One of the most valuable skills on the planet today is the ability to rank content high in search engines such as Google. And, if you’re wondering how to make money with SEO, you’d be glad to hear that there are literally dozens of ways you can monetise your skills.
In this article, we’ll take a look at 17 tried-and-tested methods for earning lucrative income streams from SEO. But before we jump in, let’s briefly dispel a couple of myths about making money with SEO.
Myth #1: “You Need to Invest a Lot of Money to Make Money with SEO”
This simply isn’t true. While it’s certainly true that you’ll need to invest time and effort into learning SEO and perfecting your skills, you don’t need to spend a fortune on software or services. In fact, many of the most effective SEO strategies are completely free.
Myth #2: “You Need to Be an Expert to Make Money with SEO”
Again, this is simply not true. While it helps to have a strong understanding of how SEO works, you don’t need to be an expert to start monetising your skills. Even relatively basic SEO knowledge can be extremely valuable and profitable.
So, with those misconceptions out of the way, let’s take a look at some of the best ways to make money with SEO.
1. Sell Local SEO Services to Small Businesses
One of the most obvious ways to make money with SEO is to sell your services to local businesses. Many small and family-run businesses still have no idea how to have their businesses appear higher in search engine results, and they’re often willing to pay good money for someone who can help them achieve this.
From improving their Google My Business listing to optimising their website for local keywords, there are many ways you can help small businesses improve their ranking in search results. And, because this is such an in-demand service, you can charge a premium for your services.
How Much Can You Expect to Make?
You can charge anywhere from £500 to £2000 per month for local SEO campaigns. A top tip is to specialise within a specific niche (e.g. dentists, accountants, hotels, hairdressers, etc.) to develop a replicable process for getting results.
2. Work as an SEO Consultant
If you’ve got a strong understanding of how SEO works and you’re good at communicating with people, another option is to work as an SEO consultant. In this role, you’ll be responsible for advising businesses on how they can improve their ranking in search engines. This will involve assessing their current SEO strategy and making recommendations on how they can improve it.
You may also be responsible for implementing some or all of the recommended changes yourself, which presents an additional chance to bump up your earnings.
How Much Can You Expect to Make?
As an SEO consultant, you can charge anywhere from £50-£250 per hour, depending on your experience and the size of the client’s business.
3. Offer SEO Training Courses
If you’re passionate about teaching others how to do SEO, another option is to offer training courses. This could involve anything from hosting an SEO workshop to creating an online course that you sell via your website or a platform like Udemy.
You could also offer one-to-one coaching, either in person or over Skype. This option is great if you enjoy helping people learn new skills and you’re happy to invest a significant amount of time into each student.
How Much Can You Expect to Make?
The amount you can charge for your courses will depend on the format and length of the course, as well as the demand from students. A popular option is to create an online course which can be sold for a one-off fee of around £50-£200. But you can earn more if you decide to dedicate more time to each student.
4. Sell SEO Services on Fiverr
Another popular option for selling SEO services is to join a freelancing platform such as Fiverr. SEO is one of the most in-demand categories on the platform, so it’s a great place to start if you’re new to freelancing.
If you do intend to go down this route, think about services that you could offer as a package or a “gig” (Fiverr’s term for a service). These could be things like link building, keyword research or on-page optimisation. You can also offer more comprehensive SEO packages that include a combination of different services that clients might want to use on a regular basis.
How Much Can You Expect to Make?
The amount you can charge on Fiverr will depend on a number of factors, including your experience, the quality of your services and the demand from buyers. As a general rule of thumb, you’ll have to underprice your services when first starting before you can start to command higher prices as you build a good reputation on the platform.
5. Create an SEO-Focused Blog or Website
When thinking about how to make money with SEO, you might not have thought of putting your knowledge to the test and building your own blog website. With your knowledge surrounding SEO, you could create SEO-optimised content on a favourite subject of yours or about an industry you know a lot about.
