How to Build a Successful Freelance SEO Business While Working Full Time

How to Build a Successful Freelance SEO Business While Working Full Time

What does it really take to become a successful freelancer while working a full-time SEO job?In this episode of the Agency Growth Series, we sit down with Peter Rota, Freelance SEO and Senior Technical SEO Manager, to talk about the reality of freelancing in SEO, building a client pipeline, doing deep technical SEO work, and balancing freelance clients with a full-time in-house role.Peter shares how he built his freelance SEO career, why he probably works 70+ hours a week, and why succeeding as a freelance SEO requires much more than just knowing SEO. We discuss sales, lead generation, Upwork, LinkedIn, pricing SEO audits, client expectations, outsourcing, delegation, and what it means to think like a business owner.We also get into technical SEO, AI search, LLM visibility, JavaScript SEO, crawlability, page speed, AI-built websites, and why technical SEO may be becoming even more important in the age of AI.This episode is for SEO freelancers, technical SEOs, in-house SEO professionals, consultants, and agency owners who want to understand what it takes to build a sustainable SEO career.

Beyond Google: How Smart Agencies are Winning with Search Everywhere Optimization

Learn about Search Everywhere Optimization, leveraging platforms like Reddit and YouTube, and how to adapt your SEO strategies to meet the demands of AI search behavior. As AI search engines pull citations from Reddit, YouTube, and other non-blog sources, agencies that only optimize for Google content are already ceding ground they don't realize they're losing. Jules breaks down what "Search Everywhere Optimization" actually means in practice, how Scalerrs repositioned around it in response to real client demand, and what SEO agencies need to do — or at least advise their clients on — if they want to stay relevant. If you run or work inside an SEO agency serving SaaS clients, this episode challenges you to audit what your current service scope is actually delivering. Key takeaways: * How to explain Search Everywhere Optimization to a client who only knows traditional SEO * How to leverage Reddit and YouTube for SEO and AEO wins * How to reposition your SEO agency's offer in response to AI search behavior, even without expanding your own service delivery * Why AI search engines are already generating 20–30% of pipeline for some SaaS clients, and what that means for how agencies report value * AI search is already a pipeline source, not a future trend. Jules notes that a meaningful share of the pipeline for Scalerrs' own customers is now coming through AI search engines. Treating it as something to prepare for later means ignoring a channel that's actively converting today. * AI search engines don't just pull from blog content. The core argument Jules makes is structural: because AI search pulls from Reddit threads, YouTube, forums, and other non-traditional sources, an SEO strategy that only produces blog and product page content is optimizing for a narrower slice of the citation pool than it was even a year ago. * You don't have to own every channel, but you have to think across all of them. Jules draws a practical line for agencies that don't want to add Reddit or YouTube to their offering: it's a legitimate choice, but it comes with a responsibility to at least identify those gaps for clients and recommend that they be filled. Staying silent about them is a different kind of failure. * Scalerrs' pivot came from client pressure, not internal strategy. The repositioning toward Search Everywhere Optimization wasn't planned from the start. It was a direct response to clients pushing back against a blog-only narrative as AI search gained momentum. That origin signals that the shift from SEO to Search Everywhere Optimization is being driven by client-side awareness, not just agency-side positioning. About Jules Davies Jules Davies is the founder of Scalerrs [https://scalerrs.com/], a SaaS-specialist agency that combines AEO/SEO with Reddit marketing. Jules has built the agency's positioning around Search Everywhere Optimization — giving him a front-row view of how AI search is reshaping what agencies actually need to deliver.

How to Sell AI SEO Services to Clients

Your clients are asking how to show up in ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity. They're seeing competitors get cited by AI. They want in on this new traffic source and are willing to pay for it. AI SEO is the fastest-growing service opportunity for agencies in 2025. But there's a problem: The market is flooded with overnight "GEO experts" making impossible promises. Your clients are interested, but skeptical. They want AI visibility, but they've been burned by hype before. So how do you sell legitimate AI SEO services that clients actually trust? In this episode, Ryan Shelley of SMA Marketing reveals the exact framework for selling AI SEO services Get the proven playbook that's helping agencies add $5-10K/month AI SEO retainers, without sounding like snake oil. 💡 What You’ll Learn Ryan goes beyond buzzwords and shows you how to talk about AI SEO in a way that earns trust and drives revenue. You’ll learn how to: * Decode what clients are really asking for — and how their concerns differ from what most agencies assume * Use “trust-first” framing to reduce skepticism and establish authority early * Position AI SEO as visibility + demand capture, not manipulation or “gaming the algorithm” * Package, price, and prove your offer so clients see the business case instantly Whether you’re already offering AI SEO or still figuring out how to explain it, this episode gives you the playbook for selling it with confidence. About Ryan Shelley Ryan Shelley is the founder of SMA Marketing, a top-tier search marketing agency based in Florida, USA. As an AI and SEO consultant with over 15 years of experience, Ryan helps businesses like DealHub.io and PopFoam to grow their organic visibility across AI and traditional search platforms.

Why New Agencies Should Break the Vertical Niching Rule

Everyone tells new agencies to niche down. Pick one industry. Focus. Specialize. But what if that advice is holding you back? In this episode of the Agency Growth Series, Jonny Nastor challenges the conventional wisdom around vertical niching.  Instead of niching down to one industry, Jonny built a million-dollar agency by doing the opposite: solving the same problem across multiple industries. His horizontal approach helped the agency scale faster, work with better-fit clients, and avoid getting stuck doing work he didn’t enjoy. And he’s sharing this playbook with us. You’ll learn how to: * Deliver high-quality results without deep domain expertise * Vet and land the right clients regardless of industry * Price your services confidently, even without a vertical focus This episode is for any new agency owner tired of following “niching playbooks” that don’t fit. By the end, you’ll have a clear, actionable horizontal niching strategy to build momentum, stay flexible, and grow without compromising your vision.  About Jonny Nastor Jonny Nastor is a DTC SEO strategist and the founder of Digital Commerce Partners, a content-focused SEO agency built for e-commerce businesses. He has more than 15 years of experience in SEO and has been featured in top publications like Shopify, Backlinko, and Semrush.

How to Acquire and Retain Your First 50 Customers

Landing your first SEO clients doesn’t have to be a struggle — and you don’t need to burn yourself out in the process. In this episode of the Agency Growth Series, Liam Quirk of Quirky Digital walks you through the exact steps he’d take if he were starting an SEO business today — from building a personal brand that attracts clients to creating a sustainable, repeatable lead generation system. You'll learn: ✅ The easiest way to get your first SEO clients (Hint: It’s all about personal branding) ✅ When to transition from founder-led lead generation to employee-first client acquisition ✅ The one question you must ask before taking on new SEO clients (this alone can save you time and headaches) ✅ How to create a repeatable lead generation system that keeps your pipeline full ✅ How to compete with bigger agencies and win high-value SEO contracts If you’re looking to build an SEO client base without sacrificing your health or team's sanity, this episode is for you. The Agency Growth Series is brought to you by Keyword.com, the most accurate rank tracker for growing SEO agencies. Start tracking for just $3/month: https://keyword.com/pricing/