6 SEO Concepts to Know as a Marketing Noob

If you're just starting in the marketing world, there's a lot to learn. SEO can be particularly daunting, but it's essential to have at least a basic understanding of the concept. Here are six SEO concepts that every junior marketer should know.

TLDR

SEO is important for any business that wants to be found online. By understanding the basics of SEO, you can ensure that your website reaches its full potential in terms of visibility and traffic.

Keyword research is one of the most important aspects of SEO, so invest time and resources into this activity.

Monitoring your SEO progress and measuring results is also essential, so you can track your progress and identify areas for improvement.

Focus on the search engines that matter most to your business, and make sure your content is relevant to your target audience.

What is SEO, and how can it help my marketing efforts?

If you're looking to make your marketing efforts more effective, it's important to understand what SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is and what it can do for you. Simply put, SEO is a strategy to help improve a website's or web page's online visibility in search engine results.

At its basic definition, SEO is a way of optimizing content, so it shows up at the top of users' search results. To do this, SEO uses tactics like keyword research, creating high-quality content, link building, and earning social media credibility. When executed strategically, these tactics can help increase a website's ranking in search engines, resulting in more organic website traffic.

Additionally, since an optimized website usually runs faster and smoother than one that isn't optimized, visitors will typically have a better experience — leading to better conversion rates.

Ultimately, understanding what SEO is and how it works can go a long way toward helping you create an effective marketing strategy for your business. By investing in good SEO practices, you'll be able to reach more people and make your marketing efforts even more successful!

The difference between on-page and off-page SEO

On-page and off-page SEO is critical in achieving better rankings on Google, Bing, and other search engine results pages (SERPs).

On-page optimization refers to all the techniques used on a web page to make them more visible on SERPs. This can include everything from optimizing title tags and meta descriptions to content creation and keyword research.  

Google recommends tackling on-page SEO issues first and then moving on to off-page optimization, as the latter can be more time-consuming. Tools like Google Analytics and Moz can help track on-page keyword performance, page load speeds, and other essential metrics.

Google even offers a free tool to help with this in their popular Chrome browser, LightHouse SEO. This tool gives you a quick overview of your website's SEO performance. It can help you identify on-page optimization issues that might be holding your website back from appearing at the top of organic search results.

On the other hand, off-page SEO is all about building links to the page through social media sharing, influencer marketing, and external link-building.

One of the main goals of off-page SEO is to increase trustworthiness in the eyes of search engine algorithms. If your website has a lot of quality backlinks, you'll likely see better results on search engines.

On-page and off-page SEO are essential tools for improving website visibility on search engine results pages. Knowing when and how to employ each type of optimization correctly will help ensure you get maximum value from your SEO efforts.

Reaping the benefits of local SEO

Local SEO is an integral part of any marketing strategy, as it allows businesses to reach and connect with customers in their local area.

Some tactics for local SEO include optimizing business listings on sites like Google or Yelp, creating keyword-rich content relevant to your location, and building strong referral relationships with other business owners in the area.

Another effective strategy for boosting local SEO is to invest in targeted advertising on search engines and social media platforms. By correctly targeting your ads towards specific demographics and locations, you'll be able to reach the people who are most likely to become customers.

With smart local SEO techniques, businesses can connect with new customers and build brand recognition in their local community.

How to optimize my website for better search engine ranking

Optimizing your website for better search engine rankings is essential to attracting organic traffic. Google and other search engines rely on various factors to rank websites, including site structure, user experience, content quality, backlinks, and more.

To optimize your website for Google rankings, focus first on the basics:

• Create high-quality content with relevant keywords to the topics you're discussing;
• Strengthen your internal link structure;
• Add alt text to images (which also improves accessibility!);
• Use keywords in your headings and subheadings and,
• Ensure a fast page loading speed.

In addition, consider adding a meta description for each page so that readers have a clear understanding of what the page is about and Google has all of the information it needs to index your pages correctly.

