For search engine optimization help, you have a multitude of options, and the good news is many sources of SEO help are free. However, help resources that involve cost should be considered, as they offer more detailed information or greater insight than what is freely available to the general public. To succeed in SEO, it helps to know more about it than your competitors. Here is a rundown of how to find SEO resources.
For search engine optimization help, you have a multitude of options, and the good news is many sources of SEO help are free. However, help resources that involve cost should be considered, as they offer more detailed information or greater insight than what is freely available to the general public. To succeed in SEO, it helps to know more about it than your competitors. Here is a rundown of how to find SEO resources.
SEO Theory
Before you plow into the nitty-gritty execution of an SEO campaign, you’ll benefit by understanding general principles of SEO. This understanding helps you focus your efforts, making your SEO campaign more efficient and more likely to get speedier results.
Of course, not all SEO theories are equally valid. Because Google does not share the details of its search algorithm, SEO experts must collect and interpret data. Over time, SEOs with the best insights and interpretations rise to the top. How do you find them? Look at their social media followings, their website traffic, the number of comments their blogs receive, and the prominence their content gets on Google’s organic search results for queries about SEO theory.
SEO Technical Help
Technical questions related to SEO can get very complicated. Again, the same filtering process described for SEO theory applies to SEO technical advice — search engine optimization help is only a few clicks away if you know what to look for. Typical questions in this area for which people seek help — or should seek help — include duplicate content, keyword research, analytics, redirects, sitemaps, page-loading speed, internal linking structure, anchor text best practices and Meta data optimization.
SEO Content Help
Producing optimized content is a field almost unto itself within SEO. Best practices for content optimization change rapidly, so take note of the recency of information you find online. Our Straight North website is a good source of information about SEO content, and there are many other specialists in this area with wide followings on social media. Google Webmaster is another good source of information on SEO content (as well as technical aspects of SEO). Google wants website owners to build sites that function smoothly and provide excellent content, and it shares insights on these issues freely.
SEO Link Building Help
Another specialized area within SEO is link building, a topic that is greatly misunderstood by the general public and among online publishing sites. There are bona fide link building experts who can help you understand how to build an inbound link profile that helps rather than hinders your SEO efforts. This topic is extremely important, as inbound links are perhaps the single-most important ranking factor in Google’s search algorithm. And, since many small and midsize businesses have weak profiles, improving your profile will distance you from your SEO competitors.
SEO Tools
Another important source of search engine optimization help is the abundant supply of online SEO tools to assist you in various areas of SEO execution. These tools include:
- Backlink profile checkers
- Competitive research tools
- Content readability graders
- Domain age checkers
- Duplicate content checkers
- Google Search Console
- Keyword density checkers
- Keyword research tools
- Keyword suggestion tools
- Link popularity checkers
- Link validating tools
- Mobile-friendly website testers
- Outbound link checkers
- Page loading speed testers
- Pages indexed analyzers
- Plagiarism checkers
- SEO site audit tools
- Website traffic analyzers
These tools help you diagnose SEO issues with your site, assess the SEO strength of competitors, plan your SEO keyword campaign, track results and keep your campaign on track.
Many tools come in two flavors: free and with a fee. The free version usually contains basic information; the paid version provides much more detail and scope. For simple SEO campaigns, free tools are often good enough.
The challenge with online SEO tools is selecting reliable ones — not all SEO tools are created equal. To separate the wheat from the chaff, investigate which tools SEO agencies are using. These are likely to be the best in the business.
One free tool, Google Search Console, deserves special mention. It’s really hard to imagine a serious SEO campaign that doesn’t utilize the Search Console. When you integrate it with your website, the Search Console provides a wealth of information essential to SEO execution, including website technical performance analysis, traffic analysis and conversion analysis. The platform is extremely robust and can be highly customized to zero-in on SEO variables that matter most to your campaign.
Offline SEO Help
While online resources are plentiful, don’t ignore stepping out into the real world when looking for search engine optimization help. SEO conferences occur all over the U.S., and while you can attend many of them virtually via webcasts and after-event video, attending conferences gives you a chance to meet with SEO experts and really explore issues to a degree that can’t be covered in a presentation. If travel and time are too much of an issue, however, webinars, live webcasts and conference video recordings can be tremendously helpful in keeping up with the rapidly changing world of SEO best practices.