Hey Reader,

When I worked in SEO agencies, we used to lock our clients into these horrible contracts that inevitably devolved into screaming matches.

Clients would sign up for exorbitantly expensive retainers, not realizing that they had a 3-month notice period before they could cancel. 😱 I watched more than one business realize this in real time, then panic about spending so much money on something that wasn't working.

Those contracts were one of the things that pushed me to go independent and launch Inkwell Content. I was tired of being part of a system that worked against the very people it was supposed to help.

When I started working for myself, I made a decision early on: I would never charge clients for more than they actually needed. A business's needs for SEO and content marketing change over time. It doesn't make sense to charge at a single, unchanging, extremely high rate, forever.

Most of my clients need the most help in the first few months, when we're auditing their site, building their strategy, and going after quick wins. After that initial stage, they don't need nearly as much hands-on help. So I ease up on pricing accordingly.

For some clients, the model goes even further than that. Rather than doing the SEO work for them, I train their in-house team to do it themselves, and then make myself available for questions, check-ins, and the moments when things get complicated. The goal from day one is their independence, not their reliance on me.

This is especially true now. As AI reshapes the search landscape, a lot of small and mid-sized businesses are wondering whether their SEO investment still makes sense. Agencies will tell you to spend more. I'd rather help you spend smarter.

A well-trained in-house team can handle the vast majority of their own SEO. Keyword research, content structure, on-page optimization, monitoring their own results—none of this requires an agency on permanent payroll. What it requires is good training, and someone knowledgeable to call when things get complicated.

I have a client who proves this works.

​Learning Links is a not-for-profit organization supporting children with learning difficulties and their families. When they came to Inkwell in late 2021, they had talented writers and a sharp marketing team. What they didn't have was an SEO framework.

So instead of managing their SEO for them indefinitely, I taught them how to do it themselves.

We audited their site together. We mapped their keywords. I reviewed their content before it went live and coached them through reading their own data. When AI search started changing the rules in 2024 and 2025, we reengaged the contract and worked through that too.

The result? A 60% increase in keywords ranked for, 1,600+ organic keywords in their portfolio, and a team that now runs their own content strategy with confidence.

"We started seeing results almost immediately after working with Inkwell," says my delightful client Tamar Kaplan, Content Marketing and Website Lead at Learning Links. "More than anything, we've gained so much knowledge and confidence that we can now manage our own content strategy with just a little check-in once in a while."

To me, that's what good SEO training looks like. Not dependency. Not an endless contract. Just a team that knows what they're doing and a consultant they can call when they need one.

You can read the full case study here:

If that sounds like something your team could use, I'd love to talk. I'm offering free 30-minute calls for anyone who wants to explore what in-house SEO training could look like for their business.

You can book one here, or just reply to this email.

-- Liam

​The Search Evolution Strategy​ 👆 My gameplan for the new age of AI 🙋‍♂️ Did someone forward you this email? Subscribe here. ​Content Strategy & Consultation | Content & SEO Training​ ​Freelance Community​

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