How I Built A Multi-6 Figure SEO Agency (My Story)
How I Built A Multi-6 Figure SEO Agency (My Story)
Jan 10, 2025
Jan 10, 2025
How I Built a Multi-Six-Figure SEO Agency: My Full Story
How I Built a Multi-Six-Figure SEO Agency: My Full Story
In a world obsessed with shortcuts and easy wins, building a multi-six-figure SEO agency the real way takes time, guts, and plenty of hard days. My name's Kai Cromwell, and I run New Seas, an SEO agency for Shopify brands. This is my journey from graduate student and agency employee to agency founder serving e-commerce businesses worldwide. Whether you're dreaming of your agency or tired of the grind as a freelancer, there's something here for you.
From Science Labs to Startup Dreams
My story didn't start in marketing or business. I began studying Geographic Information Systems (GIS), which involves mapping data and solving real-world problems, as well as geoscience, in college. My undergrad thesis mapped out how rising sea levels and hurricanes could hit Florida's real estate and local economies over the next half-century.
You might think that path leads somewhere far away from SEO. Still, the truth is that I spent my days buried in microscope work and oceanography labs during graduate school in Sydney, Australia. It didn't take long to realize lab life wasn't what I wanted. So, I quit. It was early 2020. Immediately after I dropped out, the world went into lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Talk about timing.
I'd built an e-commerce store in college, but always focused on paid ads and word-of-mouth marketing. SEO was new to me until two health and wellness brand internships in the summer of 2019 opened my eyes. I began experimenting with SEO tactics for their stores. Within a few months, the idea for a career shift began to take shape.
After dropping out, job applications poured in—over a hundred with my GIS degree, but nothing stuck. I reworked my resume and sent two or three dozen SEO-focused applications. Eventually, a Milwaukee agency called. I squeezed every SEO buzzword into my interview and landed the job.
Six-Figure Responsibility, 10 Days In
On my tenth day, my manager quit. Just like that, I became the SEO manager for the agency, running $100,000 a month in local service company accounts.
Here were the most significant challenges I faced:
Little real-world SEO experience, all self-taught
Learning on the fly while managing client results and expectations
Adapting overnight to remote management once the pandemic hit
My tenure at the agency was an actual test of resilience. Despite the challenges and the mismatch in our visions, I persevered. I didn't let the setbacks define me. Instead, I used them as stepping stones towards my ultimate goal. And eventually, I decided to move on, knowing that I was destined for something greater.
A well-connected family friend introduced me to a new opportunity: freelance SEO work. My first freelance partner was based in New Zealand, and together, we worked with a diverse range of clients, including Fortune 500 executives, dating coaches, and fitness giants. I took on whatever work came my way. When you're paying rent through freelance contracts, you take what you can get.
Life as a Freelancer: Freedom and Frustration
Freelancing gave me more breathing room, but after two years, my income hit a wall. I missed a regular paycheck, and I didn't have benefits. I dreamed of more—bigger projects, higher quality clients, and financial freedom.
At the same time, I went through a mini identity crisis. What was I doing? Unsure of my next move, I embraced travel. Surfing from country to country, laptop bag slung over my shoulder, I ran SEO campaigns from hostels and cafes.
Right before a nine-month solo trip, a $5,000 freelance contract—the biggest I'd ever signed—crashed and burned before kickoff. The company's internal politics killed the whole deal. In that moment, frustration finally drove me to commit fully to building my agency.
Planning an Agency at 30,000 Feet
I was somewhere over the Atlantic on my way to Gran Canaria, a Spanish island, when I finally mapped out my first agency plan. Eight hours, a paid Wi-Fi connection, and a document full of ideas that ended up looking nothing like what I have today.
As I've learned, the best-laid plans for agencies rarely survive first contact. The key is not to cling to them, but to adapt and move fast. It's about making quick decisions and being flexible, knowing that the path to success is often paved with unexpected twists and turns.
One of the first significant changes I made was to double down on Twitter to build a personal brand. I strategically utilized the platform to connect with potential clients and industry peers, and the results exceeded my expectations. Nearly every client since has come from the connections and credibility I've grown there. If you're interested in building in public, I encourage you to follow me on Twitter to see how it works.
Landing My First Real Clients
With a project pipeline running dry and bills piling up, I got serious about outreach. Here's precisely how I approached brands:
Scroll through Instagram and screenshot every ad from a Shopify brand I saw.
