How to Get An SEO Job Part 2

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We wrote a post a little while ago about how to get your first SEO job. It had a few techniques, but we thought it would be good to expand on the matter a bit to help any who are still struggling.

The hardest thing about breaking into the SEO consulting world is finding your first couple clients I think. Many people have a hard time roping their first clients in. There's many reasons for this, part of it may be that we come on too strong and creep the people out a little. IMers, we are used to marketing, we get our inbox bombarded daily with the latest and greatest gizmo, and we have to buy now and hurry, or a pack of squirrels will beat us to death with their nuts. ... strange picture... anyway... what we are missing is often the simple act of human interaction and friendship. The less like a salesman you appear and more like a friend, the more likely you will get your first clients.

Look local first. Not only is it easier to start out, but the personal face to face interaction puts many at ease. Think about the companies in your area, the smaller construction companies, the real estate developers, and others who are probably hurting in this economy. These people understand that you need to spend money to make money.

Use the search engines, or better yet, cruise around and take down businesses website addresses off their building or business cards or your local supermarket classifieds board. Odds are if you can find them at all in Google, they are less likely to need you. A huge number of company websites aren't even indexed yet. When you get home, do a bit of research.

It's pretty easy to identify a target: nice site (or not), no links to speak of, on page 10 of G for the obvious keyword they are looking for.

Email is a safe, non threatening way to approach first, you can be sneaky about it too. Later of course you'd want to talk in person or over the phone.

Say for a mold remediation company in Washington I'd do something like this:

Dear Sir or Madam (or name if there is one),

You have a very nice website, I can tell you have put a lot of work into the design. Your web designer is to be complimented! We recently had a big problem with mold in our house and had to have some contractors tear out a large part of our bathroom. They did a terrible job, I wish I'd seen your website earlier. It was on like page 10 of Google, so I missed it. How is business going for you? Hope you are fairing well in this economy.

Sincerely,
James Defranco

Plant the seeds of "Oh crap, I need to be better in Google if I'm going to get business, why the heck did I pay that guy $3000 for a site that nobody sees??" If they choose to respond, then I hit them with the what I do for work.

Hey Sam,

Glad to hear the work has been sufficient at least Hey you know, I might be able to help you guys with your rankings in Google if you want. I work as an internet marketer and it is my job to optimize web sites so they appear higher in search engines like Google and Yahoo and such.

As a suggestion, you might want to change the title of your web site from "Chuck and sons moldy old business" to "Mold Remediation in Washington" since that is what you want to rank for in Google. There's a ton of other things you could have your web designer do, it's pretty technical, but I'm sure it would help if more people could find you on the search engines. It's important to get as much exposure as possible in this market!

-James Defranco

Finally if they respond again positively you hit them with your pitch:

Oh, sorry to hear that your web designer isn't available anymore and is a worthless punk for how much he charged you... hey, if you'd like I can take a whack at it. I've done this plenty of times, and have lots of experience, I've been able to help a couple other companies like yours. ***(have an example of one of your own sites ready to prove it)

I think a three pronged attack would be best for you guys, optimize your website, get you more exposure from other parts of the internet, and maybe even launch a cheap advertising campaign on Google. Your website is already so good I know for a fact that I could get you to the front page, if not the #1 ranking for Mold Remediation in WA. Here's my phone number, give me a call! 555-555-5555

Your friend,
James Defranco

Leave it at that, don't even mention money, or how much you will charge. Just let them think about it. They'll email or call if they are interested and if you even stand a chance. But by doing it in three or more steps, you don't look like a starving or desperate in your face internet marketer looking to make a buck but you look more like a friendly neighbor who they can trust. That's what you want when you can't use your reputation to proceed you.

Remember, once you rope your first client, word of mouth generally spreads if you do an exceptional job. The opposite effect can also be true if you do a terrible job or rip them off. So be sure you don't disappoint them.

How to Get An SEO Job

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Confessions of an SEO Consultant

(also: tricks to getting an SEO job)

A recent email exchange about getting an SEO job inspired me to write this post. If your internet marketing career hasn't taken off yet, or is disappointingly nonprofitable, perhaps it is time to look into SEO consulting until your projects mature.

See, internet marketing is like growing a bonsai tree, it takes time, it can be boring as heck, and you don't see results for like a year. If you want to make money online, it takes the patience of a monk, the fortitude of that guy who hangs upside down for days on end, and the attention span of a... very focused person. What I'm trying to say is: while you are plugging away at your websites and blogs to earn income online, you might as well be actually earning some online income. Enter SEO Consulting.

But in a market so inundated with self taught SEO's, frauds, and the uninformed who still believe commenting on blogs is the best way to do SEO... how can you get a SEO gig? Let me share with you some of my tips and tricks, time tested and proven, for setting yourself apart and getting your first consulting job.