Meta descriptions are also a great place to add more keywords, so take advantage of the opportunity to appear in your customer's organic search results!

These simple steps can dramatically improve your website's user experience and Google rankings if done correctly. Taking the time to optimize your website using tested SEO principles can do wonders for driving organic search traffic—the more visible you are in search engine results pages (SERPs), the more likely people will be drawn to your site organically.

The importance of keyword research

SEO keyword research is an essential part of any successful digital strategy. Knowing which keywords your target audience uses can be the difference between being found by potential customers and falling by the wayside.

Not only does keyword research help you generate content that people are already searching for, but it also provides clues as to what people are interested in. By understanding why people use certain words, you can figure out how to tailor your content to draw their attention.

Additionally, keyword research helps you determine which key phrases will positively impact search engine optimization (SEO), making it easier for more people to find your website or business online.

That's where a keyword's search volume and search competition come in. By prioritizing high-volume keywords with low competition, you can maximize your website's chances of ranking on the first page of Google for relevant queries.

Look for a search volume of at least 1,000-2,000 monthly searches to ensure a high ROI on your SEO efforts. For example, if you work in the graphic design industry, you might target keywords like "graphic design," "graphic design services," or "freelance graphic designer."

Even small companies and startups should make keyword research part of their regular marketing efforts to optimize their online presence and ensure long-term success.

Understanding keyword trends and how they relate to your business can help you plan effective campaigns and maximize your reach among potential customers. It can also provide insights into developing new products or services that meet customer needs.

If you're just starting with keyword research, many great tools and resources are available to help you.  

Google Keyword Planner can help you identify keywords that are relevant to your business and have a high search volume. Its features include search volume and competition data, enabling you to tailor your keyword research around the keywords that are most likely to help you reach your target audience.

How to track my SEO progress and measure results

Though it may seem complicated, monitoring your SEO journey does not need to be. Keeping an eye on how your web pages are performing and measuring the results of your efforts can help you identify areas for improvement and get the most out of your search engine optimization efforts.

To improve your ranking on search engines, you should familiarize yourself with some important metrics and check your SEO regularly. Pay attention to the following SEO metrics to give you an accurate assessment of your performance:

• Page ranking
• Keyword density
• Website visits

You can also use tools like Google Search Console to track and measure SEO variables like backlinks, impression share, and click-through rate.

By following your SEO progress and measuring results, you'll be able to spot any inconsistencies or opportunities for improvement sooner rather than later. The more informed decisions you make as an SEO professional, the better SEO results you will achieve in the long run!

Bonus Tip: Which search engines should I focus on?

It's important to prioritize the search engines that matter when it comes to SEO. Though all search engines are relevant and should be considered, some have higher traffic numbers than others.

For example, in the United States, Google dominates almost 60 percent of all online search traffic, while Bing and Yahoo! have less than 30 percent.

I want my search rankings to be relevant to my target audience in the U.S., so I focus on optimizing for Google. Google primarily uses backlinks and domain authority as ranking factors, so creating high-quality content highly relevant to my target audience and getting backlinks from reputable sources helps improve my SEO performance.

Google also focuses heavily on a concept called EAT. EAT stands for Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness, which is used to determine whether a website provides valuable information that meets searcher intent.  

If you're wondering which search engine to focus on as a marketer, consider where your target market is located and prioritize accordingly. By understanding which search engines to focus on, you can ensure that your SEO efforts are being used effectively to reach the right audience.

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SEO is one of the most critical aspects of digital marketing. Optimizing your website and content for better search engine ranking can attract more visitors to your site who are interested in what you offer.

In this post, I've outlined SEO basics and how you can use them to improve your marketing efforts. I also provided a few tips on how to track your SEO progress and measure results.

If you need help getting started with SEO or improving your current ranking, my copywriting services can help you. Contact me today for a free consultation!