The Freelancer Life: Meet Dan Brooks
Meet Dan, a Technical SEO consultant for a large SEO agency in the UK who started freelancing to top up his income during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dan loves nothing more than getting stuck into a new project and talks to us about why he became a freelancer and his top tips for anyone thinking about working for themselves.
“When I made it clear that I was looking to work with businesses as me (and not my brand name) I found that it was a lot easier to find new opportunities.”
Hello, Welcome!
Tell us a little bit about yourself, what you do and how long you have been doing it for?
I'm a Technical SEO consultant for Aira - the best large SEO agency in the UK. I've been involved in SEO for more than 10 years and in my spare time, I work with a small number of clients to help them improve their organic traffic and rankings.
Why did you first become a freelancer?
I was pushed into the freelancing world as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. I needed to find a way of topping up my income whilst placed on the government’s job retention scheme.
Where’s your favourite place to work from aside from your home and why?
I really enjoy being in an office environment. The day to day discussions around different strategies and techniques all contributes to a better, more productive working day.
Share your struggles - what do you find hardest about working for yourself and why? How have you found ways to combat these parts of working for yourself?
I think by far, the most difficult thing I've encountered is finding potential projects and freelance opportunities. It's really tough but so rewarding when you win that first pitch. Besides that, having access to premium tools becomes limited but it forces you to find new ways to continue providing the same great service every time.
Share your perks - what do you enjoy most about working for yourself and why?
I really enjoy having the ability to take a slightly longer lunch break and just switch off for an hour or so.
What are your top tips for anyone thinking about working for themselves?
The best piece of advice I got was actually very recent. When I first started looking for freelance work I assumed that I needed a brand name, business website etc. In actual fact, I'd spent my entire SEO career to date building my personal brand and reputation. When I made it clear that I was looking to work with businesses as me (and not my brand name) I found that it was a lot easier to find new opportunities. So my advice would be to ask yourself - would it be easier getting more enquiries as a personal brand or something entirely new?
“I really enjoy being in an office environment. The day to day discussions around different strategies and techniques all contributes to a better, more productive working day.”
What are your top 3 recommendations - podcasts, books, people to follow, sources of inspiration etc. and why?
What role does collaboration play for you?
It's really important - especially when you're working with multiple developers or PPC consultants. Understanding what we're all doing individually makes a massive difference and helps achieve the clients end goals.
What do you love to do? What makes you tick and what do you simply love doing?
Professionally, I enjoy getting stuck into a new project. I really like being able to identify quick fixes for clients. As well as that, I enjoy doing keyword research - I've ended up becoming a bit of a specialist and even run workshops at BrightonSEO twice a year which is something I would never have thought would happen!
Personally, I'm a big sports fan. I'll literally watch anything and love getting stuck into a good binge-worthy tv series.
What are you really good at? What’s your marketing superpower?
I specialise in Technical SEO. That means looking at the more complicated aspects of a website so search engines like Google and Bing can crawl it, index it and rank it within their results pages. I've worked with businesses from all over the world, from Europe to North America and continue to work with local and national businesses.
What is the best project you’ve worked on since going freelance?
I can't share names but it was for a local business close to me. I took over from their existing SEO agency who were sending the same auto-generated reports and audits every month. Within a few days of tweaking the keyword targeting and PPC campaign setup, there was an instant impact - they even generated more than 40 new business leads in a single day. Something that the previous agency was never able to achieve.
What were you doing this time last year? What have you learnt or how have you changed since then?
I was still working for Aira - I love my job. As for freelancing, I wasn't actively seeking projects.
Want to learn more about Dan? Take a look at his website daniel-brooks.co.uk, listen to his podcast, or give him a follow on Twitter @seodanbrooks.