Have you ever wondered if you can learn SEO?
Most importantly, have you ever wondered if you can learn SEO on your own?
If you are interested in learning SEO, then today you are in the right place.
This is because I am going to show you how to learn SEO on your own.
You see, once I was like you.
I had no clue what SEO was.
But I was determined to be successful at it.
Today, after almost 7 years of constantly learning and practicing SEO, I have come a long way.
And that is what you will learning today.
All the things you need to know to master SEO on your own. This includes tips to get started, what challenges you will face and most importantly, all the important resources that will help you along the way.
Let’s be frank.
SEO is hard.
It is part science, part art.
SEO is a moving field.
What works today, may not work tomorrow.
Also, there are many gurus you will tell you about some phony case studies here and there.
So it is not going to be easy.
But I assure you, if you put in the work, put in the time, you will definitely begin to see that SEO is not hard after all.
Before we begin, let me make it clear. You may be better off attending training either online or offline. So maybe you should consider that.
But for the rest of us. People like me who believes that anytime is possible. We are going to dive into the world of SEO and learn it all by yourself.
Are you ready?
Challenging’s of Learning SEO on Your Own
Now that you have made up your mind to learn SEO on your own, it is important to state that it is not without some challenges.
The challenges are not meant to make you give up. Rather it is for you to understand them so you can be better prepared to tackle it.
- Complexity of the subject matter: SEO is a complex field. You will need to master a lot of different aspect. You will need to master technical SEO, On page SEO, Link Building , Content SEO to just mention a few. This might rapidly become way to complex for a lot of people. However, the good news is that once you understand the fundamentals, you will be less moved by the seemly complex nature of the topic.
- Rapidly changing industry standards and best practices: Google algorithm is always changing. Add to that, Google make test to their search result more than 500 times in a year, testing different type of search result, format, etc.
Add to that are industry advancement, such as the use of Al in search and you immediately begin to see how rapidly the industry is changing. What this means is that what works today, might become outdated tomorrow.
Take for instance, in the past, you could write 300 word count for any page and have a great chance of ranking that page for your target keyword.
Fast forward to this year and you discover that the art of writing content for anytime of page at all is based on understanding search intent, type of device, word count for web pages already ranking for your target keywords, Natural Processing Languages (NLP), EEAT which stands for Expertise, Experience, Authority, Trust and you suddenly discover that it is no longer business as usual.
- Lack of guidance and support from experienced professionals: Due to the rapidly changing nature of SEO, the lack of a standard way of doing anything, the fact that each website comes with it’s own challenges, learning SEO on your own can also mean that you do not have professional guidance.
A quote from someone said ïf I have been able to see further than my mates, it is because I am standing on the shoulders of giants”
Benefits of Learning SEO on Your Own
While learning on your own can be challenging, it is not impossible.
Learning on your own comes with some pecks and this can make self-teaching absolutely interesting. Here are some of the benefits of learning SEO on your own
- Independence and flexibility in learning: You can chart your own path. You can decide what you want to learn, where and how.
You can even decide to take just the courses you are interested in. For example, if you are a content writing specialist, you can decide to learn how to do keyword research and SEO for Content Marketers only.
You get to save yourself the stress of learning and mastering all the different component of SEO which can sometimes be overwhelming and thereby discourage you.
- Cost-effectiveness compared to hiring an expert: Good SEO Courses or training are not cheap. While there are tons of free SEO Courses out there that are useful and I have taken a lot of them, some of them still lack the substance to really, really, really make a huge impact if you are a beginner.
However, learning on your own means you do not have to pay $3000 lecture fee which can be a huge deal if you are bootstrapping and cash trapped.
- Opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of SEO: Experts are people who have made mistakes, learned from it and now can spot that mistake. Learning on your own can also help you gain that same level of understanding.
This is because you have no one to spot those mistakes before it happen. You are therefore responsible for the mistake and how to fix it. This is sometimes you can never have if you work with an expert.
Some mistakes can be costly but then who has never made one before?
How to Learn SEO on Your Own Step by Step
Now that you understand the merit and demerit of learning SEO on your own, and you have made up your mind to learn it on your own because it is possible, here is a step by step guide to ensuring that you make less mistakes, waste less time on irrelevant things and master the art of SEO very fast.
- Setting realistic goals and timelines
You need to set a goal and have timelines. Even though you cannot master SEO in a life time, you need to be able to have realistic goals that brings you closer to your aim.
For instance, if you are learning SEO because you want to get a job or you want to start making income from it, then you need to set a goal that works back from your target.
- Familiarizing yourself with SEO terminology and concepts:
There are tons of SEO lingo that might seem scaring eg robots txt, sitemap, NLP, Schema, etc. You need to start familiarizing yourself with them
- Utilizing free resources, such as online courses and tutorials:
Make use of online resources. I know I told you there are tons of free resources that do not meet the standard I expect of them and a lot of them are full of fluff.
However, here are 5 SEO resources that I guarantee, can make you make sense of the whole SEO thing. Again, remember, master the fundamentals, the rest is easy.
- Participating in SEO forums and communities: The best way to get ahead is to become active in SEO communities and forums.
Luckily there are good ones such as
- Practicing SEO on your own website:
Finally, practice, practice, practice. You will not learn anything if you do not practice. The best way to become so good at what you do is to practice it every single day.
When I first started with SEO, there is not a single day, I do not read, then practice whatever I have read.
A lot of the time, I do not get the same result, the author got. But by practicing it, I was able to start coming up with my own methodology for achieving the same thing.
And that is the most important thing about learning SEO on your own. You need to read, then practice what you have read.
Now that I have convinced you that it is not impossible to learn SEO on your own, here is a 90 Day Plan you can adapt to get from beginner to intermediate in your SEO journey.
Conclusion:
As you have seen, you can actually learn and master SEO on your own. It won’t be an easy journey but if you put in the time and effort, you will definitely see that SEO is just as easy to master as any other field. You just need to have a proven system that works.
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