimization, start small and go where there’s a chance someone will notice your work. It can be frustrating when people acknowledge something you’ve done in one area of life but are completely ignorant of your efforts in other areas—but that’s life!

At least in writing, there are plenty of opportunities available if all else fails.

Let us take a look at No 2 “Keyword Research“. I will also list all the free keyword tools you can use as an SEO Freelancer.

SEO Keyword Research: Your Secret Weapon

Keyword research is your secret weapon, especially when you’re just starting out as a freelancer. Since most of your work will be online, it’s important that you know how to use keywords effectively.

This can seem intimidating at first, but there are many tools out there that help with keyword research. I’ll cover some of my favorites in a moment. Don’t worry about finding the perfect keyword or trying to rank for super-competitive terms like how to become an SEO freelancer.

It may take time, but if you keep doing useful work and putting yourself out there, your content will naturally gain exposure and your hard work will pay off over time (that sounds suspiciously like one of those inspiring quotes made up by motivational posters…but anyway).

List of Free Keyword Research Tools

To avoid duplicating content I have written on other pages, read the suggested blog to find a list of 15 Free Keyword Research tools.

Suggested Blog?

15 Best Free Keyword Research Tools For Blog Optimization

Why SEMrush is the Single Best Tool for SEO Freelancers?

Semrush is a paid tool, and am not an affiliate with them!

It’s a fact that you need an army of tools at your disposal as an SEO freelancer, but SEMRush just might be at or near the top of that list. It is helpful with keywords and competition, of course, but it goes well beyond these fundamentals with intuitive functionality that saves you both time and money; organic traffic data and social media insights are also invaluable resources when working with clients.

The tool’s biggest strengths rest in its Content Gap feature, which is a perfect way to get started on any client project by identifying content gaps in competitor campaigns – identifying what they aren’t doing that allows your strategy to win out over them.

If there’s one clear reason to recommend SEMRush, though, it’s simple: like most other paid tools (and competitors), they offer a free trial period so you can test-drive their software without having to spend any cash.

You may not end up becoming an avid user after sampling their service, but chances are good that you’ll want to stick around anyway and who can complain about getting high-quality software at no cost?

Conclusion

If you’re considering a career in search engine optimization, it’s important to first understand what you’re getting into. The pay can be great, but because of intense competition and high burnout rates, it’s definitely not for everyone.

In order to succeed as a freelancer, you must have perseverance, determination, and stamina. You need a good understanding of organic search engine optimization and how your clients’ websites will appear in search engines, you also need business skills such as time management, communication, and marketing ability.

If you decide that freelance SEO is right for you, make sure that you have strong computer skills (particularly with MS Word/Excel or Google Docs) so that you can use spreadsheets to analyze data quickly during keyword research exercises; don’t rely on someone else for your data analysis.

Good luck!

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