Introduction to #LockdownLearning
Now we are in lockdown / social distancing mode, I suppose for many people there is no better time to learn something new.
So, why not choose to learn something creative or start a new hobby. Personally, I would like to learn something useful, that’s why for the next couple of months I will probably mostly be focussing on learning to code, properly!
I know for many of you, this may be the time you choose to learn something that is going to be valuable to your business, side-hustle, or blog. And, I’m sure for many, this will be Digital Marketing related. A noble choice, might I biasedly add.
The problem here is that digital marketing is a broad spectrum of different skills, SEO being one of them. Social Media being another. As well as, email marketing, Google Ads, content marketing, conversion optimisation… I could go on and on.
I’ve got a bit of time on my hands at the moment and therefore, thanks to my photographer friend – Jak Spedding – who told me about the wonderful articles he’s providing to help photographers through this difficult time; by highlighting resources that may be of use to them. I decided, I could do exactly the same thing (is this stealing? Probably!), but for those of you who want to learn digital marketing… the right way!
Why do I say “the right way”? Well, there are LOADS and LOADS of learning resources on the internet to help people “learn” digital marketing. I have an opinion on 90% of these resources… they are all clickbait bullcrap. Generated in a content marketing world to get you excited about the “new way to do this” or “quick win to do that”. So we have to be careful about what content we choose to consume.
I hope this is where I can come in to help. I’ll be providing you in this #LockdownLearning series with some fully-vetted learning resources which will (hopefully) provide you with some actual value, so you don’t have to waste your time. First up… The Basics of SEO.
The Best Resources To Learn The Basics of SEO
Let’s start at the very top. The term SEO and Google are very much interlinked. Because if you are doing SEO you are working with Google.
It makes sense, to listen to what they have to say on the matter! This Digital Garage course is a long one (13 Hours), but it’s well worth the time in getting a good grounding in the world of SEO.
It may not feel like it sometimes, however, we do have laws in this land of SEO. They are defined by our lords and masters, Google. It’s a very good idea to get acquainted with and keep up-to-date with the Google Webmaster Guidelines. It’s also a good rulebook to keep in mind when learning new SEO skills, techniques that you pick up along the way.
In the very, very early days of SEO, one of the first guides to be created for SEO was created by the founder of Moz, Rand Fishkin. This guide stayed pretty much the same for many, many years. Until recently Britany Muller rewrote the whole guide to bring it up to date.
Keyword research is a fundamental skill when it comes to starting any SEO strategy. Learning this is a quick, haphazard way that can have detrimental knock-on implications further down the line. Learn it right the first time!
Another great skill when starting out is to learn how to correctly analyze other websites, usually the ones who are doing really well. Learn from them what they are doing right, so you can – ahem – borrow those ideas and do them yourself.
Finally, this would be a good time to understand the on-page ranking factors and their importance in relation to the bigger SEO picture. My advice here would be, get all the basics right and you won’t be holding yourself back for the more advanced stuff.
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