Freelance SEO Consultant
Your SEO, handled from start to finish
I help small businesses show up when customers search for what they sell, on Google, on the map, and in AI answers from tools like ChatGPT. I do the research, the writing, the page changes, and the technical work myself, and I explain each step in plain words. I also design and build websites, so when a page needs to change, I change it, from the structure down to the code.
What a freelance SEO consultant does
Five parts, done in the order that matters most for your business.
SEO, short for search engine optimization, is the work that helps a business show up when people search for what it offers. A freelance SEO consultant is one independent person who does that work for a business directly, with no agency in between. People look for this job under a few names, like freelance SEO consultant, freelance SEO specialist, freelance SEO expert. The work behind each name is the same.
The work has five parts:
Research
Finding the keywords your customers use, meaning the words and phrases they type into Google, how often they search them, and which of those searches your business can win.
Structure
Giving your site a page for each thing people search for, and linking those pages so visitors and Google can move between them.
Content
Writing each page so it answers what the searcher wants to know, in the words they use, with the details that help them decide.
Technical health
Pages that load fast, a site Google can read from end to end, links that work, and the code that describes each page to search engines.
Measurement
Tracking the searches you rank for, how many people arrive from search, and how many of those visitors go on to call you or fill in a form.
A good consultant works out which of those parts matter most for your business right now, does that work first, and tells you what changed. A small business gets more from a few things done well than from a long checklist done halfway.
Want to know which parts matter most for you?
Ask meFreelance SEO expert, agency, or package: your options
Three kinds of help, and what each one really gets you.
An owner who wants better search results usually ends up choosing among three kinds of help.
The bargain package
It often starts with an email promising the first page of Google. For a low monthly fee, you get a report each month and few changes you can point to on your site. Some of these packages build links to your site from low-quality directories and link networks, the kind Google's spam rules penalize. When the results don't come, it's hard to tell what the money paid for.
The SEO agency
An agency brings a team, with a salesperson, an account manager, a writer, a technical specialist, and sometimes a link builder. Your business passes from one to the next, and the monthly report comes from the account manager, who may never have worked on your site. When the real problem is the website itself, the fix usually goes back to whoever built it, and that's a different company.
A freelance SEO consultant
One person learns your business, does the work, and answers your questions. Nothing gets relayed through an account manager, and nobody new needs to be brought up to speed each quarter. With me, there's one more difference. I build websites, so when a page needs a new structure, new words, or new code, I make the change myself. You pay for one experienced person's time.
| Bargain package | Working with me | SEO agency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who does the work | Varies, often outsourced | Me | A team, split by task |
| Who answers your questions | Varies | Me | An account manager |
| Changes to the website itself | Rarely | I make them | Usually through your web designer |
| Local search, structured data, and AI answers | Rarely | Planned together | Often sold separately |
| What you get each month | A report | Plain words on what changed and what's next | A report and a meeting |
| Price | Lowest | The right blend of price and quality | Highest |
"If I could tell another small business owner one thing, it would be to get off the fence and invest in a professional website! There are so many DIY options out there, but there's a huge difference between simply having a website and having one that's strategically designed to attract clients, build trust, and grow your business. Josh understands not only beautiful design but also SEO and the importance of getting your business found online. That's his area of expertise, and it shows. I've worked incredibly hard to build my reputation and establish Love & Beauty Maui as a trusted name in our industry. My website finally reflects that. If you're serious about growing your business, hiring Josh is one of the best investments you can make. I couldn't be happier with what he's created for us!"
What I do as your freelance SEO specialist
From the searches that matter to the calls they bring in.
The work starts with your business, meaning what you sell, who buys it, and what those people type into a search bar. Everything else follows from that.
The searches that matter
I research the words your customers use, how often they search them, and who already ranks for them. Owners and customers often call the same thing by different names. A landscaper says "hardscaping," and the homeowner searches "paver patio." The plan is built on the customer's words, and each page aims at searches it can win in your market.
Site structure
Google ranks pages one at a time. A business with six services and one "Services" page has a single page competing for six kinds of searches. I plan a page for each service, each kind of customer, and each location that matters, and I link them so visitors and Google can follow the path from one to the next. On an existing site, that can mean adding pages, combining thin ones, or changing page addresses, with redirects that send the old addresses to the new pages so nothing the site has earned gets lost.
Pages that answer the search
Each page gets one topic, a title and summary written for the search results, headings in order, and enough real content to answer the question that brought someone there, like what the service involves, how long it takes, what to expect, and where you work. I write and rewrite the pages myself, in language your customers can follow. Writing is a big part of SEO, and it's also a service of its own.
