I sold my SEO agency for $350,000 just before COVID hit—back when people still thought you needed an office, an overpriced printer, fancy chairs, desks, and all the other bloated expenses that came with looking “legit.”
At the time, we were pulling in around $40K a month, but those unnecessary costs ate into our margins and dragged down the final valuation. If I knew then what I know now, I would’ve run leaner, scaled smarter, and walked away with a lot more. So if you’re thinking about how to start an SEO company, consider this Marvelous article as your cheat code.
Laying the Foundation: Your Business Blueprint
Before you dive headfirst into optimizing websites, you need a solid business foundation. Think of it as the technical SEO for your own company – crucial for long-term health and performance.
Define Your Niche and Target Market
While SEO is broad, specializing can give you a significant edge. For instance, focusing on SaaS companies means you’ll understand their unique challenges: complex product explanations, lead generation through content, and often, a global audience. This specialization allows you to tailor your services, speak their language, and become a recognized authority.
- Why Niche Down?
- Reduced Competition: Instead of competing with every SEO agency, you’re a big fish in a smaller, more specific pond.
- Higher Perceived Value: Clients pay more for specialists who truly understand their industry.
- Streamlined Marketing: Your marketing efforts become highly targeted and more effective.
- Deep Expertise: You develop profound knowledge of a specific industry’s SEO needs, allowing you to deliver superior results.
Craft Your Business Plan
Even if it’s a lean one, a business plan is your roadmap. It forces you to think through your services, pricing, marketing, and financial projections.
- Key Components:
- Executive Summary: A brief overview of your company and goals.
- Company Description: What you do, your mission, and your vision.
- Services Offered: Detail your SEO services (e.g., technical SEO audits, content strategy, link building for SaaS).
- Market Analysis: Who are your target clients (SaaS founders, marketers)? Who are your competitors?
- Marketing & Sales Strategy: How will you acquire clients?
- Management Team: Even if it’s just you, outline your experience.
- Financial Projections: Startup costs, revenue forecasts, profitability.
Legal Structure and Registration
Don’t skip this! Choosing the right legal structure (e.g., Sole Proprietorship, LLC, S-Corp) impacts your liability and taxes. Consult with a legal professional to ensure you’re compliant.
- Steps:
- Register your business name.
- Obtain necessary licenses and permits.
- Get an Employer Identification Number (EIN) if needed.
- Open a dedicated business bank account. This is crucial for separating personal and business finances.
Mastering Your Craft: Services & Strategy
Once your foundation is set, it’s time to focus on the core of your business: delivering exceptional SEO results.
Core SEO Services to Offer
For SaaS companies, a comprehensive approach is often best. Consider offering:
- Technical SEO Audits: Ensuring the website’s crawlability, indexability, and performance (Core Web Vitals are huge here).
- Content Strategy & Optimization: Developing content pillars, keyword research for SaaS-specific terms, blog post optimization, and content refreshes. This is where AI tools can really shine.
- Link Building & Digital PR: Acquiring high-quality backlinks from relevant industry sites to boost domain authority.
- On-Page SEO: Optimizing page titles, meta descriptions, headings, and content for target keywords.
- Local SEO (if applicable): For SaaS companies with physical offices or local service components.
- SEO Consulting: Offering strategic advice and training to in-house teams.
Pricing Models that Work
Your pricing needs to reflect your value and be competitive. Common models include:
- Retainer-Based: A fixed monthly fee for ongoing services. This provides stable income and is preferred by most clients for long-term partnerships.
- Project-Based: A fixed fee for a specific project (e.g., a one-time technical audit, a content strategy plan).
- Hourly Rate: Less common for full-service SEO, but useful for consulting or ad-hoc tasks.
Pro Tip: Don’t underprice your services. SEO is an investment, not an expense. Position yourself as a partner who delivers ROI, not just a vendor.
Client Acquisition Strategies
How will you get those first few clients? It’s a mix of inbound and outbound efforts.
