SEO For Beginners – How Do I Get Started? 2023
You’ve missed the SEO for Beginners deadline and are wondering “how do I get started?” ;)
Don’t panic, it’s never too late, just start.
I won’t go into detail here about how Search Engine Optimization “SEO” has gained tremendous momentum in recent years.
Rather, I will shift the focus from “how to start” and what we need to do first.
I start with “View Google like a store”.
I tell everyone this so that they can orient themselves more easily.
Imagine that the domain is the name of the store, after you enter, everything should be organized, the products should be well described, with labels, with prices and if possible, there should always be “promotions” or a gift for the customer, it will be wonderful. This will keep him coming back to check what’s new and what gifts he could win.
Don’t constantly move the store, it won’t be pleasant for the customer to know that a product is in X location, but it has been moved to Z and the customer wastes time searching for the product again.
Domain Choice – The King!
How does the site name asfjknsaiga.com sound to you? Do you remember it? Let me say it again – sdffdvomfsbo.com aha, well, it’s not the same, is it :)
Choosing a domain (site name) is as important as the business, hobby, or whatever venture you have.
That’s why I’m going straight ahead with the example I prepared – WaveNiche.com
I am sure that even after a week, everyone would remember the name of this site because it is simple and purposeful.
The site name should be:
- Easy to remember
- Be tied to the content of the site.
- Be as short as possible. Names like dobar-seo-optimiziran-sait-zazabavlenia – NO :) (they stand for PBN {Private Blog Network} but we will talk about them later)
As you may have guessed, WaveNiche is a news site built on WordPress
I wrote the theme myself and that’s why it’s so clean or as I call it – startup design.
I almost always start my project this way. Why?
If you haven’t opened the site, it’s time to do so.
Check it out here too “view-source:https://waveniche.com/”
You can see that there is no blocking code, no JavaScript – just CSS styling. No trackers, pixels.. not even cookies, cupcakes and waffles :) Google loves fast content.
After finding a suitable domain for your site?!
The next question is how the site will be implemented.
Personally, I use WordPress 99 percent of the time, easy to install, easy to use, has automatic update already (can be started and stopped)… many reasons.
If you decided to follow the WP example, you also need a suitable template.
It is not logical to have a website for tourism and choose a template (theme) for cars and motorbikes ;)
The choice is difficult:
- It should be suitable for the purpose of the site
- It should be easy to use
- It has to be FAST!!!
Here you can check the speed with which a given template loads, in the example I have indicated WaveNiche.com
https://pagespeed.web.dev It’s free :)
After deciding on a certain template, of course, the right button “review the source code” is pressed, and if you have at least basic knowledge, it is good to review the source code. In short, the less .js and .css there is, the better (that’s why I wrote it myself)
Just choose something beautiful and light (here I will note that there is no taste mate ;) )
Next step, after installing WP and designing the site, are the pages.
Choose exactly what pages you need, create pages with a privacy policy, for the use of personal data and generally speaking – all pages related to GDPR.
Don’t forget the Wave Niche page (Blog) – there will be a lot going on there and depending on the site, about 70 percent of the optimization will happen right on that page.
Next step, to hook the site to google Analytics / Search console and such ….. NO, please don’t, stop, don’t be stupid :D
The next step is the content – the Queen of the King
You don’t want, right after you upload your site to google, bing … the bot to go by and see that the site is empty. And to say to himself “why is this person walking me around in vain, the next examination will be in a year”.
Don’t rush to put Google Analytics and other marketing nonsense like hotjar, Microsoft Clarity, even FB Pixel is not needed at this stage. You can only verify the domain in Google Search Console and Bing, provided that the content has already been “poured into the site” and you have the possibility to do it through a DNS record.
We continue with branding
Before you start sharing the site with friends and link building, you need to create the social pages – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube…
Why is it important? Well, so that they don’t take them under your nose and offer them to you at a price ;)
If your site is called infoBGnet, it is normal for the links that are built on social networks to end with Facebook/infobgnet – in the same way with other social networks, and if the url address is taken, try “_ or .”
Now it’s the turn of Analytics, Pixel along with link building.
There are WP modules that offer direct connection to Search Console, Analytics and other platforms. For google search console and bing, do not use a module, if you have the opportunity, do it with a DNS record, it is much faster and effective.
The most popular SEO optimization modules for WordPress:
Yoast SEO – I don’t like it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not good.
All in One SEO – I used to use it, but over time I started to dislike it too.
Rank Math SEO – I use it for small projects
SEOPress – I’ve used it, but I don’t have any impressions
each module also has a PRO version, but to begin with it is not needed
You will need someone to make it “easier” for you, and later you will understand, like me, why easier is in quotes.
You should carefully check if any page or article is noindexed.
Robots.txt – it is automatically generated by the modules, it describes where the bot can crawl and what it is forbidden to do (not that the bot obeys it, but that is another topic), it is not touched there by default at the very beginning.
The schematic arrangement of pages and articles, or the so-called Schema, must be adjusted.
Be careful with Schema! The correct layout is of huge importance for SEO.
Pages are marked with website, articles with Article (in my case with WaveNiche е NewsArticle)
Accelerated Mobile Pages – AMP in a word, a must!
Categories, Tags are recommended?! NO, they are mandatory! :)
Photos – WebP format and by uploading to the library, on the side in the fields, always filled, according to the title of the page / article.
If it is an article, emphasize casually with the keywords (but not with the SEO of the SEO, of the SEO…), but with fragments inserted into the text. Guess who it is in this article? ;) YES, SEO + WaveNiche, so there is a future in SEO optimization.
There is a lot more to write about building a decently optimized site, starting with the correct structuring of paragraphs, H1, H2, H3 … going through Bold, supplementing with media files – photos, video and audio, inserting anchor links with internal and external links… even pagination is done when necessary…
I think what I have described so far is good for SEO for a beginner.
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