How To Get An SEO Job

•Getting your first client
Honestly, the first client I found kind of fell into my lap through one of my blogs. I offered to do some web design and advertising for them on the blog, and they asked me if I knew how to get them higher in the Google rankings. To which I replied "Um... yea, I kinda do." Web design + SEO and Internet Marketing = a very powerful money making combo. After that it spread by word of mouth, and a few inquiring emails.

Most of my clients are local, I think most people really like face-to-face time, so I'd look locally first.

The techniques and skills we know how to do from experience with our own blogs, and the networks and tools we have access too are very valuable and rare to find. What we have is very real and very applicable SEO knowledge. So that translates well into SEO consulting.

•Think local
Most of my clients are local. In this day and age, many business owners prefer real face to face time, so if you are looking for an SEO consulting gig, look locally first. A polite email to a local business, or a quick phone call can go a long way.

I find that a lot of websites would love to be higher in the SERPs, they just don't have the knowhow, or access to an SEO, or they think they are too expensive and exclusive. So just a short email to a few people offering to help get them up in Google works for me.

•Contact the business
I approach a new client personally if possible, if not, then through email. A polite email mentioning you liked their website and noticed their business had a lot to offer, and could do a lot better if it was higher in Google. Would you like to be higher in Google? I could help if you'd like. What have you done? Well here's what you can do right away to help, and here's what I can do if you are interested. Since I know you don't know me, maybe we could put a low hourly cap on how much work I do for you a week, and you can see if you want to keep me on...

•Check the attitude
Most of those guys offering SEO on craigslist and other online forums are arrogant, secretive, conniving, not able to communicate effectively, and so forth. Don't be those things, be personable and funny and open, it sets you apart.

Even if you don't have all the technical know-how- a good personality will win every time. You are working for them, so you have to keep them happy. You have to sell yourself as much as or more than your services. People are loosing more and more basic social skills these days, be charming, honest, and friendly. Doing so will put you ahead of the next guy.

•What to offer
As experienced IMers and SEO students, we have a lot of talents in our arsenal. It takes a broad skillset to get things rolling in this biz. Use that skillset to your advantage. I offer to do pretty much the whole package, as far as I can handle it for clients. I offer to manage their SEO campaigns, raise them in the rankings, I offer to do their KW research, I set up or optimize their PPC advertising campaigns, onsite SEO, I design their whole sales plan sometimes, Social media marketing, community building... and whatever else I can think of.

Be their guru, do everything you would do for yourself and more, show initiative. But most of all, listen to what the client wants, even if what they want isn't exactly what they need, do it anyway, and help them see what will really help.

•How much to charge for SEO
I usually charge by the hour, with a set cap of hours per week at first, until they can see that I am trustworthy and worth the money. If I do a good job, I find word of mouth spreads very quickly, and more clients give me a call. The hardest part is getting the first client. Work cheap at first, raise prices later

On the other hand, be careful, you want to charge enough so that the people will listen to you, but not too much so that they can't afford you. Offer a reasonable per hour rate with a 4-6 hour cap on work a week. Let them ask you to work more when they see some results. What is reasonable? That depends on how much you value your time, and how much real experience you are bringing to the table.

I usually do a nice little workup for how their website could be improved, what I could do to make it rank better, what direction to take the site to enhance their sales, ideas for future expansion... and always always a long term plan so that you have work with them for as long as possible. Always be thinking ahead, that's basic consulting 101.

•Doing SEO for the uninitiated
You will probably run into the problem that you had at first with your own blogs. Results take time, and many clients don't understand that little factoid. Results do take a while, so try to be completely open and honest with your client about how you are going to go about doing the work and how long it will take.

Be the bearer of good news. I try to keep them updated weekly of the changes in the SERPs, traffic increases, basically any good news I can think of so they feel like they are getting their money's worth. Then I make sure to tell them what my plan is for next week, next month, the next couple months, so they keep on wanting my business and seeing the results.

There's a lot you can do initially with onsite optimization, which usually will give a quick and easy boost to their rankings, designing a keyword targeting strategy, optimizing the way traffic flows through the site to increase conversion rates, A/B testing... you know the drill.

I don't think your average person has any idea what PR is, and I doubt they would care to get high PR links since they have no idea of their value. So don't work on a "I'll get you ### PR4 links for $ ammount of money." Part of what I do with my clients is educate them as well, that way they see the value in what I am doing and why I am doing it.

My favorite slogan, and I don't remember who I stole it from (I think it was Rand at SEOMoz) is: "SEO isn't an event, it's a process." Clients love that.

•A word on web design
I HATE WEB DESIGN. Let me make that clear. I can do it, and do it well, but I don't enjoy one bit of it. However, sometimes it is inevitable. The client needs a new website, or knows somebody who wants one. The best, easiest, and fastest way to go is sell them a personalized WP theme with static pages. I will go out and buy a proffessional theme for them if the situation calls for it, edit it up to their specifications, slap it online, and send them the bill. Looks great, solid backend, easy to update, simple to create, and everybodies happy.

