Since the web world is getting so highly competitive, every website is constantly looking out for and striving to stand out in the competition.
The one sure shot way to be able to survive the competition and stay on top of the game is properly utilized Search Engine Optimisation.
Without Search Engine Optimisation, no website or blog can survive the internet.
Whether you want to reach out your readers and provide information, or you want to earn money from your blog, or you want to strengthen your brand – whatever be the motive, you cannot undermine the importance of Search Engine Optimisation.
This is the reason why there are so many SEO firms springing up every day.
For websites and blogs that do not have their SEO experts, they take the services of these SEO firms, to optimize their websites for search engines.
But the biggest challenge these SEO companies or firms face is getting a client on board or getting SEO projects.
The process of pitching and bidding and then finally getting a client is a little hectic. But don’t worry, we have got you covered. We have all the tips and solutions you need, to get more and more SEO projects online.
Tips On How To Get New SEO Projects Online:
1. Start bidding on different platforms online:
There are lots of freelancing websites out there like Freelancer.com, Upwork.com, etc.
The first thing that you have to do is that you have to create your profile on all these famous freelancing websites and start bidding.
These websites are great platforms for various new startups or individual bloggers to look for and find plenty of clients that need SEO services for their websites.
You have to make sure that your profile is interesting enough to catch the eyes of clients. Mention your skills, highlight on your past SEO projects and make sure your portfolio looks attractive enough.
After you are done creating your profile, all you have to do is start bidding on SEO projects and then get some great projects for yourself.
However, you have to remember that the response rate might be slow and it is possible that you might land up with only one project after making hundreds of bids.
So, you have to be ready to face failure. Also, the drawback of these websites is that they do not have any reviews, without which clients cannot really trust these companies with their projects.
2. You can build an ad campaign for yourself using Google AdWords or via PPC:
The other very effective way to get SEO projects online is, build an advertising campaign about your SEO firm or your SEO services by using the Google Adwords system.
Google provides a great platform for every new advertiser who wants to advertise and sell their products or services online.
The best part about the Google AdWords system is that it has a high rate of return on investment. This makes it a great platform for you to advertise yourself and get new SEO projects.
3. You have to build a strong presence on various search engines:
The entire world is on search engines. Whatever is the business, it is very important to have a very strong presence in the search engine for your business to flourish. Same is the case with SEO firms.
While your firm aims at providing SEO services to clients, you also have to make sure that your own presence in search engines is very strong.
Otherwise, why would a client trust you with improving their search engine rankings?
Even before bidding or reaching out to clients, build your website properly and optimize it for search engines. This will help build your credibility in the market even if you are new.
When you have a strong online presence and your website pops up at the top of the search engine results page, you will automatically start getting more SEO projects online.
4. Write and send emails to various job portals to find SEO projects:
Another way to find SEO projects online is to apply to job portals like Naukri.com by writing emails to these websites.
Write a properly constructed email with your proposition and a cover letter that will serve as an introduction.
In the email, do not forget to mention and highlight your current clients or the past clients you have worked for. Also, keep the messages personalized instead of just typing one long email and sending it to every portal.
Keep the tone of the email conversational, so that the client can understand your propositions. But for that, first, you have to go through these portals thoroughly and find the clients that you would love to extend your services for.
Once you have found your perfect clients, write the email as instructed here and shoot them.
5. Set up affiliate programs targeted towards clients:
This is a great way to attract clients for SEO projects online. Designing affiliate programs for your client does not have to be something complex.
It can be something as simple as offering certain discounts on the prices of your SEO services.
When you offer a discount or slash down the price, it attracts new clients as they find that your rate is comparatively lesser than your competitors.
You can also design full-fledged affiliate programs like when a new client successfully signs up with your firm, you can enhance the already ongoing commissions with other firms.
This means that you ask your present or past clients to refer your services to other new companies or clients that might need your services.
And when you successfully get a new client through your old clients, you can pay them a certain amount of commission.
You are free to design your own affiliate programs targeted towards your clients.
