Four must-know steps to become an SEO Specialist

The first time I heard about SEO I was like, "What, is that a new program?" Fortunately, my friend was patient enough to explain to me what it was and how you do it. I was interested right then. I just had no idea about the how to's. For months, I spent searching on the internet for SEO tutorials and the likes but nada. It's a good thing that this friend offered a free basic SEO training at the Cebu City LDS Employment Resource Center which is held every Wednesdays for a good four weeks. 


So what did I learn from this training? Well, at least I now know that you don't need a software program to do that but you do need tools to help you with the process. In fact, there are four steps that every aspiring SEO specialist should know and I'd be happy to share them with you. This is not a blog that will give you in-depth details of the how to's but this is written to share what I have learned. It's still a long process but knowing these four basic steps will definitely keep you off the dark.


First off, SEO stands Search Engine Optimization. According to Wiki, it is the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in search engines via the "natural" or un-paid ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results. In order to do that, then you must know these steps:


1. Keyword Research
Using keywords are vital when you optimize a website. Why keywords? What does this have to do with becoming an SEO specialist? Well, as explained, Google and other search engines like Yahoo or Bing use keywords as they crawl on websites. That explains why every time you Google a certain word, it also appears on the search results. So the more unique and specific your keyword is the bigger the chance your site of being on the top ten search results or even on the first page. There are a lot of tools you can use as you search for keywords. Just Google it.


2. Competitors Analysis
The name of the game in any business is knowing your competitors. It's a strategy that can also be used when you're optimizing your website or your client's. Again, there are tools that you can use for this. That way you'll have an idea on how to improve the website and its contents.


3. On-page Optimization
This basically involves optimizing WITHIN your website. It includes the page structure, the layouts, the titles and meta tags, speed. You just have to make sure that your site is SEO ready and that it's an interactive site that allows you to add content regularly. If it's not then you'll have to redesign your website. Basically, you'll have to work collaboratively with the site developers for this.


4. Off-page Optimization
This, on the other hand, is completely the opposite of on-page optimization. What this means is that you optimize outside your website through other means such as link building. Simply put, you build traffic to your own site by making your website visible in others. That's why there's Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites because they play a role in link building.


Well, that's it. I hope I leave you less flummoxed with this simple insight. Again, these are just the stuff that I learned from the training. If you want to learn more, you might as well visit my friend's site at www.eyewebmaster.com for more information especially about the free training.