How to Start with SEO (Where to begin learning SEO in 2022)
Where to Start with SEO?
You can have the best of guides on SEO but the question remains, where to begin with SEO learning.
Yes, you will learn all about SEO and many things too.
But if you want to learn SEO fast & effectively then the right way to begin is important.
You need to learn the basics and get some answers. And that is how you begin learning search engine optimization.
Yet, we want to suggest a smart way to start learning SEO.
And this will work even if you want to move directly to doing SEO for your own website.
SEO - Where to Begin?
Do you know what SEO is all about?
It is about connecting your website with your audience on the search engines.
All the process and steps are essentially a way to reach there. Step by step SEO is a means to an end.
This is how to begin with SEO in 2022
The approach you should take & beyond
SEO means complete website growth and development for search engines but primarily for users.
What most people on their journey to learning SEO actually look at SEO and learn is that it is all about finding a keyword, using it in key places with on page optimization, have some content on the page, submit the page if it is not already indexed or re-submit it for re-indexing, and then build backlinks.
And the result they expect to achieve is that within a stipulated period of time with enough links to the page (the more the merrier) the keyword will rank on the first page.
And their SEO objective is achieved and they know how to do SEO well.
That is not the case now. In fact that has not been true for the past few years.
Learn What SEO means in 2022?
Even if you leave the current year (2022) out and disregard the evolution & development, change of focus, and growth in how we see and do SEO, there is much more to do and look for when you learn to do SEO.
If you have learned, understood and followed all what we have talked about SEO so far then you know that it is about properly serving your audience. Ranking is a way to reach your audience.
So, you need to get clicks from SERP (search engine ranking page). What does that mean to you? Or what should it mean to you when are going to learn SEO?
Ranking is not enough. You need clicks from your top ranked SERP position.
So, you need to focus again on your on page SEO and its three key factors which appear on the SERP. These are the Title, URL, and meta description.
However, the final goal is to get the searcher to your page or pages. It is on that page that you fully and properly serve your searchers.
So, Content is important. And how you present your content is also very important.
Content is King.
Because content makes your keywords rank, it is the content for which a searcher will come to your website or page and it is the content that will serve or satisfy your audience.
Presentation of content covers few things. It will start with your designing. It is the first thing a visitor may notice. The colors, the layout, etc. But it is also your H1 (main header) tag that (usually) your visitor will notice (and notice first).
That is why headings are important. It goes both for your Title (heading on SERP) and H1 (heading on your page).
Often times Title and H1 are same. This is usually the case with CMS based website design and development platforms like wordpress.
So, what it truly means to learn SEO in 2022?
To learn SEO in 2022 should truly mean to achieve following two goals using all the SEO fundamentals, concepts, techniques, tools, etc.
- SEO Goal 1: Aim to focus on and best serve your audience
- SEO Goal 2: Build website Authority and relevance
There is a very simple and straight forward way to achieve these two goals when you learn to do SEO in 2022 & beyond.
Achieving Learning SEO Goal number 1 will automatically help you achieve the second goal.
This is how it works.
When you aim to serve and satisfy your audience then you actually look beyond ranking. You look at giving your audience a good experience & satisfaction. For this you look at really add value with your website and its web pages and content.
This will drive you to do best SEO through these steps.
Look at keywords to connect with right audience
You want to find keywords which will help you really connect with your audience. You are not just looking for rankings, but to connect with searchers via rankings.
You look at who really is your audience. You look at what this audience of yours is looking for. This makes you look at what all they search for within a topic or niche. This also means looking at their various needs or pain points and various types of searches they make and their meanings.
You segregate your audience with the help of the terms and searches they use. This builds your keywords. This also guides you on the type of content you should write for each of the keywords. This is the content that will actually satisfy your searchers based on the type, nature and meaning of the keyword or term they are searching for.
Full on page SEO optimization
When you write content for your users and have selected the keywords that help you connect that content with the right users then you will look at every small details and take every step to better optimize the page and its factors.
This is because it will serve two purposes.
- Help you rank keywords better and so connect with your audience that sooner
- Improve the reading experience and therefore the user experience
Follow all the technical SEO techniques and steps
Technical SEO is driven by the all-around fast technological developments and the need to give searchers faster, easy, smooth access to content and provide even better experience.
To learn SEO properly you should know that technical SEO is that important task or step in SEO without which all your best efforts may fall apart.
If your pages are not indexed you cannot rank
If your pages cannot be crawled for some error then they do not get indexed and therefore ranked
If your pages are too slow to load then your users will go away without reading
Therefore, to make your value adding content reach properly to your audience and remain indexed and properly databased then you will take all necessary technical steps, remove all technical errors or hurdles and follow all technical SEO techniques.
Value and build proper links
Building links is not just gathering enough backlinks to rank. Each backlink adds value to your content. Backlinks even make you reach your audience through other platforms. Your links also bring you referral traffic.
Backlinks help in building authority and trust.
When you value your users and your content then you value each link you get or want to get.
The best types of backlinks are those which are from relevant niche, industry or topic, are added or provided to add value to the content and the users of that page that is linking to your page, and is a vote of trust or confidence to your content.
Learn dynamics, scope and types of search
Search and search engines have evolved and have become very dynamic. Even the search results have become more detailed and dynamic too. When you search for anything or any term then the search results you get includes websites, blogs, videos, images, and even stories and questions.
The SERP first page for any term may cover many of these or all of these.
You can even search for images and videos separately.
Search and its results are now limited to text content or web pages.
Google is one search platform. It is the biggest search engine or search platform. When we talk about search engines we often name Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.
But the second biggest search platform after Google is Youtube.
You can search for videos on Youtube. Even in Google search you can see youtube videos featuring among the SERP positions.
There are search platforms for images too. Google image search is one such inbuilt image search platform. Apart from that you can search for images on social media sites like Pinterest.