- Networking: Attend industry events (online and offline), join relevant online communities (e.g., SaaS marketing forums, LinkedIn groups).
- Content Marketing: Practice what you preach! Create valuable blog posts, case studies, and guides on SEO for SaaS. This builds authority and attracts inbound leads.
- Referrals: Leverage your existing network. Offer incentives for successful referrals.
- Cold Outreach (Strategic): Identify SaaS companies that could genuinely benefit from your services and craft personalized outreach messages.
- Partnerships: Collaborate with web design agencies, marketing consultants, or PR firms who don’t offer SEO.
My Podcast: How to Run a Successful SEO Company
Before I sold my agency, I recorded a 17-episode podcast breaking down everything I learned building and running a successful SEO company. Each episode is short, focused, and packed with real experience.
🔍 Full Episode List:
- Getting Started – How I launched my SEO company
- Stay a Student – Why you should always keep learning in SEO
- Is SEO Dying – Spoiler: It’s not
- Pricing – How to price your hourly and monthly SEO services
- Link Earning – Why earning links > building them
- Your SEO Services – How to deliver ethical SEO that works
- Agile SEO – Why agility is everything in a changing industry
- Cash Flow – Staying lean and paying contractors right
- Employee Incentive – How to keep your team invested
- Company Culture – Keep your people happy, loyal, and productive
- Finding Leverage – Stop doing admin work, delegate like a CEO
- Staying Lean – Cut the fat. Maximize profit.
- Communication – Sell better, manage better, retain better
- Contracts – My actual SEO contract template (yes, it’s free)
- Sales – How I closed deals and stood out
- Top 10 Takeaways – What I wish I knew from day one
- Getting Acquired – Selling my agency and everything that came with it
Each episode is 6 to 26 minutes long—perfect for a walk, commute, or focused work break.
Building Your Tech Stack: Tools for Success
Running an SEO company efficiently requires the right tools. These aren’t just nice-to-haves; they’re essential for analysis, execution, and management.
Essential SEO Tools
Keyword Research & Competitive Analysis
- Marvelous — Simple, AI-powered keyword and topic suggestions for any marketing site
- Ahrefs — Advanced SEO tool for keyword research, backlinks, and competitor analysis
- SEMRush — Advanced SEO and marketing suite for keyword tracking and PPC insights
AI-Powered Content Creation & Planning
- Marvelous Content Studio — Generate blog posts, landing pages, and social content by topic using website-specific AI
- Jasper — General AI copywriting for blogs, ads, and product pages
- Copy.ai — AI tool for short-form marketing content and product descriptions
Technical SEO Auditing
- Marvelous SEO + AI Audit — Simple, fast audit with AI-powered recommendations and visibility signals
- Screaming Frog SEO Spider — Advanced desktop crawler for deep technical audits
- Google Search Console — Free Google tool for indexing issues, errors, and performance
- Lighthouse — Open-source tool for auditing performance, accessibility, SEO, and more
Rank Tracking
- Marvelous Website Profile — Tracks SEO signals and AI visibility for your top marketing pages
- AccuRanker — High-speed keyword rank tracker with shareable reporting
- SERPWatcher — Rank tracking tool by Mangools, focused on keyword performance over time
Analytics & Growth Insights
- Marvelous Growth Lab — Weekly AI-generated growth ideas personalized to your website and audience
- Google Analytics 4 (GA4) — Understand user behavior and traffic sources
- Hotjar — Behavior analytics and heatmaps for UX insights
- Mixpanel — Advanced product and event-based analytics
AI-Powered Content & Marketing Tools
When it comes to content, which is a huge part of modern SEO, tools like Marvelous can be a game-changer. This AI-powered platform helps you generate content topics, full articles, and marketing ideas, which is incredibly valuable for your SaaS clients who need a consistent stream of high-quality content to rank. Imagine being able to quickly spin up blog post ideas or even draft initial content for your clients, freeing up your time for more strategic SEO work. It’s like having an extra content strategist on your team, allowing you to scale your content offerings without scaling your headcount proportionally.
