SEO Agencies vs Direct Clients: What I Learned Working With Both as a Freelance SEO Writer
If you're a freelance SEO writer or want to become one, you may be wondering whether to work with agencies or direct clients. Although there’s no one-size-fits-all answer, I’ll share what I’ve learned over the years.
I’ve been working as a freelance SEO health writer and editor since 2022, after over a decade in healthcare marketing. Since then, I’ve:
worked with multiple SEO agencies
built long-term relationships with direct clients
and even managed a small team of writers as a mini agency
This perspective has allowed me to see both models from the inside.
In this guide, I’ll break down what it really looks like to work with SEO agencies vs direct clients so you can decide what’s right for you. The insights I’m sharing here are based on both my own experience and my conversations with SEO agencies and consultants who hire freelance writers.
What It’s Like to Work with SEO Agencies
At a Glance: Working With SEO Agencies as a Freelance Writer
Pros:
More structure, clearer briefs, less client management, access to editors, exposure to bigger brands, and a stronger feeling of being part of a team.
Cons:
Usually lower pay, less control, fewer upselling opportunities, more volume pressure, and less access to client results or case study data.
Best for:
Writers who want structure, feedback, team support, and a way to focus mostly on writing (or reduce their cognitive load).
Not so great if…
You want full control, higher rates, direct client relationships, or strong SEO case studies for your portfolio.
How SEO Agencies Work With Freelance Writers
When you work with an agency, you're part of a larger system. The agency usually handles the parts of the project that sit around the writing itself, such as:
client communication
SEO strategy
project management
editing and QA
design or graphics
website implementation
publishing
tracking and reporting
As a freelance writer, your role is often much more focused. You may be asked to write the article, follow the brief, respond to editorial feedback, and submit the work on time, but you’re usually not managing the client relationship directly.
That setup can be very helpful if you want structure and want to focus mostly on writing. But it also explains why agency rates are often lower than direct client rates.
The client is not only paying for your writing. They are paying for the full agency service: strategy, account management, project management, editing, tools, reporting, meetings, and the overall relationship.
So when an agency pays you as a freelance writer, your fee is only one part of the total project cost. The agency also needs to pay everyone else involved, whether employees or freelancers, and maintain a profit margin for the business.
Bree Sharp, an SEO strategist and editor of Many Words One Voice, puts it bluntly: “the markup between what a writer gets paid and what the client is invoiced is almost always significant.” She adds that this is not automatically predatory because overhead is real, but writers should understand where their rate sits in the wider agency model.
Nikolay Krastev, SEO Consultant at nikolaykrastev.com, shared two common models. In one, the writer’s rate is passed through to the client with a small management margin of around 15–25% for briefing, QA, and editorial oversight. In another, content production is bundled into a retainer, with margins closer to 40–50% on the content line.
Sara Kavanagh, Managing Director and Co-Founder at Search Theory, also mentioned that agencies often work around target margins — in her case, usually around 30% — which helps them decide whether bringing in freelance support makes commercial sense.
That doesn’t automatically make agency work a bad deal. It simply means you need to understand your scope of work before deciding whether the rate makes sense for you.
Pros of working with SEO agencies
One of the main advantages of working with SEO agencies is the sense of relative stability. Let me explain: you can receive assignments without constantly having to look for new clients yourself. And if the agency likes your work, they may offer you more projects or introduce you to new clients within their own portfolio (which is something I’ve experienced myself).
Another benefit is that the budget and scope are often clear from the start. You may be in a “take it or leave it” situation, but at least you usually know what the project involves, how much it pays, and what is expected from you.
Agency work also comes with more structure. You may receive detailed briefs, full outlines, onboarding documents, internal guidelines, or access to project management systems. This can be especially helpful if you’re newer to freelancing and want to understand how professional SEO and content workflows are managed.
For me, one of the biggest benefits is the ability to focus mostly on writing. I don’t have to manage the client relationship, lead the strategy, or handle every moving part of the project. That reduces the cognitive load and allows me to concentrate on the specific task I’ve been assigned.
Working with agencies can also give you exposure to larger brands, clinics, or organizations that may not work directly with solo freelancers. If you get bylines, this can be valuable for your portfolio. That’s how I got to work with brands like Klaviyo in B2B marketing SaaS.
Another major advantage is access to editors. A good editor can coach you, challenge your writing, and help you become a better version of yourself. That kind of feedback is one of the most valuable parts of agency work for me.
Agencies can also expose you to tools, systems, and processes you may not use on your own. You get to see how other teams work, which can help you improve your own freelance systems.
And finally, there’s the nice feeling of being part of a team. Freelancing can be isolating, so working with editors, strategists, project managers, and sometimes other writers can be motivating and insightful.
Cons of working with SEO agencies
The first downside that comes to mind is usually pay. Agency rates are often lower than what you can charge direct clients because the agency has to pay the full team and protect its margins.
This doesn’t mean agency work is never worth it. But you need to look at the full picture and decide whether the rate still works for you, especially if the work is easier to deliver because the structure is already there.
