What should I learn first to do my own SEO?

[Tammy]

I'm new to the whole search engine optimization theme. I want to learn to do my own SEO. What are the things that I should concentrate on first that are easy to grasp?

[Labony]

SEO is one of the most effective way to get your web site optimized in such a way that the search engines will reward you by basically sending traffic your way. SEO is not really that simple, but the bottom line is, if your page is optimized both on page and off, you generally get higher natural search engine rankings, which leads to traffic for you.

[D Dixon]

One thing to remember is that SEO is not an easy process, it is ongoing and don't get married to the technical side of it. One of the first things is to do your keyword research based on broad, focused and long tail keywords using free tools like Google Adwords tool. Hubspot has been a GREAT resource for me as I'm learning more about SEO and Social media analytics. I also recommend EcomBuffet.com as well so that you can understand more about the basics of SEO as well as the not-so-basics to keep an eye on.
There is a lot of good info out there but you need to do your research and really commit to the time it will take. Create an SEO checklist, use some good tools to help you execute tasks...and keep doing it
Good luck

[Sebastian]

Basic SEO is very simple and easy - all it takes is the willingness to put in the work. Once you know the ropes, it's not that difficult though it can be time consuming. The content of your website the focus of what SEO is all about. Here are the top points to think about when you're doing it yourself.

1. You will start by registering a domain name, which should reflect what your site about.

2. The next thing you should look at is your page's title (i.e. the HTML title tag), which is critical in letting search engines see what the page is about, and is the first item looked at by search engines to determine your relevance. Y

3. Text within comment tags is never displayed on the page - it is used by coders and designers to remind them of what that part of the page is for.

4. Many search engines judge web page importance on the number and quality of incoming links from other sites. You should link to some related sites, but not too many. Don't overdo incoming links either, and keep them related your site's content. It's also good to get sites to use your keywords as the text of these links

SEO process involves a plethora of techniques – some obvious, some not – and while it is tempting for many businesspeople who own websites to tackle this job on their own, doing your own SEO is beyond time consuming. There are two main tracts to SEO, (1) Onsite Optimization and (2) Offsite Optimization. If SEO was limited to onsite optimization, it is feasible that you could in fact due that on your own by learning all of the geeky elements involved in coding and formulating your web pages (page titles, descriptions, metadata, alt-text, M3 Validation, interlinking, dynamic site maps, etc) so that the search engine crawlers can easily understand what each page of your website is all about.

[Maxinder]

Tammy,

First figure out what your goal is. Do you have many products, or just one product/service.

If so, you should focus on homepage first and then subpages.

If you have many products, start working on homepage/subpage at the same time.

[Hal Smith]

Start with working on improving the quality of your content and researching the right keywords for your product and putting them in. Then, move on to putting linking your website with high ranking sites. Basic starters SEO is not a very hard thing to learn, but it does require diligence and hard work. Search Google to find the best tips on how to get started with SEO. You'll find many resources there.

Hal Smith
URLdreamer Consultant

[DeGen]

First, http://www.youtube.com and search for basic SEO tutorials.

Second, get yourself unique content (descriptions, texts etc) and inject some long tail keywords in it.

Third, learn how to do link building.

From there, things get really easy.