What are some ways that someone can become a true SEO specialist?
To help you with becoming an SEO specialist, we asked marketing experts and experienced entrepreneurs this question for their best insights. From building a website to creating a blog, there are several tips that may help you become an SEO master for your business.
Here are 11 tips for becoming an SEO specialist:
- Build a Website
- Go Broad Rather Than Specialize
- Learn by Trial and Error
- Apply for Jobs in SEO Agencies
- Subscribe to Neil Patel’s Blog
- Learn About Content Strategy & Optimization
- Subscribe to Ahrefs
- Self-learn and Learn Basics of Web Development
- Stay Ahead of the Curve
- Take An SEO Course
- Create a Blog
Build a Website
There is no substitution for experience. SEO is largely about experimentation, and the best way to learn the discipline is through practice. If interested in SEO, the best way to become a specialist is to launch a website and start testing ways to optimize the site, build domain authority, and generate traffic. Not only will you gain practical experience, you will also create evidence and results that you can leverage for future SEO gigs.
Michael Alexis, TeamBuilding
Go Broad Rather Than Specialize
The world of SEO has many facets including on-page SEO, link building, social media management, specialized tools, and so much more. In order for you to be a true SEO specialist, invest time into each of these unique facets and be experienced in all rather than specializing in a specific part of the SEO project. That way, you can truly become an SEO specialist that can guide a company from A to Z while knowing all the pieces that need to come together to rank a website on search engines.
Mor Hasson, Maple Hosting
Learn by Trial and Error
The best way to become an SEO specialist is through trial and error on your own website, testing ideas you find in guides and books in SEO. In this way, you can learn what works best for your website and what doesn’t.
Matthew Ramirez, Rephrasely
Apply for Jobs in SEO Agencies
It’s one thing to hold an SEO position at a company specializing in a specific industry and product/service, and another to gain experience at an agency with a large portfolio of clients from different industries.
In the latter case, you’ll be forced to learn a range of techniques and strategies applicable across industries and with a good conversion rate all around, thus honing an SEO skill set that is both deep in knowledge and large in scope.
Natalia Brzezinska, PhotoAiD
Subscribe to Neil Patel’s Blog
If you have a question about SEO, chances are you can find the answer on Neil Patel’s Blog. He is a pioneer of Internet marketing, and his insights have helped me grasp the role SEO plays on my website’s visibility. As the CEO and founder of a startup telehealth company, committing to learning about SEO has really paid off, and I largely have Neil Patel to thank for that.
Rachel Blank, Allara
Learn About Content Strategy & Optimization
By learning and understanding everything about content strategy, creation, optimization, and promotion, you will know what helps in improving user experience to further enhance SEO. All content on a website needs to be up-to-date and relevant to your niche, while staying optimized to help search engines crawl through your site and its pages. This bleeds into marketing and through relevant social media channels and other outreach campaigns to help promote your content and further improve SEO.
Joe Spector, Dutch
Subscribe to Ahrefs
Subscribe to Ahrefs, an online SEO platform. It offers a robust dashboard that reveals a goldmine of valuable website analytics. It’s user-friendly and offers all the video tutorials you’ll need to understand the data, as well as the true inner-workings of SEO and how to be successful. While a subscription to Ahrefs costs just over $100 per month, the value it brings to my online business is priceless.
Stephanie Venn-Watson, fatty15
Self-Learn and Learn Basics of Web Development
The most important thing to be an SEO specialist is exactly to understand how search engines work, and for that you need two things: (1) knowing how to search for information on the internet (self-learning); and (2) knowing how to create a website. SEO is dynamic and, although there are people who start paying for training, the reality is that if you want to be an SEO consultant, you will always be forced to search for information and learn by yourself, whether from YouTube, Google, gurus, forums, etc. Self-learning is, in my opinion, the best way to become an SEO specialist. You will certainly learn a lot on the spot, but being able to adapt single handedly in a dynamic environment is a must for an SEO expert. Finally, once the theoretical foundations are solid, it must be put into practice. Nothing better than learning the basics of WordPress and positioning your own website or blog.
Marco Genaro Palma, PRLab
Stay Ahead of the Curve
When it comes to SEO, being an expert today doesn’t mean you stay an expert tomorrow. To become a true SEO specialist, you need to stay ahead of the curve. You can do this by constantly staying up to date with the latest search engine algorithm updates and rising SEO trends. When equipped with up to date knowledge about the industry, you’ll be able to tweak your SEO strategies effectively to achieve the best results. You can always get the latest info from SEO news sites, blogs and podcasts.
Eric Ang, One Search Pro
Take An SEO Course
To become an SEO specialist, you should enroll in an SEO course. Paid SEO training provides a more organized learning experience with blocks/classes that address certain subjects. If you need the structure that a class gives or the drive that paying for a class provides, it may be worth the money. DistilledU was the only paid online SEO course I had the opportunity to use. DistilledU provides over 80 hours of SEO training organized into sections that cover technical SEO, keyword research, competitor research, and much more. In addition, every module includes simple-to-understand information and a video collection.
Sudipta Gupta, WebTopic
Create a Blog
The best way to improve SEO as a brand is to create a blog on your website. Not only does this help businesses connect with their target audience, but also helps customers discover the brand. Using keywords in articles is a great opportunity to improve domain rating while answering questions from consumers. Article topics could be ingredient-based how-to examples, to name a couple. In using these keywords, the brand’s digital visibility will improve over time.
Lillie Sun, Three Ships Beauty
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