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SEO tools plays an important part for any SEO professional. Some offered online are free to use, some are paid, and some are free to try. With the growth of the online marketing industry, it does not come as a surprise that we now have a lot of these tools out there.

So what kind of tools am I talking about, and which ones do I recommend? Well there are a lot of them out on the web, really. Most of the time, it actually just comes down to preference. So in no particular order, here are my take:

Google Analytics

I would say that this is a given for any person or agency doing online marketing. It's the main tool you go to and use to monitor your website's performance.

Google Webmaster Tool

If you're a basketball fan, you probably know the one-two punch of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. Same goes with these two tools. Google Analytics and Webmaster is just as potent in getting you the data you need.Sync them together and you're in a roll.

Page Speed Insights

This tool is perfect in checking how fast your website loads. It even gives you a list of elements that you can look into so you can address them allowing your website to load even faster.

SEO Snippet Tool

SEO snippet tool is a simple tool that helps you create a well optimised meta data for SERP. It gives you a preview of what your meta data would look like once it is shown on the search engine results page.

Adwords Text Generator

Creating Ad Text on Google Adwords can be tough especially when you have to create call-to-actions with just a limited amount of characters. The Adwords text generator allows you to draft an ad without logging in to your Google Adwords account each time and allows you to go over the character limit to help you in creating variations of your text ads.

SpyFu

SpyFu is what we call a "freemium" tool. In fact, this tool is excellent when it comes to monitoring your competition. It identifies the organic ranks, and keywords that were bought on Google Adwords as well as every ad variation of the website provided. It basically "Spies" on your competitors, hence the name. The free option only allows you to gather a limited data. But that amount of information could spell the difference in plotting out your next strategy.

Seo Quake

Though others may find that SEO Quake is already past it's prime, it still is a helpful tool in general, especially if your going for a quick check on your on-page optimisation. The browser extension is available for Chrome and Firefox.

Tag Assistant

Tag assistant is another recommended extension to install on your browser. This Google product helps you identify any tags on your website and informs you if it is working correctly through a systematic color coded scheme. It is highly recommended to have this installed.

Google Keyword Planner

Of course, Keyword planner should be on this list. It helps give you an idea on the keyword's average monthly searches, competition and suggested bids. You can also target specific location and languages as needed.

Google Trends

Sometimes, you would need to get into the nitty-gritty details of a business. You can either check on the search terms popularity, or ride the wave of the current trend to get in more traffic to your site. Depending on the need, Google Trend can definitely be helpful tool for you.

Website Penalty Indicator

Its a simple tool that helps every SEO analyst identify if the website being managed has been penalised. With this tool, you are able to analyze the impact of every algorithm change. It provides you with all the updates and their impact on your organic traffic.

Free Keyword Tool

This tool allows you to analyze keywords and use them efficiently. It can be used for different purposes such as finding good long-tail keywords, for analysis, grouping, suggestions and negative keyword discovery. This great tool is based on a huge data base which can provide you with unique results.

What is Seasonal Marketing? Well a lot of entrepreneurs sees this as an opportunity to gather more leads and generate more sales by capitalising on an upcoming calendar event. This is most especially important for online businesses vouching for search terms in the paid advertising channel such as Google Adwords.

And, since It's February, let us take Valentine's Day as our example.

Let us see how V-Day trended in 2014, and compare it with last year.

Note that these figures are targeted in Australia.

With the continuous innovations on internet and technology, there has since been a significant increase in searches especially now that an access to the world wide web is as easy as tapping it on your smart phone (Mobile marketing now plays big part). Apart from that, just look at the figures and how it just spikes up from January!

Keyword comparison:

Keyword	2014
♥ valentines day ideas	14800
♥ valentines day gifts	9900
♥ valentines gifts for him	8100
♥ valentines day ideas for him	5400
♥ valentines gifts	4400

Keyword	2015
♥ valentines day ideas	14800
♥ valentines gifts for him	14800
♥ valentines day gifts	9900
♥ valentines gifts	6600
♥ valentine gifts for him	3600

Personal insight: Look how women now takes a slice on valentines! ☺

Closer it gets to the event, the hotter it gets!

Borrowing the data from Microsoft Bing, it even shows a whole lot of searches the closer it gets to the event. Time to bump up that bids and start being aggressive!

