7 Things You Need To Know Before Doing An SEO

Before you get into the world of SEO, there are a couple of things that you should know about. Many people don’t realize them until they have been doing optimization for many years.

By knowing these things beforehand, you can save yourself a lot of trouble and pain. This knowledge will also help you devise a better SEO strategy.

Here they are:

SEO Is All About Long-Term and Sustainable Results

Unlike other forms of marketing such as Google Ads and PPC, SEO is all about generating long-term and sustainable results which include increased traffic, better online visibility, and higher rankings in the SERPs.

Although it can take some time for the sites to rank in the SEO, if you do everything right and strategically, you may easily crack the top ten positions in the search results within the first 2-6 months.

Here’s a surprising observation about top ranking sites on Google - those sites have continued to secure that position for years. It proves that most competitors have no idea how to do proper optimization work to outdo their competitors.

That means, there’s still room for companies to put effort into their SEO work. But, you must get to it as quickly as possible to get going.

SEO Requires a TON of Work

SEO is indeed relatively easy to understand. It should take less than a month to get the rudimentary knowledge of how it works. With that said, doing the actual SEO requires a LOT of work.

You also have to juggle between a variety of tasks such as:

• Research - You have to research on finding the right topics (key phrases and keywords). You also have to analyze them for their competitiveness in the industry. Other than that, you will have to figure out trending and most promising topics to write about. Look into how competitors are doing it.
• A Ton Of Writing - SEO is about showing your knowledge on a particular subject with the help of original, authoritative, and helpful content.
• Site Management - SEO requires a bit of knowledge on how to make a few changes under the hood of your site in its HTML to make it search-engine friendly.
• Many Small Tasks - You will have to keep track of blogs, posting schedules, tagging, managing a spreadsheet of links, etc. It’s better to use marketing management software like FP.
• Relationship Building - This is true for link-building work. You will reach out to bloggers to publish and promote your content.

SEO Is Mainly About Rankings

The goal of any SEO campaign is to get your content or the site to rank high in SERPs against a keyword(s) or search phrase.

Ever noticed how you rarely move past the first page on the search engines while looking for a product or a simple query? Exactly! That's why you must appear as close to the first page as possible. Page 1 is a highly coveted position for any business.

Better rankings mean better traffic. Better traffic translates to better business in the end. You should also know that rankings may keep changing due to reasons such as - changes in your own practices, better efforts by your competitors, and updates in search engine algorithms.

If you decide to work with B2B SEO agencies like Nine Peaks you will get access to the keyword rankings dashboard and tools and will have a good metric system in place.

Noone Knows For Sure How Google’s Search Engine ACTUALLY Works

Do we know FOR SURE how exactly Google’s algorithms work and how it disburses rankings? No, we don’t! Do SEO practices promise good rankings? For the most part, yes! The secret behind search algorithms is always under speculations and is part of many discussions and debates.

SEO so far has been based on a few hints and cryptic messages/clues left by Google’s top-level executives. The rest of it has been a result of a lot of educated guesses, trial and error, and tons of experimentation.

With that said, experimenting with a few SEO strategies CAN promise top spots in search rankings. All you can do is give things your best shot.

Google’s Search Algorithms Are A LOT Sophisticated Now

Google is getting better and better at understanding the intent behind a particular query. Its main goal is to figure out what the users want and serve them exactly that by showing the most relevant and accurate results.

Over the years, that has been made possible due to Google’s refined and better algorithms; particularly the Rankbrain one which is powered by AI.

In simple words, this algorithm takes into account years of search data from the past to discern the search intent.

For example, Google understands that:

“How to make coffee”

“Coffee making tips”

“Best recipe for coffee”

mean the same thing and are, therefore, likely to show similar results against all 3 queries above.

SEO Is A Lot Different Now In 2021

Google is becoming more and more sophisticated algorithm-wise. That is why all the practices that worked beautifully a decade or so ago, are no longer effective.

Earlier, all it took to rank high in SERPs was keyword stuffing, link pyramids, link farming, and posting low-quality content across article directories. All of these techniques were enough to outsmart Google’s algorithm.

But, with years of experience on its back, the search engine is not able to see through all of these shady practices and more. Today, Google takes more than 200 factors into account to figure out what makes an article or page worth the ranking.

It’s hard to tell how much weightage Google gives to each factor in terms of deciding rankings. So, at best you can only make educated guesses. Also, the rules, algorithms, and updates are always changing. Therefore, you should stay aware of all the latest happenings in the world of SEO.

Content Continues To Remain The King

No matter which niche you pick, you will easily pick dozens of articles. Therefore, to beat competitors, you must craft high-quality content with a fresh take to really stand out.

To create awesome content that sets you apart, make sure to:

• Write Original and Helpful Content - Try to offer a different take on whatever topic you decide to write about.
• Stick With The Chosen Topic - Instead of trying to write about everything, pick one topic and try to produce content around that only.
• Make It Well Researched - Add a couple of links to sources and statistics from high-authority sites.
• Break It Up - Use headings, sub-headings, and bullet points to make the text easy to read. Try to break it up into small sections so it’s easy to scan in one quick look.
• Use Graphics - Use charts, photos, graphs, videos, and other media whenever relevant to add a visual touch for better engagement.
• Avoid Using Filler Content - Instead of beating around the bush, try to get to the point. Get right to the meaty parts. It’s better to start by stating the obvious, addressing the issue by providing a solution, and adding a closure. Try to go into depth. Add a beginning, a body, and a conclusion.

Bottom Line

So, those were 7 super-important things that you must know before getting into the world of search engine optimization.

About the Author:

Mike is a senior SEO strategist at Nine Peaks Media, a B2B SEO agency that helps SaaS, software, IT and technology companies rank on the first page of Google with effective content marketing strategies. Nine Peaks offers performance-based inbound marketing, conversion rate optimization and search engine marketing services.

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