5+ SEO Resources for the Beginning Blogger
As the world rapidly shifts into the digital space and becomes even more reliant on the internet, the need for bloggers to have basic knowledge on various forms of digital marketing strategies grows tenfold. In particular, it would be in the best interest of writers to learn the basics of search engine optimization (SEO).
What is SEO?
In its simplest sense, SEO is the process of optimizing a website, along with the content it houses. The main goal of this is for websites to appear in prominent positions, preferably in the first few pages, of the organic results search engines produce. SEO can be thought of as the culmination of three strategies. These strategies are:
- the ongoing and ever-evolving technical optimization of websites to ensure consistently high rankings,
- the consideration of content on the transactional, informational, and publishing level on the website to forward relevance and ease of navigation and, finally,
- the promotion of content that is shareable and has a lot of potentials when it comes to link building.
Why Learn SEO?
Aside from allowing blog sites to keep up with the changing times, the most compelling reason why you should learn SEO as a blogger is that it can be very instrumental in helping you stand out. Every single day around 4.4 million blog posts are being published, and if you don’t want your posts to drown in the tsunami of articles, you will need SEO strategies to back them up. If you think the benefits of SEO ends here, then you are greatly mistaken. The advantages SEO provides can include better user experience, reliable organic traffic generation, high conversion rate, better brand credibility and brand awareness, and a wider audience reach. Knowledge of SEO is also something you’ll need if you want to pursue a career as a ghostwriter or create content for different corporations. This is because blogging search-optimized articles, white papers, and other original content on your website can help you catch the attention of potential clients.
To enjoy the extensive benefits SEO can provide, the first thing you have to do is to equip yourself with basic knowledge of SEO. That said, here are some resources that can help you get started.
Coursera, Udemy and Other Similar Platforms
Thanks to the continuous advancement of online education and the emergence of distance learning platforms, enrolling in a course for just about anything can now easily be done in just a few clicks. At times, short courses are even available for free. So if you are someone who wants to learn about SEO under the guidance of an expert, checking out sites like Coursera and Udemy would be perfect for you. At the moment, there are five courses on Coursera that specifically specialize in SEO. The University of California is offering all of these courses and you can earn a certificate upon completion. On the other hand, Udemy provides a lot more SEO-related courses that are available at different price points. Free SEO courses and tutorials that can run from 30 minutes to 10 hours are also available on the platform.
YouTube Channels Like Neil Patel, Eric Enge and Ahrefs
If you are someone who’s more receptive to videos compared to reading, hands-on projects and coursework, the best way for you to learn SEO is to subscribe to reliable YouTube channels. Some of the most popular ones are Neil Patel, Eric Enge, Ahrefs, Moz and Hack My Growth. Each of them has a different approach to sharing SEO knowledge. If you are after five-minute videos that speak of safe, white-hat practices, then Neil Patel’s channel would be a great choice. For those of you who are more interested in learning from the author of “The Art of SEO” (aka as the Bible of SEO) then go ahead and subscribe to Eric Enge. For actionable SEO tutorials, practical tips and SEO information centered on business applications, the channels Ahrefs, Moz, and Hack My Growth would be worth your time.
Google Webmaster Central Blog
Finding resources online can sometimes be tricky. The abundance of sites that talk about SEO makes it hard to figure out which ones are reliable and trustworthy. When in doubt, the best course of action is to go straight to Google’s very own Webmaster Central Blog. This site shares updates about crawling, indexing and ranking. In addition to this, you can also learn about the latest updates to popular tools like the Search Console and get reminders on important topics like hacking. What’s really great about the Google Webmaster Central Blog is that they have plenty of useful articles like ‘Using Page Speed in Mobile Search Ranking’, as well as downloadable material entitled ‘Google’s Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide’.
Reputable Sites Such as Search Engine Journal and Search Engine Land
Contrary to popular belief, SEO isn’t something that only came about in recent years. In fact, veterans in the search engine industry have sites that can be dated back to the early years of the 2000s. Examples of such are Search Engine Journal, Search Engine Land and Search Engine Roundtable. All of these pages provide industry news, analysis, insights and guides for search marketers. They also feature tips and advice from a variety of respected and experienced voices in the field. Some of them even hold events that will help you understand SEO at a whole new level. While Search Engine Journal hosts SEJ summit, which is an intensive one-day conference that promises quality education and networking, Search Engine Land’s parent company, Third Door Media, runs a popular conference series called SMX.
Keyword Research on LinkedIn Learning
Once you’ve covered all the basics, you might want to focus on certain aspects of SEO that are extremely relevant to blogging like keyword research. This is where the course ‘SEO: Keyword Strategy’ from LinkedIn Learning will come in handy. Taught by Matt Baily, a digital marketing consultant and author of “Internet Marketing: An Hour a Day,” this course will explain what keywords are and how you can manage them. It would also teach you how to use keyword management tools, measure your results and find something called “searcher intent.” Having a deep understanding of keyword research is of great importance to bloggers like you. This is because it can help you use the right words and come up with the right titles that will attract more web traffic to your site.
Needless to say, there is no shortage of SEO resources you can find advice and learn a lot from. However, such materials and platforms can only go so far. The best way to fully grasp SEO is by applying everything you’ve learned into starting your very own blog.
Sophia Jackson
As someone who always had a passion for writing, establishing her very own blog has been a no-brainer for Sophia Jackson. She takes pride in being able to self-publish articles that speak volumes of who she is and can help bring attention to the causes she greatly values. Now that the world is being run by knowledge, data and information, Sophia Jackson has grown very much interested in the ways blogs can be turned into a side hustle for people like her who write for the love of it.
We hope this article was helpful. If you liked it, feel free to check out some of these articles as well!
