My SEO Agency Brings In $20K/Month After Only One Year
Hello! Who are you and what business did you start?
Hello! My name is Nikola Baldikov. I’m an SEO and digital marketing expert and the founder of InBound Blogging. My company offers comprehensive SEO services and our specialties are SaaS SEO, premium link building, and HARO link building.
Our clients benefit from better website traffic and rankings as well as improved visibility online, leading to tangible business results. Not to be groundless, I will share that in just six months of working with one of our clients, their organic traffic has increased by 174.7%.
As of today, when my company recently turned one year old, our income is around $20,000 per month.
What's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?
Ever since high school, I believed that my vocation was accounting. After completing the necessary education and working as an accountant for some time, things took an unexpected turn (even for myself). My first encounter with digital marketing made me realize that my passion for numbers and analytics can be used in a completely different direction.
It was in 2012 when my cousin and I decided to start our own business. We wanted to sell printed T-shirts, but first we had to show up on the market. Ambitiously enough, we also wanted to dominate the market. With zero skills and knowledge in marketing, we managed not only to emerge on the scene but also to be competitive. It turned out I had a nose for this.
I based my strategy on the things I knew: Facebook and influencers. Paid advertising campaigns did a good job, as did collaborating with influencers. Well, in 2012, influencers were not in vogue as they are now, but even then, it was a successful way to advertise a business. Our organic reach on Facebook was impressive, too.
While I was working full-time, the idea of doing SEO was born. I had a friend who worked as an SEO specialist. Communicating with him reinforced my feeling that digital marketing will largely replace traditional marketing. When I expressed my interest in this professional field to him, he directed me to online resources where I could learn more about SEO and start building my expertise.
First, I thought that SEO was going to be a side job. Starting to study and enroll in different courses, I began to see its full potential, which drew me in even deeper. Not long after, I decided that maybe this was my true calling. From that moment on, I knew that the next step was to start my own company.
Get into a business you like. It's a common mistake for people to jump into something just because it's trendy and profitable. The business becomes a part of your life, and as such, it should inspire you to be passionate about it and see meaning and a future in it.
Take us through the process of building the first version of your product.
My initial business idea was to develop a blog and get revenue from affiliate marketing, hence the name of my website—InBound Blogging. So, I quit my full-time job back then and devoted my time to my new initiative.
With an investment of $15,000, I started a blog on WordPress, a platform I still rely on. During that time, my blog focused on everything blogging-related. In other words, my goal was to educate others like me on how to monetize their blogs, as well as to give various tips and useful information about blogging.
In the beginning, I had three members on my team. All of them had previous experience with digital marketing and SEO. The main criterion by which I chose them was their obvious desire to develop and sharpen their skills, and I was happy to give them a chance.
We used to publish engaging, SEO-optimized articles. Currently, this undertaking continues, as my team has more than doubled, and we are now seven colleagues in total.
Subsequently, my priorities changed. I wanted to assist small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in conquering the online space, which is now an essential condition for increasing their customer base and sales.
Describe the process of launching the business.
The fact that I should start my own business was on my mind for some time. I was preparing for this "launch" for more than seven years until the moment I felt that I was ready. It was when I realized I had leadership qualities that pushed me to finally start. That happened while working at a giant company in the position of Marketing Manager.
Furthermore, seven years might seem a long time, but, after all, we don't live in a vacuum. While we are busy making our plans, life keeps happening. I needed to see things fall into place—the stars to line up, more poetically speaking.
Take, for example, something as simple as location. Yes, nowadays, starting an online business is not difficult, it can happen wherever you are. Remote work became normal. Years ago, it wasn't exactly like that. I had to determine where I wanted to "drop anchor."
I've started my second Master’s abroad and briefly worked there, but in the end, I decided that returning to my hometown would make me the happiest. So, after I put my personal life in order, I could concentrate on starting and developing my business.
When my company became a fact, I announced it through a post on LinkedIn with something like, "The time has come for the next step in my career."
At first, I wasn't customer-oriented. I wanted my blog to be informative and useful to the reader, but also to be a kind of passive income for me. However, even with all the preparation, constant issues continued to emerge.
When I decided to “repurpose” my company and make it an SEO agency, I looked for ways to attract clients. What I was doing was advertising my business through LinkedIn and so-called word-of-mouth marketing. I had already built a solid network of contacts, so the news spread quickly, and I was able to reach the right people. My efforts in this regard paid off six months later—we had three new clients.
Our website’s design has hardly changed since its creation. We concentrated on writing articles that serve as lead magnets. The website is currently being revamped with a greater focus on our services.
In terms of finances, my business is completely bootstrapped. I had savings that I used for the first six months. After that, the income we earned from working with customers was the “fuel” we needed to move forward and develop.
Every beginning is difficult. Running a business may seem tempting, but it comes with a lot of responsibilities. I learned to expect the unexpected.
Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?
Although I am a digital marketing expert, ironically, my clients came along more traditional paths. One of our biggest clients, even at the moment, is my previous employer. In total, we’ve had less than 10 clients so far, and that’s intentional. To offer a premium service, we prefer working with a small number of people, giving them adequate time, and devoting ourselves to fully understanding their needs.
Attending professional events annually has also been a great way to attract customers. I strongly believe in the power of face-to-face networking. Nothing is more valuable than listening to the desires and concerns of the person who is in front of you and convincing them that you have the means and knowledge to help.
