SEO Basics: What is SEO and Why is it Important? [SEO Course by Ahrefs]

Summary

In the SEO fundamentals course by Ahrefs, Sam Oh introduces the basics of SEO, emphasizing its importance for driving organic, consistent, and free traffic to websites. The course, suitable for beginners, covers keyword research, on-page SEO, link building, and technical SEO, aiming to help businesses grow through search engine optimization. With a focus on execution and practical application, the course promises to guide learners through the process of optimizing content for search engines.

Takeaways

• 📚 The course is designed to teach SEO fundamentals with an emphasis on practical execution, suitable for beginners but also relevant for established businesses.
• 🌐 SEO is crucial for Ahrefs, contributing to over a million monthly visits from Google search, highlighting its effectiveness as a traffic strategy.
• 📈 The course is structured into four modules: keyword research, on-page SEO, link building, and technical SEO, with weekly releases to allow application of learned skills.
• 🔔 Encourages subscription and notification activation to stay updated with the course's module releases.
• 🔍 SEO, or search engine optimization, is about making content discoverable through organic search results, akin to how a library organizes books.
• 🕷️ Search engines operate through crawling and indexing, using automated 'spiders' to gather and categorize web pages for their search database.
• 🤔 The importance of SEO is underscored by its ability to generate free, consistent traffic and reach large audiences that might be otherwise inaccessible.
• 🔑 Google's ranking algorithm is complex and constantly updated, but certain signals like backlinks, search intent, and content depth are known to be significant.
• 🔗 Backlinks are considered as 'votes' of trust from other websites, positively correlating with a page's organic traffic.
• 🎯 Understanding search intent is vital for creating relevant content that matches what users are looking for in search results.
• 📝 Content depth is important, not just for the length of the content but for thoroughly addressing the user's query, even for short topics.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the SEO fundamentals course by Ahrefs?

The main focus of the SEO fundamentals course by Ahrefs is to teach the basics of SEO with a heavy emphasis on execution, suitable for beginners but also applicable to businesses of all sizes, including 8-figure businesses.

What is the significance of SEO for Ahrefs' own business?

SEO is significant for Ahrefs' business as it has led to compounded growth and currently drives over a million monthly visits from Google search alone, making it one of their most effective traffic strategies.

How is the SEO course structured in terms of modules?

The SEO course is structured into four modules plus an introduction video, covering SEO basics, keyword research, on-page SEO, link building, and technical SEO, with each module being released weekly.

What are the three major reasons marketers are attracted to SEO according to the script?

The three major reasons marketers are attracted to SEO are: 1) search traffic is free unlike paid ads, 2) organic traffic is typically consistent once high rankings are achieved, and 3) SEO offers the opportunity to reach massive audiences that may not be accessible through other marketing mediums.

How does the script describe the process of search engines discovering web pages?

The script describes the process as involving crawlers or spiders that gather information from known URLs, follow hyperlinks to discover new pages, and continuously collect data which is then added to the search index.

What is the role of backlinks in Google's ranking algorithm?

Backlinks are considered as votes from other websites for the content on a page. The more credible backlinks a page receives, the higher its trust and the better its chances of ranking well in search results.

What is search intent and why is it important for SEO?

Search intent represents the reason behind a user's query. It is important for SEO because understanding and matching search intent can help in ranking higher in search results by providing the most relevant content for a given query.

How does content depth relate to SEO and what误区s its significance?

Content depth refers to the extent to which content answers a searcher's query comprehensively. It is significant for SEO because search engines favor content that provides thorough answers, even if it does not necessarily translate to a longer word count.

What is the script's advice on how to determine search intent for any query?

The script suggests a simple 3-step checklist to determine search intent, which will be shared in the next module of the course.

How can one ensure they don't miss out on the keyword research module of the course?

To ensure they don't miss out on the keyword research module, one should subscribe to the course and hit the bell icon to receive updates on the module's release.

What is the script's stance on the complexity of SEO strategies used by an 8-figure business?

The script states that even for an 8-figure business like Ahrefs, they do not engage in overly technical or complicated SEO strategies, but rather stick to the fundamentals that have led to their growth.