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
-
Question about SEO and domains
Hello, Over time we have purchased many domain names that relate to our business. Let us say we sell chairs of type A, chairs of type B, Tables of Type C etc. We also have a main web site (main domain) which has been functioning for many years and is ranked well but not great. Since we have domain chairtypeA.com and chairtypeB.com I was thinking of putting them to good use as follows. STRATEGY A a) Create the domain as a parallel domain but is mainly informational - it talks about chair type A, its history, what to look for etc. It has the same IP address as main domain b) Have all the links on the page be directly linked to the MAIN site- so if you are on page for ChairtypeA and want to see it in a set you just click a link and it takes you to the main site. c) The look and feel of the ChairtypeA site is exactly the same as the main site - in fact except for the Heading, title and content the whole framework is from the main site. My hope is that if people are looking for chairtypeA, we would rank and attract customers. Plus it would use up some of the domain names we have purchased. THE OTHER ALTERNATIVE (Strategy B) is a) Create a domain for chairtypeA parallel to main domain (same IP address) b) redirect it to subfolder in main domain c) refer to the pages also as maindomain/chairtypeA (here is where it is no longer purely parallel) I have 3 objectives a) Use my purchased domain names b) Focus on certain products (liek ChairtypeA) c) Overall increase visibility and ranking Please give me any feedback which indicates whether Strategy A or Strategy B is more effective, or if any has negative consequences. Or you could suggest Strategy C - a completely new approach. Thanks Sam
Moz Pro | | samgold0 -
Found hidden pages of outbound links created via ex-SEO consultant. Best way to detect other possible problems?
We paid for an SEO contract in addition to our new website design (same company did both) and after 12 months cancelled the SEO. I have been very suspicious ever since of our bad page rank and general lack of traffic (despite my efforts) and today found a hidden page of outbound links. Currently in shock that this happened although my own fault for lack of due diligence. The SEO consultants were very unhappy that I cancelled the contract so I am worried about the extent of bad links or negative google juice they may have created (god knows what else they may have done). So my questions are: How can I detect any other (potentially hidden) problems? How can I recover from this - any right/wrong way to approach google? What is the best way to bring this up with the SEO consultants? Thank you in advance.
Moz Pro | | marketing-gal0 -
What's the best way for SEO newbie to analyze & fix a site after being hit by Panda?
Hi, I have a prospective client who was in the top 3 on Google for two of their primary keywords. They fell way back in the rankings immediately after Panda was rolled out on September 27, 2012. Two weeks ago, they were at position #118 for one keyword. After looking for them in Rank Checker today, they cannot be found in Google at all. Here's my question. Because of the "bad links" (some pointing to Porno sites)... what's the possibility that this situation cannot be fixed? I don't know... maybe I'm asking an irrelevant question. I'm attempting to assess the situation so I can go back and present my findings to the prospective client. I'm committed to understanding what's going on with their website so I can assess the situation properly. Fixing their problem starts with a correct assessment. They have a ranking problem, and I know I can fix that... IF all their site needs is white hat <acronym title="Search Engine Optimization">SEO</acronym>. What I DON'T want is... to sell them <acronym title="Search Engine Optimization">SEO</acronym> services, only to find out in 3-6 months... I made an incorrect diagnosis of the problem, and therefore sold them the wrong solution. I know I can close the sale if I can show them with reasonable substantiation that the damage is not beyond repair. I'm familiar with the basics of <acronym title="Search Engine Optimization">SEO</acronym>, but I'm unfamiliar with how "bad linking" might effect the long-term commitment to optimizing. They're wondering if they should start over on another website. I was attempting to do an assessment to better understand if my typical approach on this site would be sufficient. Also... I wanted to get an assessment/report to show them something to substantiate my conclusion(s) about their website. If Open Site Explorer is sufficient to do the link analysis... great. At least I know I'm working with the right tool. All I have to do is learn how to use the tool quickly. At this point... I'm not sure which tool would be helpful. So... can you speak to the following 2 questions: 1.) How do you know when ranking problem is beyond fixing? 2.) What software/tool is ideal for doing some link analysis in order to assess the problem, and prescribe a solution? Thanks so much! Ramon
Moz Pro | | 48dayscoach0 -
Looking for Advice on SEO for Minimilistic Site
Hi everyone, I found this site and it looks like a great place for us to start, we have just opened the doors to our new website fenwaymedia thats a dot co dot uk. Now Ihave tried to maintain the most minimilistic design throughout but I believe with this comes certain drawbacks - - - - S E O which is why i am here. My thought were that I would draw my clients from the Web Design, web Marketing & Blog page which I will starting in 3 hours be constantly updating. but Im not sure Im doing the right thing. I am trying to target Edinburgh, Scotland although we would take work from anywhere, if anyone could spare us a moment, I would greatly appreciate any help, tips or comments that might help us attain some visibility. Thanks in advance and thanks for looking. Kind regards, Craig
Moz Pro | | fenwaymedia0 -
Dilema in hiring SEO company services
Hi My question is one that most startups face. No large budgets for online SEO marketing and lack of quality SEO consultants willing to work for peanuts. To the point: 1. Where can I read reviews of SEO consultants before giving a contract? 2. Is it naieve to expect an SEO contract based on real ROI i.e. increase in qualified enquiries? All I spoke to over last 12 months refuse to commit, even in part, to this requirement. My take is what good is an SEO contract if all I get is loads of reports of work done? I do not have the capability to analyse the reports hence I employ someone! 3. I have SEOMoz pro memership. Can I do my SEO myself by using the tools in the dashboard? thanks to all for reading my post.
Moz Pro | | dp910 -
What is my next step for SEO?
My SEOMoz trial is drawing to a close and I have spent the month doing a ton of cleanup on my sites to remove errors and warning and otherwise comply with the basics of what I need to do to help position them. What I need to do now is take the next step and move them "up the ladder." SEOMoz looks good and I don't want this to sound like an ultimatum but I am also getting better at Google Analytics and their Webmaster tools. The question is, "Should I pay the money to SEOMoz or just work with google?" I am a very small shop with a very limited budget. Also, time is of the essence...I am prepared to continue my subscription if I can get an answer to the question: "What do I do next and how can SEOMoz help me where just knowing Google Analytics and Webmaster Tools can not?" Thanks a ton in advance!
Moz Pro | | bobbabuoy1 -
What does this error mean when starting a new campaign
hi just about to start a new campaign to i can monitor my website and i get this message up but not sure what this means. Roger has detected a problem: We have detected that the domain www.headlineplus.com and the domain headlineplus.com both respond to web requests and do not redirect. Having two "twin" domains that both resolve forces them to battle for SERP positions, making your SEO efforts less effective. We suggest redirecting one, then entering the other here. can anyone please let me know why this message comes up please
Moz Pro | | ClaireH-1848860 -
Is having the company's address in the footer (or header) of each webpage important for SEO?
Is having the company/office's address in the footer (or header) of each webpage important for SEO? Your page for the Geotarget tool says that having the address in this element helps search engines find your location. My question is, how important or relevant is this to SEO? How does knowing the address influence SEO? Is it best SEO practice to put the address in the footer of every webpage? http://www.seomoz.org/geotarget
Moz Pro | | richardstrange0