Become an SEO Expert: –
SEO takes time, commitment, and experience.
To become an SEO expert.
There are so many reasons to love SEO.
SEO is fascinating.
SEO is a fast-paced, in-demand field with a lot of longevity ahead of it.
SEO also attracts people who see SEO as an easy way to make money or as a work from home.
SEO expertise, like any other field, requires time, commitment, and experience.
Here are 21 things need to become an SEO expert.
1. Understand the basics of SEO:
To become an expert, start with the basics.
To understand how audiences and search engines interact, and what can be done to optimize content effectively.
Learning the basics boils down to three basic components:
The types of content that users want, expect or need.
It’s about the user’s intent.
The inner workings of how search engines actually work.
The tools and techniques are necessary to optimize the websites.
Without this background, one can explain the what, how, where, and why.
As someone who has worked in this industry for 15 years, knowing why sets apart.
When delving into more advanced aspects of SEO, knowing why things are the way they are can make them more effective.
At Search Engine Journal, we created an ebook that covers the basics of SEO.
2. Create the own websites:
Once understand the basics of SEO, it’s time to apply them.
Most pros will say they learned the most by building sites and breaking things.
Don’t just start out trying to do SEO for big brands;
Get started doing SEO for our own website.
Create something, be it a blog, an affiliate site, or an app start doing and hone the skills that way.
Learn HTML and learn all the tags and then try.
Play around with the content and see how it manifests itself on the SERPs.
Pick a topic that is passionate about.
That will make it easier to create content.
Spend more time creating and optimizing content.
3. Learn WordPress :
One-third of the websites are built with WordPress.
So if someone wants to be an SEO expert, they better have to know it well.
It’s not just that it’s ubiquitous, it’s also the best CMS for SEO.
WordPress is perfect for functionalities that directly (eg metadata) and indirectly (eg UX) affect SEO performance.
4. Learn Google Analytics and Google Search Console:
SEO professionals use a wide variety of tools to optimize content and analyze its effectiveness.
Google Analytics and Google Search Console are essential for any SEO command centre.
Google Analytics is all about measurement and reporting.
Google Search Console enables site optimization.
Experience in SEO requires mastery of both.
5. Read about SEO every day:
The major search engines make changes every day and never know the impact they will have on rankings.
Keeping up with SEO content on a daily basis is kept up to date.
6. Understand how search engines work:
It may seem that much of the fate is in the hands of search engines.
These bots make decisions about the quality and relevance of the content.
Several key factors drive those decisions.
Understanding search intent, relevance, content quality, links, and usability will help better understand why algorithms work the way they do.
Search engines are a black box – they don’t reveal the secret sauce behind their products.
7. Read the Google Quality Rater Guidelines:
For an even deeper look behind the curtain, study Google’s Guidelines for Quality Testers.
Google hires people to rate websites, and this guide covers the factors they are asked to look for.
Be familiar with the simplified version of its content, known as E-A-T:
- Expertise.
- Authority.
- Integrity.
Evaluators are not SEO professionals, they are ordinary people.
Like search engine bots, these testers have an effect on site performance.
8. Look at the SERPs:
Look at search engine results pages (SERPs).
- How composed?
- What content is displayed?
- Who is doing
Notice how the results change when searching for different types of queries.
See these featured recipe snippets due to the questions asked in the search box.
Google is making decisions about the intent behind those queries and offers content in a format that it thinks users want the most.
9. Learn about technical SEO:
Technical SEO is everything that makes the site easier to crawl and index.
Technical SEO involves mobile usability, site speed, structured data, JavaScript, and all the mechanisms that influence the operation of a website.
These factors influence a site’s ranking in the SERPs.
It has amazing content, but a slow or buggy site will affect performance.
With so much content to compete with, a website with a strong technical SEO foundation can make or break strategy.
10. Learn more about content strategy, creation, optimization, and promotion:
While technical SEO helps search engines crawl and index the site more effectively, understanding content will help improve user experience, time on site, links, and much more.
The content was created using a keyword first strategy.
Since the Hummingbird and RankBrain update entered the scene, content must be created on a user-first strategy.
The content should be optimized to add context to the content and help search engines understand how to categorize it.
That content must also be supported by a promotional strategy.
SEO alone is not enough – other marketing channels (e.g. social media, email) contribute to the success or failure of content.
