How to start An SEO business in the UK (10 steps to do SEO consulting services)

If starting an SEO business in the United Kingdom is your goal, you are on the right page. I’ve started my business consultancy services business back in 2014, because I wanted to break free from the traditional 9 to 5 job market. Reading the “4-Hour Work Week” book inspired me to dig deep into which industries will be highly in demand.

To tell you, I was frustrated at my job at Koito and kept searching on the web to learn how I can work from anywhere using a laptop and internet connection. I ended up reading an article on Forbes about SEO industry and how big it will be in future. I read everything about SEO, then acted soon by practicing what I read about SEO services and how to do local SEO consultancy for local business owners in the UK.

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What is an SEO consulting business?

An SEO Consulting business is a business service that helps other businesses to get their business website rank higher up on search engines results page.

Basically, SEO services are used by every local business in the United Kingdom that operates in a competitive money market. So if you know how to do search engine optimization services you can help local business owners to get their business websites ranked on Google, where their target audience is searching for what they offer.

For a lot of you who want to know how to start SEO work from home, I can tell you that I first started my SEO services business from home when I first moved to London. I was living in a box room in Queensbury paying a £250 rent per month. You can see one of my old day video where I did to get local business owners to get my local SEO services consultancy.

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That’s a video that helped me get one of my early day clients who later become a very good friend.

How to start a career in SEO in the UK?

First get the SEO blueprint and learn the fundamentals of SEO and then get the Local SEO blueprint and learn everything I’ve shown about doing local SEO for a local business website.

Also, you may join the SEO Consultants Facebook group where I teach people about anything you need to know about starting a career in search engines optimization consultancy.

The best thing about this industry is that you can start an online SEO business from anywhere you are living and consult with business owners to get their business websites ranked higher up on Google.

Learning local SEO is one of the best ways to start your online money making the journey. It’s easy to learn to do SEO for a business website and it’s all covered in the local SEO blueprint created by myself exposing all that I know about the subject.

First things first, start a website and do SEO for it and rank it. I’ve covered 10 steps to start a successful SEO consulting business bellow for you.

Is SEO business profitable?

Of course YES… Or else would I be running ClickDo after 4 years now?

And I’ve started 4 more companies with the money I made from SEO business. I invested most of it to start my web hosting company in the UK – SeekaHost.

Every small business owners in the UK needs SEO for their business website. And there are over 5.6 registered businesses in the UK. When I saw those numbers I knew I’m entering money market.

However, you must know how to run a successful SEO business that’s scalable.

You should ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you want to be as freelance SEO Consultant and consult with 3-5 small business owners?
• Do you want to business thriving SEO agency that consults for as much as you want local business owners?

Once you get the above clarified you know what you are up to as long as you know how to convince local business owners to pay you to get SEO services done by you or your agency.

There is another easy way if you know how to sell local SEO Consultancy packages… You can have a brand of your, act as an SEO consultant and take local business SEO projects on board and then pass on to a reliable white hap SEO agency/consultant to do that for you. You can just do the reporting to the business owner and get paid.

In the above case, you must know how to handle the profit margins and run profitably. Also, the toughest thing is going to be to find the right SEO provider who can actually rank you clients websites on search engines.

Achieving Pinnacle Ranks In SEO

Having your own SEO Consulting business and being your own boss is the best thing ever. You set your own goals and targets, as well as manage your own clients and finances. Yet, most businesses start with much hype and eventually stagnate halfway; some will even shut down when the going gets tough. However, we are living in the age of digital marketing, the internet and social media have leveled the playing field. Regardless of how small your business is, you can compete with bigger, more established brands. You just need to have the right SEO skills so that your business gets high rankings from search engines.

Starting your own SEO Consultancy Company is a win-win situation because you can apply the skills to help your own business. You can also offer SEO consultancy services to other businesses and clients who are looking to increase the traffic to their sites. In the words of Fernando, the CEO of ClickDo, “The internet is the new frontier, it’s where both the big and small brands compete for the masses in the battle for profits.”

By now most people would have heard of ClickDo, which is arguably, the leading digital marketing agency in London. The company has grown from a simple SEO consultancy business to a leading SEO agency for local businesses in London. What has been the secret behind their growth? It’s simple! As Fernando previously mentioned, it is the realization that the internet and social media are the new frontier in the world of marketing.

We know well and true, that every business or brand has a desire to reach the masses. Most businesses will spend at least $ 1,500 annually in digital marketing. As an SEO consultant, you can manage several clients at once; with about 5 clients in your pocket you got yourself a sweet deal. When we caught up with Mr. Fernando in his spacious, tastefully designed work station in Canary Wharf, he cut the figure of a busy, tech savvy but friendly man, the new generation of digital marketers who’re silently transforming London into a Silicon Valley.

Have a look at these 10 steps if you’re looking to excel as an SEO consultant;

1. Brand yourself; the first thing you’ll need to do is to embrace social media, and of course package and brand yourself. And for this you must create an amazing website and position yourself as an expert. You can see the first website – www.fernandobiz.com, which Fernando built when he first started his career. According to Fernando, most brands will want to work with SEO consultants who command respect and authority on their pages. “People buy from people they like and trust,” he adds. Don’t be afraid of starting small, it’s okay to use your iphone to record a marketing video rather than wait till you have the best cameras. Fernando says he still uses his iPhone 7 Plus to record his marketing materials.