Local search
For a business that serves a town or a region, the map results often decide who gets the call. Local SEO covers your Google Business Profile (the listing that puts you on Google Maps), your listings on other sites, your reviews, and the pages on your site that back them up.
Structured data
Structured data, also called schema, is code that states facts about your business in a form search engines and AI tools read directly, including your services, your service area, your hours, and your answers to common questions. Visitors never see it. I write it for each page that needs it and connect the pieces across the site. That connected set of facts is called a knowledge graph, and it gives search engines and AI tools one consistent picture of who you are and what you do.
AI answers
More people now ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, or Google's AI Overviews to recommend a business. Those tools lean on sources that state clearly what a business does, where it works, and what customers say about it. Clear pages, direct answers to common questions, structured data, and a well-kept Business Profile all help. Most of the work that ranks you on Google is the same work that gets you named in an AI answer.
Technical health
Google has to be able to reach, read, and trust every page. I check how fast your pages load on a phone, whether Google can find all of them, whether any are hidden from search by mistake, whether old addresses still lead somewhere, and whether the site runs on a secure connection. Google Search Console, Google's free reporting tool for site owners, shows most of these problems. If you don't have it set up, I set it up.
Tracking what happens
I track what you rank for, the visits that come from search, and the calls and requests that follow. The requests are what count. A page that ranks first for a search nobody makes won't bring in any work.
Ready to show up for the right searches?
Tell me about your businessAn SEO consultant who makes the changes, not just the list
Most SEO advice stalls between the report and the person who can edit the site.
Many SEO consultants deliver a report. It names the pages to add, the titles to rewrite, and the technical problems to fix. Then the report goes to whoever built your site, and it waits. Some of it gets done. Some of it costs extra. Some of it never happens, because the site wasn’t built to hold it.
I build websites, so the list and the work come from the same person. When the plan calls for a new service page, I write it and build it. When a page is slow, I fix the code. When the menu buries the pages that matter, I change the menu. Nothing waits on a second person, and nothing gets lost between two of us.
That matters most when the site itself is the problem, because it’s slow, it can’t hold the pages you need, or nobody can edit it. If that’s the case, I’ll tell you and lay out your options, a redesign among them. If you’re planning a new site, small business SEO covers how search gets built in from the first plan.
SEO results in practice
Real map scans with their dates, then a wedding studio's full story.
On Google Maps
These maps check one search on Google Maps from 49 points around a business. Each dot shows where the business ranked from that spot, and a 1 means first place. Both come from retina practices in Florida whose SEO I do.
For "Ophthalmologist" around Sarasota, Florida, a retina practice was in the top three at 1 of 49 points on the map on January 9, 2023, and at 40 of 49 on February 1, 2026.
For "Macular degeneration specialist" around Venice, Florida, a second retina practice is in the top three at 49 of 49 points on the map. October 1, 2026.
Those gains came while destination weddings on Maui were still well below their 2022 level. The studio won a larger share of a smaller market, and search is how those couples found it.
Love and Beauty Maui
Love and Beauty Maui is a wedding hair and makeup studio in Kihei, on Maui's south shore. I built its website in December 2024 with SEO planned into every page, including a page for each kind of booking, titles and headings written for the searches couples make, every photograph named and described for search, and FAQ structured data. A year earlier, in December 2023, I had reworked the studio's Google Business Profile. At launch, I pointed its website link to the new site. There was no ad campaign.
Since launch:
- The site ranks in the top two on Google for "maui wedding hair and makeup" and "maui hair and makeup artist."
- The studio ranks first on Google Maps across South Maui for wedding hair and makeup.
- Google search has sent the site more than 3,500 clicks, and more than 1,300 of them came through the Business Profile's website link.
- Visits from AI assistants, including ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Claude, roughly doubled from 2025 to 2026.
- Inquiries are running 51 percent above the year before launch.
My own business
My old web design site ranked first on Google for "freelance web designer" in Ohio for years, and later in Florida. I did that SEO myself, for a search plenty of other designers in both states were competing for.
"Some web designers are strictly 'techies.' Some are strictly artists. Josh Miller is the complete package, he has high-end technical skills and also has a very creative eye. In addition, he makes it his business to stay on top of the latest SEO and other techniques to ensure our site stays high in search engine rankings. We are very pleased with our website AND the results we are getting from it. I would recommend Josh Miller to anyone who is looking for the 'total package' for their website."
How SEO work with me runs
A set order, and your approval before any work starts.
SEO work follows a set order, so you know what’s happening at each stage and see the plan before anything on your site changes.
- 1
You send a request
In the Start a project form, tell me your web address, what you sell, and where your customers are. If you know the searches you want to show up for, include them.
- 2
A short call
You and I talk for 20 to 30 minutes about your business, your customers, and what search brings in today. If we're a good fit, I walk you through how we get started.