Use the three-dot menu to "hide" the ad, to keep my timeline fresh.
Each morning, gather all those brand names and use Hunter.io to find the founder or CMO's email address.
Record a one-minute personalized Loom audit for each site. ("I like what you did here. You could outdo X competitor by doing Y in your content.”)
Send 20 emails a day for three weeks straight.
Finally, a Shopify brand replied: "This is the best cold email I've ever received." We hopped on a call. I quickly assembled a portfolio in Notion from my phone. By Monday, I'd landed our first $1,000/month client.
A few days later, a surf brand in Morocco hired me out of my hostel's lobby for $500 a month. At this point, my "agency" barely made $1,500 a month—still glorified freelance work.
Chasing Growth Around the World
For four months, I worked in sprints across Bali, Thailand, Singapore, Greece, and beyond, with 12-14 hour days broken up by surfing, volleyball, and meeting people in new cities. But client signings were slow. Between November and January, no new information arrived.
In January, I finally landed a $3,000/month brand. Suddenly, I could afford to hire help—a VA for admin tasks and a content writer. Looking back, the first content hire didn't work out so well, but hiring is always a learning process.
Still, growth wasn't linear. I tried cold calling and emailing local service leads back in, thinking maybe I could fill the gap with smaller projects. A couple even accepted pitches, then ghosted me. My lowest point was being alone in a tiny Albanian town, barely able to speak, just working and waiting. Agency owners rarely talk about those long days when your self-worth feels tied to the money coming in (or not coming in).
Hitting 10K and Building an Agency—Not Just a Freelance Shop
After months abroad, I returned home. Something clicked. That first week, I landed two clients, pushing revenue past $10,000 a month—all recurring. I realized I could finally plan for more than just next week's bills.
I hired another VA, then an operations consultant. At $10K/month, you can run things solo, but I wanted growth, smoother client onboarding, and better results. Real team members were the only way to get there.
My approach has always been to offer genuine relationships and bespoke strategies for brands. I never wanted to outsource tasks overseas simply for higher margins. It's tempting, but I've seen it ruin client results and churn. I'd rather sacrifice a bit of profit to hire the right experts. Clients tend to stay longer, and the work is both fulfilling and rewarding.
Want a look at how we help e-commerce stores get real, lasting SEO wins? Head to my agency website.
Scaling Up: Building a Strong Team and Process
The next puzzle was finding and keeping the best talent. I hired a head of content who'd managed strategy for some of the world's largest e-commerce and online learning platforms. My two virtual assistants took on additional responsibilities, allowing us to revamp our link-building strategy completely. I even brought on a developer who splits his time between our agency and one of the fastest-growing DTC brands anywhere.
Not every hire works out, however. I parted ways with our first ops consultant—our visions just didn't align. I learned that consultants often want their playbook followed to the letter, but there's no single "right way." What matters is what delivers for your clients and fits your agency's culture.
Since November 2022, I've lost only one client, and it was due to budgeting. Client happiness drives everything we do. Most stick with us for over a year, which is rare in agency life, where client churn is usually high.
The bigger aim is simple: Build the best SEO agency for Shopify brands on the planet.
What New Agency Owners Can Learn
You need proof before you can charge high rates. Initially, it's normal to accept lower-paying deals. Use those early projects to build real case studies, then gradually raise your prices as you establish your reputation.
Personalized outreach works. Don't just BCC a hundred generic emails. Discover authentic brands, create personalized Loom videos, and demonstrate genuine value in your pitch.
Personal brand powers everything. Twitter has been the single most significant driver for my business. If you're not sharing what you do and how you help, start now.
You'll face more lows than highs, especially in the beginning. The key is to push through the droughts and keep building.
Careful hiring and process building matter. The wrong hire will slow you down, but the right one can take tasks off your plate and free you to scale.
Genuine client relationships beat high margins. Don't sacrifice quality for profit. Keeping clients happy is more sustainable than chasing quick wins and cycling through contracts.
Closing Thoughts
Building an agency isn't easy. There are no shortcuts—just late nights, rejection, and plenty of self-doubt. However, if you stay focused on results and cultivate meaningful relationships with clients, growth will come naturally.
I'm proud of what we've achieved so far, but I'm far from finished. My mission is to deliver the best SEO results for Shopify brands consistently. To learn more about my approach, I recommend checking out my comprehensive guide to ranking first on Google.
