SEO
SEO Strategies
7 Secrets In SEO I have learned
8:33 PM
I joined the world of SEO aided with a degree in Computer
Engineering, an MBA and a passion for marketing…but that still wasn’t
enough! There was so much to learn which was both challenging and
exciting at the same time. Here are some of the main things that I’ve
learned in my first month in SEO:
That was the first piece of advice my
colleague gave me on Day One. The vast amount of information spread all
over the internet is overwhelming and you tend to take a lot of it to
heart; don’t! I’ve lost track of the endless blogs and resources I’ve
read and tried to absorb during the past month, but I have concluded
that there is no such thing as ‘matter of fact’ when it comes to SEO.
The one way to confirm the authenticity of what you read is by testing
it.
With SEO, you can spend all your time
‘learning’ it by reading all the books in the world but to no avail. The
best way to learn all the right strategies and techniques is to
implement them yourself. One trick I’ve used is to just use SEO in my
everyday life! For example, in my first week of producing SEO audits, I
made it a habit to check out the title tags, URL consistency and
canonicals on all the webpages I visited in my spare time; even those
that just have memes of random cute babies! The more you observe,
analyse and experiment; the more it all starts to make sense.
3. Character limits are not as easy as they seem
At first, I thought the entire concept
of sticking to the character limit for title tags and meta-descriptions
would be easy; after all, I’m used to the 140 character limit for
tweets! But boy, was I wrong! It’s not just about your title tags being
too long. Another problem might be that they’re too short. Or sometimes
they are the right length, but they don’t use the right keywords. Or
perhaps they’re inconsistent in structure compared to the rest! I also
found out about the significance of embedding long tail keywords in
title tags in the process of on-page optimization and how that can rank
higher in less time than competitive keywords. Yep, not as easy as
Twitter.
4. Quality over Quantity
I use the word
‘keywords’ on a daily basis now and I’ve come across a number of
websites that spam their pages with the keywords they want to be ranked
for. From a user point of view, it looks ridiculous…from an SEO point of
view, it’s a crime. SEO is about quality not quantity. It’s not about
stuffing every possible keyword that you want to be ranked for; it’s
about doing a thorough keyword research to target the right ones.
Keyword consistency that is non-manipulative in nature is what you need.
Steady, interesting and accurate information are the main methods to
obtain better search results for your website. Avoid the negative user
experience and being penalized by Google by using reliable relevant
keywords on your website.
5. Content is King
I must have come across this expression in every content marketing book I’ve read but it’s the truth. 
SEO
and content always go hand in hand; you can’t change one without
changing the other. They need to complement each other at all times.
It’s well known that homepage content is important because Google reads
it to learn more about the company, but I was surprised by the number of
websites that lack content on their homepage because they’d rather
stick to visually appealing images or flash. Relevant, in-depth and high
quality content is what Google and your audience are looking for, not
just pretty pictures.
6. Put yourself in the user’s shoes
The best tactic to approach a new website for the
first time is to take those SEO shoes off and put yourself in the
position of the user. Let’s say this website sells vintage stationary;
ask yourself: what would a user type in the Google search bar if that’s
what he/she’s after? Remember, understanding the user’s intent should
always be your starting point.
Once you’re on a website, browse it just
like a user who’s interested in vintage stationary would browse it. How
are those menu items looking? Is there enough content on the homepage?
How many clicks did you need to do to reach a product that you want to
buy? How easy is the checkout process? Not rushing this process and
asking myself as much questions possible, truly helped me see things
from the user’s perspective.
7. It changes all the time
There’s nothing stable about SEO. It’s
always changing as it tends to evolve with the market which means you
can’t get comfortable with a certain strategy and just stick to it. You
need to stay updated with all the latest news on search to plan
accordingly. A valuable lesson I’ve taken away after one month is I need
to do my research before working on a new project to make sure that I’m
up to date with all the latest trends.
What about you? What was your first
month of SEO like? What are some key things that you have learned during
your time in the industry? Let me know your thoughts below!
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