SEO As A Second Nature

Step 1: Immerse Yourself In Data

Data is your biggest ally. Without the correct data, metrics, information and numbers - you won't be able to do your SEO properly no matter how much other knowledge you have.

If you want to be an SEO Jedi you need to immerse yourself in your website's data.

Mozbar

Mozbar, integrated with Google Chrome, puts SEO information on search results in real time. So whenever you search Google with Mozbar activated you'll see how other websites are doing.

Download and install Mozbar on Google Chrome and here's what you'll see

Every result has a PA (page authority) score, a DA (domain authority) score, the number of links and a link analysis link to get further information.

Google Analytics

Analytics is a free tool so if you aren't already using it on your site you must be nuts! But the mistake people often make is that they visit their analytics account every week or every month, have a quick look around at the stats and forget everything they've just looked at as soon as they log out.

Many people don't know how to properly use analytics or get the most from it.

So if you don't know how to extract all the data that you can, take a look at some of the instructional videos that you can find on YouTube - viewing maybe one or two a day.

A once a week or once a month check of your analytics account won't cut it, you have to login once a day or once every two days, monitoring, analysing and reflecting on the data you are shown.

Google Webmaster Tools

GWT is a real treasure trove of information for what's going right and what's going wrong on your site.

Be sure to check in at least once a week to see the latest alerts and to check your link data.

Step 2: Use Google Differently

Most of us use Google every day, depending on your internet use you could be performing one or two hundred searches every day.

Spending just a few extra seconds to analyse the results that Google shows you when you do each search can help you to learn a huge amount about how Google determines search results.

With each search, we'd recommend that you:

i) Think about what you just searched for
ii) Look properly at the results you're shown
iii) Think about why Google has placed one site above another.

By doing these 3 quick things on each search you'll start to get more deeply in tune with Google and its algorithms.

Step 3: Become A Regular

SEO is more about gritty and raw determination than it is about some kind of sixth sense that only 1/1000000 of the population are born with.

Steve Jobs once said that half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones if pure perseverance, and he was right.

Make time each day for content marketing and you'll be doing SEO without even thinking about it.

If you miss a day or two then don't give up! Becoming an SEO regular is about forming a new habit and if you didn't do any yesterday it doesn't mean you can miss out the rest of the week and start again on Monday, or that you have to do double the next day, just get back on it as normal and build the habit.

Step 4: Meta, Meta, Meta

At the bottom of every page, product, category and anywhere else on ShopWired that we ask you to enter title and meta tags you'll see the Google preview.

This shows you what Google is likely to show given the information that you have already entered onto the page.

Play around with the tool to see how Google will change what's displayed in search engine results. Remember that at least half of what meta tags are all about is getting users to click on your result in search engines. You can be top of the tree but its useless if everyone skips through to click on the number 2 result!

Step 5: Keep Up To Date

SEO is an ever changing landscape. Google is forced to update its algorithms regularly to stop people gaming the system and spamming their search engine results. And with each update comes an opportunity for you to increase your site, particularly if you've stuck to the previous rules.

So you need to keep yourself up to date with news and information about latest SEO trends.

Email Subscriptions

Subscribe to newsletters from the likes of Quicksprout, KISSmetrics and the Search Engine Journal.

Social Follows

Follow industry experts on Google +, Twitter and Facebook to help keep SEO intake part of your daily routine.

Many of us now check social media three or four times a day to see the latest updates from our friends, so if part of that daily digest of information contains an SEO aspect - you'll soon get in tune with keeping SEO at the forefront of your daily activity.

Get Involved

There's a huge community of SEO amateurs (and professionals) asking questions, discussing topics and talking about SEO online through forums, webinars, and dissuasion groups. Get involved! Don't be afraid to ask a question if you're not sure of something.

Video!

SEO education isn't just about reading endlessly wordy articles (like this one!). Google produce a wealth of videos about SEO every year and you can find them quite easily on YouTube.

Conclusions

SEO is something that you have to work at. SEO has to become ingrained into your daily schedule and you have to embrace it and not run away scared.

Its about persistence, perseverance and determination to succeed!