Change your approach if you want to score high-paying clients

Adrijana says: “Acquiring high-paying SEO clients requires a different approach that a lot of SEOs are not talking about.”

Why does it require a different approach, and what does that approach look like?

“When you want to move from full-time SEO to freelancing SEO, or get your own clients on the side, most SEOs are not thinking about the fact that it’s a completely new skill. You already have SEO experience and knowledge, but when you want to get a client, that is a business skill, which you probably haven't developed yet.

A lot of SEOs are trying to get their clients in the same way that they would get a regular job, but this is a completely different thing. There is a gap between understanding SEO, where you are now, and the goal that you want to achieve. The goal is to have a high-paying SEO client, but that is something that you will acquire in a different way from what you are currently doing.

When we talk about branding, negotiation, and sales skills, SEOs don’t feel comfortable with them because we are not salespeople. People post on LinkedIn and expect to get an SEO client, but they are just repeating the skills and knowledge that they already have, and that is not working. You can tell that it is not working because you are not getting the high-paying clients that you really want.”

What are SEOs doing wrong in the way that they share their knowledge online and go to SEO events?

“If you want to get an SEO client, that client is usually another business owner, not an SEO consultant.

What SEOs are doing, especially on LinkedIn, is sharing their SEO knowledge in terms of algorithm updates, what's happening, how to rank for specific content, etc. – but these are all SEO terms.

On the other side, you have a business owner who doesn't understand those SEO terms. Instead of just sharing your knowledge, you need to talk the language that business owners will understand.”

What language is more likely to resonate with your target audience?

“What I tend to see are LinkedIn posts like, ‘If you want your websites to rank on the first page of Google, you need to do X,’ and then they’re proposing a content strategy, a technical audit, or an SEO strategy.

What you are missing is the business language. What will a business owner get by implementing this? Business language is: ‘How to increase sales by 10%,’ and ‘How to get increased revenue from your SEO efforts.’ You need to be using business terms and talk about how to get new customers, how to retain customers, how to increase sales, and how to increase revenue, because these are the terms that business owners are thinking in. They are not thinking about SEO rankings and algorithms.

SEOs are sharing SEO knowledge, which is the process that you would be doing for them. They are not sharing the result, which is what your potential clients will actually get out of it.”

Should you be creating content that explains your SEO activities, but is also aligned with business goals?

“One of the most common mistakes that I see SEOs make is thinking that they will get something with one post, one video, or one webinar. Nothing will change by doing this once.

You need to show the value that you have, using these business terms that they will understand. Whenever we hear phrases like, ‘How to increase sales by 10%,’ SEOs get stuck on the idea that they can't promise anything. However, the way to brand yourself as an SEO expert who can help business owners is by showing them the value of what you are doing and what is wrong with what they are doing.

Perhaps they are writing 10 articles per month, but they are not producing customers. So, you can show them what might be wrong with these blogs, what’s wrong with the messaging, etc. Then, you can match this with the results they want: new customers, new memberships, etc. Always combine it with the result of that SEO effort.

That way, with every post and every video, you are providing the value that they will get by working with you. Of course, it won’t happen in one post, or even one month. You need a consistency that demonstrates what you know and what a business owner can get by working with you, not just sharing SEO knowledge, terms, and processes.”

Can you use case studies as a way to demonstrate the value of what you do as an SEO?

“If you are lucky enough to be able to share a case study, that's perfect. Usually, SEOs can't share those because either they are currently working for that client, the client doesn't allow them to, or they are currently working in an agency.

If you have a case study, that's perfect. You can use it, share it, share what you’ve done, and share the business results that you have achieved. If you don’t have those case studies, the way to establish yourself as an SEO expert who knows what you’re doing is by branding yourself. You brand yourself by sharing your value and connecting SEO to business goals.

Of course, all of our patterns and insecurities come up when we’re doing that, and we think, ‘I can't promise a client that they will get these results.’ However, if you are going over to that SEO freelancer market and you’re asking a client to pay you a significant amount of money, you need to provide value. Otherwise, you will just get stuck in your agency for the next 20 years.

This is your opportunity to become a new person who is both an SEO freelancer and a business owner. You need to gain new skills and become someone who can share these kinds of things without getting uncomfortable, because that’s the person you need to be to get the clients you want.”

How do you identify what conferences to attend, and what do you need to do at these new events?

“When you are starting to get your first clients and you are nobody in the market, you don't have a brand behind you. If you really want to get that new client, instead of just sharing SEO knowledge by going to SEO events and meeting other SEO consultants, you want to go to business events where business owners are.

The people you are networking with at SEO events are other SEO consultants, and they are working for themselves full-time. You might think that an SEO agency owner will give you a project at one of these events, but that’s not going to happen when you are nobody.

When you have a brand and you go to a conference, people recognise you and they want to talk with you. If you're just starting that SEO freelancing journey, even if you have been in SEO for a few years, you are still not a brand on the market yet.

Instead of going to SEO events, it's much easier to go to business events where you are meeting other business owners and making connections. Nobody will give you a job when they meet you for the first time. However, if you have a good connection with them and you share some of the value that you can offer to their company, the next step might be connecting on LinkedIn. Then, that business owner will start to see you every week, see that you are providing value, and begin to see you as someone who can help them.

In that way, you are not chasing people. When you chase people, the answer is no because they instantly recognise that you want to sell something. A better way of approaching and acquiring high-paying clients is by branding yourself on LinkedIn (or any other platform) as someone who actually provides value, and then business owners from other companies will see you as someone who can help them.

In that way, you are getting the invite. You are not chasing them; they are coming to you.”

How does an SEO define their offer, and what offers are more likely to resonate with businesses in 2026?

“That offer should be connected with your experience and the niche that you have worked in the most. This is where you need some direction and specialisation.

In 2026, specialisation is key if you really want to get these high-paying clients, because they don't want to work with people who are just general SEO consultants. They want to work with people who have specific knowledge about a specific industry. That's the first thing.

The second thing is, SEOs often struggle because we present our software as a cheap offer, and we talk about small tasks and small projects. If you really want to have high-paying clients (I always suggest starting with a high-paying client that pays at least €2,000-3,000), then you need to focus your offer on their pain points.

SEOs always start with what we know, but you should start with what the client needs, and then determine whether you can provide that or if you need to get additional support. The only thing that these SEO clients will pay you for is if you can get the result they want. If I'm not a copywriter, then I will get another copywriter, but my client will get the result that they want.

You also need to ask more questions of your clients. What are the pain points they are trying to solve? What results are they looking for? Then, you can send a proposal. 90% of the SEOs who come to me are sending proposals, but they are not getting any responses because they identify the client’s pain points and desired results before creating that offer.

That’s the thing: the offer does not come first. First, you need to determine what problem you are trying to solve and the results you are trying to achieve. Then, you can create an offer that shows how you will do that.”

Adrijana, what's the key takeaway from the tip you shared today?

“If you really want to go from full-time to freelancing and get your own SEO clients, you need to start thinking differently.

The skills that you already have are not enough for the business journey that you're starting.”

Adrijana Vujadin is an SEO Mindset Coach at AV Coaching. Find out more over at AdrijanaVujadin.com.