By winning the top spots for your chosen keywords, you could start to generate a consistent stream of traffic to your blog, which you can then monetise in a number of ways, including affiliate commissions, advertising, and sponsorships.
How Much Can You Expect to Make?
The income you can generate from your blog will depend on several factors, including the quality of your content, the amount of traffic you can generate, and the number of ways you monetise your specific site. A successful blog business can easily generate several thousand pounds per month.
6. Write SEO-Focused Articles for Other Websites
If you’re a competent writer and you’re passionate about SEO, another option for making money is to write articles for other websites and blogs. This could involve anything from creating how-to guides and tutorials to writing opinion pieces and carrying out interviews.
You can either approach websites directly and pitch your ideas, or you can sign up with a content marketing agency that connects writers with businesses who need SEO-focused content for their websites.
How Much Can You Expect to Make?
The amount you can charge for your services will depend on the quality of your writing, the niche you’re writing for, and the demand from businesses. As a general rule of thumb, you can expect to earn anywhere from £25-£250 per article.
7. Get Paid to Carry Out SEO Audits
If you’ve got access to top-tier SEO tools and you know how to use them, another way to make some extra cash is by carrying out SEO audits for other businesses. This involves using your knowledge to review a website’s current SEO set-up and providing recommendations on how it could be improved.
You can either approach businesses directly and offer your services or sign up with an agency that matches businesses with expert consultants in various fields, including SEO audits.
How Much Can You Expect to Make?
The amount you can charge for an SEO audit will depend on the size of the website you’re auditing and the required level of detail. As a guide, you can expect to earn anywhere from £100-£1,000 per audit.
Related Reading
- SEO Basics: A Beginner’s Guide to SEO
- How to Start a Social Media Agency with No Experience, No Clients and No Results
- 4 Dead Easy Ways to Monetise Your Website
- Perfectly Optimised Blog Posts: How to Give Your Post the Best Shot at Ranking in Search Engines
8. Use Your SEO Skills to “Rank and Rent”
Another tried-and-tested method for making money with SEO is to “rank and rent” websites in high-demand niches. This involves buying a domain name, building out a simple website and then ranking it highly in search engines for specific keywords. Once you’ve managed to get your site ranking, you can then look to rent it out to businesses that want to target those keywords.
This method is popular for targeting keywords in local trades such as plumbing, plastering, and construction. You can even put on a fake number that redirects to your paying client’s business line.
How Much Can You Expect to Make?
The amount you can charge for renting out your website will depend on the niche it’s in, the keywords it ranks for, and the level of traffic it generates. As a general rule, you can expect to earn anywhere from £50-£500 per month per website.
9. Join an SEO Agency
What better way to further develop your SEO knowledge and put it to good use than by joining an agency that specialises in providing SEO services to businesses? Not only will you get to work on a variety of interesting projects, but you’ll also be surrounded by like-minded individuals who can help you further develop your skills.
There are many agencies out there of varying sizes, so you should have no problem finding one that’s a good fit for you.
How Much Can You Expect to Make?
Salaries for SEO professionals vary dramatically and depend on your level of experience, the agency you work for, and your location. You can expect to earn anywhere from £20,000 to £70,000 per year.
10. Start Your Own SEO Agency
If you have no luck on the job front and you’re feeling ambitious, why not start your own SEO agency? This is an excellent option if you have some previous experience working in the industry and you’re confident in your abilities.
The only slight drawback is that you’ll have to find your own clients, but this shouldn’t be too difficult if you market your services effectively, especially using SEO techniques.
How Much Can You Expect to Make?
This will obviously depend on how many clients you’re able to attract and the size of the projects you’re working on. But, generally speaking, a small SEO agency owner can expect to earn anywhere from £50,000-£100,000 per year before costs.
11. Get Paid to Speak at SEO Conferences
If you’ve got a flair for public speaking and in-depth knowledge of SEO, then you could get paid to speak at conferences and other events. The SEO world is full of these types of events, which means you’ll always have opportunities to share your knowledge with a captive audience.
This is also a great way to network with other industry professionals and forge relationships that snowball into other opportunities, such as consulting or freelance work.
