Having now done a fair bit of freelance work I have learnt a thing or two that I feel may be worth passing onto other budding freelance SEO-ers out there. Here are my top 5 tips:
1) Do a good job!
It goes without say that any freelance SEO expert would want to be patted on the back at the end of a project or after a few months into a new job and told they have done a cracking job at boosting a client’s search performance. Sadly getting this reaction doesn’t come easy – if it was then they wouldn’t have hired someone with your skillset in the first place!
In my mind it is vital that you do as much research as possible; that means understanding your client’s industry, their competition and the services they offer. It also means understanding their goals and aspirations. The latter is particularly important as it will enable you to manage their expectations accordingly, something you should look to do from the outset.
If you set out to do things the right way and look to avoid SEO shortcuts (practices like keyword stuffing, directory back-linking and content syndication) then you will remain on track to do a good job. Try and avoid the pressure of taking the easy option and stick to your guns - white hat SEO will ultimately bear the fruits of your labour if you just stick with it!
2) Don’t make false promises
When someone takes on an Online Search Expert they probably do so in the expectation that you will revolutionise their website’s performance. As a freelance SEO you should know that this is not something you can guarantee.
In my opinion the only thing you can promise in SEO is that you will work hard to set up a website so that it will be better placed to get more visitors. It is not possible to promise that you will get certain keywords to number 1 in the search rankings and it is not possible to guarantee a specific return on investment.
It is therefore imperative that you set your stall out from the start and try and manage the expectations of your client. Let them know what you will be doing and the results you would hope to see – but don’t be pressured into false promises. If you don’t manage to achieve the results your client wants they will no doubt tell you, but don’t make a rod for you own back by agreeing to be judged against something you have no control over. After all, it is the search engines themselves that control rankings, as SEOs we just work with the systems in place.
3) Communicate
One thing that I personally get frustrated with is being kept in the dark. This perceived lack of communication breeds doubt and I have never found this more prevalent than when dealing with online marketing agencies.
My advice would be to try and steer clear of the cloak and dagger stuff and try and be as open to communication as possible.
Obviously it doesn’t pay to spend half your day replying to emails but as a client it breeds a massive amount of trust knowing that the person you are hiring to improve your search rank is just a phone call or email away.
Building a good relationship will only make things easier in the long run, especially if the results aren’t there immediately and take a bit longer than expected to arrive!
4) Be transparent
There’s a fine line between being transparent and giving away your expertise for free. However I do think there is value in letting your client know what it is you are up to on your behalf – after all, it is their website.
They should know the approach you are taking to building up inbound links and understand why you want to amend certain headings and title tags.
Informing your client about the reasons why you are making certain changes to the website goes a long way to demystifying SEO as a technique and can help your client to understand exactly what you are trying to achieve, making it easier to get things actioned and signed off.
5) Don’t take on too much
When you first start out it can be incredibly easy to take on as much work as possible to ensure you aren’t out of pocket. But there are only so many hours in any given day and it is not feasibly possible to do a good job if you are stretching resources (in this case your time & expertise) too thinly.
It may be wise to be selective on the tasks you take on if you think you will not have enough time to achieve the desires objectives or if you simply think you do not have enough experience to be a success. Of course as SEO’s we are always learning, but sometimes your client may want results sooner rather than later, so if you are not 100% ready to run from the off, it may be worth letting that one pass to someone else. Your time will come!
About the Author:
Tom Key has over 6 years experience of improving the organic performance of websites across various sectors. As a freelancer he offers a range of SEO Services in Kent and caters his approach to meet the needs of his clients.
1) Do a good job!
It goes without say that any freelance SEO expert would want to be patted on the back at the end of a project or after a few months into a new job and told they have done a cracking job at boosting a client’s search performance. Sadly getting this reaction doesn’t come easy – if it was then they wouldn’t have hired someone with your skillset in the first place!
In my mind it is vital that you do as much research as possible; that means understanding your client’s industry, their competition and the services they offer. It also means understanding their goals and aspirations. The latter is particularly important as it will enable you to manage their expectations accordingly, something you should look to do from the outset.
If you set out to do things the right way and look to avoid SEO shortcuts (practices like keyword stuffing, directory back-linking and content syndication) then you will remain on track to do a good job. Try and avoid the pressure of taking the easy option and stick to your guns - white hat SEO will ultimately bear the fruits of your labour if you just stick with it!

When someone takes on an Online Search Expert they probably do so in the expectation that you will revolutionise their website’s performance. As a freelance SEO you should know that this is not something you can guarantee.
In my opinion the only thing you can promise in SEO is that you will work hard to set up a website so that it will be better placed to get more visitors. It is not possible to promise that you will get certain keywords to number 1 in the search rankings and it is not possible to guarantee a specific return on investment.
It is therefore imperative that you set your stall out from the start and try and manage the expectations of your client. Let them know what you will be doing and the results you would hope to see – but don’t be pressured into false promises. If you don’t manage to achieve the results your client wants they will no doubt tell you, but don’t make a rod for you own back by agreeing to be judged against something you have no control over. After all, it is the search engines themselves that control rankings, as SEOs we just work with the systems in place.
3) Communicate
One thing that I personally get frustrated with is being kept in the dark. This perceived lack of communication breeds doubt and I have never found this more prevalent than when dealing with online marketing agencies.
My advice would be to try and steer clear of the cloak and dagger stuff and try and be as open to communication as possible.
Obviously it doesn’t pay to spend half your day replying to emails but as a client it breeds a massive amount of trust knowing that the person you are hiring to improve your search rank is just a phone call or email away.
Building a good relationship will only make things easier in the long run, especially if the results aren’t there immediately and take a bit longer than expected to arrive!
4) Be transparent
There’s a fine line between being transparent and giving away your expertise for free. However I do think there is value in letting your client know what it is you are up to on your behalf – after all, it is their website.
They should know the approach you are taking to building up inbound links and understand why you want to amend certain headings and title tags.
Informing your client about the reasons why you are making certain changes to the website goes a long way to demystifying SEO as a technique and can help your client to understand exactly what you are trying to achieve, making it easier to get things actioned and signed off.
5) Don’t take on too much
When you first start out it can be incredibly easy to take on as much work as possible to ensure you aren’t out of pocket. But there are only so many hours in any given day and it is not feasibly possible to do a good job if you are stretching resources (in this case your time & expertise) too thinly.
It may be wise to be selective on the tasks you take on if you think you will not have enough time to achieve the desires objectives or if you simply think you do not have enough experience to be a success. Of course as SEO’s we are always learning, but sometimes your client may want results sooner rather than later, so if you are not 100% ready to run from the off, it may be worth letting that one pass to someone else. Your time will come!
About the Author:
Tom Key has over 6 years experience of improving the organic performance of websites across various sectors. As a freelancer he offers a range of SEO Services in Kent and caters his approach to meet the needs of his clients.
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