Learning SEO: How to Begin

Learning SEO, or search engine optimization, is an excellent idea for anyone who produces content for the web, whether you are a writer, a coder or programmer, or a designer. Even if you are not in charge of optimizing your company's web site on a day to day basis, knowing the fundamentals of good SEO makes it easier for you to produce pages that are ready for optimization. If you are puzzled about how to go about learning SEO, read on for a quick guide.

If you are a novice, you should start by reading a self guided textbook or taking a class at your local adult learning center, whichever method is more in tune with your learning style. This will help you to master the basics. This step is doubly necessary if you are also new to writing HTML and CSS. If you are slightly more comfortable with the basics of SEO, a one to three day class or seminar would be an excellent way to put some polish on your understanding of optimization.

Once you have the basics, self study is the way to go. Choose from the scores of solidly reputable SEO article collections and blogs around, or the handful of truly good forums. (Choose your sites carefully. SEO information on the web is of highly variable quality, so finding sites that will not mislead you is vital.) After the first week of study, you will probably find yourself moving away from "how to" sites and article directories and toward SEO blogs and forums. This is a good sign. It means you fully understand the techniques of SEO and are looking for advanced tricks and new developments.

Keeping your knowledge of SEO and all the developments in the field up to date is essential. As search engines change their algorithms to weed out spammers, web professionals must change how they write, code, and design their sites. Not optimizing to the very latest set of search engine specifications can be the difference between the first page of the search results and the 247th page. You can catch breaking developments in SEO by reading the best forums and blogs, and web specialist conventions and seminars will hone your competitive edge.

As you can see, mastering SEO is not a simple matter of taking an SEO certification program and getting an official stamp of approval at the end. First you need to learn the basics, then you need to stay on top of new developments. However, once you know the fundamental concepts of SEO, you will find that it takes a surprisingly small amount of time each week to keep your knowledge current. Persistence is the key. Keep reading, and soon you, too, will be a master of SEO.