SEO - I just do not seem to get it

[Paul_Tovey]

Hello All,

I came to the forum two weeks ago and prior to that studied SEO until my brain almost melted two weeks before. Now, I've read some great articles here on SEOMoz which have been fantastic. Mainly being this one: http://www.seomoz.org/beginners-guide-to-seo.

So anyway, I genuinely throught I got it about a week ago. Here's what I did:

First I decided on my keyword: "PC Repair Sheffield".

Then, I made a website and on-page optimizaed as best as I possibly could (Graded A on the SEOMoz on-page exam tool).

So I decided firstly to add myself to the Independant newspaper Business Directory, because it's free and has a great domain authority.

I then went to Yahoo answers, found a Question i knew the answer too and made a whole article on the question, I provided a really useful answer and put a link to my full answer in the 'Source' section. This was a NoFollow Link.

Every week, I write a new article and put it in my 'Blog' page. In the articles, I like to cover some problem that I've encountered throughout the week, if, for example, I write about a Hard Drive I replaced in Sheffield, I write about that and link it to my 'PC Repair Sheffield' page. Every article contains a video from Youtube, which is another 'NoFollow' link.

Past that, I just find forums which are preffereably not 'No Follow' links and try to help people by answering their questions, but putting more details on my site for them toi see, with a link.

That is pretty much the extent of what I 'Get' so far. But I do read a lot of the posts on here and I'm always seeing the Experts on SEO criticise these things and say it's bad without actually explaining why, or how to improve this, or what to do instead in some kind of simple way?

I mean, this blog i'm writing, is there really any point? It's unlikely anybody is going to see it, sharing it is just a rediculous assumption. Nobody shares a page on how to fix a hard drive from a local sheffield site.

I don't think that NoFollow links are a waste of time, but that's my personal assumption. I think that makes it more natural in a way..

'Write Fresh Content' and get natural links is a crazy suggestion, nobody is ever going to share it. It's just not the way the world works for small businesses.

No task is easy, but none are impossible either, i know that I could do SEO, i'm just not entirely sure 'what to do'.

[alsvik]

Hi Paul. It seems you are doing the right things already.

Remember to target both low and high competition keywords - and focus on both short and long tailed keywords. Use good synonyms. fix <-> repair, PC <-> computer. Dont target too narrow. use Google Keyword Tool to find good keywords.

And, yes i would be that guy sharing a link to a page that saved my day by fixing my harddrive. I would comment and ask questions i stumbled upon on of your videos, when searching for someone or something to help me fix my problem.

Try taking a look at good performing local repair shops in ie Manchester. What have they done. From who have they acquired good links etc.

Keep it up

[josh-riley]

It can be hard for small (or even larger) businesses to accomplish some of these things.

However, to be successful, it's what needs to be done - so the question becomes, if you want to do C work, is it fair to expect an A grade?

[VentaMarketing]

Hi Paul,

It looks like you have a good understanding of SEO and are willing to do the work required for a good SEO campaign. Now if you can most efficiently use your SEO time, you will really have something.

The one thing that you seem to be lacking is building your online network. It is great to write for your own blog and it is ok to sometimes comment on forums, answer questions and submit to good directories, but in my experience, the best links are given by a person, not by just pressing a submit button.

I would recommend finding some target websites that publish content related to your company/industry and try to build a relationship with the blogger or website owner. These will be your target links.

Yes, you will need to "Write Fresh Content" or provide something that adds value to their website, but that is only the start. You should write content with a purpose. The goal should be to get that content published on a certian blog or website. The only way to do this is to physically reach out to the webmaster or blog owner (remember they are people) with a phone call or email (I always receommed calling first if possible). You cannot just sit back and expect people to link to your great content, it needs to be marketed by you.

You most likely are an expert in your industry, so you have the knowledge needed create content that people would love to use and post. All you need to do is pick your target websites and physically get it front of a person that has the ability to put it on the website.

I hope this helps.

[danatanseo]

Hi Paul, I think you do get it, and quite well. I think the other thing you are discovering is that SEO is a very long process. Last summer at MozCon, Rand shared some stats from his blog in the early days. He had post after post where it seemed like no one was reading, and certainly no one was commenting. It's hard work. It takes time. One of my favorite quotes is from a great master French flutist, Marcel Moyse. He would always say that becoming a great musician was a matter of "time, patience and intelligent work." I think you are doing the "intelligent work" part. Just keep at it. The "time and patience" part is hard, especially online because everyone expects the Internet to abound and placate us with instant gratification. You are doing all the right things. Trust in the force You'll get there. Just persist.

Dana

[EGOL]

"Every week, I write a new article and put it in my 'Blog' page. In the articles, I like to cover some problem that I've encountered throughout the week, if, for example, I write about a Hard Drive I replaced in Sheffield, I write about that and link it to my 'PC Repair Sheffield' page."

This is approximately what I do for two sites that I focus on.

I identify informative content that people are searching for, write an article that is among the best-on-the-web for that topic,  supplement the article with great photos, graphics, perhaps a video (that we prepare ourselves), and post them on the site.

We have been doing this every week, every week, every week, for several years.  We don't do any linkbuilding or other site promotion - our visitors share our content and link to it without any work done by us.  Rankings climb steadily and traffic climbs steadily as we add more content and the site becomes more visible.

This works in niches with low competition and also in niches where the competition is very very high.  The key to success is content that defeats what is already out there.