100 lessons from 10 years experience seo guru

February 5, 2016 1832

Note to the article. Author is Syudzan Patel

The following lessons are based on my own experience. They relate not only to SEO, but my life and business. Hopefully, the lessons will be useful, and you will avoid the mistakes that I made.

Do not grow link weight too quickly. When I first came into SEO, I created a website and was full of enthusiasm, not realizing that I need to do everything step by step. As expected, my position grow up, but decreased also quick. This situation can be avoided by adhering to a more uniform and smooth approach.

The tag meta descriptions is important! Even if the tag does not affect the position, it increases CTR.

Don’t check positions and traffic each hour. Everything changes on a monthly basis not daily or weekly basis. So, it’s better to spend time to make good content and optimization.

There is nothing better than a good product. I optimized more than a hundred sites and realized that the best SEO tactics – it’s a good product (and it will never change).

There is a huge difference between the optimization of e-commerce sites, landing pages for lead generation, small sites and sites that get filled with users. You have to understand not only the current state of the site, but also its type because all of your strategy should revolve around the type of site you are working with.

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Different techniques come and go, but creativity will never die. I hate it when people blindly follow the advice of SEO-experts, without even thinking about how well are working applied technics on their website. You will not go wrong if you give customers what they want and at the same time find a creative way to do it.

Age – only numbers. Age of the domain and website is definitely a ranking factor, but let the new site does not scare you. There are many other ranking factors that give you an opportunity to get ahead your competitors.

Not so hard to beat the big brands. I found that the larger the brand, the more the budget, but the longer they take decisions. Just think how much effort is required to move a cargo ship, in comparison with the boat.

Make links different. Google glues links with similar parameters.

SEO evolves with marketing. Search engine optimization is complicated with each passing day, so it is incredibly important to read the latest news from the SEO industry.

Write texts for the people. Yes, SEO is important, but if your site does not meet the expectations of users who find you through the search, then it makes no sense to go to all these difficulties for higher positions.

Every SEO-experts need to know programming languages. The site code plays an important role in optimizing, so take the time to familiarize yourself with what’s happening behind the scenes.

There are no alternatives for real experience. You can read all the books and blogs in the world of SEO and can be failed if you don’t have enough experience.

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Cute animals – it’s bad! Every time when Google is rolling out updates with thematic names like Panda or Penguin, you should know – it’s time to worry.

Selection of key words – very important moment. You just have to do it correctly, otherwise everything you have built up in the future, can go down the drain.

There is nothing better than unique content. Stop cheat yourself that copied articles from other sites pose a particular importance to your audience.

It is always better to be natural than a super re-optimize. In my opinion, Penguin was the first step towards that in the future there will be more penalties for reoptimization. And do not say that I did not warn you, when your re-optimize site will receive the first sanctions.

The Bounce Rate – is very important. This is a small factor in SEO, but a huge for ROI. You have to work constantly to reduce the bounce rate, then your site will be more valuable for users, and it will give you the best ROI. If you can reduce the bounce rate on 25%, then 25% of users do on the site that expected of them.

SEO experts and the customer must work together. Good product – the only and the best thing for SEO. That’s why you have to work with the customer’s team, to be sure that optimize the site properly.

Long live the <title> tag!

The 301th redirect and 404th error – important! If you do not optimize two components of your site, you’re missing a great opportunity to attract visitors.

The problem of speed is actual since 1999. The faster your site, the better (although many people forget about it).

Always try to learn from your competitors. Do not worry if your website has a bad position. Instead, try to identify methods and strategies of 5 your competitors, who have a better position than you. Then try out these techniques on your website.

Do not pay for a variety of SEO tools, select basic. There are many services and programs, but I found my favorite, which usually allow for quick cope with everyday tasks.

You can not buy positions for the money. Money helps, but in reality, good strategy decides everything.

It is better to be safe than sorry. This applies to all SEO techniques. Search engines are becoming stricter and stricter, so at all costs, avoid anything that might be interpreted as reoptimization.

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Do not give priority for your ranking, customers are more important. Search engines can not destroy your business if it is built on relationships with customers not on SEO metrics.

Too much of anything – it’s bad.

Breathe fresh air. So much is happening in the SEO industry that sometimes you just need to relax. Take a vacation, drink beer, do not forget that there is a world outside the computer.

Find out how you can improve the CTR, due to the learning experience of billboards. Billboards have very little time to get our attention, so they are able to skillfully “sell” quickly. When you hit a billboard on the eye, try to understand what is the task and how it has attracted your attention.

There will always be ups and dips. Do not take your success as a matter for granted and do not let your misses to make you give up.

Place matters. Living in a city like San Francisco (the concentration of a particular SEO industry there) constantly motivates and inspires me at the end of each day.

Risks! Risks in those moments when it is necessary, but do not allow yourself to do it consistently.

Think big. Always remember that since this is the main key to getting larger profit and earning more money.

Always have a strategy. The world has enough features that will always be distract.

Do not optimized for social networking, just be yourself. No need to try to look natural, just be natural.

Just do it immediately!

Do not focusing only on money. If you start a business, do not do it just for the money. And if you start to create SEO-company, you can do it with very little money.

Read the books. Literature, science, whatever. Reading helps improve your writing skills and gives a lot of ideas.

Avoid SEO hangover. As well as a large amount of alcohol will make you feel bad the next day, and a lot of information on SEO will leave you overwhelmed. Avoid the information overload, examine only the items that you are now required.

Do not forget about your family and friends. If you let your relationships with family and friends fall apart for reasons that you are too busy at work, they do not support you when you need them.

Ignore trolls. There are a lot of bad people, but do not let them drag you down.

You can not do everything at once.

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Control your costs. If you are successful in business, your income have to increase, but be careful, control your costs. Bad things happen even to good people.

Be thankful. Say “thank you” at least one person a day.

Eat well and do the exercises. I love good beer and fancy food, but I also know that I’m more productive when I’m healthy. Everything in moderation!

If you do not need this, do not buy it. Do not chase the the latest seo tools or aids. Work with what you have and invest in your business, when you have the opportunity.

Learn to say “no.” Not every proposal will benefit your business. If the opportunity does not meet your vision, get rid of it.

Clean desk – pure mind.

There is no a super fast way to achieve anything in SEO, as well as in life. If someone says the opposite, he is trying to sell you something.

Pay attention to ROI. Define your actions and be ruthless to get rid of the SEO techniques that do not contribute to increasing the ROI on your website.

Small, but regular efforts are important. SEO can seem huge, but at the same time notation of one reference per day will have a value over time.

Listen to Matt Cutts.

SEO – is a great race, not a sprint. Do not worry if you do not see the results at the moment. SEO is something that is done in the long term.

SEO – is not a panacea. There are many different ways to obtain traffic online. If SEO is not right for your company, it does not mean that there are no more other methods to attract traffic.

SEO can never be completed.

Visit the Digital events. If it works for Bill Gates, it’s probably going to work for you. Try to find a few days a year to visit such events (approx. Devaka: by the way, will soon announce the September Events).

You can not smarter the leading search engines. Google hires the best scientists, engineers and doctors around the world each year. The chance that at one of the blogs you will find a trick that will be smarter all these minds – is not very large.

In closing

And one more thing I have learned over ten years in business – there’s no better lesson than your own mistakes. You will make mistakes, you will be bad, but if you can get lessons from the your experience, as I did above, you’ll be more successful.