If you're ready to work with an SEO partner that gets the e-commerce grind, or just want to see how a mid-six-figure agency runs in real time, connect with me on Twitter or visit New Seas.
Stay sharp, keep pushing, and never let a rough patch stop you from building what you want.
In a world obsessed with shortcuts and easy wins, building a multi-six-figure SEO agency the real way takes time, guts, and plenty of hard days. My name's Kai Cromwell, and I run New Seas, an SEO agency for Shopify brands. This is my journey from graduate student and agency employee to agency founder serving e-commerce businesses worldwide. Whether you're dreaming of your agency or tired of the grind as a freelancer, there's something here for you.
From Science Labs to Startup Dreams
My story didn't start in marketing or business. I began studying Geographic Information Systems (GIS), which involves mapping data and solving real-world problems, as well as geoscience, in college. My undergrad thesis mapped out how rising sea levels and hurricanes could hit Florida's real estate and local economies over the next half-century.
You might think that path leads somewhere far away from SEO. Still, the truth is that I spent my days buried in microscope work and oceanography labs during graduate school in Sydney, Australia. It didn't take long to realize lab life wasn't what I wanted. So, I quit. It was early 2020. Immediately after I dropped out, the world went into lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Talk about timing.
I'd built an e-commerce store in college, but always focused on paid ads and word-of-mouth marketing. SEO was new to me until two health and wellness brand internships in the summer of 2019 opened my eyes. I began experimenting with SEO tactics for their stores. Within a few months, the idea for a career shift began to take shape.
After dropping out, job applications poured in—over a hundred with my GIS degree, but nothing stuck. I reworked my resume and sent two or three dozen SEO-focused applications. Eventually, a Milwaukee agency called. I squeezed every SEO buzzword into my interview and landed the job.
Six-Figure Responsibility, 10 Days In
On my tenth day, my manager quit. Just like that, I became the SEO manager for the agency, running $100,000 a month in local service company accounts.
Here were the most significant challenges I faced:
Little real-world SEO experience, all self-taught
Learning on the fly while managing client results and expectations
Adapting overnight to remote management once the pandemic hit
My tenure at the agency was an actual test of resilience. Despite the challenges and the mismatch in our visions, I persevered. I didn't let the setbacks define me. Instead, I used them as stepping stones towards my ultimate goal. And eventually, I decided to move on, knowing that I was destined for something greater.
A well-connected family friend introduced me to a new opportunity: freelance SEO work. My first freelance partner was based in New Zealand, and together, we worked with a diverse range of clients, including Fortune 500 executives, dating coaches, and fitness giants. I took on whatever work came my way. When you're paying rent through freelance contracts, you take what you can get.
Life as a Freelancer: Freedom and Frustration
Freelancing gave me more breathing room, but after two years, my income hit a wall. I missed a regular paycheck, and I didn't have benefits. I dreamed of more—bigger projects, higher quality clients, and financial freedom.
At the same time, I went through a mini identity crisis. What was I doing? Unsure of my next move, I embraced travel. Surfing from country to country, laptop bag slung over my shoulder, I ran SEO campaigns from hostels and cafes.
Right before a nine-month solo trip, a $5,000 freelance contract—the biggest I'd ever signed—crashed and burned before kickoff. The company's internal politics killed the whole deal. In that moment, frustration finally drove me to commit fully to building my agency.
Planning an Agency at 30,000 Feet
I was somewhere over the Atlantic on my way to Gran Canaria, a Spanish island, when I finally mapped out my first agency plan. Eight hours, a paid Wi-Fi connection, and a document full of ideas that ended up looking nothing like what I have today.
As I've learned, the best-laid plans for agencies rarely survive first contact. The key is not to cling to them, but to adapt and move fast. It's about making quick decisions and being flexible, knowing that the path to success is often paved with unexpected twists and turns.
One of the first significant changes I made was to double down on Twitter to build a personal brand. I strategically utilized the platform to connect with potential clients and industry peers, and the results exceeded my expectations. Nearly every client since has come from the connections and credibility I've grown there. If you're interested in building in public, I encourage you to follow me on Twitter to see how it works.
Landing My First Real Clients
With a project pipeline running dry and bills piling up, I got serious about outreach. Here's precisely how I approached brands:
Scroll through Instagram and screenshot every ad from a Shopify brand I saw.
Use the three-dot menu to "hide" the ad, to keep my timeline fresh.
Each morning, gather all those brand names and use Hunter.io to find the founder or CMO's email address.
