If you have any skill in building websites that rank well in Google and naturally attract a lot of readers, then you could be sitting on a goldmine of valuable talent.
Search engine optimization (SEO), for some people, is an extremely abstract and complex process. Concepts like “dofollow” and “nofollow” tags, link juice, and other related website building activities are not well understood by most people.
This why if you are able to provide organic SEO services for hire, then you could be getting paid well for activities that may only take you a few hours or minutes to complete.
Here are a few things to consider as you make an attempt to market your abilities.
What Sort of Services You Will Provide:
There are lots of tasks when it comes to on-page and off-page SEO that potential clients may need you to perform. Here are a few basic services you can offer:
Website Audit. Everyone has doubts about whether their site is SEO ready. You can offer to check the soundness of a client’s website by doing with an SEO review. This be of great value to them because it will lay out any standing issues and give you an opportunity to list out strides that could be made.
Write down all your notes and provide a written report at the end. Screen shots with direct arrows or circles around important items will really help pin-point issues.
SEO Strategy. What is the goal of your client’s website? Is it to:
- Make money?
- Collect emails?
- Be a potentail launch-pad for an eProduct?
- Just for fun and they want more of an audidence?
Write down specific goals that the client would like to achieve, and layout a plan for how to get there.
Keyword Research. Use a free tool like SEMRush to examine how many keywords they are ranking for in Google. Then compare that to 3-5 of their competitors.
As part of that SEO strategy, identify with the client which niche of keywords they would like to rank for. Then use a tool like Long Tail Pro to research good high volume, low competition terms.
Reporting & Analytics. Google Analytics, Webmaster Tools, and even some other services can be overwhelming with information. Offer every month to summarize a brief report of the valuable information and specify which strides could be made to improve your client’s site.
How to Attract Potential Clients:
One of the best ways to attract clients to your SEO services to show them that you are ready for business. This can be done by letting them come to you!
Publish your Proof. Start a blog specifically about how to get various webpages and keywords to rank better. Use each post to focus on one topic or question at a time. Use lots of screen shots of your growing SEO metrics to show proof that what you know how to do really does work and works well!
If you monetize, be sure to publish income reports so that your new audience can see just how much your SEO talents are translating into potential dollars earned. As the old saying goes: “Money talks, and BS walks”.
Give Away Your Best Stuff. Though this may sound crazy, but one of the best ways to popularize a blog is to give away your best tips and tricks for free in each new post. This will help build trust with your audience and help get them engaged. The more interested they are in what you have to say, the more they may some day take you on a potential service provider.
Get Testimonials. Testimonials are the most powerful substance your SEO services. They bolster your validity, affirm the trust others have in you, and they reinforce your reputation. Show no less than one testimonial telling what you have helped this specific customer with getting their keywords to rank organically.
What to Charge for Your Organic SEO Services:
Though it may not be totally passive income, you could be making money on the side for a very decent rate!
Here are a couple of things to consider:
What do other charges? Even those who offer SEO services will have competition. You cannot price your services to far out of range with what others will offer the same thing for.
What is the perceived value? If what you’re about to do for a client will help improve their SEO rankings and translate potentially into thousands of extra dollars for the client, then they may be willing to pay a few hundred for your service.
I would NOT recommend that you charge by the hour. Rather charge by the project, and make sure the scope of work is clearly defined for the price.
Collection of payment. Insist that some proportion of payment be made up front before the work begins. This shows faith that both you will be have a vested interest in completing the project.
Furthermore, it’s good to keep track of the changing payment landscape. The old “waiting for the check in the mail” may well be obsolete in the coming years.
Remember that pricing your services and cost are standout issues among the SEO dealing process. The issue is that clients want instant, guaranteed results. That’s just not something you can promise in the world of SEO with how fickle Google can be. Instead provide creditable evidence from your own experience and those of others who are making SEO work, and offer to do the best job you can.
Featured image courtesy FreeDigitalPhotos.net
