Understanding who your clients are

Just because you might have worked on the outreach (link building) team working on very well-known brand names in your full-time role, does not mean that those are who your clients will be as a freelance SEO.

DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!

Anyone reading this who thinks they can get the clients they work on within their full-time role within their agency, to jump ship and move over to you when you go it alone…

DON’T EVEN CONSIDER IT!

You might think…

‘I’ve done all this work and it is me that has achieved all the results for this client, but I’m only being paid 1/10th of what the client pays my agency. If the client moves over to me, I can charge a cheaper rate whilst offering the exact same service.’

Three reasons why you should never consider doing this…

1. There will probably be something written within your contract of employment that you have agreed to that stops you from doing such a thing, and you might just find yourself in very hot legal waters.
2. It’s just not ethical. Do you want to get a name for ‘that’ freelancer who steals their agencies clients? Word spreads fast in this industry.
3. You are probably not aware of everything else relating to this client that is outside of the work you are doing. You may only be a piece of the clients puzzle.

OK, so I shouldn’t (I mean SHOULDN’T) steal my agencies clients. I get it. Now what?

Like I have said a couple of times before… I am an SEO Mindset Coach, so in order for you to understand who your target SEO clients will be for your on-person agency, I’m going to ask you a few questions and I want you to ‘really think’ about the answers and not just say the first thing that springs to mind.

Ask yourself…

> Now I have a reality check on my personal SEO skillset, who ‘needs’ what I can offer?
> What industries do I know really well (fashion, automotive, leisure etc…)?
> What problems am I able to solve for businesses?
> What is my value add? How will ‘you’ add value to a business?
> Do I have any pre-sales experience dealing with large clients?
> Do I have any experience pitching my proposal in a live situation?
> Are you confident answering awkward SEO related questions?
> Do you understand how business is won within each level of business (small businesses, medium businesses, large businesses, corporate businesses, and even the Fortune 100)?

Did you just get that lightbulb moment?

It’s amazing what makes you sit back and realise something when you are asked specific questions.

You will now have a good idea of who your target customers are. If not, do you actually have something that businesses would want to pay for?

Go and write down on a piece of paper…

> Who you are
> Who you work with
> What main problem you solve

Now, you have YOUR individual target client right there. Three examples may be…

1. I am a local SEO specialist helping small business owners with a physical location to get more people to walk through their front door.
2. I am a technical eCommerce SEO specialist ensuring large brands have a solid foundation so they can drive new sales.
3. I am an SEO consultant focusing on giving in-house marketing teams within a business of between £5m to £10m turnover a tailored SEO strategy to implement which is in-line with the specific business goals and objectives.

4. I am an International SEO Consultant who specialises in helping off-shore brands launch into the UK market.

Can you now see the difference?

Can you see how this changes everything?

Look at the difference between the three examples above than the three examples below…

1. I’m a freelance SEO who helps businesses with their SEO.
2. I’m a technical SEO freelancer who fixes all the SEO related issues on your website.
3. I’m a freelance SEO consultant helping businesses to grow.

Doesn’t it make a REAL difference adding context?

What it does do as an SEO freelancer, is…

Give you FOCUS!

> You fully understand your SEO skillset.
> You fully understand your target market.
> You fully understand your value-add.

You now have direction.