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Do SEO’s Really Need Clients?

Posted By: martinbowling 373 days ago
Topic Type: News Story (Jump to http://www.seodesignsolutions.com)
Category: SEO

Do SEO’s Really Need Clients? One question that has provoked a valid argument in my mind based on a question an acquaintance asked me a few days ago is, do SEO’s really need clients?

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from peterryan 373 days ago #

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We need to always keep our minds open and consider what it is we really want out of this crazy Internet jungle of a business.

from SeoDesignSolutions 373 days ago #

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I agree, just a matter of priorities (notoriety or income, freedom to come and go as we please or structure) which can take on many forms.

from Halfdeck 372 days ago #

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Good read. No, you don't need clients. And if you're in the business of selling SEO services, make sure the ROI justifies the hours you spend helping someone else get richer.

from Jill 371 days ago #

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Personally, I have no desire to create my own sites to get rich off of. I just like helping clients and others to learn SEO and do it the right way.

Perhaps it doesn't make me as much money, but I'd still rather do it that way.

from SeoDesignSolutions 371 days ago #

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Hi Jill:

By the way, I enjoyed your mention in PC world last week, but in regard to the post. In a nutshell in one sense, it boils down to ambition, the amount of time you can commit (building an SEO company takes time and energy as well) as well as what you really get out of the process (offering a service or owning another online property).

Contentment by all means is the objective, I also enjoy sharing SEO techniques but I guess the million dollar question was, is it ethically if SEO's enter a market (to test the waters and cut their teeth) on a site of their own?

That is after all the grandest exercise and acid test for your skill set, so you could offer sound advice to others in the same niche.

Whether if it is leading by example on one side or having the patience to show others the way, each can be mutually rewarding. On the lighter side, this article was really just to pose the question. Do SEO's really need clients? I think not personally and more like clients need SEO's, but to each their own bliss.

Jeffrey Smith

from bbcarter 371 days ago #

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I need clients. I've thought a lot about why I'm in an agency, not just doing this for my own sites- partly it's because I like the variety, and I think I learn more that way- by being exposed to multiple verticals and problems.

But also, I am actually more motivated to help others succeed than to work directly on my own success- it sounds altruistic, but it's really just what I find works best for me.

from Halfdeck 371 days ago #

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"Personally, I have no desire to create my own sites to get rich off of. I just like helping clients and others to learn SEO and do it the right way."

Jill, its not just about money. If you've got a passion to create something new on the web, but you're too busy to do any of it because you've got clients, you wouldn't be happy. I think the blogger got it right - this is just personal preference.

You want to help other people through SEO services; I may want to do the same through other channels.

Anyway, the question was do I *need* clients and the answer is still no. Having clients is a choice not a necessity.

from SlightlyShadySEO 370 days ago #

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I personally have gone back and forth in terms of clients.
It provides a reliability I would like to have. but at the same time, I find it hard to get as passionate about other people's sites as I do my own. Beyond that, having my income directly tied to my ability to rank makes me calculate everything very carefully, and adds a sense of urgency that normally leads to a superior quality of promotion.

from Jill 370 days ago #

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Anyway, the question was do I *need* clients and the answer is still no. Having clients is a choice not a necessity.

For me, I do feel it is a necessity. I don't work with the types of sites I could simply duplicate myself. I work with real, established businesses. Generally they are B2B. It's not the kind of thing I could just say, "Hey, why don't I just start selling 'lead generation software'" or whatever it might be that a client happens to offer.

If I were helping people create affiliate sites or things like that where I could just duplicate it, it would be another story. But when you are helping real businesses to create a better web presence it's a bit of a different story.

from inkodeR 370 days ago #

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"If you've got a passion to create something new on the web, but you're too busy to do any of it because you've got clients, you wouldn't be happy."

I think thats half my problem - when I started out in SEO working on my own projects I was loving it. Now I can't seem to get as excited about building links companies that say:

"heres the $ rank my crap."

But it does provide a reliable income.

from bbcarter 370 days ago #

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Amen @Jill. That's the key distinction. Doing SEO and doing a bunch of certain kinds of businesses is simply not possible for one person.

from Halfdeck 370 days ago #

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"But it does provide a reliable income."

Yeah, it does. And I'm all for better web presence - I guess I'm just sick of helping people who are only interested in ranking and making money and no interest in investing serious money into "content" development. So I guess it depends on the client. If a client is unwilling to pay for anything but manipulative link building and time-wasting site tweaking crap - well I don't care how much I get paid a month someone else can have that gig.

If building a better web presence means creative marketing, relation building, and creative content development that I'm willing to lend a hand.

from Jill 370 days ago #

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