The internet is a big place, and there are lots of ways to make money online.
But if you want to start an SEO business and get clients from all over the world, you need to take several important steps first. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at how you can start a successful SEO business.
Post Contents
Choose Your Focus Area
Find A Good Niche
Choosing a good niche is one of the most essential steps in starting your SEO business.
The first thing to consider is whether you want to start out with a broad or narrow focus, and how much competition there will be in that niche.
By taking a look at the market, you will see that there are many successful businesses like this SEO company that only work in one niche.
You’ll have more enthusiasm for what your business does if it’s something that really interests and excites you, so pick a niche that you’re passionate about!
By being familiar with the niche, you will ensure proper control of keywords and other SEO aspects specific to that field.
Try to find balance in how broad or specific the niche is. If it is too broad, you might have too much competition, while potential clients might be more interested in working with people who have knowledge and experience in their field.
The niche also needs to have enough volume, so there are enough potential customers out there.
You may try starting out in a broad, more general niche if you don’t have anything specific in your mind.
Then, when you have worked with several clients, you might see something interesting for you and try to focus on it.
Pick An SEO Type
When it comes to building an SEO business, you will have to decide whether you’ll be providing complete SEO services of all types or you will focus on one type of SEO.
For example, you could only work with content SEO if you have experience in copywriting and content creation and are able to apply SEO principles to it. Or, you might work with technical SEO if you’re an experienced website designer.
Selecting the types of SEO is crucial for determining the goals of your business and its size, too.
If you want to provide complex service packages, you will need to form a few teams that will work on different tasks.
If you choose only one branch, you will be able to start with fewer resources.
Choose A Name
Selecting a name is the next step after establishing your niche. Your company’s name should be easy to remember, spell, pronounce, and find online.
If you’ve picked a specific niche to work with, it’s best to come up with a name that will reflect that niche.
Don’t be afraid to play with words, placing together the terms or slang related to the niche and the ones connected to SEO.
Take your time and have other people take a look at your options, too. The company’s name is the first thing people learn about it, so be sure to take the time and effort necessary to find the best option.
Build Your Website
You can build your website yourself, or hire someone to do it for you. If you choose to go the DIY route, there are plenty of free and paid options out there that offer website builders.
Some popular ones include Wix and Squarespace; the latter was recently acquired by Adobe (the company behind Photoshop).
For those who want more control over their design, hiring a web designer might be preferable – but this will come at a cost.
If money isn’t an issue for your business right now and/or if SEO is just one part of what your site does, then hiring may be worth considering.
Go for it if you find developers or designers able to provide custom solutions tailored specifically toward helping grow traffic and conversions.
This may be obvious, but if you want to start a successful SEO business, you’ll have to optimize your own site for search engines, too.
This step will be the first proof of the expertise that you will be able to provide to potential clients.
Yes, this will prolong the process of your business development, but you know how important proper SEO optimization is for finding customers.
Build An Email List
Email is one of the most basic marketing tools for your business – about 73% of marketers think that emails are a great marketing channel. It’s an easy and cost-effective way to reach your target audience.
The best way to build an email list is through content that people want to read; if you can provide something valuable enough, like helpful tips or advice, then people will sign up without being asked.
Include signup forms on your website or blog posts and make sure they’re easy to find, but don’t rely solely on these methods.
You’ll need more than just a few sign-ups per month if you want your business model to work!
Get Your Business Up And Running
Ensure all the formalities are fulfilled and your company can operate legally.
This may include registering with local authorities to get a business license, setting up a bank account for your business, and hiring an accountant who can help with taxes and overall planning.
Get an attorney on retainer so that if any legal issues arise, they can be handled quickly without costing much money or time – after all, some SEO types work a lot with copyright.
You may also want one or two contracts drafted between yourself (the owner) and employees or subcontractors, so everyone knows what’s expected of them in terms of performance and payment deadlines.
Define the structure of your company and whether you will need to form delegated teams for different processes.
You may not need that when you’re just starting out, but as soon as the first clients start coming to you, you may feel the lack of a functioning team.
Make Business Cards
Business cards are the best way to introduce yourself and your business to potential clients and partners when you meet them offline.
They’re small, but they pack a punch when it comes to getting your brand out there.
You are probably planning to attend a few industry conferences if you want to work in this field, so you can take advantage of having a well-designed business card and give it out to the people you meet at those events.
However, you have to make sure that the cards have all the essential information like your company name, your personal contact information and position at the company, business address, phone number, email, and website.
Determine Your Service Package Prices
If you want to start a business in SEO, then you surely know how profitable this field is.
However, you should learn in detail about the market to determine your own prices.
This is a tricky process that requires careful thought and consideration. You need to make sure that you are being competitive with other SEO companies, but also not undercutting yourself.
The best way to ensure it is by looking at other similar businesses in your area (or even globally) and seeing what they charge for similar packages or services as yours.
If they offer something different from what you do, then look at their pricing structure, too!
Finally, think about the cost of your time and try to count how long each type of service you provide will take.
Combining all these calculations will help you form the most competitive and profitable prices.
Conclusion
As you can see, starting an SEO business may be a bit complicated. In this article, we’ve covered the basics of what it takes to start your own SEO business from scratch.
Remember that building a successful business in any field requires lots of effort, knowledge, and experience, so be open to learning and keep up with the industry’s tendencies.
