Working as a freelance SEO consultant can be a difficult task, primarily because it’s especially focused on the ever-shifting web landscape. As such, it clearly bears a striking similarity to careers held in the Computer Science world of decades ago that required constant learning and relearning as technology evolved into new relevance. However, while a computer science career is highly rewarding in terms of money and prestige, it also requires a steady hand and certain programming skills. While some positions are better suited for those with solid business acumen and business sense, others require a more hands-on approach to ensuring businesses are optimized with effective SEO strategies.
This is where a freelance SEO consultant can come in to boost businesses’ profitability and optimize their online presence with the help of cutting-edge business tools and SEO strategies. It’s also where people who understand what the search engines are looking for in terms of page rank and content quality can make a real difference. With this in mind, here are some of the most important skills you’ll need to master if you’re going to become a successful freelance seo consultant.
These are: Learning how to master your audience. In addition to knowing how to design keyword rich content for your SEO campaigns, you also need to know what your target audience is looking for. It might be easier to choose a certain niche and focus on optimization strategies for that topic alone, but it’s important to consider broader search engine rankings as well. While a freelance SEO consultant won’t be able to analyze the myriad of factors affecting search engine optimization in depth, at least he or she will have an idea of which strategies are more likely to draw a client into your site. After all, if your website isn’t attracting the clients you want, it’s unlikely that you’ll earn much revenue.
Mastering the basics. Of course, just being able to type well and have a working knowledge of HTML isn’t enough. You need to master the many different seo strategies and systems out there so that you can truly maximize your potential as a freelance SEO consultant. One thing that you can do to improve your chances of landing more jobs is to learn about the right to strategies and systems for your field. This means reviewing what other successful webmasters are doing to bring in business and studying what’s working for them. By doing this, you can gain a better understanding of what the best strategies and systems are and therefore be better able to land more jobs.
Being a great listener. A good freelancer consultant will always take the time to listen carefully to what your clients have to say, even if he doesn’t completely agree with them. As an SEO marketing agency owner, you may have some opinions about the best ways to approach certain processes, or you might not know how to execute certain tactics. That’s okay; most importantly, your client will appreciate you taking the time to listen to his needs and problems. If you can’t take the time to really hear what he wants, then he won’t feel comfortable hiring you in the first place.
Working closely with the client. If you’re a freelancer SEO consultant, then you already know that the majority of your jobs are going to involve hiring various people to optimize your websites for your clients. However, each of these people has their own specific skills, which means you may be competing against them for a similar job. As such, you need to spend some time getting to know your client and work closely with him or her so that you know how their optimization techniques work and so that you can offer your expertise more effectively.
Working with referrals. There’s no way around this: if you want to succeed as a freelance SEO consultant, you have to build your reputation and trust with your current clients. One way to do that is by hiring references from people who have previously used your services. Try to get a few names of high-quality professionals who may be able to give you insight into how to hire the right freelance SEO experts for your projects. References can also help you build a better online reputation, which is one of the most important aspects of being a successful freelancer search engine optimization consultant.
Being flexible. Even if you don’t happen to have someone else who is willing to hire you as a freelance SEO consultant, you can always hire other freelancers. Just be sure that they are knowledgeable about search engine optimization and can bring a fresh perspective to your projects. By doing so, you’ll ensure that you always have more projects available to you than you would have otherwise.
