If you've explored the vast realms of the internet and engaged in online content creation, the acronym "SEO" has likely crossed your path. In the world of freelancing, especially for businessowners and marketers frequently seek writers, SEO expertise.

But what exactly is SEO, and how can you, as a freelancer, integrate these skills into your toolkit? This guide explores the journey of becoming an SEO freelancer, shedding light on why businesses prioritize SEO writers and the unique benefits freelancers can enjoy in the realm of digital marketing. If you're ready to take charge of your career, this comprehensive guide will navigate you through the process of how to become an SEO freelancer.

What Is SEO?

Search engine optimization is what SEO stands for. It is an integral part of digital marketing and means making sure that online content is optimized so that people can easily find it when they use a search engine.

You may have used search engines like Google and Bing before. People use them all the time to find things. The search engine uses complicated algorithms to try to guess which pages have the information you're looking for and then shows them in the best order of importance.

For best results, you want your articles and other content that you post on the internet to get high rankings so that people can quickly find them. This will improve your organic traffic results. There is already a lot of content online, and some of it might be close to what you wrote. SEO is the process of making sure that people find your page or piece.

The algorithms that figure out what search results to show are very complicated and are constantly changing. Because of this, you need to have some skills and knowledge to run a good SEO campaign. This is why companies are willing to pay freelancers who can work in this field and write material that will help their search engine rankings.

What Does An SEO Freelancer Do?

As a freelance SEO expert, your job is to help clients improve their SEO. This means coming up with and putting into action different plans to boost their clients' positions in search engine results pages (SERPs) and bring in free traffic. Here are some of the most common things that an SEO worker might do.

• Keyword research - As part of keyword research, you help clients find the search terms that their ideal customers are using. A freelancer will look into how often and how hard a keyword is searched for each month, help you set goals, and come up with new keyword ideas.
• On-page optimization - This means making things on the page work better, like title tags, internal links, and more. With on-page SEO, clients can be sure that their websites are search engine-friendly, which makes them more likely to rank well.
• Off-page optimization- This refers to SEO strategies used on sites other than a client's to boost its ranks. Like building links, writing guest posts, selling on social media, and more. When you do off-page SEO for your clients, search engines and users will trust and respect their sites more.
• Technical SEO - Technical SEO is the process of finding and fixing technical problems that could make the user experience terrible or make it more complicated for search engines to crawl and scan your site. This includes fixing crawl mistakes, making the website faster, making it more mobile-friendly, and adding structured data markup.
• Tracking and analysis- This means keeping an eye on key performance indicators and looking for ways to make things better. An SEO freelancer will often have to keep an eye on how websites are doing, keep track of keyword rankings, look at how users behave, and see how well SEO efforts are working.

Become A Freelance SEO In 8 Steps

Starting your own SEO business takes time, but the process can be broken down into several steps. The steps below will help you get your freelancing business off the ground. They range from learning new skills to setting prices for your services.

Brush Up On Your SEO Skills

As you start working as a freelancer, you should learn as much as you can about SEO. Learn about the idea of SEO and get to know the best ways to do things right now. You can improve your resume and learn more about SEO by taking online classes and getting certifications.

Sign up for newsletters in your field and watch webinars and videos, read blogs, and listen to podcasts that SEO experts put out. You can also follow SEO pros on social media. You can even work on it on your website, which we'll talk about in more detail below.

Create A Personal Website

After you get good at SEO, it's time to make your website and take care of it. WordPress is a free, open-source content management platform that is easy to use and has a lot of features. You can market your services and show off your resume or collection on your website. It also lets possible clients find you and get in touch with you.

Update Your Resume And Portfolio

If you want to be hired as an independent SEO expert, your resume and portfolio will help show clients why they should trust you with their SEO needs. Review and improve them so they correctly show your expertise before you put them on your website. On your resume, list any relevant course or qualifications and emphasize any work experience that has to do with SEO.

Look At What The Leading SEO Freelancers Are Doing

You have to work like a freelance SEO worker if you want to do well at your job. You can write better job cover letters, make better bids, and close more great project deals if you look at how successful or in-demand freelancers do their work.

You can even join freelance groups and stay up to date on changes in the freelance world. You can also build a strong network of professionals who share your interests and can help you in challenging situations, like when a client delays your payment.

Dedicate Time To Thought Leadership

Becoming a thought leader can help your business take off. Writing your essays about problems or trends in the SEO field is a good idea. You can also ask well-known SEO pros or blogs about guest writing opportunities.

Go to and talk at leadership and SEO conferences and take an active role in educational summits and seminars. These things can help spread the word about your business, improve your skills, make you look like an expert to possible clients, and help you connect with other professionals.