Other Business & Productivity Tools
Don’t forget the operational side of things!
- Accounting Software: QuickBooks, Xero. Essential for managing invoices, expenses, and taxes.
- Project Management: Asana, Trello, ClickUp. Keep track of client projects, tasks, and deadlines.
- CRM (Client Relationship Management): HubSpot CRM (free tier available), Salesforce Essentials. Manage leads, client communications, and sales pipelines.
- Communication: Slack, Zoom. For internal team communication and client meetings.
- Proposal & Contract Management: PandaDoc, Better Proposals. Streamline your sales process.
Scaling & Growth: Beyond the Basics
Once you’ve landed your first few clients, the next challenge is sustainable growth.
Building Your Team
As your client base grows, you’ll need help. Start with freelancers or part-time contractors for specialized tasks like content writing, link building, or technical SEO. As revenue stabilizes, consider full-time hires.
- Key Roles to Consider:
- SEO Specialist (generalist or niche-specific)
- Content Writer/Strategist
- Link Builder
- Project Manager
Client Retention and Relationship Management
It’s far easier and more cost-effective to retain existing clients than to acquire new ones. Focus on:
- Transparent Reporting: Clearly show the ROI of your efforts. Use dashboards and regular reports.
- Proactive Communication: Keep clients updated, even if there’s no major news. Anticipate their needs.
- Exceeding Expectations: Go the extra mile. Deliver more than promised.
- Regular Check-ins: Schedule monthly or quarterly calls to discuss progress and future strategy.
Staying Ahead in SEO
SEO is a dynamic field. What worked last year might not work today. Dedicate time to continuous learning.
- Follow Industry Leaders: Read blogs (e.g., Search Engine Journal, Moz, Ahrefs), attend webinars, and listen to podcasts.
- Test and Experiment: Run your own SEO tests on personal projects or internal sites.
- Attend Conferences: Network and learn from the best in the industry.
- Google’s Updates: Stay informed about algorithm changes and adapt your strategies accordingly.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1: How much capital do I need to start an SEO company?
A: You can start lean, often with just a few hundred to a few thousand dollars for initial tools, legal fees, and a website. The biggest investment is often your time and expertise. As you grow, you’ll reinvest in more advanced tools and team members.
Q2: How long does it take to see results from SEO?
A: SEO is a long-term strategy. While some initial improvements can be seen in 3-6 months, significant, sustainable results often take 6-12 months or even longer, especially for competitive keywords. It requires patience and consistent effort.
Q3: Should I specialize in a niche or offer general SEO services?
A: While offering general services might seem to open more doors, specializing (e.g., in SaaS SEO) allows you to become an expert, command higher fees, and attract clients who specifically need your deep industry knowledge. It often leads to more sustainable growth.
Q4: How do I prove my value to potential clients without a large portfolio?
A: Start by offering a free audit or a small, low-cost project to demonstrate your capabilities. Create case studies from your own website’s SEO success or even pro-bono work for a friend’s business. Focus on your process, expertise, and understanding of their specific challenges.
Q5: What’s the biggest challenge when starting an SEO company?
A: Often, it’s client acquisition and managing expectations. SEO results aren’t instant, and educating clients on the long-term nature of the work while consistently delivering progress reports is key. Building a strong reputation and referral network takes time and consistent effort.
Conclusion
Starting an SEO company is an exciting and rewarding venture, especially with the ever-growing demand from SaaS companies and other businesses seeking online visibility. It requires a blend of technical expertise, strategic thinking, and strong business acumen. By laying a solid foundation, mastering your craft, leveraging the right tools (like Marvelous for content generation), and committing to continuous learning, you can build a thriving agency that not only achieves significant growth but also genuinely helps businesses succeed in the digital realm. The journey won’t always be easy, but the impact you can make on your clients’ success, and your own, is incredibly fulfilling. Go forth and optimize!
