How Caitlin Strempel Earns $350k/Year With SEO Marketing While Working 25 Hours Per Week

Caitlin Strempel is the entrepreneur behind several successful, growing projects. A combination of shiny object syndrome and learning how to pivot and follow her passions and interests have led her to create different thriving businesses.

Her initial project was an SEO agency called Rising Ranks Digital, which today basically runs itself and contributes to her 6-figure-per-year paycheck. She also created the first-ever woman-owned NFT marketing agency, a networking group for creators in Web3, and a podcast. She has an impressive portfolio but only works 25 hours per week.

Keep reading to find out:

• What her SEO agency does
• How she got into the crypto and NFT space
• Why she created her NFT marketing agency
• How she's helping artists in Web3
• Why she launched her podcast
• How much she's earning
• Her secret to marketing the business
• Her thoughts on SEO, link building, and keyword research
• Her top tools and resources
• Caitlin's biggest challenge
• The accomplishment she's most proud of
• Her main mistake
• The advice she'd give to other entrepreneurs

Meet Caitlin Strempel

My name is Caitlin. I’m 37 years old, and I live in Phoenix, Arizona with my partner, our 2 boys who are 1 and 6, and our 3 furbabies. 

I have way too many hobbies: yoga, hiking, snowboarding, running, painting, reading self-improvement books, pickleball, and so much more.

I went to school for entrepreneurship and advertising, with a minor in psychology. I love strategy, selling psychology, and analytics. And I also love the soul and manifestation side of the business, too. Over the past few years, I started to add more “soul” into my offerings, and it has made the business a ton of fun.

I own several businesses, and I also started investing in other business ventures as well.

Caitlin’s Various Projects

I own Rising Ranks Digital. It used to be a full done-for-you SEO agency, but in 2023 we shifted over to marketing plans, SEO audits, and consulting only so I could have more time to mentor women who want to build and scale their businesses. I also started a podcast and networking group.

One of our clients at Rising Ranks Digital got us interested in the crypto and NFT space. We helped him with one of his launches, and I fell in love with the NFT/Crypto/Web3 community. 

After immersing myself in the community, I quickly realized how many artists were looking to make money in that space, which required them to treat their projects like businesses (my forte) and create meaningful connections. 

After seeing this need, I launched Quantum Moon Marketing, the first-ever woman-owned NFT marketing agency, as well as The Calibration Room, a networking and connection group for female and nonbinary creators, builders, and artists in Web3.

I also launched the “Women in NFTs & Web3” podcast to help create more visibility for women in Web3. Only 9% of the money floating around Web3 is going into the hands of women as it is a heavily male-dominated space. It’s become a passion of mine to close this gap!

I became an entrepreneur because I never did well having a boss. I like things my way, and I love to dream big without restrictions. And after becoming a mom, I desperately wanted to make my own hours.

I started Rising Ranks Digital and did all things online marketing until I found a niche (SEO) where I excelled, and I knew what people needed. From there, I followed my passion… Helping businesses find their money leaks via audits, one-on-one consulting, and mentoring women ready to make money!

It took some time to find my stride in selling my SEO services—probably a year or two.

Once I could create automation and processes and get myself out of the day-to-day activities, I could add more to my plate and help more people! I currently spend about 25 hours per week total on all of my businesses.

How Much Money She’s Making

Rising Ranks Digital makes around $250k-350/year through SEO/website audits, marketing audits, consulting, SEO courses, etc. 

The Calibration Room launched a few months ago with an 8k launch, and the podcast is my passion project. It does not bring in money directly, but it creates invaluable connections for me in the space.

It took me 4 years to reach this revenue level, and we’re now in year 6.

Cailin’s Top Marketing Strategies

Our number one marketing strategy is to give luxury customer service and ask for referrals.

Also, I did kickstart my business at the beginning by searching Facebook groups for people asking SEO questions. I would answer them, and as I kept providing value, I would get DMs and requests for services that way. 

I’m also not afraid to make friends at places I frequent (such as the gym) and talk about what I do and who I serve. My first client came from someone I met at the gym.

Her Views on SEO

Local SEO was hugely important for my business, especially at the beginning, before we became mostly referral-based. Now, SEO-optimized blog posts account for 60% of our email sign-ups!

For keyword research, we use Ubersuggest and Ahrefs, and we never underestimate keywords with a low search volume. Some of our highest-traffic keywords (a few hundred visitors per month) come from these keywords.

When it comes to content, we create content 1-2x per month and repurpose a lot for emails and social media. 

Link Building

We were link building hard at the beginning of our business, which helped us quantum jump to the top, but nowadays, we focus mainly on content creation and not so much on the backlinks. We find that our blog posts give us the biggest “bang for our buck.”

Her Favorite Resource and Tools

Alex Charfin (social media, email list, podcast) has been a great resource for me regarding creating a business that runs and scales itself.

As for tools, we use Ubersuggest for keyword research, social media as a consumer research tool and see what questions people are asking, and Quickbooks, as staying on top of finances is key.

Caitlin’s Biggest Challenge

Getting myself out of the business was hard for me. I used to be a control freak.

Her Greatest Accomplishment

I’m most proud of becoming a Forbes contributor, getting my clients to million-dollar months, and being an unapologetic voice for women in business—whether in male-dominated spaces or being their true authentic selves on social media.

What She Wishes She Knew When She Started

It’s so important to create processes for everything! And I wish I had more confidence in the fact that there are many businesses out there who want to pay the higher-ticket price for better service.

Her Main Mistake

I have shiny object syndrome, and it’s hard for me to stay focused on one thing… For anyone who can keep the focus, do that and perfect it 1000% before you add another project to your plate.

Her Advice for Other Entrepreneurs

Don’t underestimate the power of delivering great service. Referrals are the easiest and cheapest way to get new clients.