Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the practice of enhancing the visibility of websites within search engines like Google and Bing. It involves using various techniques to increase the number of visitors who click on your website from organic searches rather than paid advertisements. To get started with SEO, you first need to understand how search engines work. This will help you choose the right keywords, write content that ranks well, and create backlinks that point to your site. Here are the top 5 things to know before starting your SEO campaign. These tips will save you tons of time and effort while helping you succeed with SEO.
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1. SEO is an Ongoing Process
One of the most common questions asked by newbies is whether or not they should invest in SEO. In many cases, the answer is yes. However, the question needs to be answered differently depending on the type of website you are running. For example, if you run a blog, then SEO is probably something you should consider investing in. After all, blogs are typically designed to rank well organically. On the other hand, if you run a site that sells products, then SEO probably shouldn’t be considered an investment. Why? Unless you’re selling physical goods, chances are that your product page is unlikely to rank well organically, especially if your competition has invested heavily in SEO. Instead, focus on building traffic through organic search engine optimization (SEO). Once your traffic numbers reach critical mass, you can then decide whether or not to invest in paid advertising.
2. SEO is NOT a One-Time Effort
Most people associate SEO with link building. However, that’s only half of the equation. Yes, links are important. Without quality backlinks, your site is likely to suffer from low rankings. However, there are many other factors involved in SEO other than link building. After all, Google doesn’t look at links alone. Instead, it looks at hundreds of signals to determine which websites are relevant to their users. These signals include social media shares, user engagement metrics, page speed, domain authority, page loading speed, keyword density, etc. While link building is often seen as the primary driver of SEO activity, it’s just one small piece of the puzzle. As such, you must understand the entire SEO process before jumping right into link building. Otherwise, you’ll risk spending months or even years chasing down dead ends.
3. SEO Requires Patience
There is no doubt that SEO is a long game. Unfortunately, many newbie webmasters rush into SEO without fully understanding the process. As a result, they waste valuable time and money pursuing strategies that ultimately lead nowhere. For example, many inexperienced webmasters spend hours optimizing images, writing meta descriptions, creating sitemaps, submitting content, etc. These activities are great for getting started, but they’re rarely effective in helping sites rank higher on Google. Instead, focus your efforts on improving the core elements of your site. For example, instead of worrying about image tags, write compelling copy and improve your site’s navigation structure. Once these improvements are complete, then you can worry about adding additional pages and growing your audience.
4. SEO Requires Persistence
If you’ve been reading my articles for any length of time, you know that I’m big on persistence. Why? Because without persistence, you’ll never build a business. Period. Whether you’re starting a side hustle, launching a startup, or working your way up at a large company, persistence is absolutely vital. At the same time, however, you also need to be realistic. Sure, you may be able to work 80-hour weeks for six months in a row. But after that point, you’ll burn out. And once you hit burnout, your results will plummet. Instead of working 100+ hour weeks, aim for 40-hour weeks. Then, when you have a few months under your belt, increase your workload to 60 hours per week. Then repeat this cycle until you find that sweet spot between productivity and sanity.
5. SEO Requires Consistency
If you want to grow a business, you need to consistently deliver value. Not every day, not every month, not every quarter, but every single week. If you don’t deliver consistent value to your customers, your business will eventually stagnate. To avoid stagnation, you need to constantly update your offerings. For example, rather than focusing solely on your blogging skills, try offering consulting services related to SEO. Or offer training courses for beginners who want to learn how to optimize their websites. By continually delivering fresh, unique value, you’ll continue to attract new clients while keeping old ones happy.
6. SEO is Scalable
It’s easy to talk about the importance of consistency. In reality, though, it’s incredibly difficult to maintain consistency. That’s why it’s important to develop systems that allow you to scale your business easily. For example, you could hire freelancers to handle certain tasks. You could use tools like Trello to organize workflows. You could automate processes using Zapier, HubSpot, etc. The key is to make sure that everything you do is scalable. That way, you can scale up or down as needed.
Conclusion
SEO isn’t a one-time effort. It takes constant work, but if you put in the right amount of effort, you will see results. So before you dive into the world of SEO, these are six things you should know first. There are many different ways to optimize your site, from adding keywords to creating content that ranks well. Just remember that SEO is never done, and always continue to improve your efforts.
