How to Learn SEO Fast (The RIGHT Way)

Nathan Gotch

13 Mar 202314:57

Summary

TLDRThis video explains a fast, practical approach to learning SEO. It emphasizes understanding SEO fundamentals, such as crawling, indexing, ranking, and keyword research. The video highlights the importance of search intent, technical SEO, content strategy, on-page SEO, local SEO, and link building. The speaker advises on tools like Google Search Console, Screaming Frog, and SEMrush. The key takeaway is to focus on 'just-in-time learning'—applying knowledge through hands-on projects instead of over-studying, making this an actionable and efficient path to mastering SEO.

Takeaways

🚀 The fastest way to learn SEO is by taking action rather than just studying; start implementing what you learn immediately.
🔍 The first pillar of SEO is crawling, indexing, and ranking. Use tools like Google Search Console and Chrome extensions to check if your pages are crawlable and indexable.
🗝️ Keyword research is critical, and understanding search intent is the key to successful keyword targeting. Make sure your content aligns with the searcher's intent.
🔄 The searcher's journey through the sales funnel has different keyword intents (informational, investigative, comparison, transactional), and your content should target all stages.
⚙️ Technical SEO is vital, especially in terms of page speed and site architecture. Tools like Google Search Console, GTmetrix, and Screaming Frog help optimize these aspects.
🏗️ Optimize your site’s architecture by ensuring pages aren't more than three clicks deep and have a proper internal linking strategy with descriptive anchor texts.
📝 Content is essential, and it should either focus on keywords or be created as link bait. Invest time and resources to make your content unique and hard to replicate.
📄 On-page SEO is important. Place the primary keyword in your URL, title, meta description, and key headings. Use NLP tools like Surfer to optimize content further.
📍 For local SEO, secure your Google Business profile, ensure NAPW consistency (Name, Address, Phone, Website), and collect reviews to improve rankings in the local pack.
🔗 Backlinking is one of the most important SEO factors. Focus on earning high-quality backlinks through valuable content and use tools like Ahrefs for link-building insights.

Q & A

What is the first step in learning SEO according to the video?
-The first step in learning SEO is to get basic SEO knowledge, which includes understanding the terminology and basic concepts like crawling, indexing, and ranking.
Why is crawling, indexing, and ranking considered the most important part of SEO?
-Crawling, indexing, and ranking are the most important parts of SEO because without them, a website's pages cannot be found by search engines, which means nothing else in SEO matters if these basics are not in place.
How can you check if your pages are crawlable and indexable?
-You can use a free detailed Chrome extension or go into Google Search Console to check how well Google is crawling and indexing your site.
What is the significance of search intent in keyword research?
-Search intent is crucial in keyword research because it helps understand what a searcher wants to achieve, which in turn saves effort and time by focusing on keywords that align with the searcher's goals and will produce a return on investment.
How can you understand search intent?
-You can understand search intent by using Google's search results to see the types of pages it believes satisfy the intent of a keyword, or by creating hyper-focused pages for specific long-tail keywords.
What is the role of technical SEO in overall SEO strategy?
-Technical SEO plays a significant role as it involves optimizing website elements like page loading speed and site architecture, which directly impact Google's ability to crawl and index a site, as well as user experience.
Why is page loading speed important for SEO?
-Page loading speed is important for SEO because it is a confirmed Google ranking factor and significantly impacts conversions. Faster loading times can increase conversions, especially for mobile users.
What are the three core elements for optimizing site architecture?
-The three core elements for optimizing site architecture are crawl depth, internal link coverage, and internal link anchor text.
How does content strategy relate to SEO?
-A strong content strategy is essential for SEO as it involves creating keyword-focused content that satisfies search intent and stands out among competitors, which can lead to higher organic traffic.
What is on-page SEO and why is it necessary?
-On-page SEO refers to the optimization of HTML source code and content both directly visible on a web page, ensuring that each page contains the targeted keyword in strategic places like URLs, titles, meta descriptions, H1 tags, and throughout the content.
How does local SEO differ from general SEO?
-Local SEO focuses on optimizing a website for local search results, which includes having a local address, a Google Business profile, consistent NAPW information across the web, and earning local reviews.
Why are backlinks important for SEO?
-Backlinks are crucial for SEO as they act as votes of confidence from other websites, and Google uses them to assess the authority and trustworthiness of a site, which can lead to higher search engine rankings.
What is the concept of 'just-in-time learning' as it applies to learning SEO?
-Just-in-time learning in the context of SEO means seeking out new information only when needed to overcome a specific challenge during the action-taking process, as opposed to learning everything in advance.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 How to Learn SEO Fast

The speaker introduces a fast, proven process to become proficient in SEO. They emphasize the importance of sticking around until the end of the video to learn about an unorthodox technique that sped up their learning, something not taught in school. The first step is gaining foundational SEO knowledge, as understanding core concepts like crawling, indexing, and ranking is essential to diagnosing SEO performance.