Consider Your Pricing Strategy

It would help if you got paid for all the time you put into a project, and hourly rates are the best way to do that. Per-project rates, on the other hand, are best for big projects that will take little time to finish.

You can use monthly fees to give your most important clients extra attention if they are regulars. You can also mix and match these price models to make them work for different clients or projects.

Ahrefsdid a poll and found that the average hourly rate for an SEO was $75 to $150. The average rate per project was between $500 and $1,000, but it could go up or down depending on the size and difficulty of the project. Monthly retainers were also in this range.

Sell Your Freelance Services With Complete Dedication

When we tell you to "sell your services with all your heart," we mean that you should write a cover letter that makes it more likely that the company will hire you for the job or project you've applied for.

Your cover letter as an SEO worker will be very different from those of other freelancers. In your cover letter, you should talk about things like keyword research, website data, paid and organic traffic, managing and growing web traffic, ROI analysis, SEO best practices, social media platforms, and so on.

Build Your SEO Toolkit

If you want to be a good SEO worker, you need to get the right tools and learn how to use them. People use these tools to do many things, such as research keywords, keep an eye on how well sites and content are doing, look at rival content, check the legitimacy of sites, and study backlinks. To stay prepared and on track with your projects, use tools for project management or time tracking.

Top 6 Skills To Become An SEO Freelancer

To be a successful SEO freelancer, you need to have technical knowledge, good communication skills, and the ability to handle projects. Being good at SEO is needed. You also need to be able to tell people what that value is. And make sure that many projects stay on track.

SEO Knowledge

You need to know a lot about basic SEO ideas, like how search engines work, how to do keyword research, how to do on-page and off-page optimization, what the best technical SEO practices are, and how to use content marketing. To provide good SEO services, it's necessary to keep up with changes in search engine algorithms and industry trends.

Analytical Skills

To understand data, spot trends, and make choices based on data, you need to be very good at analytical thinking. To collect and analyze website data, you need to know how to use tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and Semrush.

Communication Skills

When working with clients, it's essential to be able to communicate clearly. You need to know what their goals are and be able to explain SEO ideas in simple terms.

Project Management

To work on several projects at once, you need to be very good at managing projects. This includes making and sticking to deadlines, figuring out what jobs are most important, and managing resources.

Adaptability And Continuous Learning

Because SEO is an ever-changing area with often-updated algorithms and new best practices, you'll need to keep learning about the subject and adapting to the ever-changing SEO industry.

Technical Proficiency

It can be helpful to know the basics of web creation, such as HTML, CSS, and content management systems (CMS), such as WordPress. SEOs who know how to code get paid more than those who don't.

Benefits Of Becoming An SEO Freelancer

There are many good things about becoming an SEO freelancer that make it appealing to people who want to be independent, have options, and direct their career development. The following are some of the best reasons to become an SEO freelancer:

Flexibility And Independence

If you work as an independent SEO, you can choose when you work. With this much freedom, you can make a plan that works best for you and your lifestyle.

Because they are freelancers, people can pick the projects and companies they want to work with. This lets them focus on areas that match their skills and interests.

Remote Work Opportunities

Freelancers in SEO can work from home or anywhere else with an internet link. This ability to work from home gives you the freedom to go on trips, move, or just work from home.

Diverse Client Base

Individuals who work as freelancers can choose from a wide range of clients from different fields and places. This kind of experience helps people learn a lot of different skills and gives them the chance to face many different obstacles.

Entrepreneurial Growth

SEO workers are like having their own small businesses. Freelancing gives you the chance to be an entrepreneur by managing client relationships, selling services, and running the business side of things. This gives you a sense of independence and business sense.

Financial Potential

As an independent SEO professional, you can make a lot of money. Freelancers can set their rates and make more money over time as they gain more experience and build a solid client base.

Continuous Learning

Because SEO is constantly changing, freelancers need to keep up with new algorithms and industry trends. This constant learning not only keeps skills sharp but also makes the work interesting to think about.

Portfolio Building

Freelancers can put together a portfolio of their best work, accomplishments, and completed jobs. An impressive resume is a great way to get new clients and show that you are an expert.

Networking Opportunities

Freelancers work with a wide range of clients and other workers in the same field. Networking gives people the chance to work together, share ideas, and get more jobs through referrals.

Balanced Work-Life

People who work as freelancers can find a work-life mix that works for them. People who like being flexible and having more power over their daily lives will really like this balance.

Job Security

Working for more than one client spreads out your income and makes you less reliant on a single company. When it comes to the uncertain world of work, this variety helps make jobs safer.

Personal Branding

People who work as SEO freelancers can make a name for themselves in the field. A solid personal brand can bring in customers, build credibility, and lead to many new possibilities.

Creativity And Innovation

Freelancing lets you come up with new and creative ways to solve problems. For SEO freelancers, it's possible to try out new ideas and tactics and make their services fit the needs of each client.

