SEO Freelancing Stories

I’ve built a six-figure freelance business over the last 2 and a half years. An audience of over 50,000 people, and some incredible business relationships. Freelance has afforded me a life I could only ever dream of.

Before I get into the how, let me tell you more about my why.

I’ve been in digital marketing for a decade. Seven of those years have been spent either in-house or at an agency. Both roles have their perks. And both certainly have their challenges.

I was the senior SEO lead at a large UK agency. It was a team of 15-20, and we all worked on clients with varying budgets and in various industries.

I genuinely enjoyed my role, and I was very good at it. But I always wanted more. The salary didn’t reflect my billable hours.

And I knew I always had that burning desire to find out if going solo was how I would change my life.

This curiosity drove me to reach out to those who had done it successfully. I, thankfully, built friendships with people who could guide me on this journey. People like Craig Campbell have been fundamental to my freelance success.

But, this didn’t go down particularly well at the agency.

To give you the shortened version: I was forced out of the door. I was accused of a range of dirty, underhanded things (which weren’t true) that resulted in us parting ways.

This was a pretty rough time for me. COVID had just hit the UK hard. I’d just moved into a new house. I was planning a wedding.

So, naturally, I was a little panicked.

“How the hell am I going to afford to live?”

I did what most people would do: I looked for a new job. I managed to find myself a role at a company in London for £60k a year. It was a huge increase in salary for me, and I genuinely believed I’d take the role.

But, just before I signed that contract, something felt wrong. Despite how I ended up in this position, I knew it was an opportunity to try something new.

And almost impulsively, with everything going wrong in the world, I said, “let’s do it.”

Everything was new to me. The only thing I knew how to do was “be an SEO”.

Despite the glaringly obvious challenges, I couldn’t spend another second unhappy with my career.

And so Ryan Darani “the SEO freelancer” became real. My strategy from the start is the same as it is now: provide value to as many people as possible.

I’m not a sales guy but I’m good at simplifying the SEO process. That’s what I stuck with. I didn’t choose the hard sell route. Instead I leaned into being a resource to my audience.

At the start, that audience was roughly two people. But, if you compare it with now, where my content is seen by close to 500,000 people a month, I’d say the long-term play paid off.

I chose LinkedIn as my go-to platform. I knew other marketers were relying on platforms like Twitter or Facebook Ads to grow their audience so, I saw my opportunity to grow with less competition.
I strategically tested different types of content, different publishing cadences, and networking with different audiences.

Until I found my fit. My segment of the market that supported my lead generation efforts.

LinkedIn has been my biggest source of leads since 2020. I would generate anywhere from 10 - 15 leads a week. My calendar was booked up from my second month of being solo.

This took me from £0 to £10,000 a month very quickly.

I then looked at other people’s audiences. I knew building relationships would be another “growth hack”.

But I’d never do it in a sleasy way. One of my good traits is actually giving a damn about people’s businesses. I love learning from other people. It’s this passion for learning (and just being a good person) that opened up doors for me.

Being featured on:

> Leading publications.
> Multiple SEO features.
> Industry podcasts.
> Webinars.
> Courses.

Never underestimate the power of exploring new mediums for brand exposure.

My growth seemed almost too good to be true. It’s something I wrestle with to this day. Despite my successes, I fight with imposter syndrome just like everyone else. I often find myself fending off self-deprecating thoughts before it clouds my judgement and impacts my business.

It’s something I know other freelancers struggle with. I’m not sure it’s something you ever completely shake off. In some ways, it’s healthy. You’ll never let your business fail because you’re overthinking how to be better.

How to do more. How to be more.

The more successful you are, the more you compare yourself to other successful people.

“How are they earning that kind of money? Am I doing something wrong?”

The inevitability of career turbulence has most freelancers asking “why isn’t anyone else going through this?”

I’m now in my third year of business and, let me tell you, most people in your position are going through the same thing.

Or have at least experienced the doubt you’re going through.

I feel like I’m rambling but what I’m trying to say is two things:

> Don’t feel like you’re not doing “good enough” because others are successful.
> Don’t think freelancing is easy and clients will just sprout from the ground.

It’s a grind. And if you come into this with the wrong mindset (i.e., chasing money) you will fail to build any kind of sustainability in your business.

My goal has always been long-term. I want people to know my name and associate it with being honest, sincere and highly knowledgeable in my field. I think I’ve done a good job so far.

I’m now comfortably making six figures a year but I’ve yet to take my foot off the gas. I’m always pushing myself to learn more. To spot opportunities to pivot. To network with people who are better than I am.

And, another key fact to keep in mind, is you are your business. Most freelancers don’t recognise that scaling is hard. People want to deal with you. You have to be on the calls, in the Slack channels, and in all of the communication.

Think about how you want to position yourself with clients very early on. Trading your time for money will only allow you to scale so far before you burn out.

We all have different thresholds, though. Do what you feel comfortable with. If you want to earn £70,000 a year and that means you’re happy, that’s a win for you. You’re doing it on your own terms.

The monetary value will never mean anything if you’re not happy.

My parting wisdom (if you can call it that) will be to become known for good work, being a good person, and doing right by your clients. Find your lane and stick to it. Don’t look around you for at least six months and you’ll come out on top.

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Ryan Darani, Freelance SEO Consultant
Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn