{"id":17085,"date":"2022-12-08T10:09:30","date_gmt":"2022-12-08T10:09:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.searchenginejournal.com\/freelance-seo-professionals-survey-results\/467692\/"},"modified":"2022-12-08T10:09:30","modified_gmt":"2022-12-08T10:09:30","slug":"the-freelance-seo-professionals-journey-how-to-get-started-in-seo-survey-results-via-sejournal-mattgsouthern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marketingnewsbox.com\/?p=17085","title":{"rendered":"The Freelance SEO Professional\u2019s Journey, How To Get Started In SEO [Survey Results] via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SEO is a field that\u2019s ripe with opportunities to build fulfilling careers, though there\u2019s no clearly defined path to getting started.<\/p>\n

There aren\u2019t necessarily any degrees required to work in SEO. This leaves many aspiring practitioners left to wonder how they can prove they\u2019re qualified for the job.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll probably get ten different answers if you ask ten SEO pros how they got their first job. One or more of those answers is likely to revolve around freelancing.<\/p>\n

Working as an independent contractor is how a meaningful percentage of people get their start in SEO. Some use freelancing as a stepping stone to an in-house or agency position, while others build their whole career around it.<\/p>\n

According to data in our State of SEO in 2022, practitioners can find significant success doing freelance work. Close to 45% of freelance and contract respondents reported earning $75,000 to $149,000.<\/p>\n

In this article, we\u2019ll look deeper at the data surrounding this curious group of SEO professionals.<\/p>\n

How do you become an SEO freelancer? What does an SEO freelancer do? Most importantly, how does an SEO freelancer get clients?<\/p>\n

This article expands on the data found in our annual State Of SEO Report<\/a>. Download the full report to see the first-party data.<\/p>\n

Many SEO Professionals Get Their Start As Freelancers<\/h2>\n

Freelancing is a popular choice for SEO professionals early in their careers.<\/p>\n

When we asked how long SEO pros have been working in the field, over 45%<\/a> of freelancer respondents said they have less than five years of experience.<\/p>\n

That number isn\u2019t surprising when you understand why many take the freelancing path in the first place.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not an industry veteran with an established portfolio, finding full-time work in an in-house role or agency position can be challenging.<\/p>\n

In a field without formalized education, freelancing is a path toward building the experience employers are looking for.<\/p>\n

With that said, freelancing isn\u2019t exclusively an early-stage career type of gig. As our data in the next section shows, freelancers tend to earn a higher-than-average salary, which makes it a viable option to pursue long-term.<\/p>\n

Freelancers Are A Smaller Group, But With Higher Average Income<\/h2>\n

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, 44.5% of freelance and contract respondents report earning salaries above $75,000 per year.<\/p>\n

That number is especially notable when you look at how many years of experience freelancers have.<\/p>\n