So how did I learn SEO? … The simple answer … I taught myself.
Its not that difficult really, well not the basics at least, but the best way to learn SEO is to actually practice it on one of your sites.
Thats how I started. 5 years ago I decided to build my very own website UKresident.com, a UK immigration site. The reason I started it was because I had just arrived in the UK and found it very frustrating that I couldn’t find a good website to help people like mysef settle in, but that’s another story all together.
Back to the topic… Having my own website naturally made me want to make it rank higher in the search results for my target keyword (UK Residency, where I currently rank at the #1 position) … (pats himself on the back).
So anway, specifically… how did I do it? Well it was a mixture of things really but the main thing I would say was the provision of fresh daily content through the forum I had later created (more about that later).
When I first started it was a struggle to rank for any keyword and as a result, the traffic was abysmal. This did not deter me however, It actually made me want to work harder at actually ranking for the keywords of choice and so I started digging deeper.
Initially I started joining most of the SEO forums out there but the main one I focused on was WebmasterWorld (a great site by the way and run by an equally great guy, Brett Tabke). Most of the forums talked about fresh content and the concept of becoming an authority in one’s field. They mentioned that one way to do it is to establish a forum where experts respond to people’s questions, and so I embarked on creating that mythical forum.
I managed to attract UK immigration lawyers who were happy to respond to people’s questions in return for getting publicity for their firm. And this is how the UK resident forum became an authority in its field. Driving thousand of new users, links and fresh content on a daily basis.
However, the forum was not enough. I wanted to learn more about SEO and specifically, how to make this fresh new content rank higher, however, I wasn’t really sure how I would do that.
This is where SEO Book fits in. I decided to buy an online copy of this raved about book to see what the fuss was all about and what do you know, it actually was a fantastic book! It goes through the who SEO process from Keyword research to implemeting the research findings in both onsite as well as offsite SEO activities.
The best thing about this book however was the way it was written, -a very casual sort of way. Aaron Wall, the author of the book writes in a manner that makes learning SEO fun and un intimedating.
So armed with Aaron’s advice, techniques and tips as well as all my ongoing learnings from the SEO forums, I was now in a better position to optimise my site to achieve the rankings I want.