Challenges Of SEO Freelancing As An Enterpreuner

Is it that easy to do SEO work as a business owner? No, unfortunately not. Before you make plans, you need to know about some problems.

No Sick Leave

If you are an independent SEO expert, you might have to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The worst part is that you can't take sick days. What you love will still be there.

Isolation

As a solo SEO worker, you may feel alone and cut off from the rest of the world when you work from home. So, stay in touch with your coworkers and friends to keep yourself going.

Responsibility

One more thing to think about before you start freelancing is that you will be fully responsible for your successes and mistakes. But at the same time, you'll learn everything you need to know to start your own SEO business.

Irregular Income

As a freelancer, your income will depend on how many jobs you get. Errors can be terrible in this case. But you can stay on track and avoid it if you build a strong network.

How Much Does Freelance SEO Make?

Building your reputation as an SEO worker and getting clients takes a lot of work. But it's important to note that the SEO world can offer savvy marketers good job opportunities. As was already said, how much you can make as a freelance SEO expert will rely on a lot of things, such as where you live and how skilled you are.

The most an SEO worker in the US makes is $54.49 an hour, or $113,333 a year. You'll be able to charge more as you gain experience. For example, SEO freelancers with more than ten years of experience make an average of $118.35 an hour.

To make more money, you can also offer your skills all over the world and work with a variety of clients on both one-time projects and monthly retainers. 78.2% of freelancers charge a fee every month for some or all of the work they do.

There are a lot of different services so the monthly fees can be anywhere from $500 to $1000. If you offer SEO services on a project-by-project basis, you may also make good money. For example, most freelancers charge around $2000 or less for an SEO Audit job.

30 SEO Tools To Help Your Training

• Google Analytics -Track website traffic and user behavior.
• Google Search Console- Monitor and optimize website performance in Google Search.
• Moz- Offers a suite of SEO tools including keyword research and link analysis.
• Semrush- All-in-one SEO toolkit with features like keyword research, site audit, and backlink analysis.
• Ahrefs- Comprehensive tool for backlink analysis, competitor research, and keyword tracking.
• Yoast SEO- WordPress plugin for on-page SEO optimization.
• SEMrush- Keyword research, competitor analysis, and site audit tool.
• Screaming Frog SEO Spider- Crawl websites and analyze SEO elements.
• Ubersuggest- A keyword research tool for content ideas and competitor analysis.
• SERPWatcher- Track keyword rankings and monitor SERP changes.
• Rank Math- WordPress SEO plugin for on-page optimization.
• SEOptimer- Website audittool for SEO analysis and recommendations.
• BuzzStream- Outreach and link-building tool.
• Majestic SEO- Backlink analysis tool.
• SpyFu- Competitor analysis tool for keyword and PPC research.
• WebCEO- All-in-one SEO platform with keyword research, rank tracking, and link-building tools.
• Serpstat- SEO and PPC research tool for keyword analysis and backlink monitoring.
• Raven Tools- SEO and marketing reporting platform.
• DeepCrawl- Website crawling and analysis tool for SEO insights.
• Keywordtool.io:A keyword research tool for generating long-tail keyword suggestions.
• SEOquake- A browser extension for SEO analysis of web pages.
• MozBar- Chrome extension for instant SEO metrics.
• Woorank- Website review and SEO analysis tool.
• Siteliner- Analyze website content for duplicate content and broken links.
• Linkody- Backlink tracking and monitoring tool.
• BuzzSumo- Content discovery tool for finding popular topics and influencers.
• Grammarly- Writing assistant to improve content quality.
• PageSpeed Insights- Google tool for analyzing and optimizing website speed.
• AnswerThePublic- Generate content ideas based on popular search queries.
• Copyscape- Check for duplicate content on the web.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Are The Struggles Of Being A Freelancer?

Challenges include income inconsistency, self-discipline requirements, and the need for total business management.

Is SEO A Promising Career In Freelancing?

SEO offers a rewarding freelancing career with autonomy, diverse projects, and high demand for online visibility.

What Is The Scope Of SEO In Freelancing?

SEO freelancing covers on-page optimization, content creation, and link building, aligning with the increasing emphasis on online presence.

How Much Do SEO Freelancers Make?

Income varies, but skilled SEO freelancers can earn competitively, ranging from a few hundred to several thousand dollars per project.

A Quick Recap

Navigating the dynamic realm of SEO freelancing demands a diverse skill set and adaptability. Despite challenges like irregular income and solo responsibility, the benefits of flexibility, diverse clientele, and earning potential make it a compelling career.

Aspiring SEO freelancers should prioritize continuous learning and effective communication. The question of "how to become an SEO freelancer" encapsulates a transformative journey toward professional autonomy in the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing.