How To Confidently Start SEOing?
-
Hi Guys,
Im a Web developer (Front end and back end). Ive been learning SEO tips and tricks for the last 2 years but didn't have courage to apply them to any of my clients because of lack of confidence. I say lack of confidence because I never had a SEO Guru teaching me the "Proper" way to do SEO and see ranks change OR how to really take the first step when it comes to a SEO Project, so I didnt know how to even see if my work is paying off.
Now I got this client who is a Vehicle Importer in Melbourne, and he imports cars from Japan. Im charging him $200/month for 12 months to improve SEO and cut down his competition and get his site on Google. But I have no idea where to start. His site has a blog setup already and its pretty good structure wise. I have done the On page optimizations and sitemaps etc etc, but not sure what to do next like to build links ?? or do off page optimizations, or do keyword research or really get the site on Google without any bull****?? Can you guys please please show me how to start a SEO project and how to actually use the new Moz to his best use?
Thanks a lot for helping me.
Regards
-
Thanks a lot guys. I've been trying the tips and tricks you guys provided and that's why I didn't close the question. Hope you guys don't mind answering few more new questions regarding the same issue.
1. When I take a SEO project onbard for a client, how should I go with writing blog content for him. Do you guys usually write content for them or you get the client to write them for you because they know the business best? For an example if the client is a Car Importer, he knows about importing cars and why people should import cars better than the SEO gurus?
2. Similar to question one, when it comes to answering questions on forums and advertising the clients business, do you guys usually do it for the client or you get the client to do it to support the SEO campaign?Sorry if these are stupid questions, but I literally have no idea how that works
Thanks a lot guys in advance
Jazz
-
Thanks peter, some good tips there.
It's true that GA has given more "not provided" however you can pull some terms of webmaster tools.
-
Just to follow on a little more from Chris' reply.
> 1. Is there a way to see whether im ranking for any keyword if I don't know the keyword, in other words, how do I know if I rank for any keyword?
By looking at your Google Analytics search referrals you cannot tell where you are ranking but by the fact that you have had a referral from a search engine means you must have been ranking reasonably well for a search phrase in order to get a click through.
Please note though that if pulling this information from your Google Analytics, for the last year or so Google has gradually been returning more and more "(not provided)" results. These of course don't tell you what people were searching for. Recently, Google has pulled search referral data altogether. Now you can only see if you have had a referral from Google and not what the search phrase was. So only by looking at historic data for Google search referrals will you get the info you want. But you can still get that data from Bing and Yahoo referrals.
> 2. I added a list of keywords to Moz but it says I don't rank on first 50 results. So how do I know if I'm ranking for anything at all?
Yes, Chris it right, but if below 50 then it maybe worth re-examining the phrases you are targeting to see how competitive they are (as your 3 point below) before spending lots of time trying to push them up the rankings. Your time may be better spent looking for longer tail searches that you can pick up some traffic from.
> 3. Ive heard of keyword competition, could you please guide me on how to actually do a competition analysis?
Have a look at this help page on the Moz Keyword Difficulty tool. That should give you a good kickstart to understanding more about it.
Peter
-
1. Is there a way to see whether im ranking for any keyword if I dont know the keyword, in other words, how do I know if I rank for any keyword?
Google analytics / webmaster tools lets you see what people are searching to get to your site.
2. I added a list of keywords to Moz but it says I dont rank on first 50 results. So how do I know if Im ranking for anything at all?
You can always do a manual search
3. Ive heard of keyword competition, could you please guide me on how to actually do a competition analysis?
-
Thanks for your reply, I have few questions for you if you dont mind,
1. Is there a way to see whether im ranking for any keyword if I dont know the keyword, in other words, how do I know if I rank for any keyword?
2. I added a list of keywords to Moz but it says I dont rank on first 50 results. So how do I know if Im ranking for anything at all?