- 3
Discovery and a full review of where you stand
First comes discovery. You answer my questions about your business and your customers in writing, at your own pace. Meanwhile, I go through your site page by page and look at your Search Console data, what you rank for today, what your competitors rank for, your Business Profile, and your site's technical health. You get a short summary of what's working, what's holding you back, and what I'll fix first.
- 4
The plan
The plan names the searches to go after, the pages to build or rewrite, and the order the work happens in. You approve it before I start.
- 5
The first round of work
The quick fixes come first, because they often move rankings fastest, like pages hidden from Google, broken redirects, missing titles, and Business Profile details that are wrong or incomplete. Then come the new and rewritten pages, the structured data, and the local search work.
- 6
Ongoing work
Search keeps moving. Competitors add pages, Google changes how it ranks them, and your business adds services. Ongoing work keeps up with all three, with new pages as your business grows, updates to the pages that slip, structured data for new services, and regular checks on your rankings and your profile.
Your part is the form, the call, discovery, and access to your site, your Search Console, and your Business Profile. After that, questions come to you one list at a time, and you approve the plan before the work starts.
Ready for step one?
Send a requestQuestions about working with a freelance SEO consultant
Still have a question?
Ask me directlyWhat is an SEO consultant?
An SEO consultant is a specialist who helps a business show up when people search for what it offers, through keyword research, site structure, page content, technical fixes, local search, and tracking the results. A freelance SEO consultant does that work independently, for the business directly, with no agency in between. Because I also build websites, my SEO work includes the changes to the site itself.
Are SEO consultants worth it?
An SEO consultant is worth it when your customers search for what you sell and your site isn't the one they find, because each new customer from search costs nothing per click. A consultant who also makes the changes is worth more, because the plan doesn't wait on someone else to carry it out. If nobody searches for your kind of business, SEO may not be worth it, and I'll tell you so on our call.
Is an SEO consultant or an agency better for a small business?
An SEO consultant is usually the better fit for a small business, because the person you talk to is the person doing the work, and one plan covers your website, local search, and AI answers together. With an agency, your business passes among a salesperson, an account manager, and specialists, and you hear about the work through a report. With me, you can ask about any part of it directly.
How do I choose a good SEO consultant?
Choose an SEO consultant who explains the plan in plain words, shows real results with dates, makes the changes or works closely with whoever builds your site, and never guarantees a top spot. Be wary of emails that promise the first page of Google for a low monthly fee. Some of those packages build links from low-quality directories, the kind Google's spam rules penalize.
How much do SEO consultants charge?
What an SEO consultant charges depends on how much work your site needs, how competitive your searches are, whether your customers are local or national, and whether you want a one-time project or ongoing work. With me, you pay for one experienced person's time, with no account management on top. We talk through the cost on our call, and I aim for the right blend of price and quality.
Can an SEO consultant guarantee rankings?
No, an SEO consultant can't honestly guarantee rankings, because Google decides them and changes how it ranks pages many times a year. Google's own advice to site owners warns against anyone who guarantees a top spot. I commit to the work. That means a clear plan, done well, with regular updates on what changed and what it brought in.
Do you make the SEO changes yourself?
Yes, I make the SEO changes myself, because I also build websites. When the plan calls for a new service page, I write it and build it, and when a page is slow, I fix the code. Many SEO consultants deliver a report that then waits on whoever built your site. With me, the list and the work come from the same person, so nothing waits on a second person.
Can you do SEO on a site you didn't build?
Yes, I can do SEO on a site I didn't build, starting with the same review I'd give a site of my own, looking at every page, what it ranks for, and what's holding it back. I'll need logins for the site, your Search Console, and your Business Profile. If the site can't support what the plan needs, I'll tell you on our call and lay out the options.
Do I need a new website before I start SEO?
You don't always need a new website before starting SEO, because many sites can be improved where they stand with a clearer page structure, better words, structured data, and technical fixes. A new site makes sense when the current one is slow, can't hold the pages your business needs, or can't be edited. The review shows which one you're dealing with.
How will I know SEO is working?
You'll know SEO is working in three places. Look at your rankings for the searches in the plan, the visits that come from search, and the calls and requests that follow. Search Console and your site's analytics show the first two, and a form that asks how people heard about you helps with the third. Quick fixes can show within weeks, and new pages usually take a few months to settle into their rankings.
Get found by the people searching for you.
Send your web address, what you sell, where your customers are, and the searches you want to show up for. Every request comes straight to me, and I reply to set up a short call. If we’re a good fit, I’ll walk you through how we get started. From there, I lead you through a simple process, and you’ll always know what I’m doing and why. The Start a project form is where it begins.