How to Build, Scale, and Grow an SEO Agency: Answers to Your FAQs

Are you an entrepreneur looking to establish a successful SEO agency? As someone who has personally transitioned from the corporate world to building a seven-figure SEO agency, I’ve guided hundreds of fellow entrepreneurs on this journey.

In this post, I’ll address the top six questions I hear repeatedly about how to build, scale, and grow an SEO agency, even if you’re an absolute beginner.

Question 1: How do I acquire new clients for my SEO agency?

Acquiring clients is the foundation of your business, and the first client is always the hardest. Here are some effective strategies to land your initial clients:

In-person networking events

If you enjoy meeting and talking with people, attend Chamber of Commerce events consistently for a few months. Talk to people about SEO and your services, and you’ll start to land some local clients.

Cold email outreach

Send personalized emails using a Loom account and a low-cost email service like Gmass. Record personalized videos showing their website and discussing potential improvements. Loom will notify you when someone watches your video, allowing for targeted follow-ups.

Upwork

Upwork can be a goldmine for landing clients. Send proposals to people who have posted jobs seeking SEO services. While it takes time and consistency, the sales process is often easier because the client has already decided they want your service.

Once you have a steady cash flow, start building your brand on social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Share your expertise and create a blog that showcases your SEO knowledge, case studies, and advice. Aim to provide valuable content while ensuring it’s not so detailed that readers can easily replicate your strategies.

Question 2: What are the best tools for managing SEO projects?

Having the right tools is crucial for delivering results to your clients. Here are some essential tools for managing SEO engagements:

Google Search Console

This free tool provides valuable data on your client’s website performance. Combine it with ChatGPT to analyze the data and identify areas for improvement.

Google Search

Utilize the “People Also Ask” section and related searches to determine what Google considers relevant to your target keywords. Incorporate this information into your content to improve topical relevance and comprehensiveness.

Ahrefs

While not free, Ahrefs is an excellent tool for competitive analysis. Compare your client’s data against their competitors’ to identify strategies to improve rankings and traffic.

Task management tools

Asana or similar tools help ensure that tasks don’t fall through the cracks. Go High Level is another powerful tool for sales, pipeline management, client management, and more.

Question 3: How do I price my SEO services?

Pricing is about establishing value. When talking to potential clients, focus on offering growth, increased website traffic, and more customers, rather than just SEO. There are two main pricing models:

Black box pricing

Clients pay a monthly rate, and you work on their website to improve traffic. This method can be challenging if results are slow to materialize.

Scope-based pricing

Tell clients exactly what you’ll be doing each month (e.g., number of articles, links, optimized pages) for a fixed monthly rate. Offer good, better, and best options to cater to different budgets and needs. This model is better for long-term client retention.

Question 4: How can I ensure client satisfaction and retention?

Delivering quick wins is the best way to keep clients happy. Identify “low-hanging fruit” keywords that the client ranks on the second page for and work to push them to the first page. This can lead to explosive traffic growth in the first few months.

Provide monthly reports that demonstrate your value and build trust. Keep them concise and easy to understand, focusing on what you did, how traffic and rankings improved, and what you plan to do next. Schedule monthly meetings to review the reports and maintain regular communication, especially during the first 3-6 months.

Honesty and transparency are crucial. If mistakes happen, take responsibility, apologize, and explain how you’ll prevent them from recurring.

Question 5: How do I scale my SEO agency?

Scaling your agency involves growing your team and outsourcing tasks. When hiring, look for motivated individuals with a background in language, such as former newspaper editors, rather than self-proclaimed SEO experts. Train them in your specific SEO methods to maintain consistency. (1)

Utilize task management software like Asana to track projects and deadlines, and consider integrating it with Zapier for automated team communication. Outsource time-consuming tasks, such as link building and citation building, to trustworthy sources.

Question 6: How do you deal with difficult clients or projects that didn’t go as planned?

Scope-based pricing can help mitigate issues by clearly defining deliverables. Set clear expectations from the start, under-promising and over-delivering. If a project isn’t progressing as expected, identify the reason, take responsibility, and explain how you’ll adjust your approach to prevent future problems.

Apologize sincerely when things go wrong and outline the steps you’ll take to rectify the situation. Offer month-to-month contracts rather than long-term commitments to reduce the barrier to entry for new clients and demonstrate your confidence in your ability to deliver results.

Conclusion

Building a successful SEO agency requires consistency, discipline, and a willingness to adapt. Start by focusing on low-cost client acquisition methods like Upwork, cold emailing, and networking events. As your cash flow grows, reinvest in building your brand through content creation and social media.

Remember, there’s no magic bullet to success. Stay disciplined, remain consistent, and continuously work on improving your skills and processes. With dedication and effort, you can build a thriving six-figure SEO agency in just a few months.

References:

  1. Harvard Business School, How to Scale a Business, https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/how-to-scale-a-business

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Caleb Ulku

Author

In 2005, Caleb earned his Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering from Cooper Union in New York City. Being accepted to Cooper Union’s selective engineering program and receiving a full scholarship laid a strong foundation for his career trajectory working for a major oil company in Houston, until 2015 when he began working from home due to a hip injury. Leveraging his years of corporate experience and entrepreneurial success, Caleb founded a new company dedicated to coaching consultants to reach the top on Upwork, many following in his footsteps of having made the platform work from him. His strategies have since transformed the careers of over 3,300 students. Today, Caleb continues to empower professionals to launch or grow successful Upwork businesses utilizing the power of SEO and AI. His comprehensive videos teach the mindsets, skills and techniques to achieve ambitious goals.