11. Use link building tactics that really work:
Link building is one of the first things should learn when studying SEO.
To benefit from link building, need quality links, not just quantity.
Getting there requires a combination of good reporting and relationship building.
Relationships are very important for link building.
12. Don’t develop the checklist mindset:
The checklist mindset is when become so focused on following a regiment that to become inflexible and don’t realize when that routine is no longer working.
Search engines are changing all the time.
To be adaptable, and a checklist mindset means walking blindly through a to-do list.
Over time, items on that to-do list get out of date or ignore new updates.
Eventually, the checklist mindset will negatively affect the results.
Instead, be open-minded and results-oriented.
If the rankings have dropped, despite sticking to the checklist, think outside the box.
The following tips will point the direction of good resources to help continually develop.
13. Join Facebook groups:
Facebook is full of active and helpful groups for SEO professionals.
Here are just a few:
Global SEO network.
Questions about digital marketing.
SEO tips, tricks and tools.
Facebook groups give access to a network of peers already prepared.
Don’t just look for SEO groups, look for groups that also include marketers, content creators, and social media professionals.
If have an interest in e-commerce or B2B marketing, look for groups with those areas of interest.
14. Follow the SEO experts on Twitter:
Following the SEO experts on Twitter offers one more way to access their wealth of knowledge.
Use Twitter to stay up-to-date with the latest news, engage in conversations, and get opinions on non-black-and-white SEO topics.
To get started, follow other SEO experts that major SEO blogs are already following.
By following the right people on Twitter, sharpen the SEO awareness and connect to opportunities might not have heard of otherwise.
15. Attend SEO and Marketing conferences:
Another way to level up skills is by attending events.
Conferences and webinars are excellent resources for learning more about specific aspects of content marketing.
In-person events may be on hold for now, but there are still many virtual conferences in progress.
The presentations are expertly guided on the topics that are most important to most SEO professionals.
They can be expensive, but a great conference is worth the investment.
Attending events or webinars provides the opportunity to hear directly from industry experts, an opportunity may not have otherwise.
16. Listen to the podcasts:
Podcasts have exploded in recent years, and that includes podcasts that cover SEO.
Listen on the go, or while cooking or exercising.
Podcasts are the best way to fuel the brain while multitasking.
Find any number of formats, display lengths and hosts to suit the fancy.
17. Grow the personal network:
Few SEO professionals who are total JavaScript SEO experts know next to nothing about link building.
industry folks are amazing at content strategy and promotion, but terrible at some technical aspects of SEO.
At some point, will need the help of someone else in the industry.
Use social media to start building relationships.
Platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn make this easy.
The best way to make connections and grow the network is to be willing to share information.
Remember, relationships are a two-way street.
Share own experiences and knowledge.
The idea is to be continuously in contact and develop a relationship with people.
Share and comment on the content that others have shared.
Over time, build a trusted network of people who can troubleshoot, brainstorm, and share tips, strategies, and other learnings.
18. Take advantage of free courses:
One of the best things about learning SEO is the vast amount of free information available.
There are also many free courses from well-respected companies and instructors.
Also find free Moz courses, SEMrush, and free trials at Lynda.com.
19. Keep learning and developing the skillset:
There is no endpoint to becoming an expert.
There are many other skills adjacent to SEO that make it more effective.
Study web development, copywriting, or even graphic design.
Familiarize with a particular industry or specialize in a certain type of content.
Continual expansion of the skill set deepens the experience and sets itself up as an informed resource.
20. Learn from mistakes and repeat successes:
SEO is not an exact science and experts learn a lot through trial and error.
Errors are inevitable.
Learn from them and move on.
On the other hand, when do something that works, write it down.
Then it becomes a mistake that can learn from.
The point: never stop learning and improving.
21. Be patient:
Get on the wave of algorithm changes.
Be amazed by updates to search tools.
Build the community.
None of these things can be rushed.
But if have a passion for it, the reward is a rewarding and in-demand career.
Being an SEO expert opens up a world of opportunities.
Play a vital role in launching a startup.
Upgrade the online presence of a 50-year-old company.
Help an entrepreneur reach new audiences.
Help a retailer smash their sales targets.
Need to develop a lot of skills to become that trustworthy resource.
But it all starts with patience, integrity, and a hunger to learn.