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Learning SEO? SEO Tips for Beginners

Posted by Joanna Butler on 26th January 2009 to SEO

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A few people I know have asked me recently where I recommend they start when it comes to learning and understanding more about search engine optimisation (SEO). It is for that reason I created the following tips to help beginners learn about SEO.

1. Places to Learn SEO

Load up your RSS reader (I recommend Google Reader) with a range of SEO blogs. It is important to note that SEO techniques change constantly, and there’s no one ‘right’ method because every website is different. However, here are a few great blogs and some articles in particular to get you started. Many feature case studies in their articles so you will get a feel for which route to take when it comes to planning your SEO campaign:

2. SEO People to Follow

These are a few key players in the SEO industry, but it is my no means an exhaustive list. Read their blogs or follow them on Twitter (links on their websites). Many offer their opinions or share their experiences of SEO:

3. SEO Tools

Learn how to recognise well-optimised websites using the following tools. There are many listed here, so I recommend trying one at a time, exploring each one for a few days to get a feel for it. Most of these have really great Help files that explain how to get the most out of the tools, but you are still struggling, the websites above often cover tools such as these:

4. SEO Events

Attending events gives you the chance to hear industry leaders talk on the subject of SEO and maybe even a chance to ask them questions. These are just two of several conferences that tour the globe, but check your local business networking events as many speakers touch on the subject of SEO and are designed with the beginner in mind.

  • Search Engine Strategies (SES) – Chicago, Hamburg, London, New York, Amsterdam, San Jose, Tokyo, Toronto: www.searchenginestrategies.com
  • Search Marketing Expo (SMX) – West, Toronto, Sydney, Munic, New York City, London, Seattle, Madrid, São Paulo, Stockholm: searchmarketingexpo.com

5. Do Your Own SEO Experiments:

The best way to learn is by practising. Optimise your current website or set up a blog if you don’t have one.

Do you have any resources that you’d recommend to help a beginner understand SEO?

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11 comments


  1. David Coveney said:
    January 26th, 2009 on 3:07 PM

    Hi Joanna,

    This will add to your list of SEO tips for beginners:

    Learn SEO techniques in 15 min – An easy to digest list of the factors that affect your rankings with Google, MSN, Yahoo! and the other search engines. Find out which factors are the most important! http://www.webconfs.com/15-minute-seo.php

    Cheers
    David

  2. Moe Tamani said:
    February 1st, 2009 on 5:08 PM

    Such a good abt search engine marketing …As worlds market is moving on internet the internet marketing is being necessary for the product as well as for the company website. That’s we why SEO Companies are emerging for all internet marketing related services………

  3. Chris Savage said:
    February 6th, 2009 on 11:39 AM

    Hi joanna,

    Some great links here. I’m currently experimenting with my own blog with blogger (I’m a slave to Google. Damn them and their integrated functionality!) Enjoying it lots. However, it strikes me to be good at anything regarding web and online matters, you need to know CSS. Is this assumption true?

    SEO is integral to getting yourself noticed nowadays. I am currently twisting my bosses arm to allow me to install Google Analytics, he thinks a rather basic version thrown up from our content management system is better….

    :)

    Thanks again for the super helpful links!

  4. Mun Yin said:
    February 9th, 2009 on 10:00 AM

    Some great links Joanna. I found that lurking around the forums on SEO chat very helpful indeed: http://www.seochat.com/

    Also found doing “An hour a day SEO” really helpful too at the beginning and I’d recommend it to anyone who was a bit lost on where to start: http://www.yourseoplan.com/

  5. allen72 said:
    February 17th, 2009 on 12:44 PM

    Nice post Joanna, your article simplifies all the important details and helps a novice user like me to learn more the basic of Search Engine Optimization.

  6. Justin Brooke said:
    February 20th, 2009 on 10:12 AM

    The supplied links are really helpful as they serve as the perfect guide for those looking for information about SEO. We have tried some of the links.

  7. ppcmanchester said:
    March 4th, 2009 on 11:31 AM

    I think SEO should be learnt in two distinct parts, on page and off page. Lets face it, there is no point knowing about link acquisition if your website cannot be spidered due to poor on page SEO.

    Once you know all the on page stuff, e/g Title, Description tags, Sitemap, internal linking, etc etc THEN you can start to learn how to build links and add regular content.

  8. 4-and-a-Half SEO Link Building Strategies to Help You Think Laterally | Search Engine Chocolate said:
    May 18th, 2009 on 1:45 PM

    [...] tasks, and when we’re given an SEO project it’s then very easy to follow a set checklist for SEO. Research, proposal, on page, off page, link building, copywriting etc. etc. But as there are so [...]

  9. Andy said:
    May 21st, 2009 on 1:22 PM

    Really Good info. It help any new beginners, who want to learn about SEO.

    Also nice comments.

    Warm Regards,
    Andy.
    http://help-guides.blogspot.com/

  10. SEO Consultant said:
    May 25th, 2009 on 4:36 AM

    Nice work dude… It is helpful for me as well as others..

  11. Chris said:
    June 10th, 2009 on 10:47 AM

    Interesting post, keep the good stuff coming, good content appreciated!