A Beginner’s Guide on How to Learn SEO

Are you enticed by how SEO works and wants to learn SEO? Great! Keep reading.

In an age where textual, audio, and visual channels are increasing at an unprecedented pace, it has become increasingly difficult to produce material that sticks out. Individuals and corporations no longer simply need to rely on raising sales.

Instead, they need to work to achieve constant exposure online, generate a consistent stream of traffic, and increase customer retention rates. This is why it comes as no surprise that a number of companies and advertisers are actively aiming to understand and use SEO as a mechanism to build enduring partnerships with their clients.

In reality, in the last few years, the SEO industry has experienced a huge growth spurt & with the need for SEO content writers and a comprehensive content writing course. In order to optimize their online presence and improve their brand potential, more and more corporations have been using these optimization services.

So much so that by 2021, the SEO market is projected to hit a humongous valuation of around $80 billion!

However, if you’re curious how to learn SEO step by step, as a novice in this arena, here’s a thorough guide that will help you better decipher the world of SEO.

What is Search Engine Optimization?

Search engine optimization, also abbreviated as SEO, is a technique requiring the use of a certain series of actions, processes, and procedures to make a website rank higher on the results page of the search engine (SERP).

By default, a higher rank helps these websites to achieve greater visibility and thereby drive significant traffic. Therefore, the primary duty of SEO is to ensure that a web page’s online role increases in an organic, non-paid, effective, contextual, and sustainable manner.

Many marketing professionals plan to study SEO because their digital marketing activities are improved automatically by this extensive optimization technique. In addition, it also offers a wide variety of advantages, such as:

• Better user experience.
• Greater number of leads.
• Higher conversion rates.
• Measurable marketing outcomes.
• Improved cost management.
• Enhanced brand credibility.
• Increased market share.
• Growing business revenue.

Learning SEO

It is not always difficult to learn SEO. Within a short span of time, any aspiring or working marketing professional can quickly learn SEO step by step. If you are very able to navigate through SEO’s choppy waters, though, you will need to nurture, imbibe, and grow a few intellectuals, artistic and technological abilities.

Not only would learning these skills help you to satisfy the demands of the audience, handle ranking algorithms or taste rapid progress, but it would also train you to beef up your career game and achieve a definitive advantage over your rivals.

Two different ways to learn SEO are available for the most realistic purposes:

• Self-study-study
• Expert Guardianship

If you want to take the first route, ample material is available on the internet to direct you through SEO thick and thin. You may link to blogs, posts, videos, e-books, lectures, courses, webinars, and a host of other information services. To top it off, at zero expense, any of these materials can be accessed.

Nonetheless, if you are running short of time or need to learn the fundamentals of SEO in a quick, specialized, and tailored way, it might be the best choice for you to pursue expert tutelage. Experts will be able to give you a comprehensive insight into the world of SEO through their competence and knowledge, allowing you to achieve control over it.

While it won’t be cost-free to use professional resources by advisors, companies, or experts, it will definitely be worth all the effort.

SEO Terminology

It would be prudent to familiarise yourself with a few words and terminology that constitute SEO basics before you start on the challenge of studying SEO. They are:

1. On-Page Seo

On-page SEO, as the name itself suggests, involves making actionable improvements to the website so that search engine results can be organically changed. It involves strategies for optimization such as:

• Keyword inclusion.
• Headings and subheadings.
• URL structure.
• Meta description.
• Meta tags.
• Content relevance.
• Data structuring.
• Image streamlining.
• Website speed.
• Web page size.

2. Off-Page SEO

Off-page SEO, as opposed to its on-page equivalent, entails multiple tasks that can be performed to boost website ranking without modifying the page’s core structure. They include:

• Acquiring backlinks.
• Social media marketing.
• Influencer cooperation.
• Guest blogging.
• V-logging.
• Email outreach.
• Guest submissions.
• RSS feed subscription.
• Forum posts.
• Document sharing.

3. White Hat SEO

White hat SEO is an abstract concept that is used to describe a collection of ethical standards that include productive use of SEO methods, protocols, and laws. It is mainly made up of:

• Well-written & relevant content.
• Natural link insertion.
• Brand building.
• Overall website optimization.
• Well-researched keywords.
• Focus on quality.
• Effective content strategy.
• Content analysis.
• Focus on User experience.
• Inter-device operation.

4. Black Hat SEO

On the other hand, black hat SEO is an informal term used to describe a collection of unethical values used to boost page rankings. However, black hat SEO apps are more likely to be penalized if found out. Those techniques include:

• Hidden text.
• Link manipulation.
• Keyword stuffing.
• Cloaking page redirects.
• PBN farms.
• Spam comments.
• Irrelevant backlinks.
• Auto-generated content.
• Automated queries.
• Malicious behaviour.

5. Grey Hat SEO

Somewhere between the SEO strategies of the white and black hat, is the SEO grey hat that will help you tread the fine line between optimization and penalization. It contains appropriate strategies such as:

• Website redesigning.
• Social media sharing.
• SEO squatting.
• Using free AdWords.
• Charity links.
• Cloaking non-relevant content.
• Link chaining.
• Paid reviews.
• Content repositioning.
• Targeted paid directory.

Understanding these five SEO fundamentals will go a long way to help you remain focused and fixated if you are on the road to studying SEO.

Process of Ranking Websites

You must first start by targeting the SE (search engine) portion of SEO if you are eager to learn SEO step by step. What exactly are search engines? How are they working on the ranking blogs and how do they go about it?

In simple words, search engines are software systems that locate and present specific items in a database to the user in accordance with his or her textual query. For example, a search engine scans all web pages containing the term ‘school’ if a user searches for ‘schools near me,’ and lists them based on their geographical proximity to the user.

