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Search engine optimization (SEO) promises many benefits, allowing you to increase traffic to your website, improve brand visibility, and set a course for long-term growth. But if you have no idea what you’re doing and no real experience in the world of SEO, is this strategy completely unattainable?
The short answer is no! However, even if you have no idea how search engines work and no experience in creating content for SEO, there is a way for you to use this strategy however you want.
What is SEO?
In case you aren’t familiar, let’s talk about the basics of SEO. You probably already know that most people rely on search engines to answer their questions, research new topics, and gather information.
You can probably guess that most people click on the first or second result they generate from a given search rather than scrolling through multiple pages. Search engine optimization is all about increasing your likelihood of having your web pages ranked in one of these top slots.
You will need to use many individual tactics to rank higher in the search engines. We’ll cover some of them in more detail later.
The three paths of SEO for beginners
If you’re a complete beginner, there are essentially three ways to harness the power of SEO.
Learn and do it yourself
It’s a little intimidating at first, but you can learn the basics of SEO on your own. Most of the basics are easy to understand, and there is a wealth of content online that you can use to learn new skills and get some initial practice.
Within a few hours, you should understand the basics, and after a few months of practice, you can probably call yourself an expert. Of course, SEO can be difficult and always takes a lot of time, but if you are patient and persistent, you can hypothetically do everything yourself.
Use third-party SEO services
You don’t have to do it all yourself. You can also ask for help from SEO services they offer agencies, freelancers, or employees you hire to build your own team.
This option is more expensive as you are likely to pay thousands of dollars per month for professional services. But you will save a lot of time and have much more reliable results.
Establish a hybrid approach
The other option is to establish a sort of hybrid approach. You’ll still learn the basics of SEO and practice standard techniques independently. However, you’ll also leverage the power of third-party services to amplify your capabilities and compensate for any weaknesses you may have.
This is arguably the most balanced approach and the one most commonly chosen by newcomers to the field.
Learn the basics of SEO
It’s impossible to summarize all of SEO in a single article, let alone a single section, but we’ll cover some of the basics here. The two main considerations to keep in mind when optimizing for search engines are relevance and trustworthiness.
Google and other search engines want to prioritize the visibility of content they perceive to be relevant to a search query and trustworthy enough to recommend.
The relevance side of the equation is mainly due to keyword optimization.
Keyword optimization has evolved significantly over the years and is much more sophisticated than ever. Still, the basic idea is that you should create content that is explicitly appropriate for the search queries you think your target audience will make.
For example, if you sell pogo sticks, you will need to write a lot of content on your site about pogo sticks so that you can show up for pogo stick related searches. As a result, businesses often invest a lot of time and money in keyword research to ensure they are choosing the most appropriate targets.
The reliability side of the equation is based on a number of factors.
Google prioritizes technically polished and accessible websites, so it pays to make sure your website is fully functional and user-friendly. Beyond that, you’ll need to think about your “authority” score, which depends primarily on the quality and quantity of links pointing to your site.
Do early research and strategies, then break stocks down into three components
On-site technical optimization.
On-site technical optimization is all about making sure your website loads properly and efficiently. You’ll also want to make sure you improve the overall user experience.
Mobile optimization, faster load times and clean coding can help you here. You’ll also need to make sure your site shows up in Google’s index, although if you’re using a conventional website builder, many of these issues will be taken care of for you.
On-site content development.
Content is still the heart of SEO. Writing on-site content will help you set the context for your site and improve its relevance to users’ search queries. It is also a useful quality indicator used to assess reliability to some extent.
As an added bonus, content is valuable for attracting new users and securing conversions, making it strategically useful even independently of SEO.
Offsite content and link building.
You’ll also need to think about compensated content and link building. Building lots of links is great, but building high-quality links is even better. You’ll also need to think about how your links look, as unnatural links can get you penalized.
Find the right partner for SEO services
If you decide to work with an external service provider, either exclusively or as part of a hybrid model, you should know that finding the right partner for your needs is critical. There are three main options to consider:
agencies Agencies are some of the most reliable providers you can find, as they have entire teams of experts to help you and a strong motivation to do a good job. However, they tend to be more expensive and may require long-term contracts before working with you. employees Having a team of employees to help you execute your vision can also be valuable. This arrangement is a bit more flexible and allows you to maintain more control, but it can get expensive quickly. Autonomous Freelancers are less reliable and harder to find, but this is one of the least expensive options available if you can find good people. Freelancers are also useful if you want to scale your strategy over time, as you can gradually add more people as you need them without much hassle.
What to look for when shopping for SEO providers
experience How long has this supplier been in business? Do they have several years of experience to inform their decisions or are they just starting out? Do they have any experience in your specific field? Specializations What kind of services and specializations are available through this provider? For example, does this agency offer video content in addition to written content? Can they help you with keyword research? Or do they focus exclusively on one aspect of SEO, such as link building? Available resources. Are there resources available to meet your needs? What happens when you need to climb? Will you have a dedicated account representative to help answer your questions? Strategies and approach. Pay close attention to the overall strategy and process used by this provider. Are they following ethical and white hat strategies? Or do they seem dubious whenever you ask questions about how they approach SEO? Watch for red flags here. The employment relationship. In addition to having knowledge, experience and resources, it is also essential that your supplier maintains a healthy working relationship with you. Are they willing to make compromises? Are they easy to communicate with? Do they answer your questions in a simple way? cost Finally, consider how much this provider costs. You often get what you pay for in the SEO world, but it’s also possible to overpay for simple services. Get multiple quotes and compare apples to apples to make sure you get the best deal.
conclusion
Whether you’re trying to accelerate the growth of your small business, promote yourself, or add a new strategy to an existing company’s repertoire of marketing strategies, SEO can be a valuable tool, even if you’re inexperienced .
Of course, it will take some work, some knowledge, and some patience, but even unknown marketers can use optimization to their advantage.
Image credit: by Monstera; Pexels; Thanks!
Timothy Carter
Director of Finance
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