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What would you advise to people who want to switch to SEO freelancing? How to find clients?
Posted by on January 15, 2026 at 12:23 amHi everyone!
I’m planning to transition into SEO freelancing, and the biggest challenge for me right now is finding clients, especially at the beginning.I’d really appreciate advice from those who are already working as SEO freelancers:
How did you find your first clients?
What worked best for SEO specifically: freelance platforms, cold outreach, LinkedIn, Twitter/X, Reddit, referrals?
Is it worth taking lower-paid or even free projects at the start to build case studies and testimonials?
Which client acquisition channels turned out to be the most reliable in the long run?
What mistakes did you make when looking for clients early on?
Any general advice about transitioning to SEO freelancing (skills, tools, mindset, expectations) would also be very helpful.
Thanks in advance to everyone who shares their experience 🙏
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1 Reply
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Early on, the mistake is trying to sell “SEO” instead of a very specific outcome for a very specific type of business. My first clients came from doing audits and fixes for people who were already asking questions in public forums, communities, and referrals from friends of friends. It was easier to help first, then get pulled into paid work, than to cold pitch generic services. I would take lower paid projects only if they map cleanly to the kind of work you want more of, you just lock yourself into bad positioning. Long term, referrals and repeat clients beat every channel, but they only show up if you can explain results in business terms, not rankings. Freelance platforms can work, but they are noisy and tend to push you toward price competition unless you niche down hard. Treat the first year as proof building and message refinement, not income optimization.
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Network meetings. Face to face if possible
Rank your site
Mess up
Fix
Repeat
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Early on, most of my first wins came from people I already had loose access to, friends of friends, founders I had helped informally, or businesses where I could clearly see something broken. Freelance platforms worked for learning how to scope and communicate, but they were rarely good long term. I’d be careful with free work unless it is tightly defined and gives you clean before and after results, otherwise it just drags on. The biggest mistake I see is trying to sell SEO as a bundle instead of solving one obvious problem, like fixing a drop or cleaning up technical debt. Long term, referrals beat everything, but they only start once you have a few clear outcomes you can talk through confidently.
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