6. Sign up for conferences and events and speak there:
The online market is known for virtual interactions. You normally bid for your services and then get new clients and deliver your work, after which you get paid. That is how things work normally.
But nothing can beat the charm of a face to face interaction, or when your potential clients see you in person. That builds a much stronger impact.
Now you cannot go to all potential clients from door to door, asking for work.
So the smartest thing to do is to sign up at marketing events and conferences and give a presentation and speech.
This means that even before you pitch your services to potential clients, you pitch yourself first. This builds a positive impact. This also helps you create a network.
Networking is very important when your business thrives on getting clients to trust you with their work.
7. Resort to guest blogging yourself:
Nothing can beat the value that guest blogging adds to your profile and your business. When you get to write for other blogs, you get more visibility, and that helps your branding get better.
When you write posts on other websites, it automatically gives you more visibility. This is a great way to make your potential clients take notice of you and your knowledge, and this might lead them to hire you for your services.
You have the choice to extend your services to the local business or big enterprise businesses. When you know your target audience well, it becomes easier for you to figure out which all websites you want to contribute to.
Whatever website you are writing for, make sure that your byline along with your name and few lines about you is visible to the readers, or in this case your potential clients.
8. Sponsor small local events:
You can organize and sponsor small local scale business meets or similar events, where you get potential clients. In these events, you can talk about how a website cannot survive without SEO.
You can choose to invite a panel of guests who are SEO experts and have them talk about the importance SEO, or you can choose to speak at college events, which is budding with a start-up idea.
Also, these local events give you significant exposure and help you get leads for further projects.
To attract clients, you can offer free consultation sessions. These small local events are also great ways to build and expand your network.
9. Write carefully constructed case studies:
This might be a very extensive method that takes a lot of time and patience. In fact, it is so time-consuming, and you have to do it so carefully that many choose not to do it at all because of the sheer amount of effort that goes into making a case study.
But this is a very effective way if you plan to get clients online. It surely does involve a lot of work.
You have to write a thesis, build a test, collect important data and then draw an inference from the data and present it in a report that is believable.
This might seem to be too much, but these case studies are very compelling to the right kind of audience. The case study gives a thorough insight into the kind of work you do and how carefully you take care of every aspect of SEO.
Before clients hire SEO firms, they want to read about similar companies in their industry and how SEO proved beneficial for them. They also want to know more about the SEO firm’s approach to their website.
With your case study, your potential clients will have more information about you. And that will increase your chances of getting more SEO projects online.
10. Get an expert in a particular niche:
This might sound like a bad idea as this will limit your services to only one kind of industry. When you limit yourself to just one niche or one industry, the amount of clients that you will get also gets limited.
But you have to understand that when your potential clients are looking out for SEO companies to hire and collaborate with, they will look for the company’s past work experiences and the relevant work experience in that particular field. There are lots of companies who are still confused by SEO and don’t understand the more advanced techniques and aspects of it.
In such cases, they look at your previous clients in the same industry and how you have worked for them. That is why it is beneficial to have clients from one particular category or industry as that will establish your goodwill and credibility in the business faster. And this will also help you get more clients even if it is from just one niche.
When you do this, you will be able to build your portfolio more strongly and market yourself as an SEO expert in that industry.
When your competitors are struggling to establish their base in all industries and still get clients, you will be the industry giant in whatever industry have chosen for yourself.
These 10 tips if followed correctly will help you go a long way in getting more online work in terms of SEO. It is not a very easy process for sure, but when you get your priorities right, it is not that difficult either.
Wrapping Up:
Even though the web world is getting flooded with new blogs and websites and companies every day, it is a pity that how many of them do not still understand the importance of SEO.
Google AdWords and PPC will help them earn revenue for sure, but without Search Engine Optimisation, no business can survive in this highly competitive surrounding for long. This is where the role of SEO experts and SEO agencies come into play.
When companies do not understand the more advanced aspects of SEO, it is your duty to explain how SEO is beneficial for their website and convince them to give you the project.
It is all about having a little patience and doing your work carefully and consistently in the initial days so that you can build your credibility and network.