How Do I Start A Career In SEO?

Hi!

I believe you're having a fantastic week so far.

Today, I want to share 3 principles through this post that form the backbone of your search engine optimization (SEO) career. Mastering them can make a notable impact in your professional life (and personal too), and I tell you why to apply these 3 principles throughout this journal.

I'm going to talk about each of them now one-after-another because I believe they're so essential regardless of how many years of experience you have in SEO.

Principle #1: SEO is a flow

Like life, SEO is a flow. It's in constant motion - evolves but never pauses or stops.

Often, we tend to stay stuck inside a mind-frame as if SEO is static. This has a huge impact on your SEO viewpoint, especially on your creativity.

For example, let's take the concepts of "white hat SEO" and "black hat SEO" in the context of Google’s BERT update! Within the last few years, content marketing has become popular and is considered as "white hat" tactics in SEO, and if rightly done, bring "success".

Content marketing is used to be a critical part of every marketing (both online and offline) strategy. It's also important for marketers to evolve their content marketing technique aligned with Google’s updated EAT and quality guidelines for content.

Unfortunately, a lot of SEO masters (or webmasters) look at "success"/"failure" through a static lens. And it doesn't only apply to ethical SEO/unethical SEO. This is why it is always advisable to embrace the changes (means, understanding Google's or other reputed search engines' definition of quality for webpages and content) during low points or high points even though things looks stable.

SEOs need to know how to think freely, stay motivated, focus, and even how to be creative. Apply and you'll find how this perspective can completely change your outlook towards SEO and actions.

Unlike others, you actually have a way to influence what happens next in the SEO industry. What you do now, will affect what is going to happen as Google keeps updating its search algorithm. So for example, if a content marketing team decides to stick to the same old paid PR submission tactics as part of the promotion and consider it as a "white hat SEO" marketing technique, they'd probably face backlash from search engines like Google soon. But if they see SEO as a flow, then they might do something about it and change the way they used to do paid PR submissions. This leads us to -

Principle #2: Matching inputs and outputs in SEO

We're in a results-oriented industry. We look at SEO theories that have already been established and define ourselves and others by them. Now, look at social media, where everyone primitively shares and compares their best sides, like our schooling system where we concentrate so much on grades and test results.

But we must not forget that results are just outcomes, which may come from nothing, which may consequence of lots of different inputs. By focusing predominantly on the outputs, we're actually missing the point. If you want to have the same output or outcome from your SEO work, there's no point in comparing! How about figuring out what SEO inputs were invested instead?

The fact with outputs is that they've already occurred and we can't change them. Outputs are not actionable but can be influential in terms of influencing the present. But inputs, on the other hand, are.

Let us flip output-oriented thinking inside our heads. And use outputs as signs of what inputs to capitalize next. By changing the focus, a lot of things you used to be stuck on, will also change your SEO work process. You might suddenly see new routes to take while doing SEO.

We're mentally so programmed to aiming at outputs that it takes conscious practice to move on. So constantly practice this principle, which helps you to integrate it into your SEO methods systematically. By NOT blindly following the methods we teach/read or others (namely our competitors) are doing, you'll automatically be redirected towards the inputs. It will naturally become your own SEO principle and a part of your thinking!

Imagine how much more positive your life as an SEO would be if you can apply this to your digital marketing profession.

Principle #3: SEO is a step-by-step approach

What stops you from accomplishing marketing goals that you believe you can achieve? Is it when something seems non-computable? Or a problem too big and complicated to resolve within a stipulated time frame? Or an objective that seems too scattered to process? Or anything else?

Besides being focused on outcomes, we're also in an impatient society nowadays too! Most if not all the people in the SEO industry are driven by instant gratification.

And this is not good for SEO professionals, because it makes us give up too soon and too easily on things. The more you become impatient, the less creative you will come to be. If an easy way isn't available at first glance, we lose motivation to move forward. To overcome this, we either follow the shortcuts or bypass the problem. For example, "organic SEO" is largely based on consistency and tenacity. It takes time - a hell of a lot of time - almost everyone knows that. But since everyone is focusing on "results" "impatiently", SEOs often forget about "ethics" (a.k.a "white hat SEO") and tend towards "effective" (a.k.a "black hat SEO") routs - even though the effect lasts only for a short time. This is how, eventually, a profound PR marketing tactic becomes a blatant effort to drive attention towards your website.

If you are unknowing/accidentally locked yourself in "black hat SEO" techniques, then okay (because with a mindful mind, you can surely overcome). But knowingly/consciously following and/or misusing SEO (tweaking them dishonorably - especially for YMYL content) can be detrimental from all perspectives.

Here comes the third principle we should consider - is a step-by-step approach. Everything can be broken down if you apply logic in SEO. By breaking things down into bite-sized actions, you can actually measure what is working and what is not? Then all SEO goals seem achievable. Each bite-sized action you take builds momentum and it is what helps you step forward.

In this post, I do not show you exactly how to do this, but with a revised mindset, you can thrive. All you need to use your "TRUE" passion for SEO, for building new habits, learning new skills, and more.

Connecting the 3 SEO principles together -

Joining these 3 principles are essential for making a powerful difference in your SEO job. Let me give you a simple example that I encounter almost daily in my life.

We all know, Google always recommends producing (or focus on producing) "good quality content". Content that gets lots of positive feedback and attracts back-links naturally. But taking this as a goal, how can I help someone to produce that? For example, a "good quality blog post" is just an outcome. It's got no obvious actions to take - besides "do my best to write it".

