Thread by @GiordMarco96

Some personal considerations about the new trends in #SEO and the influence of coding and data in my journey.

This is a personal thread focused on explaining how different subjects can influence you 🧵

I started with #Python relatively early, I was into R before. The concept doesn't change either, they are just tools.

I decided to get into coding because I felt it was my route. I am improving everyday but I am still far from the biggest names in the industry or elsewhere.

I've always noticed that data are still misused by companies and there is a lot of misinformation.

Think about all the people using Excel as a database or SEO case studies with super weak proofs.

This is just the tip of the iceberg.

SEO as a subject doesn't have that many quality data and we often don't know the original distribution of most of the stuff we are working with.

GSC and GA metrics are super ambiguous if you don't read the docs.

Nonetheless, the interest for #NLP and #Python is booming. Now SEOs try to understand more about these topics because the competitive advantage they can provide is clear.

Excel and traditional tools are not the best option to handle some operations.

Before I got into technical studies I wasn't that accurate in my decisions. I have a lot of room for improvement but now I am able to get insights from data, usually.

Some of the stuff I post here is not for all, some people may be interested in other areas.

That's absolutely fine, to each their own.

I want to point out that everyone can learn such topics and you don't need any particular background.

A decent understanding of some mechanics can severely improve your quality of life. You need to understand the 20% of knowledge that is useful for your tasks.

Even simple data manipulation operations can be invaluable.

It takes time and it can be frustrating but it will pay off in the long run.

IT skills will become more and more central in our life, ignore those people saying that it's just stuff for engineers.

Decide what's right for you.

Having a broader skillset makes you unique and can help in finding better jobs. You are more competitive and you can boost your chances of being noticed.

This applies to other subjects as well.

Storing data in the right places and understanding what KPIs matter are big parts of your work if you can leverage them.

You have domain knowledge about SEO metrics and are able to understand what is useful and what is not. Super important!

Do you think that non-technical people have any clue about all the pesky metrics we have to deal with? Being good at Data Science doesn't mean you know the data.

Ask people how Avg. Position is calculated in GSC and you'll likely get a majority of wrong answers.

Therefore, having some basic proficiency is mandatory for projects and to avoid tracking or giving weight to useless indicators.

Who cares about Page Views if you don't sell?

I learned that data in SEO are better if used directionally rather than for accuracy. Give more weight to insights and not to the exact numbers you see.

There are some "tricks" you will learn with time. For instance, Position 11 in GSC is not always bad!

An analytical mindset can help you in being methodical and more rooted in reality. Why make guesses when you can validate at least some of your hypotheses?

Try to work in tandem with data to see if you are forgetting something.

We are still far from a data-centric SEO approach. Google tools have a lot of room for improvement and some of them are not designed to get immediate insights.

Fortunately, there are several tools that can save you time.

SQL is the most important data skill hands down. If you want to simply replace Excel, Python is more than enough.

Be careful though, SQL is the core of Data Science, you'd better learn the basics.

Coding can improve the quality of communication between you and IT. One of the most common struggles for marketers is to talk to IT guys, that's a fact.

Getting comfortable with some jargon is a suitable solution.

Expanding your comprehension of a subject allows you to connect with new people and have amazing experiences.

Do the initial effort and enjoy the fruits of your hard work later.

Every field has some degree of gatekeeping and that's a harsh reality.

Persevere and ignore naysayers, you are eventually going to make it, if you are convinced enough.

On the contrary, some of you may also find that they are not interested in such topics.

Collaboration in coding is crucial. I cannot imagine a world without open source.

Help others and be grateful.

You don't need to be a master of programming. Just learn what's useful and stop.

When you feel more prepared move on to the next topic. Rinse and repeat.

Best advice to start: just do it.

Don't think, go for it and do mistakes. You won't learn anything if you linger in doubt.

Adopt this aggressive approach for learning and you will see faster results.

I don't believe in the right moment. You create your own opportunities and decide when it is good to act.

Don't limit yourself, just take action.

Learning technical topics is more like fighting against your urges to postpone or quit. Don't give up, there is no reason to stop now.