Working for yourself is amazing. But one thing you might not realize is how you may pick up other skills.
As freelance writers, we have to know about SEO. It’s part of the job.
But knowing how to write for SEO is different from actually doing SEO as a job. You have to know what to do, when to do it, and when to outsource.
SEO is a massive umbrella. What all is under it and how should you specialize? Keep reading. We’re going to tell you everything you need to know to start exploring this career path.
The SEO Umbrella
SEO can be thrown into roughly two categories:
- On Page
- Off Page
These two branches can be broken down into sub-categories. And that’s what we’re going to do.
Being a professional SEO doesn’t mean you have to be an expert in all categories, but you need a rough idea of every aspect. You need to stay up to date on Google best practices as well as marketing trends.
On Page SEO
This is going to be SEO that involves the actual website.
Local SEO is part of this. But mostly, we’re talking about your blog, internal and external links, and creating a positive user experience that makes Google want to rank your site.
Related: When to Outsource Your SEO
Off Page SEO
Off page SEO is all about the SEO that draws people to your site. Things like link building and Social Media.
These aspects of SEO aren’t directly involved with the website, but they do increase its authority and trustworthiness and are just as valuable as on page SEO techniques.
Pay and Education
You don’t need a marketing degree to get into SEO. What you do need is a ton of experience. So if you find yourself gravitating towards these practices and techniques as you’re freelancing in other capacities, make sure to take notes of your successes and failures and try to learn something.
Start adding SEO success to your freelancing portfolio to see if potential clients will take notice.
Establish yourself as an expert and clients will come to you. This way you can double dip in both writing, or other freelance work, as well as SEO opportunities.
According to Payscale, salaries for SEO professionals range from anywhere from roughly $30k a year to $60k a year.
Even if you’re only doing this part-time, there is plenty of money to be made and the best way to nab new clients is to look at who you’re already working for.
Finding SEO Work as a Writer
As a writer, you’re probably wondering how you can be paid for SEO work? The easiest answer is as a link builder.
Websites are always looking for new writers with fresh voices. And writers are always looking for new portfolio pieces.
Companies, especially newer businesses, need links going back to their website. If you can weave links into your writing work, then you become a valuable asset to any business. This is SEO.
Secondly, it’s breaking the rules. Technically. Google doesn’t appreciate people buying links. This is gray hat SEO. You’re bordering on the lines of getting in trouble with Google. But on the flip side, everyone buys links. At least, everyone who actually wants to improve rankings and domain authority.
Thirdly, this requires you to be sneaky. The best link builders are link building ninjas. To get away with incorporating links to your clients on high authority websites, you have to be able to make the editor, readers, and search engines that the link needs to be there. There a couple of different ways to do this.
The easiest way is to build content around a link. The company hires you to build a link. You go to their website and find out what they do and why and then write a piece of content about the topic, which makes the link relevant. The second method, which doesn’t work nearly as well, is to casually mention the client’s site in a piece of content. It works because it goes with what you’re writing about, but not as well as the first example. Only use this method if you’re writing on sites where the editors don’t mind casual link building or there are no editors at all.
This brings up another good point. Another great way to build links is to create profiles on various sites that allow you to create content and then you write awesome content and jam in the occasional link here and there. These websites usually have a high domain authority and are great for building up a resume of successful links for clients.
Social Media
Part of building up a blog or finding new clients is being a master of Social media. You really have to put yourself out there, meet some new people, and interact with everyone in your niche.
This can get you involved with SEO in a couple of different ways.
If you have enough followers, you can become an influencer. Brands will pay you to mention them on social media or reference them within your own content.
The second way is to work as a freelance social media specialist. When brands see how often you’re on social media and how well you promote your own brand, they’ll hire you to promote theirs.
Wrapping It Up
SEO is a big deal. It helps to keep the best brands on top but it also gives small businesses a way to compete with the big dogs.
Digital marketing agencies are around in every major city as well as mid-sized cities.
Most of them don’t have the resources to do everything themselves. Content creation and link building are where you can make the biggest difference and the most money.
If you want to get your side-hustle on and you’re looking for something related to what you’re already doing, we recommend giving SEO work a try.
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