3. Ive heard of keyword competition, could you please guide me on how to actually do a competition analysis?Thanks a lot
Jazz -
Hi Jazz
What would you do if you get a Vehicle Importer who wants to see his site on Google for keywords like "Import vehicle from Japan" or "Melbourne car imports"?
As Chris suggests below, the critical factor with keyword research is to understand what people are typing into Google which may not be the phrases that your vehicle importer client is suggesting.
It may be that the competition for the phrases he is suggesting are low and so it may be quite easy to rank for them, but a number 1 position for a search that no-one is searching on is pointless. Whilst he may be impressed, any impression will be short-lived when there is no traffic.
Maybe the phrases being suggested do get decent traffic, but if they don't and you have the facility to be able to show him what is being used, then show him based on the intent of the search. If that is, for example, something like "car importer melbourne" or "japanese car importer" then better to use that than something that isn't.
Peter
-
High level, but step-by-step:
-
Keyword research to determine what to target:
-
Start by looking at what you are currently ranking for and what is currently driving traffic.
-
Then, look at what terms related to their business drive traffic vs. the level of competition.
-
Pick some terms.
-
Review the site for general SEO issues and optimize for those terms.
-
Build links / build citations based on whether the client is locally focused or national.
-
If local, focus on citations and local business group links.
-
If national, focus on quality links from relevant sites (though citations don't hurt either.)
-
The number of links you need can very greatly depending on the competition and from where your client is starting.
-
Tip:
-
Do not 'over-optimize' the site or anchor text.
-
Don't build links too quickly or you can get penalized.
-
Whitespark.ca is a good citation finder tool and is pretty affordable.
Best of luck!
-
-
Hello,
A good tip for SEO (for me any how) is treat it like it's your own site. You can also (as touched on) look at research the more you research the easier it is later on, the golden thing most people are after is the "long tail keyword". In short if you were looking to import a car what would you type into Google. Once you've done that you can also back this up by looking into Google ad words and seeing the search volume to back up your theory. On top of this Google trends is a sneaky way to look at historical data to see if there is a season to the term.
Along side this you can also look at competitors see what they are linking with see if you are on the right track. This is always a good first step after looking at the site.
Good luck.
-
Hi,
As Peter correctly states, the best start is the Moz Beginners Guide but I can also recommend 'The Link Building Book' by Paddy Moogan.
I am by no means an expert (or guru) but I have been doing SEO for a few years now, I have just written a post on my blog title' What Is It You Do Exactly?' - That seems to be the question I am most asked when I tell people what I do!
You can read the post here, it might help, it might not but take a look and see what you think; What Is It You Do?
Please feel free to post back with any further questions, everyone is friendly and willing to help!
Andy
-
Hi Peter
Thanks for your reply. Yes, I went through the Moz Beginners Guide many times and have a good understanding of delivering good content to answer visitors questions. What would you do if you get a Vehicle Importer who wants to see his site on Google for keywords like "Import vehicle from Japan" or "Melbourne car imoports"?
Regards
-
Hi, first up, if you haven't read it already, I recommend reading Moz's guide here: http://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo
The other thing I would say if you are not clear on it already is first understand the strategy of SEO (i.e. that it is do with provide good relevant content that answers a site visitor's questions) than focussing too much on SEO tactics.
That said, to ensure your content is good and relevant to answer a site visitor's questions that means you need to know what questions they are asking. To do that I recommend doing keyword research to find the the keywords and phrases people are searching for so that your pages can be targeted correctly. When you have done that, make sure the content is well written and optimised correctly for those searches along the guidelines Moz recommend.
As your site is the focus of the attention you want to create then only when you have done those stages above should you be concerned with promoting the site elsewhere through social media etc.
I hope that helps,
Peter
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Someone has purchased super similar domain to mine will this effect my site seo overall?
