In an all-digital era like today, SEO jobs are in great demand because the need for website optimization in search engines is increasing.
With more and more companies and individuals having websites, more and more need SEO services to increase their website’s visibility in search engines.
In addition, SEO is also an important factor in digital marketing strategies, so many companies are looking for SEO professionals to manage and develop their websites.
Thus, having SEO skills can be one of the advantages that can help you get a job or grow a business in the digital marketing field.
However, do you know what SEO is? What are the advantages of using it, and how do you become an SEO specialist? Let’s discuss the below until the end.
Intro to SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization or Search Engine Optimization in Indonesian. This is a technique used to increase the visibility of a website in search engines such as Google by making the website easy for search engines to find.
This is done by optimizing the content and structure of the website as well as improving other technical aspects to make the website more accessible and understandable to search engines.
By using SEO, a website will be more accessible for internet users to find. It will appear faster in search engine search results.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) can be divided into two categories: On-page SEO and Off-page SEO. On-page SEO is all the efforts made to improve the quality and relevance of the website from a technical and content standpoint.
While Off-page SEO is an effort to increase website popularity by placing backlinks and promotions on social media and other websites. These two categories are interrelated and necessary to increase website visibility in search engines.
How To Become SEO Specialist
After you know the advantages of learning SEO, now is the time to start learning this essential digital marketing knowledge. The steps below are the fastest way to become an SEO specialist:
1. Understand how search engines work
First of all, you need to know how search engines work. Generally, someone who frequently uses the internet must have understood the basic concepts of search engines and Google.
2. Understand the true meaning of SEO
SEO is not only about keywords and links. More than that, SEO’s true mission is to provide users with an experience and give them what they want.
Your SEO goal should be to generate revenue, improve visitor experience, and retain your customers. SEO has several critical sub-components:
- Technical SEO: Crawling and Indexing
- On-page SEO: Content Optimization
- Off-page SEO: Website Promotion
3. Choose the right SEO training
With so much information on the internet, everything can’t be applied to your website, making you even more confused. Currently, many professionals offer SEO training to suit your needs.
You can save a lot of time by studying and practising directly with an experienced mentor and reduce the mistakes you can make due to your lack of understanding of SEO.
4. Always update information about SEO
SEO is not a static science. As Google’s algorithm gets more innovative, SEO theory and practice can change over time. For the record, Google changes its algorithm system 250 times a year.
What lessons you got last year may not necessarily be used this year. SEO experts should understand this dynamic change and be able to move quickly to apply the new system to their website.
Then how can you update information about SEO? You can subscribe to relevant and trusted newsletters or websites that discuss SEO topics so that they are updated.
5. Choose the right SEO tools
SEO cannot be used independently. The process requires complementary data and other tools that can support the analysis so that the results obtained are as intended.
Indeed, some of these tools can be very expensive, but this is an ‘investment’ for your website to generate even more income and traffic.
Here are examples of tools you can use: Google Webmaster Tools is the most appropriate free application for analyzing SEO. The information provided is complete enough to help you make an SEO decision.
Google Analytics Google also has a free Google Analytics app that you can use to find out how much traffic is coming to your website, as well as navigation reports and highlights about your content.
For beginners, this tool must be used. SEMRUSH This SEM tool is not free. Still, for those who need a complete analysis of PPC, keyword research, link building, social media and competitor websites, this tool will help you with its exclusive features.
Ahrefs is an alternative to SEMRUSH. You can get complete insights to increase your ranking with a monthly subscription. If you still want to try it, Ahrefs provides free features for seven days before deciding to buy.
6. Practice your SEO knowledge
After learning a lot of theory, you will absorb the knowledge more quickly if you put it into practice right away. Each website has uniqueness, and practising SEO will make you know more about your website needs.
You can read case studies of other websites that have successfully implemented SEO into their projects while looking for inspiration for your own website.
7. Teach your skills to others
Sharing knowledge will bring more understanding to you. The best way to learn SEO is to share your knowledge with others. You’d be surprised how much new information you can gain by sharing what you know with others.
You can use social media platforms to share your experience.
8. Be patient
Nothing is instant in this world, including SEO. SEO takes time to measure its success. What didn’t work this week doesn’t mean it didn’t work at all.
If you want instant results, SEO is not the solution because SEO prioritizes long-term consequences for your business – by bringing organic traffic to your website.
Before you use the services of an SEO specialist, make sure you also record your website ranking and traffic from time to time as a comparison.
9. Follow the advice of SEO experts
SEO experts have relatively high-flying hours in the world of internet marketing. There will be times when you, as a beginner, need help to get the desired results.
This is very normal, and it’s time for you to read about the experts’ experiences and the difficulties they have faced, so you don’t have to be afraid of failure.