05:02

🔍 Understanding SEO Pillars: Crawling, Indexing, and Ranking

The speaker explains the first SEO pillar, which is ensuring Google can crawl, index, and rank your site. Without these, no other SEO efforts matter. Tools like Google Search Console and SEO plugins (e.g., Yoast) can help identify and fix indexing issues. Some pages, like login or checkout pages, should not be indexed due to potential duplicate content problems.

10:03

💡 Mastering Keywords and Search Intent

Keywords are vital for SEO, and most people fail at keyword research because they don't understand search intent. Search intent is about knowing what a searcher wants to achieve. By aligning content with this intent, SEO performance improves. The speaker details how search intent evolves through the sales cycle, from informational to transactional, and offers advice on using tools like SEMrush to classify keywords by intent.

🛠️ Technical SEO: Page Speed and Site Architecture

The third SEO pillar focuses on technical aspects, such as page loading speed and site architecture. Page speed is a Google ranking factor and critical for user experience. Tools like Google Web Dev and GTmetrix can analyze page speed, while Screaming Frog helps assess site architecture. Keeping pages less than three clicks deep and optimizing internal linking with descriptive anchor text are emphasized.

📜 Content: The Backbone of SEO

Content is crucial for SEO success, and the speaker outlines two types: keyword-focused content (which drives traffic) and non-keyword content (which can serve as link bait). To stand out in search results, content should be unique and hard to replicate. Methods include using unique data, case studies, and investing in high-quality design and research.

📄 On-Page SEO: Essential Optimization Techniques

The speaker discusses on-page SEO, which involves optimizing elements like the URL, title, meta description, and headers with the exact keyword phrase. Advanced optimizations include using tools like Surfer to apply Natural Language Processing (NLP) recommendations to further enhance SEO content performance.

📍 Local SEO: Ranking in the Local Pack

For local SEO, ranking in Google's local pack requires having an address in the target location, optimizing your Google Business Profile, and gathering reviews. Consistent NAPW (name, address, phone, website) information across all listings is vital for local rankings. Tools like BrightLocal's citation audit can help ensure information consistency.

🔗 Link Building: The SEO Game Changer

Link building is essential for SEO, as Google uses backlinks as a ranking factor. The speaker highlights creating high-quality content and tools that naturally attract links. Techniques like guest posting, HARO, and using Ahrefs' link intersect tool to identify backlink opportunities from competitors are also recommended.

🧪 Take Action: Learning SEO Through Practice

The speaker advises starting a test project to learn SEO by doing rather than overstudying. Their own journey started with a baseball pitching blog, which led them to SEO as they sought traffic. By implementing and experimenting, they eventually succeeded and sold the blog. Practical application is highlighted as the best way to learn SEO.

📚 Just-In-Time Learning: The Key to Fast SEO Mastery

The final part of the video explains the concept of 'just-in-time' learning—learning what you need when you hit a roadblock, rather than stockpiling knowledge you might never use. This approach, combined with taking immediate action, helps retain knowledge better. The speaker encourages viewers to spend 80% of their time doing SEO work and 20% learning, as they already know enough to get started.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Crawling, Indexing, and Ranking

Crawling, indexing, and ranking are fundamental processes in SEO that determine whether a page can appear in search results. Crawling is when Google scans a website, indexing is the storage of these pages in Google's database, and ranking refers to how pages are ordered based on relevance to a search query. The video emphasizes that without proper crawling and indexing, pages cannot rank, making this the most important part of SEO.

💡Search Intent

Search intent refers to the goal or purpose a user has when conducting a search query. Understanding search intent is crucial because it dictates the type of content that should be created to meet the user's needs. In the video, the speaker explains that different stages of the sales cycle have varying search intents, such as informational intent ('what is SEO'), investigative intent ('best SEO tools'), and transactional intent ('SEMrush free trial').