I have a domain name allready registered www.untamedelopement.co.uk and dot com. Someone despite knowing I had this name has registered untamedelopements.com (with the s) is that going to mess up my seo. I'm UK and will be targeting as my keyword Scottish Wedding Photographer and they are Canada? Thanks in advance
Moz Pro | | hemeravisuals130 -
Competitor outranking us despite all SEO metrics in our favour
Hi, We are trying to outrank a competitor of ours on Google for around 100 terms that we are both clearly targetting. Our competitor currently 'wins' in the SERPS around 70% of the time, often ranking in the top 3 positions. The problem is, we are absolutely convinced that all onsite and offsite SEO metrics we are monitoring would suggest that our content should almost always place higher than theirs. Here is what I know: All pages on both websites are rated 'A' by the Moz on-page-grader tool for the phrases we are targetting, with virtually no tech issues to be addressed on either site Our domain authority is 10 points higher than theirs Neither of us have external links to the relevant pages on our sites (although we are working on some for ours) Our Page Authority is considerably higher on average - often by 10 points or more We have considerably more linking route domains, from better sites. Also many more total external links The HTML title and H1 headings of our pages contain the target phrases at the beginning - our competitors are the same. Although they often ONLY include the target phrases in their title, wheras in our title they might only take up 1/3 of the total characters We have images optimised for the target phrases on our pages. As do they. We use the target phrases roughly the same number of times in our copy text, as do they I have totally run out of ideas now for further optimising our site/pages to consistently rank better for these target phrases, although maybe these are a couple of factors that could be having an impact on the rankings: The structure of their website is perhaps optimised more for these target phrases - our site is much bigger, so perhaps our 100 pages are given less relevance on our site than their 100 pages? - but surely our stronger page authority would suggest otherwise? Perhaps Google is using page engagement statistics to determine that their site is 'betteer' than ours in terms of user appeal and engagment? Can anyone think of something that I might have missed? Is there another major ranking factor I have perhaps neglected in my research? I know link building strategies are a good way to approach this in the long run, but we are currently just concerned about why we are not already ranking better when clearly they are not undertaking any link building strategies of their own. Any help or pointers here would be enormously appreciated. Thanks Lou
Moz Pro | | OBG0 -
SEO best practices and online store?
Hey guys, I'm just starting a company and had a few questions regarding how we should structure our online store. The store is currently selling skins for consoles, phones - and we have wall decals too, as well as fridge wraps. I was wondering if anyone had advice on the best structure of things? Should I, for instance, have a single "Xbox One Wrap" product page with multiple variations as an option? Or should I have individual product pages for each different style? I feel like putting all the weight on a single Xbox One Wrap page is great, but I also feel like having more content out there for each product probably isn't terrible either? Suggestions? The site is www.FapWrap.com so you can check it out - it's original photos we are taking of adult stars, but eventually will be for "Sexy" people in general. Heh.
Moz Pro | | JohnnyRoq0 -
How to make a best SEO strategy
Hi I want to make a seo strategy for website. what things I need and how to make is there any tool?
Moz Pro | | Kabooter0 -
GWT data v SEO Moz data
I'm sure there's a simple explanation but I can't find it- Looking through the GWT avg position data v SEOMoz ranking data and Market Samurai data there is a large discrepancy. For one term that we hold #1, and have held for a month or two GWTis showing that the avg position is 180 (and down 30). Any reason you know of why the GWT avg position data would be so out of whack with our SERP's and other data? Thanks.
Moz Pro | | MrPaulB0 -
Started my first campaign - keyword rankings do not match
Hello, I started my first campaign on SEOmoz and my keword position do not match the results I receive by using google search or by using another SEO program. For example - Ingersoll Watches should be on position 6 on google.com - SEOmoz shows me Ingersoll Watches is on 16. Why does SEOmoz show different results? Thank you for your attention!
Moz Pro | | JasonMGreen0 -
Can you help me get started using the crawl diagnostics report?
After getting the crawl diagnostics report for the first time my boss and I looked over it and we have tried to fix the problems but we are stumped.I have tried and watched videos , read books, etc.. but have found nothing to help. I need assistance getting started on improving my website. Can you help?
Moz Pro | | WVInjuryLawyer0