As for retaining customers, I think a human and empathetic approach is the most important. I show this in any situation that requires it—for example, late payment or highly specific customer requirements. Strong relationships and long-term collaboration are worth some small sacrifices on our part.
When it comes to our online presence, our main focus is SEO and social media. I am confident that SEO is something that will never go out of fashion. Nothing beats well-optimized and valuable content. You can turn searchers into customers by appearing before their eyes repeatedly. Regarding social media, our efforts are concentrated on LinkedIn. It’s a great place, full of experts in our niche—potential clients and partners—so, sharing our posts and thoughts is the logical thing to do.
Here is how Stefan Chekanov, the CEO and co-founder of Brosix, feels about our HARO link-building service: “I was struggling to get quality backlinks for my website until I found InBound Blogging. They helped me connect with journalists and bloggers who were looking for sources in my niche. They also wrote amazing HARO pitches that got me featured in top publications. I highly recommend their service to anyone who wants to grow their online presence.”
Speaking of Brosix again, one of the articles we wrote about them began to lose its position in SERPs. I decided to audit and update this piece of content plus the metadata. The positive results were not long in coming.
How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
I am currently enjoying the fruits of our hard work over the past year. The domain rating (DR) of our company website increased from 49 to 61 in about a month. This was mostly because we published high-quality content that got lots of backlinks naturally.
We serve as many clients as we can handle given our capacity, our revenue is good, and we manage to utilize our time optimally. Currently, we have four clients. Around 50% of what we earn from them is distributed to cover operating costs, etc. The other half is our net profit.
As a team leader, I am proud that I have enough free time for other activities to contribute to a strong work-life balance. I'm a Kizomba instructor and the chairman of a basketball club. I managed to form a team of professionals, thanks to whom I refrain from micromanagement, and at the same time, I know that the work done is of high quality.
I look to the future with the ambition to continue to maintain this level of success and constantly improve upon it. The possibilities offered by AI and automation intrigue me. With them, we can improve our processes even further, which means more tasks are completed in less time.
Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?
First of all, every beginning is difficult. Running a business may seem tempting, but it comes with a lot of responsibilities. I learned to expect the unexpected. There are always surprising circumstances, but when you have the inherent desire, you find a way to overcome challenges. Perseverance and persistence are key. My habit of never giving up over the years has proved useful in my new endeavor.
I learned to manage my time and finances better. I've also learned to trust my judgment of people more. My judgment is what helped me choose, among the multiple job candidates, exactly those who are perfect for their positions in my company. In addition, I learned how to communicate with customers and partners and market our services better.
In the early days of launching my business, I relied exclusively on freelancers. Not a mistake, but not the wisest decision either. They were highly experienced and skilled but lacked the commitment that’s typical for in-house professionals.
What platform/tools do you use for your business?
Being an SEO expert, I favor several tools, among which are the following: Google Analytics, Google Trends, Google Search Console, Semrush, Ahrefs, and Neuronwriter. They are at the heart of my work and complement each other.
With Google Trends, I see what's currently being searched for by prospects and what interests them. Google Analytics and Google Search Console inform me in detail about how my site is performing on SERPs.
Hardly anyone has not heard of Ahrefs and Semrush, and this is not accidental. Both tools, although competing with each other, offer huge opportunities for analysis (keyword research, competitor analysis, etc.) on which to build a profitable SEO strategy. And Neuronwriter helps us easily and quickly optimize our blog articles.
I’ve also recently started using Agility Writer. It does a great job of writing blog posts that are factual and informative. Of course, the texts produced are not flawless and require further editing and refinement, but their use saves us time compared to writing articles from scratch.
For research purposes, we use Perplexity AI. It does something I call “reverse research.” We can paste some information there and ask the AI if it’s factual or not. Then it gives a list of resources, which we can check. In most cases, it’s so much more convenient than traditional search engines.
What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?
Ahrefs' free blogging for business courses stands out among the resources I have used. That's where I learned the essentials I still use today.
When it comes to my expertise in SEO and how I keep my knowledge and skills fresh, the Niche Pursuits podcast brings together everything I'm interested in and working on, from SEO and blogging to AI and HARO link building.
Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?
The best advice I can give to hesitant entrepreneurs is to trust their gut. It may sound like a cliché, but it's true. My intuition led me to the decision to quit my stable job at a major company and embark on my entrepreneurial journey. That was one of my best decisions ever.
Another tip: hit the mark with perfect timing. This is when you have gathered enough resources—knowledge, skills, and money. You can afford to take risks, and you can incur possible losses. It is always good to think about the latter—not to be pessimistic but to be realistic. A feeling of confidence and ease comes from knowing that nothing major can go wrong.
And thirdly, get into a business you like. It's a common mistake for people to jump into something just because it's trendy and profitable. But such people quickly "burn." When you have a business, you are no longer at work from 9 to 5. The business becomes a part of your life, and as such, it should inspire you to be passionate about it and see meaning and a future in it.
Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?
Currently, we are recruiting interns for our SEO and link-building activities. We are open to training people of all ages who wish to develop in the field. Learning from practice is, in my opinion, an indispensable experience that can support future career development.
Where can we go to learn more?
You can learn more about my business on our official website, and more about me on my LinkedIn profile.
I take pride in being a contributing author at Entrepreneur.com and Hackernoon.com. My publications have been featured on authoritative websites, such as Techrepublic.com and Serpstat.com.
These are some of my more prominent articles:
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