Building a personal brand as an SEO consultant

A personal brand is not a logo or a tagline. It is what people say about you when you are not in the room: "talk to her about migrations", "he is the one who fixed our international SEO". The goal is to make that sentence specific, and to make sure the right people hear it.

1. Be known for something specific

"SEO consultant" describes thousands of people. "The technical SEO person for large online shops" or "local SEO for clinics" is memorable and easy to recommend. You can work on other things too; the brand is what people remember first.

Pick based on where you have real experience and where clients have problems worth paying to solve.

2. Make one place the source of truth

People will look you up. Have one place that clearly says who you are, what you do, for whom, and how to contact you: your own site, and a complete professional profile. Keep everything else consistent with it: name, photo, headline.

A complete SEOgenz profile, with your skills, experience and services, is one of those places.

3. Show your thinking, regularly

The fastest way to build a reputation is to show how you think about problems:

• Short posts about something you noticed this week.
• Write-ups of problems you solved, with permission and without client secrets.
• Clear explanations of things clients often misunderstand.

Consistency beats volume. One useful post a week for a year does more than ten posts in a burst and then silence. For where to publish, see Where SEO professionals can publish articles for free.

4. Be useful in public

Answer questions in communities. Give credit to others. Share other people's good work. People remember who helped them, and communities are small: the person you help today may refer a client next year.

5. Say no to work that does not fit

Every project you take shapes what people say about you. Taking work far outside your focus dilutes the brand and usually the results. When you turn work down, refer it to someone who does it well; that is part of your reputation too.

6. Collect proof

Ask happy clients for a short testimonial while the result is fresh. Keep a list of results you are allowed to share. Proof turns "I think she is good" into "she did this for us".

What to avoid

• Hype. Guaranteed rankings, "secret tactics" and screenshots without context damage trust with the clients you most want.
• Copying someone else's style. It is obvious, and it makes you forgettable.
• Disappearing. A brand needs to be maintained; a few months of silence and people forget.

Who in SEO do you think has built a personal brand well, and why? Share it in the comments.