At the same time, agencies are not always looking for the cheapest writers. Adam R. Collins, founder of Ignite SEO, says he is happy to pay higher rates for “copy-paste ready” content because it saves editing time. In many cases, hiring a specialist writer who delivers clean drafts is more cost-effective than paying less for content that needs hours of revisions.
Another downside is volume pressure. Agencies often face high pressure to deliver large volumes of content, and I’ve seen that many are tempted to rely a bit too heavily on AI and commit to unrealistic timelines with clients. You might feel tempted to think a lower rate is acceptable if you’re offered a high volume of articles per month. But if you accept 10 articles per month (or more), bear in mind that this commitment will repeat every single month.
I made this mistake myself, so I can tell you about the vicious cycle you can end up in. Too much volume will affect the quality of your work, even if you’re a good writer. Over time, this kind of workload makes it harder to feel proud of what you produce, and it’s a real struggle to find the time to consistently market yourself, which can ultimately lead to burnout and an empty pipeline. In my case, in health, I typically write 4 articles per month (maximum) per client to maintain quality (and my sanity).
Another limitation is a lack of control. If you start as a writer, the agency may keep you in that role even if you want to move into strategy, editing, or other services. It can be harder to expand your role once the setup is established. I know I’ve tried to land more work in English after starting as a French writer for an agency, but I’ve still landed French projects. I’ve been able, though, to expand my scope from writing to SEO editing.
This shows that expansion inside agencies is possible — but it usually happens when a writer shows initiative beyond the brief.
Theron Tingstad, CEO and Co-Founder at Arbor Growth, says writers who move into briefing, research, or strategy are usually the ones who “treat the brand as their own and surface ideas before being asked.”
Liam Quirk, Managing Director and Founder at Quirky Digital, shared a similar example: their current Content Manager started as their first freelance writer. Over time, she contributed to structure, improved briefs, and helped with quality control before moving into a broader content role.
So while agencies may initially keep you in the role you were hired for, there can be room to grow if you demonstrate ownership, strategic thinking, and reliability.
You may also miss out on upselling opportunities because you usually don’t have direct access to the client. You can’t easily spot gaps, suggest new services, or build the relationship yourself.
Last but not least, I found that agency work can make it harder to build strong social proof. You may get testimonials from agency contacts or editors, but you often don’t see the performance of the content, the SEO results, or what happens with the client in the background. That makes it more difficult to create full SEO case studies, which is why having some direct clients in the mix can be useful.
What It’s Like to Work with Direct Clients
To help you quickly understand how this model compares in practice, here’s a summary of the main pros and cons before I go into more detail:
Pros:
Higher income potential, direct relationships, more control, ability to expand your services, access to results and case studies, long-term growth.
Cons:
Time-consuming client acquisition, more responsibility, less structure, longer sales cycles, and potentially more stress.
Best for:
Writers who want to grow, increase their rates, build authority, and expand beyond writing.
Not so great if…
You prefer structure, want minimal responsibility, or don’t want to handle client communication and strategy.
A very different role
In my view, working with direct clients is a very different experience compared to agencies because you are much closer to the business. With direct clients, your role may also expand beyond writing based on the client’s needs.
You may be responsible for:
strategy
content planning
implementation
performance tracking
Pros of working with direct clients
One of the biggest advantages is the relationship you build with the client. In SEO, projects are usually long-term, so you develop trust over time. From my experience, that trust often leads to additional opportunities beyond the initial scope of work.
If you offer more than blogging, for example, content strategy or content marketing, you’re in a much better position to identify gaps and suggest new ideas. You can see what’s missing, what could be improved, and where you can bring more value (and increase your retainers as a consequence).
It’s also a great setup if you want to test new offers. It’s much easier to experiment with an existing client than to try something new with someone you’ve just started working with.
Another key advantage is income potential. Because you’re working directly with the client, there’s no intermediary taking a margin, so you can charge higher rates that reflect the full scope of your work.
You also have more control over the relationship. You can manage communication, set expectations, and build a way of working that helps you retain the client long term.
From a growth perspective, working with clients allows you to expand your skills, refine your offer, and experiment with your positioning as a freelancer.
You may also get access to something that is much harder to obtain with agencies: results. You have better chances to see what happens after publication: traffic, rankings, clicks, conversions, or even feedback from the client about sales. This allows you to build case studies, strengthen your portfolio, and demonstrate your impact to then help you go and find better clients.
Personally, I also really value the opportunity to collaborate with other freelancers. Once clients trust you, they may ask you to recommend other freelancers or even build a small team around a project. That’s something I’ve experienced myself, and it opened up new possibilities I’ve quite enjoyed.
Cons of working with direct clients
The main downside to me is the time and effort required to secure clients. Unlike agencies, where projects can start quickly, finding direct clients usually involves marketing yourself, doing outreach, and nurturing relationships. The time between the first conversation and signing a contract can be quite long.
It also requires more effort upfront. You need to position yourself, communicate your value, and often educate the client on what they actually need at first, and throughout the project.
