Advance Preparation

• Build your portfolio by doing some pro bono work for associates or nonprofit organizations. This will give you hands-on practice working with real clients and help you develop the procedures you will use in your consultancy. You may also collect testimonials, references and referrals from your pro bono work that will help you convert prospects into clients.

Establish a Web Presence

• A web presence is essential for a credible SEO business. Build a professional website that will showcase your technical knowledge and clearly explain the SEO services you will offer. However, don’t spend thousands on a custom site or waste weeks tweaking it to achieve the perfect look. Use a free or low-cost pre-designed framework or theme that you can quickly customize to fit your brand.

Offer Comprehensive Services

• Set your business up to offer the key SEO industry services that attract the best clients: keyword research and optimization, link-building, submission to search engines and competitive analysis. Learn to locate the most valuable keywords and long-tail keyword phrases and how to place them terms strategically on site pages. Offer a link-building strategy to create interconnections between your client’s site and others. Develop a process for conducting competitive analyses to discover the search engine ranking strategies of your clients’ competitors so you will be able to implement similar strategies for your clients. You must continue to learn and research SEO developments in this constantly changing field so that you’re always current.

Build Your Brand Reputation

• Build credibility by following prominent SEO blogs and adding comments that offer value and demonstrate your expertise. Start a blog of your own and add your voice to the knowledge pool. Share insights and self-help tips that translate the complexities of SEO and search engine management into simpler language and help others understand the technology. Join professional SEO organizations, such as SEMPO and SEO Pros, to stay immersed in the industry and informed on the latest developments.

Be Human, Attract Clients

• Let prospective clients see your face. People who are buying technology services want to deal with a human being who cares about their needs and relieves their intimidation about complex cyber matters. Use your blog and social media networking to share some occasional personal insights while getting your voice of expertise out there. Your human touch will help draw prospective clients to your new business.