SEO advice for personal branding and independent professionals

Independent professionals – from coaches to consultants to creatives – often have a strong story, but are poorly findable online. SEO helps make that story visible at the right time, to the right target group. No expensive campaigns, but sustainable visibility. In this article, I give targeted SEO advice for those who want to position themselves as a brand.

1. Optimize your name as well as your specialization

Personal branding is all about your name as well as your expertise. Both should be easily findable.

Focus on:

• Search terms such as: [name] + coach, [name] + speaker, [name] + photography
  
• Synonyms or job titles used by clients (e.g., “business coach,” “online marketer,” “personal leadership”)
  
• Additional terms such as your region or niche
  

Tip: Use your full name consistently in page titles, H1s and alt texts.

2. Build a simple but powerful site

You don’t have to build a big platform, but the basics have to be right technically and content-wise.

Must-haves:

• A homepage with clear positioning (who you are, what you do, for whom)
  
• About me page with a personal touch and SEO strategy
  
• Service page(s) that optimize on specific search terms
  
• Content pages (blogs, case studies, articles) that build authority
  
• Contact page with good internal links and clear conversion options
  

Use a fast and SEO-friendly CMS (such as WordPress with a light theme).

3. Make yourself findable by your name

People often search your name directly (especially after a networking call or presentation). Make sure you master your SERP (search results page).

What you can do:

• Create social profiles on relevant platforms (LinkedIn, X, Medium, Vimeo)
  
• Claim your Knowledge Panel (if possible via Google’s “Get verified”)
  
• Write guest blogs or interviews under your own name
  
• Keep an active blog or publication archive on your site
  

Goal: When someone googles your name, you’ll see the first 5-10 results filled with resources you control or influence.

Getting started with SEO? Feel free to get in touch.

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4. Publish content that shows what you know

You’re selling yourself, so your content should exude knowledge and experience. Not generic SEO copy, but concrete insights.

Capabilities:

• Blog: share methods, approaches, mistakes you see in your field
  
• Use cases: show how you work, who you help, what it delivers
  
• FAQs: answer questions your target audience asks regularly
  
• Personal vision: what do you believe in, what do you do differently?
  

Publish once or twice a month, structurally. Quality wins over volume.

5. Work on authority and trust (E-E-A-T).

As an independent, SEO is not only about content and technique, but also about reputation.

How you build that up:

• Ask customers for reviews (both on your site and externally, such as LinkedIn or Google Business)
  
• Provide referrals from trade media or industry associations
  
• Link to cases, downloads or external publications as evidence of expertise
  
• Use structured data to enrich your profile (Person schema, Organization)
  

In conclusion

Personal branding and SEO reinforce each other. When you claim the right terms, position your name correctly and share valuable content, you build lasting visibility – without relying on ads or algorithms.