Of course, bidding on these keywords will come at a hefty cost per click. But then, if you are doing a seasonal campaign, you know there's a high demand for it, so it's truly worth while investing. Down the wire, it goes with how you are able to implement your strategies, and how innovative you are in marketing it.

Personal insight: Set demographics to target women on "ideas for him" keywords.

Conclusion:

You see, when you do SEO and Online Marketing for your clients, it is not just enough that you know how to do it. Having the foresight to plan, implement and execute is also a huge plus as it gets you a step or two ahead of your competitors. And as a bonus for you, suggesting such plan exhibits genuine dedication to bring in success for their business, and thus making you a worthwhile investment!

So You're probably here because you wanted to become a freelance SEO consultant. But what does it really take to become one? You've heard some of your friends going freelance and seemed to have done so with relative ease. Do you leave your current job and immediately tackle your first project?

It sounds just too good to be true if it was ever the case. And in fact, it is one of the biggest misconceptions about freelancing. Sure you get to stay at home, and have a lot of flexibility but the truth is you just have to fight it out — with blood, sweat, and tears.

So how did I set myself up to become one? Read on...

1. Vision

Remember when people always ask you "How do you see yourself after 10 years?" Well, back then, I always said "Being my own boss, running my own business." It did not mean much, but I was not aware I was slowly growing that dream to become my reality. Just so we're clear, I am not there yet. No, not even close! But with that Goal in mind, it shouldn't be impossible.

2. Knowledge is Power

When I finally knew what I wanted to do (and that took longer than some), I needed to learn more of that craft. In my case. It was doing SEO. Working with computers, being online, connected to the internet, and working on websites. I did not have a background in IT, Computer Sciences, or any field related to that matter, but I knew I had to start somewhere. From there I took to the web, and searched, read, and educated myself about the world of search engine optimisation and online marketing.

3. Get Yourself a Mentor

During the course of my learning, I was lucky enough to be taken under the wings of my SEO Manager. There I was taught the tools of the trade, and essentially received my first experience as an SEO consultant. Again, not everything comes easy and my job was almost on the rocks the moment I set sail. But with proper guidance, and with my willingness to learn, I was able to get to weather the storm.

4. Build your Profile

The difference between an SEO freelancer versus an SEO employee is that, the latter focuses on anything related to SEO. You need to look for clients because that's a job for the sales people. So the question is, how can I convince clients without having anything to showcase my skills with. From here, I built my name around being an SEO Professional. Never mind that my Facebook's a mess, since anyway, it isn't the most professional social platform there is. But I placed emphasis on building my name on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google+.

From here, it was easier to reach out and connect, which leads me to number four.

4. Connect and Build Your Network

As a freelancer, you are inclined to work everything on your own. From getting clients, research and analysis to implementation and reporting, and down to billing, and invoicing. It's gonna be all you! So what's the best way to take all in? By reaching out to everyone you know. Help is always around the corner. You just have to ask. It does not necessarily mean hiring them to the job, but rather, helping you most especially when you are just starting to freelance. You need all that connection for referrals, there opinions, and simply just for the help and the morale support that YOU CAN GET THE JOB DONE!

In my case, I only had a handful at the time. So how did I do it? I joined forums, and communities, liked pages relevant to digital marketing, and joined discussions. Life is just much easier when you've built that network.

5. Be Nice and Don't Burn Bridges

Surely, with a diverse network of people, you won't get along with them all the time. However, a healthy debate every now and then, is a healthy argument that sets your mind to look at a different perspective. Be open to suggestions, be open to criticisms. One day, you may just become that boss you always dreamed to be, and no subordinate would ever want to work for a dictator and a closed minded narcissist!

6. Share and Influence

Finally, with all that experience and knowledge you've gain along the way, nothing is ever more rewarding than sharing and influencing others. Some people don't share their strategies because they are too afraid that they may get beaten in their trade. Well speaking as an SEO freelancer at least, the SEO acceoted today, may no longer be acceptable tomorrow. So there isn't a point to keep current strategies and trend from someone. In fact, the more you share, the more you gain that trust and connections which furthers your Brand!

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So that's my take on becoming an SEO freelancer. I do hope I was able to inspire and bring you to the right mindset. Speaking of, as a side note, it also helped that I was once employed as a customer service representative. It honed my client relations so much that it helps me to face clients with a pleasant persona. So remember, if your potential client doesn't like you, they wouldn't buy anything from you even if you are the most qualified freelancer of them all.

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