Up until now, all the websites I've made have done pretty well in google rankings, just from basic onsite optimization (keywords in titles, alt tags, sitemaps etc.) and a link from my portfolio, and possibly a few others. I've recently made a few sites, however, that have a more competitive marketplace and so haven't done as well naturally. The clients are, understandably, wanting to improve this - and I'm just wondering what I should do, where my responsibility ends, and what other freelancers include as standard in terms of SEO. My contract doesn't really mention the subject, other than the site will be built to modern standards for search optimization - nothing about off-site services. I don't have much experience in link-building, campaigns etc, so I'm not sure if it's something I should even offer as an extra if I'm not an expert in it. As always, any advice on this would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

Edited August 22, 201214 yr by mrchristoph

I can't really talk for design freelancers, but if it's not something in your contract and something you're not offering then you should say that to your client. You need to explain to them that you provide them with a website that has on-site SEO but to achieve good rankings then you need to go beyond onsite SEO and start looking at what they need.

 

Now, if you don't have a great understanding of link building etc then I'd suggest you pass the work onto somebody who does whilst you learn how to do things. The last thing you want to do is **** things up for their website. You might not screw anything up, but I wouldn't take the risk. I wrote http://www.jasondexter.co.uk/oh-my-cousin-does-seo/ as a little rant but I think it explains where I'm going with it.

 

I think the keypoints here are:

 

Firstly, talk to your clients about what can be achieved and what the expectations are with the work you provide them. Tell them, as you already do, that you'll ensure their website is up to standard with good onsite SEO (which is good. I think all website creators should do this anyway). Tell them that this might get their rankings up (this comes down to you exploring and researching what they want) if they are aiming for a low competitive keyword. Anything that is remotely difficult will require an off-site SEO campaign.

 

Secondly, get an "expert" in. Somebody that has proven knowledge, skills and a portfolio that showcases good/great rankings for websites. Don't dismiss the thought of offering SEO fully, as you could earn a bit of extra cash by using an SEO expert as a white label solution.

 

I do a lot of work for a great design company and they get a discount on all my work so that they can make a little cash/don't lose out on offering SEO as a service. It keeps that client with them, then.

 

Finally, learn the basics of off-site SEO and get an understanding of what works and, more importantly, what doesn't work. This way, you'll be able to understand what the SEO expert is doing and you can then talk to the client more confidently.

 

I think the best option for you is to outsource the work. Make it white label so you get all the praise and all the glory, and it keeps your client with you then. It then makes you look like you're offering a more rounded/complete service

Also, don't be offended by that blog post I linked to either! It's not aimed at people like you, it's merely a rant about the state of things and people that tell me they "know someone" who can do the job and then they come back to me because they screwed up

And make sure your client doesn't think this is a free service you should be doing or are too lazy to do for them!

 

To reinforce the point be helpful and get a quote or three from SEO providers on their behalf, or forward them links and information.

Up until now, all the websites I've made have done pretty well in google rankings, just from basic onsite optimization (keywords in titles, alt tags, sitemaps etc.) and a link from my portfolio, and possibly a few others. I've recently made a few sites, however, that have a more competitive marketplace and so haven't done as well naturally. The clients are, understandably, wanting to improve this - and I'm just wondering what I should do, where my responsibility ends, and what other freelancers include as standard in terms of SEO. My contract doesn't really mention the subject, other than the site will be built to modern standards for search optimization - nothing about off-site services. I don't have much experience in link-building, campaigns etc, so I'm not sure if it's something I should even offer as an extra if I'm not an expert in it. As always, any advice on this would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

As i understand, you want to start up with SEO services. If you are planning to start a SEO company then you need to consider a whole bunch of factors. It would not be just restricted to know-hows of SEO but rather involve various other pricing, targeting and promotion strategies. You could offer discounts if your clients use your service for a longer duration.

Ok thanks for the responses. I suppose it was nothing that I didn't know already! I suppose the problem for me is that I find SEO so goddam boring I find it difficult to properly learn about keyword research, link-building etc... I would love to be able to outsource this to someone, but most SEO companies look so spammy it's hard to know who to go with!

Drop me a PM and maybe we can sort something out