Three years ago I was wondering: How to become SEO virtual assistant with no experience?
And people told me: work for free. And I listened to them! Biggest mistake ever.
In this post, I will tell you few things I wish someone told me back then…
Who Is This Article For?
This article is for people who has basic understanding of SEO, but don’t have any proven experience or SEO project under their belt.
So, if you don’t have any clue what SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is I suggest you start here.
What Exactly SEO VA Does?
Here are some of the basics every SEO should know:
- Keyword research
- SEO writing
- Link building
- Google analytics
- Competition analysis
There are over 200 ranking factors and tasks you can learn doing. Knowing few of these can be enough for the beginning.
What Are You Good At?
Now, if you are just starting, you need to know what you enjoy doing.
For example, I didn’t liked writing articles for clients.
But I liked working on technical things, fixing internal links, publishing articles, keyword research.
Even creating briefs for writers.
I suggest you pick few things and invest one month learning more about the topic.
Whether it’s keyword research, SEO writing, or link building.
Start small and start making money working these things, and when you notice that you like certain tasks, learn more and become better at it.
6 Tips on How to Become SEO Virtual Assistant With No Experience
Here I made a checklist on how to become a virtual assistant with no experience.
1 – Focus On Few Specific Tasks
After you read more about SEO try to find yourself in few tasks.
I know that is not an easy task, but you’re not getting married here.
You only pick few tasks and learn more about these, and start applying for jobs.
Never say I know everything to the client.
It’s better to say that you are beginner, you are comfortable doing these few things and want to build confidence, positive testimonial and experience.
2 – Set Upwork Profile Up
You might hear from people: “Build a blog or portfolio website!”.
But you will spend at least $300 or more.
I would suggest creating free Upwork profile.
It looks professional, and it shows that you are serious about this.
Yes, in the first few months you will be applying for jobs unsuccessfully, but if you’re in this long term, it’s good to have the Upwork profile – here is my profile.
3 – No Work For Free
It doesn’t matter from what perspective you are looking at this, working for free is wrong.
Maybe if you are working a month or two for free in Google or Apple is a good thing to brag about.
But if you are working on Upwork or for some blogger for free that is not right.
Also, when I am a client, I would never let someone work for me for free.
Being a cheap SEO virtual assistant is not what you want.
4 – Reaching Out to Clients
I was applying for jobs for 2 months until I land a decent job on Upwork.
I set up profile, but had no positive ratings.
In the meantime, I was sending emails to bloggers and asking for a job.
You don’t need fancy tools.
Just Google.
Start sending short proposals to blog owners.
Be honest.
Tell them that you are just starting out in the SEO world and list the several tasks that you can do for them.
I know, it’s a slow process.
And you will spend hours looking for nice blogs and emails, but you want to work as SEO virtual assistant, right?
5 – Learn to Communicate Clearly
When you land a job, no matter how busy you are, always be honest with clients.
And be on time.
Send clear emails, ask questions only if you can’t find them on Google.
If you are a confident speaker, use Slack, or phone.
Be clear when you don’t understand something.
Clients are busy, and they don’t want to spend 15 minutes confused reading your email.
Believe me, I was lousy VA at first.
My English is bad, but I’m always responsive.
And when I remember my beginnings, I would spend more energy on this part.
6 – Keep Your Current Job
I bet you already have a job.
However, maybe you will see after 6 months or few years that you don’t like working as VA.
And that’s okay.
If you start making enough money, and you like start liking it – then quit your job.
I was a part-time pizza delivery guy for 2 years because I didn’t have enough money to pay bills.
And I had problems that are not related to this topic.
Anyways, be smart and pay attention on your entire life situation…
Not only earnings and SEO.
FAQs
How much do I need to invest to become SEO virtual assistant?
Forget about how to become a virtual assistant from home for free.
You will need decent laptop, internet connection, $15 for Upwork (first month), and email address.
Considering that time is money as well, you will need at least month or two for landing a first job.
Do SEO virtual assistants make good money?
Beginners are making $10 per hour.
If you become good at it, you can make up to $50 per hour.
What are the benefits of being a SEO virtual assistant?
You will learn a lot from you clients, and you can create your own blog, after you learn from them.
Work from home, choosing your clients and being familiar with one of the coolest skills today is pretty cool as well.
Final Thoughts
When I was wondering how to become SEO virtual assistant with no experience I didn’t know that it will be painful as it was.
But also, I didn’t know that it will be this rewarding.
Anyways, I wish you the best of luck, and you can always reach out to me if you have questions.