If that just won't fly this time, then consider outsourcing. Web designers will work for peanuts right now... sometimes literally. Outsourcing can be a very effective use of your time. Especially if you are like me and hate web design.

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So, that's my process for getting an SEO consulting gig. It's worked out quite well for me so far, and I hope it keeps working. As Internet Marketers, Online Privateers, and SEO Ninjas, we have access to a number of very usefull resources that can also be used to get you a job as an SEO consultant. Hopefully these tips have helped inspire you to go out there and use your skills to earn some immediate income.

Part 2 of this series can be found here: Getting an SEO Job Part 2

Earn Income Online- Write Articles!

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Earn More Income Online By Writing Articles

Article Writing and PR releases 101

If you already are a pro at writing articles, scroll to the bottom of this post for my recommendations on the best article marketing websites out there.

Ok, to get things started today my fellow Internet Privateers we have to be clear on these basic things: in order to make money online and profit online at all, you have to have traffic to your website. Traffic helps you make money with adsense. The best way to get traffic is to rank well in search engines. The best way to rank well in search engines is to get lots and lots of backlinks. A great way to get backlinks is to write articles and distribute them to article marketing sites. This provides you with a strong quality backlink from a popular website.

So writing articles and releasing press releases are an essential to optimizing a site for search engines, and more importantly earning steady income online! Do you know why? Three reasons:

*drumroll*

1. They provide quality links! Backlinks are the currency of the internet. More articles and press releases, more backlinks!

2. Articles and press releases are also good because you get a small trickle of traffic from those articles as well. Traffic is good.

3. Finally they are good because they are what we call "link bait." It encourages others to write about your articles, hopefully providing a backlink to you in their own articles.

What makes a good article or Press Release
(from an SEO standpoing)

1. Targeted keywording. Make the article about one specific thing, put the keyword that you are targeting in the article as many times as you can while still making it readable. Put your target keyword in the title of the article!!! Also put the keyword in the first sentence, and in the last sentence. Put the keywords in the H1, H2, and H3 tags. Make it bold once or twice if you can. This tells Google in no uncertain terms what your article is about, and how to index it.

2. Link anchor text. Make sure the link back to your site uses the keywords you focused the article on. If your article was about investing in gold, then make your link back to your site this: Visit the Invest In Gold for more information on investing in gold." Notice that the bold text is the anchor text that leads back to your site. This link has your keyword targeted in the anchor. This is Very Important. If not the Most Important part of the article. It tells google what to look for when visiting your site.

3. Content of the article. This doesn't really matter in my opinion, others would disagree. Nobody is going to read your ezine article anyway. At least nobody in your target audience. Maybe if you put it on a blog, then I would worry about the content. But the idea is link building, and driving anybody who reads it to visit your site, not quality content on your ezine articles. Press Releases require better content, buzz words, and encouraging the press to see your information as "newsworthy." Save the really good content for your website and newsletters.

Article writing tricks and tips

1. You never ever want to publish duplicate content online. If Google detects duplicate content then it will not index either of the articles, and your hard work will be wasted.
2. Instead, take one article and rewrite it. Replace the adjectives with other adjectives, keeping the keywords the same. This prevents G from seeing it as duplicate content, and it still gets you a keyword targeted article with a quality backlink. There is article rewriter software out there, but the best software is free: your brain.
3. Take said article and publish it on a different ezine article website. The same goes for press releases, a paid press release is just an article waiting to be rewritten.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 as desired or until your fingers start to bleed
5. Finally be varied in where you publish your articles. It's best to have lots of different websites pointing to yours, so make sure your articles are published to different websites once in a while.

So to recap, make sure your anchor text is correct for links in articles, make sure keywords are targeted, and make sure article is unique.

Article submission site suggestions

Ok now for those of you who read the entire article, and for those of you who skipped right to the end, here is my suggestion for article marketing. You will find tons and tons of article marketing sites out there, most charge an arm and a leg for their services. But they also have a free submit option as well. This will submit your article to a limited ammount of different sites, but hey, it's free!

By far, the article marketing site that has the most potential, and the best way of marketing unlimited, quality, original, and well linked articles is Article Marketer Automation. They offer a unique way of writing your articles so that the content is totally original all the time, and then they drip feed it to select sites as original content. Getting you targeted, unique, and varied links! It's by far the best option to produce lots of non duplicate content that will never get tagged by Google as spam.

Best of all, you can submit your self hosted website to them and they will provide you with original content that you approve of, free of charge! It's a win-win! You send articles and they send you free original content!

I am an affiliate with them, so through me you can sign up for free! Check them out! I can't emphasize enough how useful they are.