Record a one-minute personalized Loom audit for each site. ("I like what you did here. You could outdo X competitor by doing Y in your content.”)
Send 20 emails a day for three weeks straight.
Finally, a Shopify brand replied: "This is the best cold email I've ever received." We hopped on a call. I quickly assembled a portfolio in Notion from my phone. By Monday, I'd landed our first $1,000/month client.
A few days later, a surf brand in Morocco hired me out of my hostel's lobby for $500 a month. At this point, my "agency" barely made $1,500 a month—still glorified freelance work.
Chasing Growth Around the World
For four months, I worked in sprints across Bali, Thailand, Singapore, Greece, and beyond, with 12-14 hour days broken up by surfing, volleyball, and meeting people in new cities. But client signings were slow. Between November and January, no new information arrived.
In January, I finally landed a $3,000/month brand. Suddenly, I could afford to hire help—a VA for admin tasks and a content writer. Looking back, the first content hire didn't work out so well, but hiring is always a learning process.
Still, growth wasn't linear. I tried cold calling and emailing local service leads back in, thinking maybe I could fill the gap with smaller projects. A couple even accepted pitches, then ghosted me. My lowest point was being alone in a tiny Albanian town, barely able to speak, just working and waiting. Agency owners rarely talk about those long days when your self-worth feels tied to the money coming in (or not coming in).
Hitting 10K and Building an Agency—Not Just a Freelance Shop
After months abroad, I returned home. Something clicked. That first week, I landed two clients, pushing revenue past $10,000 a month—all recurring. I realized I could finally plan for more than just next week's bills.
I hired another VA, then an operations consultant. At $10K/month, you can run things solo, but I wanted growth, smoother client onboarding, and better results. Real team members were the only way to get there.
My approach has always been to offer genuine relationships and bespoke strategies for brands. I never wanted to outsource tasks overseas simply for higher margins. It's tempting, but I've seen it ruin client results and churn. I'd rather sacrifice a bit of profit to hire the right experts. Clients tend to stay longer, and the work is both fulfilling and rewarding.
Want a look at how we help e-commerce stores get real, lasting SEO wins? Head to my agency website.
Scaling Up: Building a Strong Team and Process
The next puzzle was finding and keeping the best talent. I hired a head of content who'd managed strategy for some of the world's largest e-commerce and online learning platforms. My two virtual assistants took on additional responsibilities, allowing us to revamp our link-building strategy completely. I even brought on a developer who splits his time between our agency and one of the fastest-growing DTC brands anywhere.
Not every hire works out, however. I parted ways with our first ops consultant—our visions just didn't align. I learned that consultants often want their playbook followed to the letter, but there's no single "right way." What matters is what delivers for your clients and fits your agency's culture.
Since November 2022, I've lost only one client, and it was due to budgeting. Client happiness drives everything we do. Most stick with us for over a year, which is rare in agency life, where client churn is usually high.
The bigger aim is simple: Build the best SEO agency for Shopify brands on the planet.
What New Agency Owners Can Learn
You need proof before you can charge high rates. Initially, it's normal to accept lower-paying deals. Use those early projects to build real case studies, then gradually raise your prices as you establish your reputation.
Personalized outreach works. Don't just BCC a hundred generic emails. Discover authentic brands, create personalized Loom videos, and demonstrate genuine value in your pitch.
Personal brand powers everything. Twitter has been the single most significant driver for my business. If you're not sharing what you do and how you help, start now.
You'll face more lows than highs, especially in the beginning. The key is to push through the droughts and keep building.
Careful hiring and process building matter. The wrong hire will slow you down, but the right one can take tasks off your plate and free you to scale.
Genuine client relationships beat high margins. Don't sacrifice quality for profit. Keeping clients happy is more sustainable than chasing quick wins and cycling through contracts.
Closing Thoughts
Building an agency isn't easy. There are no shortcuts—just late nights, rejection, and plenty of self-doubt. However, if you stay focused on results and cultivate meaningful relationships with clients, growth will come naturally.
I'm proud of what we've achieved so far, but I'm far from finished. My mission is to deliver the best SEO results for Shopify brands consistently. To learn more about my approach, I recommend checking out my comprehensive guide to ranking first on Google.
If you're ready to work with an SEO partner that gets the e-commerce grind, or just want to see how a mid-six-figure agency runs in real time, connect with me on Twitter or visit New Seas.
Stay sharp, keep pushing, and never let a rough patch stop you from building what you want.
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