💡Keyword Research

Keyword research is the process of finding and analyzing search terms that people use to find information on the web. The video highlights that proper keyword research hinges on understanding search intent, which helps create content that aligns with what searchers are looking for. The video also demonstrates how keywords change through the sales funnel, from broad informational searches to more focused transactional queries.

💡Technical SEO

Technical SEO refers to the optimization of a website's infrastructure to improve its visibility and functionality in search engines. The video explains key aspects of technical SEO like page loading speed and site architecture, emphasizing that even those with minimal coding skills can manage technical SEO to drive results. For example, improving page speed can increase mobile user conversions by up to 27%, according to Google.

💡Core Web Vitals

Core Web Vitals are a set of specific factors Google considers important for a website’s overall user experience, including loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability. The video mentions that these vitals are a confirmed ranking factor, making them essential for technical SEO. Optimizing for Core Web Vitals can lead to better rankings and higher conversion rates.

💡Site Architecture

Site architecture refers to the structure and hierarchy of a website’s pages, which affects how search engines crawl and index content. The video highlights three key elements: crawl depth (how deep pages are in the website), internal link coverage (number of links pointing to a page), and anchor text (descriptive text used for internal links). A well-optimized site architecture ensures that important pages are easily accessible and regularly crawled by Google.

💡On-Page SEO

On-page SEO involves optimizing individual web pages to rank higher and earn more relevant traffic in search engines. The video outlines basic on-page SEO practices, such as placing keywords in the URL, title, meta description, and throughout the content. Advanced strategies like natural language processing (NLP) optimization using tools like Surfer are also mentioned to improve rankings further.

💡Local SEO

Local SEO focuses on optimizing a website to be found in local search results, such as for businesses with physical locations. The video explains that ranking in the 'local pack' (the section of search results with local intent) requires having a local address, optimizing a Google Business Profile, and earning reviews. This strategy is especially relevant for small businesses looking to improve their visibility in specific geographic areas.

💡Link Building

Link building is the process of acquiring backlinks, or links from other websites, which act as 'votes' for your website in Google's ranking algorithm. The video stresses that creating high-quality content that others want to link to is the most scalable method of link building. Tools like Ahrefs' Link Intersect feature are mentioned to help identify sites where competitors have backlinks, making it easier to target relevant sites for link building efforts.

💡Just-In-Time Learning

Just-in-time learning is a concept that contrasts with traditional learning methods by focusing on acquiring knowledge only when it's needed to solve a problem. The video emphasizes that this method is more efficient for learning SEO because it encourages action over passive study. For example, if you encounter an issue like keyword cannibalization, you would search for the solution, implement it, and retain the knowledge because you applied it in a practical context.

Highlights

Step one to learn SEO quickly is to get basic SEO knowledge, focusing on crawling, indexing, and ranking.

Crawling, indexing, and ranking are the most important pillars of SEO. Without proper crawling and indexing, your pages cannot rank.

Using tools like Google Search Console and the free Chrome extension to check your pages' crawlability and indexability is crucial for diagnosing SEO performance.

Search intent is a core principle of keyword research and should dictate your content strategy for better keyword optimization.

Google's search results reflect search intent. Use Google to understand what type of content satisfies the searcher's intent based on the keyword.

Understanding the searcher's journey through the sales cycle (informational, investigative, comparison, and transactional intent) helps to create content that meets users at each stage.

Semrush's intent classification can help you analyze keywords based on search intent, aiding in content strategy and keyword targeting.

Technical SEO is important but not intimidating—focus on high-impact factors like page speed and site architecture to improve performance.

Page speed, a confirmed Google ranking factor, can significantly affect conversions. Tools like Google Web Dev, GT Metrix, and Google Search Console can help analyze and improve loading speed.

Internal linking is crucial for site architecture. Aim to keep pages no more than three clicks deep for better crawl depth and prioritize pages with more internal links.

Content is key to successful SEO—ensure you have both keyword-focused and non-keyword-focused content to attract traffic and build backlinks.

Optimize your content for search intent, stand out with unique angles (e.g., case studies instead of list posts), and create a moat by making your content hard to replicate.

On-page SEO involves placing your primary keyword in key locations like the URL, title, H1, and meta description. NLP tools like Surfer can optimize content further.

Local SEO requires specific optimizations, including having an address in the target location, securing a Google Business profile, and obtaining reviews for better local rankings.

Link building remains crucial for SEO success, with backlinks from high-quality, relevant websites being a key ranking factor. Create valuable, link-worthy content and promote it through email, social media, and guest posting.