Most freelance consultants either ignore SEO entirely or overthink it. In reality, the basics are straightforward and doing them well is enough to make a meaningful difference to how many people find you through search. Here’s what actually matters.
Start with what people actually search for
The foundation of SEO is understanding what your potential clients type into Google. “Freelance communications consultant London”, “communications strategy consultant for hire”, “freelance comms support” — these are the kinds of phrases you want your website to show up for. Use Google’s autocomplete and “People also ask” to find real search terms, not just the ones you think make sense.
Optimise your key pages
For each page, include the relevant search phrase in: the page title, the first paragraph, one or two headings, and the meta description. Don’t stuff keywords unnaturally — write for readers first, and make sure the phrase appears in the places where Google looks for signals about what a page is about.
Your homepage and services page are the most important. Each service you offer (“communications strategy”, “social media consulting”) should ideally have its own page with content focused on that specific service.
Write useful content regularly
Search engines reward websites that publish useful, relevant content consistently. A blog or articles section that answers real questions your clients have — “how to write a communications strategy”, “what does a comms audit involve” — drives traffic and builds authority over time. This doesn’t need to be frequent; one good piece a month is enough.
Technical basics
Make sure your site loads quickly (under 3 seconds), works on mobile, and uses HTTPS. Add your site to Google Search Console so you can see what searches are driving traffic and fix any indexing issues. These are table stakes — without them, the rest of your SEO work is undermined.
The SEO audit checklist below walks you through the key checks for your freelance website, covering on-page optimisation, technical basics, and content.