Managing a marketing agency – Rafa Ramos
Rafa Ramos has been running a digital marketing agency in Seville since 2016, when, after working on various projects, he decided to create his own: soyrafaramos.com.
He is a digital marketing consultant specialising in local SEO. To do this, he relies on WordPress development and controls everything with advanced analytics. He also trains others in these subjects and can be seen as a speaker at various events.
In this interview, we want to focus on his more human and entrepreneurial side, how he got started in the industry, how he manages his clients, and how he balances his personal life with his business.
How did you discover the world of SEO and digital marketing?
I worked in banking before the financial crisis. I found myself unemployed and had to do something. I had always been good at marketing and computers, so while I was working at whatever I could find, I trained myself in these subjects. I found SEO intriguing, trying to figure out how an algorithm that organised Google results worked. My first teacher was Ismael El-Qudsi.
What made you start working as a freelancer, and what was the most difficult thing about working for yourself in the first few months?
The Spanish job market has always been very peculiar. If you don’t have experience, you don’t work; if you don’t work, you don’t have experience; if you have experience, they want to pay you like someone without experience. So I started working on my projects and those of my colleagues, practically for free, while also giving conferences. I soon got jobs as a trainer and with small businesses. That’s when I registered as a freelancer.
Afterwards, things calmed down and I was tempted to work for others on several occasions. In fact, there was a period when I was almost exclusively dedicated to others. Thankfully, that period ended.
“Most agencies grow with clients who don’t get results. They often charge for doing what the client says, but they’re not delivering results.”
On your website, you define your business as a ‘digital marketing agency that works without smoke and mirrors’. Have you come across many agencies that sell impossible results?
We cannot always help the client. Either because of a lack of budget to achieve the objectives or because of a lack of profitability. In other words, we cannot achieve the objectives with that budget, or achieving that objective is simply not profitable.
Most agencies grow with clients who don’t get results. They often charge for doing what the client says, but they’re not delivering results; they’re stringing the client along with their most absurd demands.
We don’t grow, or we don’t grow as much, but we don’t have tense meetings with clients. We discard a lot of leads because we can’t help them. Neither we nor Saint Anthony of Padua can.
What is your ideal customer?
In general: customers who are profitable for us and whom we can be profitable for. Specifically: cosmetic clinics, psychologists, architects, renovation companies, dental clinics, etc.
These are businesses with medium to high average ticket prices. If they are medium, they should have a high rate of repeat purchases.
And what kind of customer would you not want to have?
Businesses with an unproven value proposition, that don’t have a physical location, that are based on a very basic idea… For example, someone who wants to set up an online clothing store because they are going to buy cheaply from an industrial estate run by Asians, and they aren’t even registered.
“My first presentation was at the WordPress Seville Meetup, where I showed an example of SEO on my website, which was a disaster in terms of design but had four very important keywords in the top 1.”
Do you have any requirements when accepting new clients?
We are flexible, but they must be able to accept invoices. On the other hand, I do not like sectors related to animal abuse, sexual exploitation, fortune telling… and things like that.
How many people are there in the agency?
We used to be 7, but now there are 2 of us and we have 2 external people who help out at specific times. So, 2 of us and a lot of AI.
You give talks and lectures at events related to WordPress and digital marketing. Do you remember what your first talk was and how you felt?
I admit that I have very little embarrassment when it comes to teaching and giving talks. My first presentation was at the WordPress Seville Meetup, where I showed an example of SEO on my website, which was a disaster in terms of design but had four very important keywords in the top 1. I also showed results with a client who had a lot of competition.
The truth is, I felt good.
How do you balance running a business with your personal life?
The reality is that I don’t balance it very well. I’m no exception; I know there are many others in the same situation. I start around 6:30 a.m. and try to finish at 1:00 p.m. I usually use the afternoon to give or receive training, but I almost always add something else to the agency. Sometimes it’s 11:30 p.m. and I’m still working or training.
How does a professional who is dedicated to attracting clients for others get clients?
By using the same methods I use with my clients:
- SEO for my website and satellite websites.
- Google Business Profile listing for my business.
- Google Search Ads for my website.
- Local social media: mainly Instagram, both organic and paid.
- Through personal branding.
- Client referrals.
What do you like most about your job?
Working with businesses and helping them grow. Every new client is a challenge, because many start out very small. On the other hand, keeping them going and increasing conversion is the most rewarding part.
And what do you find most difficult or least enjoyable?
Meetings and communications. When results are good, clients want to make adjustments, add their own touch… and they tend to lose focus. A lot of time is wasted on that. You don’t negotiate with Google; you either adapt or you don’t.
Do you think you have more freedom working for yourself or more responsibilities?
Much more freedom. I decide who I work for, when I work and when I want to end that relationship. When you work for others, they decide all these things. That’s why I find it so difficult to work for others, I don’t agree with their client acceptance policy.
Have you made any mistakes in your more than nine years working as an SEO consultant?
Yes, many, but the biggest one was three penalties at the same time for spam. After five months, the three projects came out of the penalty, but it was a pretty tough time. From then on, I became a specialist in getting domains out of penalties.
If someone asked you for advice because he or she is thinking about becoming self-employed and working in SEO, what would you say?
I would say that he should only become self-employed if he already has a client lined up. On the other hand, if possible, he should not go it alone. If that is not possible, he should look for a community of people in the same situation. Going it alone can be very hard.
