What Advice Would You Give Yourself When You Started In SEO?
We have rounded up the best advice from fellow SEOs for new starters. Whether you're new to SEO or have been in the industry for years, you're bound to learn something new.
Picture this: You’ve just graduated and have landed your first job in the SEO industry. Whilst excited, you can feel the nerves creeping in as you get ready for your first morning at the office. Potentially your first time ever working in an office environment. As you sit down and stare at your shiny new laptop filled with tasks to complete, you feel a cloak of fear engulf you. You know your stuff, you got the job after all, and you’ve got the support of your colleagues, so why do you feel like such an imposter?
If you have found yourself in this situation recently, we have rounded up the best advice from fellow SEO’s that they’d tell themselves at the beginning of their career.
Where To Start?
SEO is a huge industry, and there's so many things to consider when optimising and implementing an SEO strategy.
“Learn absolutely everything, but only focus on one area at a time”
— Billie Hyde, SEO Works
Billie also reminded us of how vast SEO is and that it's impossible to learn it all. She recommended to start out with the area that sounds the most interesting to you at the time.
What area should you focus your attention on first?
“When it comes to finding your feet in SEO, you will want to ensure you’re staying on top of current trends”
— Olivia Hanlon, Girls in Marketing
Hanlon also shared her top trend to focus on now: “A massive up-and-coming strand of SEO is artificial intelligence, so it's worth getting your head around how AI will impact search in 2022. The future of SEO is AI-led, especially given the advances in the Google Algorithm so consider this when you're up skilling.”
A great way to start learning is webinars, conferences, newsletters, articles, and even Twitter. All great places to read up on BOTH classic and current SEO topics.
“I’d highly recommend attending conferences and networking events as much as possible”
— Tom Bourlet, The Stag Company
It’s not always about the talks, it’s about meeting people and learning from them, as people are more than happy to offer their time and advice. Tom also runs a marketing roundtable event, which he says allows everyone to discuss SEO issues with experts in a relaxed environment with a drink in hand.
What Tactics Should You Implement?
Keyword research is crucial for optimising both content and websites to ensure you reach your target audience.
“Know the significance and power of good keyword research and the implication it has for your business or clients”
— Jamie Irwin, Straight Up Search
Jamie also gave a bonus tip: “When you do your keyword research cross reference this with search intent - "does it feel right?" - put yourself in the searcher's shoes and try to understand what stage of the funnel this keyword is at - top, middle, bottom? Get the commercial intent right!”
Along with keyword research, you may want to master the art of data analysis.
“Learn how to analyse performance looking back at previous data ”
— Becky Stead, 43 Clicks North
And while you’ll want to keep a close eye on competitors, don’t just copy what they’re doing, you want to stand out not blend in.
“Don’t just mimic what your competitors are doing, find the gaps that nobody is going after”
— Tom Bourlet, The Stag Company
Remember that keyword research? Incorporate your top terms into suitable content - you should aim to create a mixture of all types of content. Trending topics and evergreen content both have their benefits but work best in conjunction with each other.
“Write content to fit a purpose (long-form, short-form, evergreen, trending, informational, transactional, metadata, on-page, etc.) ”
— Becky Stead, 43 Clicks North
How To Beat Imposter Syndrome?
The only thing stopping you from achieving success in your SEO career? Yourself!
Take note from some of our experts, and don’t put yourself down - you’re a crucial cog in the SEO machine.
“The industry will always require fresh eyes so be open to putting yourself out there and sharing what you have”
— Rejoice Ojiaku
Rejoice also shared: “Don't feel intimidated by the skill sets and knowledge of others. Understand the value you bring into a role or company and work within that. The best thing you can do for yourself is to remain authentic, you are uniquely you and will have a different insight, perspective...be bold enough to always share it and you will find as you share more; you learn more.”
No one knows everything, and not every piece of SEO advice will work for you.
“The best way of finding out whether a new SEO strategy or technique actually works, is by creating your own site to implement these practices on. ”
— Joe Fisher, Opticlick
Joe claims: “A lot of the time different industry experts will contradict each other, so you don't know what to believe. If you're unsure whether a technique will work for an eCommerce website - make a dummy site on Shopify and try it!”
Finally…
“The most important tip I can think of is to remember patience, SEO is a long haul process that takes time to see great results”
— Karim Adib, SEO Works
Luckily, the SEO industry is filled with amazing people who focus on lifting up others rather than bringing them down - just check Twitter if you don’t believe us. For more advice or if you simply want to get to know other SEO-ers, follow us on Twitter and check out our list of Marketing Masters.
A big thanks to our SEO experts
- Billie Hyde, Senior Account Manager & Training Lead, SEO Works
- Olivia Hanlon, Founder and CEO, Girls In Marketing
- Tom Bourlet, Marketing, The Stag Company
- Jamie Irwin, Founder, Straight Up Search
- Becky Stead, Digital PR Specialist, 43 Clicks North
- Rejoice Ojiaku, Co-Founder, B-DigitalUK
- Joe Fisher, Owner, Opticlick
- Karim Adib, Marketing Coordinator, SEO Works
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