Tag Archives: SEO

Survival Strategies , , , 1 Comment

Where the Freelance Money Is

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You’ve written a business plan—now what?  Kim is the midwife who helps you take your business from the drawing board to reality in  “Business Plans:  Next Steps”.  Bring your completed business plan and join Kim and other hopeful entrepreneurs in round robin discussions where you’ll get a critique of your business model;  smart marketing/PR/social media  advice;  insights into sales distribution channels that make sense for you and your customers;  and suggestions on how to finance your business in today’s economy.  Wednesdays March 13,  20  & 27  5:30 PM – 7:30 PM at Boston Center for Adult Education 122 Arlington Street Boston.  Register at  http://bit.ly/Zd9dqR   or call 617.267.4430 class ID 9074.

Some Freelancers are more likely to earn the coveted but elusive six-figure annual revenue than others.   Maybe you’re there or could be,  with some good luck and timing,  opening doors with the right skills.  Here are six potentially lucrative occupations that attract Freelancers:

Writing

Magazines do not often pay $2.00/word anymore and there are only so many 5000 word articles bring commissioned in this era of short attention spans,   but allegedly there a number of Freelancers still able to pull in big money through writing assignments of various kinds.  This category includes not only magazine and newspaper article generation,  but also technical writing.  I am acquainted with two or three Freelancers who’ve made a nice piece of change in the latter category.  It’s very boom and bust,  but the money is sometimes there.   Also,  Freelancers pay Freelancer colleagues to produce content for websites,  blogs,  newsletters and marketing collateral.   Writers need no special equipment,  other that a computer and writing software like Apache OpenOffice or Scrivener.  

Translating

I have a friend who regularly gets assignments translating Arabic and German to English and vice versa  (hello George!),  although he has other revenue streams in addition.   According to the American Translators Association,  their certified translators average $72,000/year and those without that certification average $53,000.   As you’d expect,  much depends upon the language you translate.   No surprise that there is a big demand for Spanish translation,  with Arabic,  Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin),  French,  German,  Japanese and Korean also showing strong demand.

Photography

Photography has long had the potential to produce a healthy Freelance income.   Wedding photographers have traditionally commanded large sums and they continue to do so,  in spite of robust competition from videographers.   Portrait photographers also command high prices—business owners and corpoate execs need a professional headshot for websites,  annual reports and other promotional uses.   E-commerce fattens the wallets of product photographers,  who make items sold on-line look appealing.  Food photography and fashion photography are lucrative sub-specialties.   Those lucky enough to have an  “in”  with colleges and/or big corporations can make a nice living,   as do those who have relationships with busy special event planners.  The downside is that good cameras and Adobe Photo Shop editing software are expensive.

SEO Search Engine Optimization

Freelancers who hope to drive traffic to their website pay confreres Freelancers for this potentially revenue-generating service.   Those new to the field can expect to bill $50.00/hour and allegedly the best known can command up to $500.00/hour from big corporate clients.  It is furthermore essential to be well-versed in the various metrics that prove your worth to clients,  so that satisfied customers can be recruited to give testimonials that help you obtain more clients.

Mobile App Development

Writing software applications for mobile devices like cell phones and tablets lured one million Freelancers to the field in 2010 and no doubt that number has grown significantly.  App development is like a modern day gold rush.   I recently read an article in the New York Times  (11/17/12)  about those who aren’t making money in the app development business and that is the usual scenario.  As author David Streitfeld details in his comprehensive article,  don”t quit your day job and developing for Apple is akin to sharecropping.   Still,  you may be the one who can retire on the residuals of the next  “Angry Birds”.  Another downside is that you must spend a hefty sum on the technology needed to test your apps in development.

Social Media Strategy

Millions of Freelance consultants and owners of businesses large and small feel that social media cannot be ignored and that in order to maximize its potential and not leave money on the table,  a specialist must be hired.  If you can convince decision-makers that you know how to choose social media that is appropriate for their business,   plan and execute a social media campaign and know how to  demonstrate measurable results,  you can be off to the races.  Newbies to the field can expect to bill $25.00 /hour and top-drawer known experts can allegedly bill $250.00 /hour to big corporate clients.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Marketing , 2 Comments

Key Words, Long Tails and DIY SEO

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Let’s take a look at what the average Freelancer may want to consider before taking on a do-it-yourself search optimization project.  The hard part is to identify the key words that will cause your business name to appear in an internet search.  The easy part is to embed those beneficial key words into your website, newsletter or social media.

We know that key words are popular search terms and that they are often general: shoes–hotels–flowers–books.  General,  single,  key words are dominated by the corporate whales and they do not favor the Freelancer or small business owner.  When such key words are used,  the little fish land on something like page 32 of a search,  drowned by the likes of J.C. Penney,  Barnes & Noble,  FTD and Sheraton.  Little fish need key words with long tails,  that will help us swim to the top of the page.

Long tail key words are actually phrases,  ideally 3–4 words in length.  The term was coined in 2004 by Chris Anderson of Wired Magazine.  Long tail key words tend not to be dominated by the big guys and using them sometimes allows little guys to appear on the first page of a search.  They are less popular because they are more specific and those who embed those phrases will attain a more favorable page rank.  Think quality over quantity.

The trick is to figure out which long tail key words generate adequate search volume.  You need that tail to be long enough to pull in prospects who are searching for what you sell and so they’re typing in those key words.  ComScore reports that in the month of April 2010 alone,  Americans conducted 15.5 billion internet searches.  At least a few of them are your target customers.

