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May 10, 2024Can You Do SEO Yourself? Yes, of course you can.
Teaching Yourself SEO: A Step-by-Step Guide
Let's dive right in, shall we?
Most SEO companies will tell you that you can't, but being honest, that's BS. Now, I'm not saying that it's easy and I'm not saying it won't take some time, but it's definitely possible!
So, this is a brief intro into how you can handle SEO on your own, especially if you're running a start-up or a SME. SEO can seem intimidating at first, but with the right approach, you can significantly improve your website's visibility and ranking on search engines. Let's break it down into manageable steps & get you some search engine results:
1. Set Up Analytics
First things first, you'll want to install and configure a few analytics tools to track your website's performance. These include:
Google Analytics 4 (GA4): Helps you track page views, user engagement, and conversions.
Google Search Console: Offers insights into your site's presence in Google search results, showing average positions, click-through rates (CTR), and indexing status.
Google Tag Manager: Useful for managing and deploying marketing tags (snippets of code) on your website without having to modify the code.
Make sure these SEO tools are correctly set up. Double-check your installations and, for instance, use Google Tag Manager’s preview mode to ensure that your GA4 Configuration tag is firing properly. This is crucial for the accuracy of your data.
2. Complete an SEO Audit
Next, use one of the many free tools out there (like Screaming Frog) to conduct an SEO audit of your website. This will help you identify issues that could be hindering your site’s performance, such as missing title tags or problems with your URLs.
Focus on the most critical issues first, especially those affecting your key pages or overall site accessibility in search results.
Screaming Frog will provide you with a list of issue types with three levels:
- Issue
- Warning
- Opportunity
Each level is then ranked by three issue priorities:
- High
- Medium
- Low
Anything which is a issue, with a high priority should be looked at first, then Warning - High and so on.
3. Research Keywords
Keywords are essential—they guide what kind of content you should create to attract the right traffic. Start with:
Long-tail keywords: These are longer and more specific phrases that are usually easier to rank for than more generic single-word terms.
Relevance and intent: Choose keywords that are relevant to your audience and reflect the intent behind the searches, which could be informational, transactional, etc.
Use tools like Google Keyword Planner or KeywordsFX (WebFX) to find and validate your keywords, and don’t forget to check what your competitors are ranking for. This can give you some additional insights.
4. Optimise Website Content
Now, let’s fuel your website with high-quality content. Here are some pointers:
Prioritise readability and navigation: Use headings, subheadings, bullets, and images to make your content easy to scan.
Keyword integration: Incorporate your keywords naturally within your content. Avoid keyword stuffing as it can harm readability and SEO.
Update and improve content regularly: Keep your content fresh and relevant, which can also help improve your rankings.
Remember, content is not just about text. Videos, infographics, and other media can make your site more engaging.
5. Improve Internal Linking
Think of your website like a city map where internal links are the roads connecting different pages. Ensuring that every important page is easily reachable through internal links helps both users and search engines find content more effectively. Aim to link related content together using descriptive anchor text that includes relevant keywords.
6. Attract Backlinks
Backlinks from other reputable sites are a vote of confidence in the eyes of search engines. Create compelling, unique, and valuable content that others want to link to. Promote this content through social media or outreach emails to industry influencers or bloggers who might find your content link-worthy.
7. Track Your SEO Performance
Using the tools you set up in step one, track how well your site is doing. Are your SEO efforts leading to more traffic and conversions? Analyse the data and continuously adjust your strategies based on what's working and what isn’t.
8. Continue Learning SEO
SEO is always evolving with new updates and techniques. Stay informed about the latest SEO trends and best practices by regularly reading SEO blogs, attending webinars, and participating in forums.
A couple of great places to get tips from are the YouTube channels of Ahrefs and Neil Patel.
By following these steps, you'll be able to undertake SEO for your website effectively, even without prior experience. Remember, the key to SEO success is consistency and a willingness to learn and adapt!
If this all seems a bit much, you can look over our affordable SEO Packages and see how they would fit.
FAQ's
For enhancing mobile usability, ensure your website design is responsive, simplify navigation for smaller screens, and increase button and font sizes to improve the user experience on mobile devices.
