Freelancing is hard and competitive, but with the right SEO strategy, you can bring clients to you instead of racing to the bottom of online marketplaces. SEO helps establish your online presence, builds trust, and ensures that potential clients find your services when they need them. A solid SEO foundation gives you a steady stream of inbound inquiries, allowing you to focus on your work instead of constantly hunting for new projects.
Do Not Niche
Many SEO guides push the idea of niching down to a specific industry or type of work. While that can work for agencies, freelancing itself is already a niche. Over-niching can dry up your potential client pool and make it harder to find work.
It’s fine to have a specialty—whether it’s eCommerce, WordPress, or headless CMS builds—but your SEO strategy shouldn’t be locked into it. If you only target one industry or type of client, you’re missing out on a broader range of opportunities. Instead, focus on general freelance web design and development terms to maximize visibility.
Being flexible with your SEO strategy doesn’t mean you can’t work with specific industries, but it does mean that you should allow for adaptability. The key is to balance specialisation with a broad enough approach to attract clients from different industries.
Start with Local SEO
When I first started, I focused entirely on local SEO. Competing nationwide felt overwhelming, but ranking for local searches was far more achievable. I targeted keywords like Freelance Web Designer Hertfordshire and Freelance Web Developer Hertfordshire. Because fewer competitors were optimising for those terms, I quickly saw results.
Optimising for local SEO meant:
- Creating a Google My Business profile and keeping it updated.
- Listing my services on local business directories such as Yelp and Clutch.
- Getting backlinks from local websites, blogs, and publications.
- Using my location in my page titles, meta descriptions, and content.
- Encouraging satisfied local clients to leave reviews on Google.
These simple steps helped me dominate local searches and get my first batch of clients. Once I had steady work coming in, I was able to focus on expanding my SEO strategy to reach a wider audience.
Scaling Beyond Local
Once I had a strong local presence in Hertfordshire, I started expanding my SEO efforts outward. The next logical step was targeting London since many businesses there were open to working with freelancers outside the city.
After successfully ranking for terms like Freelance Web Designer London (I’m currently first for this keyword at the date this article is published), I then broadened my SEO to target the rest of the UK. This staged approach allowed me to build credibility and collect client testimonials before going after more competitive keywords.
Instead of trying to rank nationwide from day one, this approach let me scale my SEO strategy without burning out or competing with huge agencies right away. Expanding from local to broader searches should be done gradually, making sure each stage is optimized before moving onto the next.
Additionally, targeting multiple regions means optimizing location-specific landing pages and ensuring that the website reflects those expansions. This approach not only increases visibility but also makes sure that potential clients from different locations find your services.
Essential SEO Tools
When starting out, you don’t need expensive SEO tools like Moz, Semrush or Ahrefs. They’re useful for larger-scale SEO efforts, but they’re overkill if you’re just beginning.
Instead, I recommend using free Google tools:
- Google Search Console – Helps track what keywords you’re already ranking for and identify opportunities.
- Google Keyword Planner – Great for finding search volume data and keyword ideas.
- Google Autocomplete – Simply typing a keyword into Google and seeing what auto-suggested terms appear can help identify what people are searching for.
- Google Trends – Useful for spotting seasonal trends and keyword popularity.
- Google My Business – Essential for local SEO, ensuring your business appears in relevant local searches.
These free tools are more than enough to build an effective SEO strategy when starting out. Once you have consistent traffic and revenue, then consider investing in paid SEO tools.
As your business grows, you might eventually want to explore tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or SurferSEO, but early on, the best investment is in refining your content and optimizing your website structure.
Final Thoughts on SEO
SEO is a long game, but when done right, it turns your freelance website into a lead-generating machine. Start with local SEO, gradually expand your reach, and use free tools to refine your strategy. By consistently optimizing and staying adaptable, you can ensure a steady flow of new clients without relying on paid ads or job boards.
SEO isn’t just about ranking—it’s about making it easy for the right clients to find you when they need your services. Stay consistent, keep refining your content, and let your SEO strategy work for you.
As a freelancer, a well-optimized website and strategic SEO approach can mean the difference between constantly searching for clients and having clients come to you. The key is to take it step by step—starting small, optimizing your online presence, and expanding when the time is right. With patience and persistence, your SEO efforts will pay off in the long run cha-ching!