How Much Can You Expect to Make?
The amount you can charge for speaking engagements will depend on your experience and the size of the event you’re speaking at. However, as a guide, you can expect to earn anywhere from £250-£2,500 per engagement.
12. Write an SEO Book
Another option is to share your knowledge by writing an SEO book. This is a great way to build up your personal brand and establish yourself as an authority in the SEO space.
The book doesn’t have to be huge, and around 50-60 pages would be plenty. And you can always self-publish it using Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing platform.
How Much Can You Expect to Make?
This really depends on how well your book does and how many copies you’re able to sell. However, with a solid book promotion campaign, you could easily earn a few thousand pounds.
13. Sell Your Own SEO Tools and Software
If you’re a bit of a techy SEO nerd and you know how to build software programs, then why not sell your own SEO tools and software? This could be anything from a simple WordPress plugin to a more complex keyword research tool.
While it’s true that getting your product out there will take a lot of upfront effort, the rewards of owning and running a successful SEO software tool can be very lucrative.
How Much Can You Expect to Make?
This will obviously depend on the type of product you’re selling and how popular it is with SEOs. But, if you have a solid product that solves a common problem, then you could easily earn a full-time income from it.
14. Build an eCommerce Store and Sell Products
With your SEO knowledge, you can monetise your skills by building an eCommerce store and selling products online. This is an excellent option if you’re not too interested in working for someone else and you want to be your own boss.
There are many different types of products you could sell, such as physical goods, digital products, services, etc. And, with a bit of creativity, you can come up with a unique angle that will make your store stand out from the rest.
How Much Can You Expect to Make?
This obviously depends on how successful your store is, but if you can get some traction and generate decent traffic, you could easily earn a full-time income from it. There are hundreds of successful eCommerce stores earning six-figure incomes, so it’s definitely achievable.
15. Charge for Keyword Research Services
Some companies are so lost when it comes to SEO that they don’t even know which keywords they should be targeting. This is where you can come in and charge for keyword research services.
This involves using various tools and your own expertise to find the best keywords for a given business or website. Once you’ve compiled a list of relevant keywords, you can then charge a fee for your services.
How Much Can You Expect to Make?
Of course, this will depend on the clientele you’re targeting and how much work is involved. However, as a guide, you can expect to charge anywhere from £50-£200 per hour for keyword research services.
16. Offer Linkbuilding Services
While link building is despised by many within the SEO community, the fact of the matter is that links are still a vital part of any successful SEO campaign. Therefore, there is an excellent opportunity to offer business link building services to boost their Domain Authority and other important metrics.
There are many different ways to build links, such as guest posting, directory submission, broken link building, etc. And, with a bit of creativity, you should be able to come up with some unique link building strategies that will get results.
How Much Can You Expect to Make?
This really depends on the type of link building services you’re offering and how much work is required. However, presuming you are using white hat techniques, you can expect to charge anywhere from £50-£500 per link secured.
17. Sell White Label SEO Products and Services
Remember when I said you didn’t have to be an expert to make some serious money from selling SEO services? Well, here’s a perfect example.
There are many different white label SEO products and services you can sell without having to do any of the work yourself. You simply resell someone else’s products or services and take a cut of the profits.
This is a great way to get started in the SEO industry if you don’t have the experience or knowledge to offer your own products and services. And, it can be a very profitable business if you find the right products and services to sell.
How Much Can You Expect to Make?
This depends on the types of products and services you’re selling, as well as how much markup you’re adding. But there isn’t really an upper limit, provided your SEO wholesale partner has the capacity. You could expect to make a few hundred pounds per sale or even thousands of pounds if you’re selling more expensive products.
How to Make Money with SEO – Final Thoughts
Selling SEO services is a great way to make money, whether you’re an expert in the industry or just getting started. There are many different ways to monetise your skills and knowledge, so there’s sure to be an option that suits you. So, what are you waiting for? Now you know how to make money with SEO, get out there and start earning!