If it’s all about search, then it should be about acquiring knowledge. If it is about acquiring knowledge, then it certainly must be about awareness. This is what SEO is all about. More than 20 years on an SEO is an online lifestyle. However, the landscape is evolving and fast. Take an SEO online test today, and you will not doubt this.
SEO is the link between websites, blogs, and other online content and their intended audiences. It is indeed an era of insatiable curiosity, and people are always looking for information. Their first stop, the search engines. On the other hand, owners of websites are constantly making an effort to drive information-seekers to their sites to offer them the information that they need.
The SEO concept is what connects people to what they are looking for faster by offering suggestions in the form of SERPS (Search Engine Result Pages) based on the keywords used.
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization.
In theory, SEO are the guidelines used to optimize a website to rank high in organic (referring to non-paid) search engine results to attract traffic to it.
Google, which has about 90.5 market share in the world, gets more than 63,000 searches every second. These searches eventually end up on relevant websites. As of January 2019, there were 1.94 billion websites on the internet. All these sites need organic traffic to grow their business and stay on course.
The importance of SEO goes beyond visibility. From a business perspective, every guest on the site is an opportunity for revenue. According to BrightEdge, 40% of a site’s revenue flows through organic traffic. A good SEO strategy should give any website a good, perhaps first-page, search engine ranking. Appearing top in the SERPs means that a website gets roughly 20% of all clicks, which translates to huge business potential.
Other importances of SEO include:
Did we mention that by January 2019 the number of websites stood at 1.94 billion?
Well, all these sites need SEO to be visible by ranking high in search engines. However, ranking is not as simple as it sounds. Search engines use a unique algorithm so that websites that are most helpful and relevant to the user come top on search results. Several search engine ranking factors come into play for a good ranking to be achieved. Such factors include
However, these ranking factors and the algorithm used is often a secret. Site owners have to be in the know of the constantly changing search engine requirements to keep their sites ranking high. It is not an easy task. This is why many companies and site owners hire a dedicated SEO specialist to handle this bit of task.
And because SEO is part of a business income strategy, it is no longer viable depending on web designers to manage it. Their skills are limited!
This is why there is a demand for skilled SEO professionals.
SEO is the future of digital marketing.
Everything starts from a learning point. A simple search in Google will give a lot of information about SEO. Start by Google’s Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide and Google Webmaster Guidelines to gain some insight on what SEO is all about and what one can do to optimize their site for SEO.
SEO has different components, including On-page SEO, Off-page SEO, and Technical SEO. Apart from understanding these components, you also need to have an understanding of other SEO aspects, including link building, backlinks, the terminology used, and other aspects around the subject.
Beyond core SEO aspects, consider acquiring skills like writing and communication, basic programming which includes reading and coding HTML.
Google Analytics is about numbers. It is about generating reports that will help you understand your audience and how your strategy is performing and come up with an improvement plan. Here, the knowledge of how to use google sheets and excel will be required. You will also need to learn how to interpret, communicate, and present these reports.
SEO tools like SEMRUSH, Chrome Developer, Yoast SEO are fundamental in SEO. There are many more. What counts is getting the right SEO tools and using them to the success of the website.
Sometimes it is not just acquiring theoretical knowledge. You need some inspiration from experts and the SEO community. Besides, you will be catching up with the latest trends in the process. This is why you need to read books, sign up for publications, and even take part in webinars.
While getting a certification is optional, having a competitive edge in the market is a plus. Certifications are a way of telling the world around you that your skills, knowledge, and experience are authentic. A certification like Google analytics will take you a step ahead in your career.
All we have acquired in the points above is theoretical knowledge. All this will be wasted if knowledge is not applied practically. Most people start by building their site. This does not only polish the SEO skills but also improve their online presence.
Feed your site with quality content with the right keywords, build links, and create backlinks.
Well, you could do all this without necessarily taking an SEO course. However, be prepared for a steep learning curve. A course in SEO helps you to grasp the concept faster and easier since it is structured. It will cover every aspect of SEO in order which saves you some trial and error time.
Studying SEO, along with building a practical experience around it, is the best approach to being successful in this career.
While at it and before you land your first client, the practice cannot be overemphasized. Polish your knowledge and build your confidence by taking SEO mock test not once but several times. Lastly, tests bring you up to date with the latest trends in the industry and for this, you need to identify a credible learning provider. An SEO Training Course would be a great place to start if you decide to go this route.