A search engine executes three specific tasks in order to achieve this:

1. Crawling

A search engine sends out millions of tiny bots to crawl through separate parts of a website, to begin with. It scans keywords, information, hyperlinks, images, photos, headings, and subheadings to detect user search objects.

2. Indexing

The search engine continues to index every web page that it has allocated until the crawling has taken place. In order of their relevance to the search query, these web pages are then catalogued. The primary instrument that defines exposure is indexing.

3. Displaying

Last but not least, by diving through the listed index, search engines pull up specific results. They use a set of algorithms to do this and search each question against various websites. On the search engine results page, corresponding results are then shown (SERP).

Although the efficiency of the search engine is important for both developers and consumers, it is often the viewpoint of the users that holds greater importance. The measure of maintaining consumer engagement must pass any investment made in the search engine market.

For this cause, most professionals who want to learn SEO are simply dependent on:

• Use search engines to find knowledge or pursue answers as a medium.
• Ensuring that the search question has the proper keyword combination.
• Discern between paid advertising and organic, non-paid search results.
• To check the websites shown for validity and suitability.
• To go over modifications to the SERP and render corresponding improvements.

It is vital to understand at this juncture what SERP is and how its features will influence the results of your quest.

What Is Search Engine Results Page (SERP)?

Basically, a search engine results page (SERP) is a page that is shown as a result of a search query by the user. This list includes all of the related websites that are ranked according to their relevance. SERP listings are never stagnant.

When changes are made to the content of the web page or the underlying algorithms, they keep shifting. Therefore, holding a ‘zero role’ at all times is the cardinal obligation of anyone who wants to study SEO step by step.

By adhering to the following content methods, this status may be retained.

• In terms of who, when, how, where, where, and why, answer questions.
• For how to(s) or directions, have bullet points or lists.
• Simplify abstract terms by splitting them down into sections that are straightforward.
• To promote the learning process better, make comparisons.
• Give detailed answers to the questions most often asked.

SERP carries a number of visually appealing and informative features, which largely include:

• Featured snippets.
• Images and videos.
• A carousel of products.
• Answer boxes.
• Top stories.
• Map packs.
• Knowledge graphs.
• Events and ads.
• Sitelinks.
• Sponsored features.

Knowing SERP will help you build an extensive SEO strategy that in the future will prove to be the focus of all your digital & content marketing strategies.

Types of Search Queries

It would be smart to figure out the various forms of search queries that SEO marketers have to cope with on a regular basis, now that you are well-versed with the workings of search engines and SERPs.

There are three types of search queries in general. They are:

1. Navigational Search Queries

The user’s intent to access the internet in search of a specific web page or brand is communicated by a navigational search query. For example, instead of accessing the page directly via a menu bar, a lot of people check for ‘Facebook’,’ YouTube’ or ‘Google’ on the search engine.

2. Informational Search Queries

Informational search queries are intended to seek information from the internet, as the name itself implies. For example, if a user tries to figure out the sushi recipe, his/her search query will contain keywords such as ‘how to make a sushi’. The most widely used search questions are informational inquiries.

3. Transactional Search Queries

Typically, transactional search queries are made by consumers who are trying to purchase a particular product or brand group. Such search questions tend to contain terms such as ‘where to shop’ and ‘what is the cost of’ etc. In most cases, these inquiries lead to an online transaction being conducted by the clients.

The traditional search query formats have undergone a significant change with the advent of voice-based search assistants such as Google, Alexa, and Siri. As a result, in terms of ranking strategies, tactics, and methodologies, individuals who are able to practice SEO have often had to change their expertise.

Factors That Affect SEO Rankings

Whenever you think ‘how to learn SEO,’ the first thing that comes to mind is the variables that enable a website to be rated higher by optimization software.

Although most search operators such as Google, Bing, or Microsoft do not disclose the specific algorithms they use to evaluate rankings, the most common criteria are made public that stimulate traffic and drive conversions. They include:

Critical Factors

• Well-researched content that specifically targets each search query.
• The use of relevant and qualified backlinks.
• Unique and accessible content (text, audio, or video).
• Click-through rate (CTR) i.e. the number of users who click on a link.
• Domain authority, brand credibility, and customer delight.
• The average speed with which a web page loads.
• Enhanced user experience and positive customer reviews.
• The ability to function on multiple devices like desktops, laptops, and mobiles.

Important Factors

• The layout and design of the web page.
• Optimized videos, text, and images.
• Trustworthy hyperlinks.
• Page sharing across different social platforms.
• Delivery of a personalized experience.
• The relevance of topics and keywords.
• The depth & structure of data and content.
• Accelerated mobile pages (AMP) content.
• Secure communication in terms of HTTPS.

Impactful Factors

• Site architecture and sitemap.
• User-friendly URLs.
• Content quality.
• Link velocity.
• Website reputation.
• Server location.
• Reliability and readability.
• Domain extension.
• Traffic sources.

The aforementioned considerations capture the SEO ranking process in depth while offering a glimpse into the fundamentals protected by search engines when ranking web pages. As someone willing to learn SEO, however, you need to make sure that you do not fall into the pit where malicious elements are used, such as keyword stuffing, cloaking, secret connections, crawl mistakes, deceptive information, sly redirects, or poor domain background.

Conclusion

The need to study SEO has started to gain huge significance as times change. In order to beef up their conversion rates and increase their received profits, more and more individuals and organizations are taking to the optimization phase. This has culminated in a condition in which the number of mentors has greatly exceeded the number of learners.