Another challenge is responsibility. When you work directly with clients, you may also be responsible for strategy, planning, and sometimes implementation. From my experience, especially with smaller brands, I’ve had to handle everything from defining the content strategy to publishing content and following up on performance.
This means the scope of work is broader, which justifies higher rates, but also requires more time and energy.
Structure can also be lacking. Many smaller clients don’t have established processes, so you need to create that structure yourself. This can add pressure, especially at the beginning or if the client is not easy to work with. There is sometimes more stress compared to agency work.
However, despite these challenges, the long-term benefit is clear: the growth potential. Working with direct clients is what allows you to build your expertise, increase your rates, develop your positioning, and gain the confidence that comes from seeing your work deliver real results.
Which one should you choose?
The honest answer is: it depends. From my experience, there isn’t one “better” option. It really comes down to where you are in your journey and what you’re trying to achieve. You’ll probably have to experiment both to build your own opinion anyway, but I hope this article gave you a better idea of what to expect.
Here’s what you may consider:
If you’re at the beginning, you may benefit from more structure, guidance, and feedback. In that case, working with agencies can be a great way to build your skills, especially if you get access to good editors and well-defined processes.
If your goal is growth, whether that’s increasing your rates, expanding your services, or positioning yourself as an SEO expert, then working with direct clients becomes essential. That’s where you develop autonomy, take on more responsibility, and see the real impact of your work.
From what I’ve seen in my own journey, both models can be beneficial at different stages. I started with agencies, moved mostly into direct clients, and then ended up working with agencies again as new opportunities came in.
And this is where I’ve personally found my sweet spot: combining both.
Working with agencies gives me structure, consistency, and opportunities to keep learning, especially when I work with strong editors or experienced SEO teams. It also allows me to benchmark my skills and see how others approach SEO.
So rather than thinking in terms of choosing one over the other, it can be more helpful to think about what you need right now and how each model can support that.
Final thoughts: what actually matters in the long run as an SEO writer
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from working with both SEO agencies and direct clients, it’s that the model itself matters less than how you use it to move forward. It’s easy to get caught up in the question of which one is better. But in reality, both can either support your growth or limit it, depending on how intentional you are.
Agencies can be a powerful learning environment if you actively pay attention to how they work: how they structure briefs, how they approach SEO, how editors give feedback, and how projects are managed. If you treat agency work as more than just execution, it can significantly accelerate your learning.
At the same time, direct clients are where you develop your judgment. When you’re the one guiding the strategy, identifying gaps, and making decisions, you start to understand what actually works instead of purely following a brief. And I think that’s even more important in the age of AI.
Another important point is sustainability. High-volume agency work can feel stable in the short term, but if it prevents you from marketing yourself or improving your positioning, it can quietly limit your growth. On the other hand, relying only on direct clients without a marketing system to attract them can create income instability.
This is why, for me, the combination of both has been the most effective approach. It allows me to balance stability and growth, while continuing to learn and refine my positioning over time.
And if you’re wondering what actually makes agencies trust and retain freelance writers long term, I break this down further in my article on the skills of a good writer.
Val ✍️
FAQs: SEO agencies vs direct clients
-
There’s no single method, but if you’re starting out and do not have a network of clients or peers, outreach remains a good starting point.
From my experience, LinkedIn is one of the most effective platforms. You can:
search for companies in your niche (e.g. pharma, health tech companies)
identify decision-makers
and reach out in a personalized way and/or comment on their posts
What works best is approaching it as relationship-building rather than pitching. For example, I look at their blog content, identify easy opportunities for improvement, and I try to be genuinely helpful. I’m sometimes very straightforward and simply ask if they’re currently hiring freelance writers. I’ve also found opportunities from fellow writers tagging me on LinkedIn when someone needed an SEO writer.
Over time, as I built visibility through my own content on LinkedIn and my website, I started relying less on outreach. Today, most of my clients come through inbound leads and referrals from other writers, but it does take time to get there. And even after four years, I still don’t rely entirely on inbound leads, as that would mean depending too much on other people’s timing.
-
It’s relatively easy to get on an agency’s roster, but that doesn’t guarantee consistent work. Many agencies keep a pool of freelance writers and only reach out when they need support. So you may get added to their list but not hear from them immediately. In my experience, a more effective approach is to:
connect with agency team members on LinkedIn
stay top-of-mind by commenting on their posts and following up regularly
stay visible through your own content and positioning
make it clear what kind of writer you are and what niche you understand
Agencies and consultants also confirmed that getting hired is often about trust signals. Referrals, strong bylined samples, niche expertise, and paid trial pieces came up repeatedly. Bree Sharp, SEO strategist and editor of Many Words One Voice, says she strongly prefers live, bylined samples because they show authorship, which matters even more in the age of AI. I explore these trust signals in more detail in my article on the skills of a good writer.
About the Author
Valérie Leroux, MSc, is a bilingual SEO health writer and founder of Bioty Healthcare since 2022, helping health brands and medical writers create high-ranking, trustworthy content backed by science and empathy.
Not sure whether to work with SEO agencies or direct clients? I break down the real pros and cons to help you decide what’s right for you.