Below is an example of one such a video:

1. Develop interest; “SEO consultants are like sniffer dogs, they have to identify the weaknesses on a client’s website and explain how it can be improved,” explains Fernando, his face beaming with a smile. He says that a good consultant must take interest in a client’s website and carefully observe what needs to be improved. It could be poorly written content, zero social media presence, lack of blogs, or whatever. Most clients will prefer a consultant who can point out weaknesses and provide solutions to improve their sites.
2. Lucrative niches; another interesting thing worth noting is that not all businesses are keen on obtaining top ranks. Identify lucrative niches in which the competition is stiff, where one business is trying to outdo the other. Lawyers, doctors, real estate agents, entertainers; these are lucrative industries that are constantly looking for SEO consultants to help them outperform competitors. Besides, they pay very well and on time.
3. Don’t imitate, innovate; when ClickDo first started, they knew that they were in a market which was already dominated by other well established digital marketers in London. Rather than simply imitating what was being done, Fernando said that they had to think outside the box; “We were not afraid of being innovative and doing things differently. In most cases clients pay for SEO services and then sit back and wait for the results, but ClickDo decided to make the clients a part of the process. The end result was that our clients tended to stick with us longer and referred most of their friends to us as well.”
4. YouTube videos; never underestimate the power of You Tube Videos, especially when you’re just beginning. “Most clients would rather watch you on a You Tube Video and learn about your services, than scroll over the pages on your website. In the Video, talk about your services and what you’ll do to get a client’s website to rank high on Google. If possible, get some of your clients to also make testimonial videos; this is a great way to win over new clients.
5. Networking; Tim Ferris summed it up nicely when he said that ‘Your network is your net-worth.’ The trick lies in building valuable relationships over time, long before you even need them. Remember, SEO is often about approaching clients and offering help or value. Much of what you’ll have learned won’t be from a textbooks or classroom; you learn by joining SEO marketing platforms and communities. A contact that specializes in back links and coding may come in handy when you have to explain to a client the different ways of attracting traffic to their site. A question you saw answered on Quora could come in handy during a one on one meeting with a client. Networking helps you improve your communications skills when pitching for projects with clients.
6. Different packages; Fernando advises upcoming SEO consultants to avoid a one size fits all approach. In other words, have your services in different packages so as to cater for different client demographics. For instance, you could stand out by offering SEO services with top-shelf backlinks or saying that for $500, you will optimize a site to capture the email address of a visitor. Email marketing is an effective marketing tool and most clients won’t resist the idea. For $1500, you can manage the social media accounts of the client for a given duration; even post weekly blogs to help market their brand. For $ 5000, you can cover the first 2 packages, and additionally, invest in Facebook or Google ads. See, the point is that different packages help when negotiating projects; they make the client feel that they’re missing out on something each time they pick a lower priced package.
7. No replacement for good, engaging content; “Today’s consumer is both curious and thirsty for information. If they come across interesting and informative content, they will share it with friends and use it for reference. If they spot empty words that don’t answer their queries, they’ll quickly close the tab and move to the next one,” concludes Fernando. According to him, one of the main reasons why ClickDo has managed to attract prominent clients from different fields is their ability to write unique, engaging content. Whether it is a dentist, lawyer, or real estate agent looking for content on their brand, always be sure to generate top-notch content. A patient with a toothache doesn’t want to visit your page and be met with promotional content saying we are the best, call us now. Instead, he or she wants to know what causes toothache and the available home remedies, before finally knowing what services you offer.
8. Keep track of progress; the good thing about SEO is that there are many tools which you can use to gauge and measure progress. You will need to constantly update your client on the progress you are making. This could be in the form of additional traffic to the site, more social media action, and interaction or more clicks. Some of the top SEO tools to help keep track of your progress includes Hootsuite, Moz Pro, SpyFu; you can use these tools to show clients the progress you’re making in the SEO marketing campaigns.
9. Additional staff; lastly, you will have to get additional staff as you grow and expand. You can not be the project manager, business growth manager and the SEO writer all at once. No. “I learned that as ClickDo grew and expanded, I couldn’t effectively handle all that needed to be done. The different roles needed to be given full attention;” recalls Fernando. Today, ClickDo has engineers, web developers, SEO Specialists, Business consultants, IT Gurus and Laptop specialists; the company has grown from a mere SEO consultant to a reputable IT Solutions provider in London. Thus, as we mentioned, be ready to start small but along the way, recruit a team of competent assistants to help you realize your goals.

In Summary;

In all the above steps you would have noticed that there’s isn’t much capital involved. Rather, it is about strategizing, being focused, and learning from successful SEO gurus like Fernando.  SEO consultants are much sought by local businesses here in London and even beyond, you just need to establish a solid client base and keep delivering results. It pays well, and it’s certainly satisfying to watch a previously unknown business, suddenly shoot to the top of the search engines and command huge traffic. The best time to start is now, start with the little that you have and see your SEO Consulting business grow!

If you are looking to master your SEO skills and apply it to your business or become an expert in Search Engine Optimization, do check out the SEO Blueprint which Fernando has created.