In this post, I will tell you about how to start and SEO business in 2024. In today’s ever-growing digital landscape, it is becoming increasingly clear that it is very important it is to have a strong and secure online presence. Naturally, there’s a rising demand for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) services.
Whether you want to expand your business or enter this profitable digital market, initializing an SEO business is of significance importance.
Importance of SEO Business:
SEO businesses provide SEO services that help clients get higher ranks in search engine research pages. It is a market full of fierce competition. Around 191,000 SEO and online marketing consulting businesses are operating in US alone and the number is continuously increasing at a rate of 17.2% at average since 2018.
So it is a filed full of growth & competition and one must work hard to rise above the crowd. It also indicates that opting for SEO is not just an option but a strategic necessity now. The reasons are listed below:
Why Should You Start A SEO Business?
- The digital business environment is continually evolving, and there is an increased need of having an online presence. Starting an SEO business lets you answer the rising demand for SEO services that enhance online visibility.
- SEO business will allow you diversification of your services. It will attract a wider clientele and allow business growth. It will also let you better position your organization as an expert that provides comprehensive solutions to digital marketing problems.
- SEO lets you build long-term relationships with clients. It is an ongoing process that provides you an opportunity to develop trust and keep clients for long periods of time.
Steps To Start an SEO Business:
Following are some primary steps that will help you start a SEO business that is going to thrive in future.
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Learn How SEO Works:
If you intend to start an SEO business the first and foremost step is to have a firm grasp on the basics and working of SEO. If you do not have enough SEO knowledge it will be foolish to start working with it as a business venture.
SEO is an ecosystem of ever changing practices. Google makes several changes to the search engine algorithms in a year. Some of them are minor and some of them are major but both are equally important. It is essential to be well aware of all relevant trends and continuously update your skills so you don’t left out of the important things.
If you do not fully understand what you’re doing, it will cause you more harm than good. Make sound efforts to learn how to practice SEO before offering its services to clients. Enroll yourself in programs and courses, practice SEO tools, get practical experience and become trusted expert before launching your own SEO setup.
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2. Specify Your Target Market:
It is very important to narrow down and specifically define your target market to run a successful SEO business. Remember, jack of all trades is master of none. That does not mean that one can’t work as a general SEO service provider or consultant but starting with a niche and being passionate about it is a better idea. It will help you focus more and work better.
If you will try to disperse your services to a couple of unrelated industries at the initial stages, you won’t be seen as an expert in any one of them. Start small and specialize so as to attract initial clients. You can branch out later after some experience and recognition. You can opt to start selling SEO services to a larger audience after getting firm grasp on it.
Consider the following factors while choosing a niche for your startup SEO:
- Hold market research as it will help you gain prospects and acquire leads.
- Choose to work with a familiar industry. The more proficient you are with working in a particular field, easier it will be to leverage benefits of SEO.
- Use the power of referrals and start working with your social circle. It will help you get the initial clientele.
3. Define Your Business Structure:
The type and structure of your business is the backbone of your business functions and management. You need to decide and finalize the type and structure of your business even before come up with the name of your business. The structure depends on your managerial style, file taxing and nature of the business.
Decide whether you want to solo run the business or do partnership or establish a company? How much authority and responsibility you are willing to delegate and outsource. It is better to have a firm grasp on your business resources so delegate with care.
Decide how do you want to operate? Working with a firm, sole trader or build partnership?
Starting you SEO startup as a sole proprietor implies that you will run your business as a single owner and will be responsible for all the debts and liabilities. Whereas, starting as a Limited Liability Company means having multiple owners and protection of personal assets from business debts, liabilities and obligations.
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4. Finalize Your Products & Service Offerings:
Once you are done with type and hierarchy of your business structure, decide what and how many type of SEO services you want and can provide? Do you want focus solely on SEO? Do you want to provide freelance services, switch to PPC, optimize the use of Social Media, or start Web Designing? Want to work globally or locally for local SEO business in your area.
Having SEO as your main product offering, provides your business with the opportunity to recur monthly revenue. Because SEO doesn’t start and stop in a month.
Clients will need continuous and consistent optimization as SEO operates in a continually evolving digital marketing environment. They will continue to need your services until they see a significant ranking improvement.
Providing SEO as a service allows you more flexibility and the ability to up sell clients as compared to web design. Not only this, decide your business logistics, channel of communication, mode of service delivery, payment options, legal documentation and registration at this point.
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Run Your Own Website as a Living Testimony:
You cannot successfully provide SEO services to your clients after learning SEO basics and not practicing it yourself. Hands-on experience is a must before starting to deliver SEO services to others.
This experience can come by either working with an SEO agency or by developing and running your own website. Running and optimizing your own website provides a good testing ground for your SEO skills.
Not only this, having your own website allows you to get prospects rather than losing them to competitors. It does not matter if your website is not that much stunning at this point. The goal here is to have one because it will allow you to have a domain, a working platform and practicing opportunities.
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Get Prospects & Clients:
Once you have finalized business details, honed your skills in one area and developed your own website, get ready to efficiently start offering your services to your clients. Freelance, advertise, use referrals or provide some free services in order to attract first clients. Clients could be anywhere off-net or on-net.
Cast a wide network through traditional efforts and a range of internet marketing strategies. Make full use of your social media platforms and leverage your social contacts to your business advantage.
Google Ads Facebook and Google ads are also an excellent source at this point. They can help draw eyes to the existence of your business website and attract clients and convince them to convert. Some of the things that can help you in this regard are:
- Well written, high-quality content
- Knowledge and moral documentaries
- Free service offers such as books, whitepapers
- Business startup discount rates for customers
- Case studies and testimonials to advocate your good performance and much more.
Once you get your first few SEO clients work passionately to satisfy them. Once you manage to make them stay and continue work with your business by providing excellent customer services, you will get recognition.
One satisfied customers leads the other. After sticking and successfully performing in one solution, try to expand your business to other digital marketing services.
7. Continue Manage Your SEO Services:
Establishing an SEO business is the easier part and managing it wisely is another story. One mistake and your website can land to the last page of Google. SEO asks for continual attention. Managing it rightly at the initial critical stages and bring it to a point of stability is a real challenge.
Revisit your business plan and purpose regularly for a better focus and to examine how far you have come and what changes are needed. Keep your work plan flexible in order to cater to the ever-changing SEO landscape. It will need to evolve, update and adapt to new continuously changing circumstances.
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Up-Scale Your Business:
After successfully developing a solid foundation for your business with your work performance and delivering quality services to your clients, you can further consider different growth options.
Don’t drive yourself to a point where you have to reject upcoming clients due to lack of capacity and insufficient services. You can outsource some tasks that you might feels are testing the threshold of your work burden.
Find trustworthy and reputable working partners. You can opt for partnership and collaborations, target market expansion, diversify your services and productize your services. The opportunities are countless!