As an active Facebook Groups and Reddit user, I see dozens of instances in SEO, SEM, and Facebook Ad groups asking how to get clients, or even the first client. Thankfully, getting your first client is extremely easy. It will take some persuading, and a lot of salespersonship, but with enough purpose you can get it done in less than a week. Your first client, of course, is yourself.
Before you take on clients you should be working on your own website and funnel to generate your own customers. This has two extremely important purposes. First, ranking first for your primary keyword is going to bring you potential customers. Anyone searching for a “City + SEO” keyword, such as “Tucson SEO,” is going to see you up at the top, and you will have a chance to sell them. Getting these inbound leads will help you generate a base income that you can springboard to a true freelance lifestyle. Secondly, ranking for your target city is a critical part of your sales process. Who better to reference about your SEO skills than your own ranking.
What If My City Is Competitive for SEO
Ranking for “Seattle SEO” or “New York SEO” is going to be extremely difficult. Not only are you competing directly with someone, you are going to be competing with someone who has a budget to throw at battling you for that ranking. So, sometimes you are going to niche out to get your win. You don’t have to be first for your “City + SEO” keywords. You can choose to niche into “Orthodontist SEO” or basically any other field. The opportunities are endless, you just have to own it.
Treat Yourself As A Real Client
If you looked at my agency’s website you would say, “what is this crap.” We stopped treating ourselves as a client many years ago, and the dated website is a real example of that. We do rank for long tail phrases that we have determined are beneficial in the sales process, but it hasn’t been a focused since we lost the original, all 200 blog posts, of content. The blog posts weren’t added back to the site because they were a bit outdated, such as guides on how to spot and remove notorious bots from your Google Analytics, and when the best time to post on Facebook was. These parts aren’t relevant in 2018 like they were in 2012.
This doesn’t end with your SEO, either. You need to fully develop your own marketing strategy for your brand. How will you utilize Facebook, Instagram, Etc. to build your audience and grow your company. How will your sales team function to grow the business at insane levels? Developing that strategy is important, and will help you grow as a business owner and a marketer. Having your own marketing plan isn’t a requirement, my agency is an example of that, but it can definitely make things easier.