So, you want to learn what all those techie-types are referring to when they talk about link building, anchor text, title tags, and on-site optimization? Welcome to the SEO club!
Teaching
yourself SEO can be a challenging process, but it’s not impossible.
Take a look at the following step-by-step plan and then get started.
Remember,
SEO changes every day, so there’s no time like the present to
get started learning!Step #1: Seek out beginner-level resources
Now,
I’m assuming that you’re reading this article because you want to learn
SEO on your own time, as a supplement to whatever else your full-time
job may be.
If you have the time or resources, there are plenty of
great “all inclusive” training courses that’ll take you from beginner
to advanced student in the shortest amount of time possible (for
example, check out the SES series of conferences if you’ve got a few thousand dollars to invest in your education).
But
if you’re doing this on your own, you’ll want to begin by seeking out
well-regarded beginner-level resources. There are plenty of different
training programs out there, though you’ll want to pay special attention
to the following options:
- SEOMoz’s “Beginner’s Guide to SEO”
- SEO Book’s “SEO Training”
- Bruce Clay’s “Search Engine Optimization Tutorial”
Any
of these resources will give you a solid background in the principles
and techniques underpinning the practice of search engine optimization.
Once you feel comfortable with the concepts covered in these
beginner-level resources, begin to seek out more advanced training
programs to refine your skills and understanding even further.
Step #2: Put what you’ve learned into practice
As
you begin your SEO training, you’ll encounter plenty of different
tricks and techniques that will help your future webpages to perform
well in the natural search results. However, keep in mind that learning
SEO from an ebook is a lot like learning to drive from a book. There’s a
pretty big difference between reading about the subject and actually
putting it into practice!
If you really want to learn SEO, you
can’t just read about the approaches taken by others. Instead, you need
to practice implementing them on your own websites and measuring the
impact that each change you make has on your site’s overall performance.
Don’t have a website? Well, there’s never been a better time to start one!
Your
new website doesn’t need to be complex, and you don’t need to have any
business goals associated with it. It doesn’t have to be an expensive
proposition either. In fact, it’ll take less than $100 to purchase the
Web hosting and domain needed to create your own static HTML or
WordPress website.
What’s important is that you see, in real time,
how different SEO concepts are put into practice. While it’s one thing
to read about techniques like optimizing your title tags or meta
descriptions, carrying out these tasks in real time will give you a
better understanding of how SEO functions overall, making you a more
effective website optimizer in the long run.
Step #3: Find a mentor
Of
course, building a five-page website on which to practice SEO isn’t
nearly the same thing as optimizing a 1,000+ page e-commerce website!
With
SEO, there’s a tremendous learning curve that separates SEO newbies
from more advanced practitioners. So, while you’ll certainly learn
plenty by studying and implementing the practices you learn about on
your own website, you’ll advance your skill set even further by finding
an advanced SEO mentor who can give you helpful guidance on how to
improve your techniques.
Finding a mentor can be a challenge, as
many practitioners within the field are too busy with their own projects
to offer suitable guidance to a beginner. Ask around at local business
networking events, Web forums, or SEO groups, but don’t be surprised if
it takes some time to find a mentor who’s both available to work with
you and well-suited to your unique learning style. Keep searching until
you find the right person and you’ll be amazed at how quickly your SEO
skills can improve!
Step #4: Join an SEO group
In
addition to finding an SEO mentor, search your area for any in-person
SEO meetup groups. Though smaller, more rural areas may not have
established groups of this nature, most cities offer at least a handful
of SEO or digital marketing meetups for participants of all skill
levels.
To find these gatherings, try searching for your city on Meetup.com
to view all existing local activities, or try entering the phrase, “SEO
group + your city” or “digital marketing group + your city” into
Google. If your search turns up multiple options, check them all out to
determine which groups are the best fit for your skills, interests, and
personality.
Or, if you aren’t able to find information on any
existing SEO groups, why not start your own? Services like Meetup.com
make it easy to organize groups and promote your new organization to a
wide variety of members. If you do decide to go this route, try
partnering with any SEO or digital marketing professionals in your area
to bring a more experienced viewpoint to your new group.
Step #5: Monitor SEO news sites for industry updates
Finally,
to really grow your SEO skills, you need to remain on top of the
industry’s many changes. Think about it … If you select a single SEO
training program from the list above to work off of and never change up
your learning materials, you aren’t going to be informed on any changes
that have occurred within the field of SEO since your materials were
initially introduced.
As a result, it’s imperative that you set
aside time every week to browse through SEO news websites. You can
navigate directly to sites like Search Engine Journal or SEOMoz, or you can use aggregation services like Alltop’s SEO page or Inbound.org to get a quick overview of what’s hot within the field of digital marketing.
While
browsing these pages, keep an eye out for trending topics that are
covered in multiple articles or across multiple websites, as these
subjects typically indicate issues you’ll want to be aware of.
For example, if Google rolls out a change to one of its algorithms,
you can bet you’ll see a handful of different articles about the
specific update and its implications on every SEO news website out
there. The fact that so many people have covered a given topic makes it
one that you’ll definitely want to pay attention to!
Yes, it will
take time to learn SEO. It’s a complicated field that few have mastered,
so plan on putting in plenty of time hitting the books and looking up
new terminology. But don’t let this discourage you! Remember that even
the most advanced SEOs started out where you are today. Although you
might feel overwhelmed right now, know that with consistent, dedicated
studying, you’ll soon be talking Web with the best of them!
Got
a favorite SEO training resource you’d like to share? If there’s a
particular book, website, or course that has helped you to master SEO,
share your recommendations in the comment section below.
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