Google data shows that the top five names listed in a search receive 75% of the clicks.  Page one listings in total receive 98% of the clicks.  But how might your prospective clients express what they want when searching for your product or service?  To find out,  check out two free Google tools: Key Word Tool and Wonder Wheel.

To begin,  bring up Google,  search key word tool and click on Adwords Key Word Tool.  Scroll down,  type in a phrase that describes your business and click search.  You will receive perhaps 50-100 variations on your description,  each one a potential long tail key word.

On the right,  see two columns of numbers.  The inner column gives the number of monthly searches  for each phrase done globally and the outer column gives the number of monthly searches for each done locally.  It’s the local column that you want.  Do the math.  If a phrase gets 2000 searches each month,  I recommend that you avoid it.  If a phrase gets 200 searches each month,  I recommend that you give it some thought.

You’re looking for your sweet spot: long tails that get adequate action,  but for which there is not competition that will overwhelm your page rank.  BTW,  if you’re thinking of adding a new service or product to your line,  this is a good way to measure the demand in your locale,  because you’ll learn how many prospects are searching for it.

To access the Wonder Wheel,  bring up Google and type in your proposed long tail key word phrase.  When you get the results,  look to the left column and see the Google name.  Scroll down, see “Wonder Wheel” and click.

You will then see a graphic shaped like a sun with rays.  Your phrase will be in the sun and the rays will contain your variations.  Click on a variation and that will become the sun and you’ll get more variations. 

Once you’ve chosen your preferred long tail key word,  own it.  Incorporate that phrase into your elevator pitch,  advertising,  LinkedIn page,  website,  blog and newsletter.  But always remember that good content rules,  so think sprinkle and not slather.

What will identifying and embedding a long tail key word actually do for your page rank?  No one knows until it’s done,  not you and not the SEO experts for hire.  If nothing else,  you’ll find a better way to describe your services and that’s a plus.  So if you have the time and inclination,  why not DIY and find out?

Thanks for reading and good luck,

Kim

Marketing , Leave a comment

The SEO Algorithm Rhythm

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Maybe you’ve heard about the Google page rank scandal that venerable retailer J.C. Penney perpetrated over the past Christmas season?  The company hired search engine optimization experts to put Penney’s first in nearly all Google searches in the apparel and retail categories,  for everything from athletic wear to little black dresses.

The SEO company certainly earned its consulting fee,  because Penney’s had excellent online sales over the Christmas 2010 season as compared to competitors and its own 4Q 2009 online sales.

The fly in the ointment was that the SEO company allegedly used what are called  “black hat”  techniques that unfairly manipulated the algorithm that Google uses to determine the page rank that businesses in a given search category will receive.  The algorithm is quite mysterious,  has been reported to contain 200+ factors and is said to change frequently.

What is known about the algorithm is that Google counts the number of web pages that link to a particular site.  Links to a website are treated like votes.  The links reflect what the online community at large views as the most relevant websites associated with a search category.  Penney’s SEO consultants managed to create 2000+ links to dubious sites and that allowed the retailer to be the king of all searches in numerous apparel and retail categories.

The function of SEO is to massage Google’s algorithm so that a business will land on page one of a search and as close to the top as possible.  The quest to obtain a number one,  or at least a top ten (10 listings = 1 page),  page rank placement is very intense.

Businesses that reach number one page rank are positioned to rake in the most dollars.  For internet retail searches,  several studies have shown that one-third of searchers click only on the first business listed.  Another third will also click on the second through fifth listings.  If a business does not appear on the first page,  it is literally out of the picture and may as well not be listed at all.

Hence,  a plethora of SEO experts have come to the rescue,  to scoop billable hours from nervous business owners who are scrambling to remain competitive in a troubled economy.  Bringing prospects to your website is the name of the game and with some luck,  a few of them will become your clients.  But should you pay someone to do this for your website?  Maybe,  maybe not.

To sort this out,  think about how those in your industry usually get clients.  Is it standard for prospects to conduct searches,  peruse the websites of those with whom they are not familiar and make inquiries that sometimes create the trust level that leads to a sale?  Or do clients usually come in as the result of face to face meetings and recommendations?  Or all of the above?

Of course,  whether or not online business is significant,  a strong page rank can only make your business look more substantial,  no matter how clients find you.  Even those who come in through referrals may do a search to find out how you rank,  just for the heck of it.

But the question remains about paying someone to put your business on page one.  If you’re holding a few extra dollars,  then why not,  I suppose ?  However,  hiring an SEO expert does not necessarily mean that your page rank objective will be achieved.  There is no shortage of SEO practitioners,  but there is a significant body of anecdotal evidence that suggests the outcome of their work can be underwhelming.  Caveat emptor.

My big question is,  if it is true that Google changes the algorithm frequently,  then what is the shelf-life of prime SEO placement for the average Freelancer,  whose budget for the project is likely to be less than $1000.00?  How long will that keep me on page one? Also,  can I do my own SEO work by using key words and phrases that will capture the attention of Google?  More on this topic next week.

N.B.–Because the February – March session sold out,  I have been invited to reprise  “Become Your own Boss: Effective Business Plan Writing”  at Boston Center for Adult Education 122 Arlington Street in Boston on three successive Mondays,  May 9, 16 & 23 from 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM.  For more information or to register please visit http://bcae.org or call 617.267.4430.

Thanks for reading,

Kim