So instead, I try to focus on the inputs. By breaking the writing process down into bite-sized actions I can follow/manage/track, which align to produce the outcome I want. I start by figuring out what topic inputs result in a quality blog output.

For example, some inputs are -

• What to share? For example, summarizing a complex concept into a few bullet points
• Why share? For example, find at least a reason - in this case, it feels good to contribute something sensible to the SEO community
• How to share? For example, write a blog post - use some relatable metaphor, visuals, employ real-life scenarios to relate the concept with context easily

These are just a few possible input actions we may start with, which ultimately become recyclable skills that we use in the future repeatedly in the SEO work process. The more inputs we can think of to capitalize, the higher the chance of "success" in SEO projects.

In this case, "success" would be any form of engagement from as many readers as I can reach ethically. When I publish a post, it doesn't just end there. I see it as a flow. So an article may end up immediately doing well (or not), but I keep my focus on adding more inputs to improve my SEO thought process instead, deciding what to do based on the latest results.

You can see how these 3 SEO principles are interdependent and work together as a whole. This is just one example of how we can create positive change in almost any area of our SEO life! I'm pretty sure that these principles will integrate well through practice into your own SEO value system too.

Regardless of whether you agree with me or not, I hope this blog post gave you some insight into how these 3 SEO principles can change the paradigm entirely!

Do you have any questions I didn't cover in this post? Feel free to comment!

Cheers! :-)

How Do I Start Social Media Marketing?

One of the most challenging experiences as a marketer I faced ever is running social media accounts smoothly.

I’d like to come up with viral content ideas every day, but the reality is that I failed miserably many times. And realized, we're all human. At times, with planning content, while aligning with the campaign’s goal, we hit a wall.

How can I be a good social media marketer?

If you're a beginner in the social media marketing or a professional - who is looking for a few guidelines to get going, I've compiled a list of useful tips to reinforce your accounts, no matter your expertise level and type of your campaign - organic or paid.

What?	Why?	How?
Sync posts across all social media accounts	To measure metrics across all accounts	Use tools that will let you sync posts across various accounts but remember -“sync” means here same topic, not the same format for all the platforms
Reuse older posts	For re-engagement	Update your backdated content with fresh ideas and republish
Don’t post at odd times but do on weekends	Establish your best time and day to post on social media through experiments for optimum outcome	Ensure that your target audiences can get fresh content during their preferred time and day
Include Hashtags	To increase the relevancy and life-span of your posts, and engagement	Try mixing up existing and popular hashtags with your own custom hashtags - be a trendsetter is equally important sometimes like be a trend follower
Use visuals	Visual content has more appeal at any point in time to anyone	Include pictures, videos, gifs, infographics in your posts whenever possible
Posts often	The usual life-span of any content on social platforms is very little - so posting multiple times a day initially (when the account is like a newborn baby) is important, later when the account will have enough reputation, you can enjoy some irregularity but that again depends on the situation	I am not saying to post every hour – probably doing so may make you feel stress about coming up with new ideas every time and also limit the breathing space of the viewers; rather create a posting calendar and keep optimizing it
Do not forget about branding	Every piece of content should portray the brand you are promoting in an intelligent way	Set a color pattern, tone, and language, topic ideas, etc. for posts - make sure to blend your brand into your social media marketing effort strategically to   establish your brand
Engage through interaction	To make real connections with audiences which essentially help you reduce your social media management costs and set your audience your referrer in the long run	Answer all their queries with the committed mind, reply to the reviews with an open mind, establish a proactive follow-up routine with all the comments you receive, express your gratitude to their feedback, take the criticisms (if any) courageously - but do not stop interaction through your content with audiences to engage better
Invest a few bucks	To get services from real professionals as and when required	Try to understand the thin line that lies between ordinary and extra-ordinary - since your audiences are targeted by your competitors too, it is wise to take the help of, for example, a professional designer to post some visual contents on social media or run a few paid ads for a limited period of the time or proof-read the content through a pro editor - a lot of freelancers are around to provide you such services against nominal fees if in case you have doubt about your own creativity or time constraint - after all behind each social media post, a lot of effort has to invest
Find/invent/explore new ways	To expand your social media strategy	Aim to diversify your social media operation to keep things fresh, innovative, and exciting - do not miss out on opportunities waiting for you to broaden your horizons, if not work, at least you come to know about a new thing which itself is gainful
Tie the knot with influencers	To promote your product and/or service rapidly	Discover and then reach out to the influencers in your industry for partnerships (of course keeping the marketing budget in mind) so they become the advocate of your brand - do not forget to measure how they are actually influencing to grow your brand
Focus on USP	Authenticity matters	Play to your strengths - unless complete monopoly, you have to face stiff competition but that’s fine until you know your unique selling points (USPs) and build your social media campaigns on and around that - and there is always scope for improvement
Dream big but stand on your feet	To sparks lead generation (or goal conversions whatever you set as KPI)	Unless it’s a complete giveaway, never forget to add/include a CTA (call-to-action) in your content to direct your audience for taking your desired path
Confidence, courage, and idea	The focus should be on helping out both users and search engines so that they can understand properly and digest quickly the content they need	Reach out to the right audience at the right time with the right piece of content so they can feel an urge for connecting with me to get even more

Producing meaningful content often can be difficult, even if you're a social media pro. The reality nowadays is, social media trends are changing every now and then based on changing tastes and behaviors of both internet users and search engines, and experiencing it as a social media manager seems like a real challenge.

These tips are neither exclusive nor exhaustive but will help us in many ways like, how to organize and optimize a social media campaign, upgrade your content, and grow your target audience, and many more. But don't stop here. Keep checking my blog on social media marketing for more information.