Thread by @GiordMarco96

A list of the most common mistakes a lot of beginners do.

Extremely useful if you have to launch your project and don't where to start.

This personal thread will cover everything you need to know 🧵

Most people will tell you to start with your personal website or launch one from scratch.

I am not a big fan of this approach because it's super slow.

My suggestion is to start on existing websites and try to understand niches.

It's not guaranteed that you will work with brand new websites, but it's 100% true that you will have to optimize them

For this reason, connect with people that need help and try to understand communication and what they need for their website.

A common mistake I spot in general is that people launch impossible projects in competitive markets for no reason.

Why do you even begin with such ideas? It's super super hard and you need budget + skills

There are niches and/or markets that are significantly harder than others.

Always start with easier niches or with ones where you know the topic extremely well.

Being a fan of something doesn't mean being an expert.

After picking your market/niche, find a realistic way to position yourself.

Am I able to brand myself as a unique website? What do I offer that the others don't? Can competitors emulate me?

If you have 2 NOs, I highly suggest you move on and pick another idea.

Starting with a purely personal website (portfolio) and expecting crazy traffic is nonsense.

These types of websites are supposed to be your business card, writing 5 articles is not going to make you rich.

Knowing how to create great content is a totally different beast.
Copying from competitors is not an effective strategy to create value.

You should be able to understand and spot the content gaps.

Be sure there is search demand and that the format you are going to use is suitable for search engines.

Are you sure that project wouldn't be more effective on Instagram or elsewhere? Do you really need a website with content? Not always

You should diversify your mktg channels and should also understand when to use which.

If you want to launch an artistic project, I would recommend you to start with social media and not with your website.

If people like your art and you have success, consider having a website.

I am currently working on a brand new blog. Why didn't I start before?

Because I had to gauge the interest and see how people would react to my threads. Always test before you do something risky, even if it's free.

Losing time is a risk.

Back up your project with data or evidence that it will be "effective".

Are people even interested in some topics? How is the future landscape looking?

Be strategic about what you plan, don't rush it.

If you are a non-native English speaker, start with your native language.

English markets can be too hard and ranking will definitely require more effort.

Test different languages if you really have to.

Don't start with #Python or data if you don't know SEO!

You don't need to be a developer, you have to learn SEO first. How can you create effective scripts if you have zero domain knowledge?

Python is cool and all but it's just a tool. You need to give it directions.

This goes without saying, if you are just starting don't start with a website about SEO.

Pick a niche/topic where you are already proficient and you can offer unique and valuable insights.

The first thing to do is learn SEO and get first-hand experience with tangible results. After that, you may try to learn complementary skills.

Never skip the basics!

Technical SEO is super important too, don't just focus on content and backlinks.

"Buy links and write good content, it's simple"

Sure, if you have been doing that for 10 years it is.

Don't simplify things, you need to understand them first. Simplification requires a deep understanding of an idea.

Don't be fooled by shiny tools or generic advice. You don't need to spend 5K to launch your very first project.

A novice can just focus on domain knowledge and understanding how to extract meaningful data from Google Search Console.

Brain > tools

The most useful tool imho will always be Google Search Console. This is the very first thing you have to check.

It gives you enough clues to understand what you are doing wrong.

My suggestion for the most suitable CMS in 2022 will go to @Wix. I am using it and I admit it's totally different from what I saw years ago.

Give it a try, it's very good.

SEO is not a set of magic tricks or techniques. Think of it as the intersection between tech and business, including marketing.

Develop a strategy and some tactics to implement it, avoid checklists as the plague.

You can have your checklists for repetitive tasks though.

Check here the best roadmap for learning SEO. It's quite big because the industry is vast and so are our backgrounds.

learningseo.io

Higher traffic is not necessarily money. Be extremely careful and try to understand how to make money.

Your first projects don't need to bring you money, you're just practicing. For clients or your company, the ultimate goal is profit.

Different websites require different strategies. You cannot apply the same criteria for an eCommerce and an online magazine!

Learn all the nuances and specialize in some models, you don't need to be a know-it-all.

Just be certain to know what you are doing.

The most common mistake beginners do is to target competitive and broad keywords.

Start with more obscure searches and try to find your tone of voice. Adapt accordingly.

And the other mistake is not having a solid structure and internal links in place.

You should have internal links and you should think about how users can navigate your website easily.

Does it take more than 3 clicks to complete an important action? Fix it.

If you have followed my other threads, I will always mention topical maps.

You should ideally build one, I highly recommend you to. This will help to manage your internal links.

rankranger.com/blog/topical-m…

So the navigation and the presence of internal links are the first 2 things I check when I open a website.

Don't write articles for the sake of it, put some effort into creating logical connections across your content network.

While SEO doesn't require a degree, it indeed takes quite some time.

Other skills like knowing business/marketing and maybe some coding need that you practice consistently.

And yes, a good degree could help for several reasons.

SEO is not the only factor defining your projects and your professional life.

Branding, value proposition and being credible are even more important. It's better to build brands and not websites because you want people to be aware that you exist.

Check my other thread about value proposition to get the idea of what I am talking about.

Business/Marketing 101

https://twitter.com/GiordMarco96/status/1503823357673832449

At the same time, you want to be a reliable source of information with some credibility.

People must be able to put trust in what you say. Search engines need to contextualize your website and see where it fits.

A website without a reputation will eventually lose.

Data are an immense help from the sky to solve a lot of these problems. But again, you are an SEO, not necessarily an Analyst.

If you enjoy solving these problems, then you know what to do next. If not, just delegate, no need to be an expert.

By this time, you have noticed that launching an ambitious brand new project requires money, expertise, time and a solid value proposition.

Sure, you don't need to be so picky for learning SEO and that's why I suggest you work with existing websites.

SEO is not a sealed chamber, you can think of it as a combined effort.

The road is long and frustrating, so you have to brace yourself and be humble.

Fortunately, you can just focus on some key areas and build expertise.

Buying backlinks is not what I suggest unless you know what you are doing.

And even in that case, there are better alternatives. So yes, I am generally against buying links and I don't advocate such practices.

This doesn't mean they are ineffective, quite the opposite.

If you follow my advice you will never be stuck for hours thinking about ranking factors.

Even better, you won't fall for all the obvious and biased case studies about backlinks or word count.

If you are like me you want to be fast. Learn to enjoy the journey and start with small wins.

Ask for advice and share what you are learning day by day.

The best way to improve in something is... of course doing it!

By showing what you do and how you achieved certain results you build your personal reputation and strengthen your value.

You can consider yourself as a brand too.

To sum up, be realistic and study your competitors.

Find where you could fit and what you can offer. Are you unique?

Develop a strategy and some tactics.

Test, test and test again until you know where you are going.

Business first, SEO second. Both are necessary but focus on what you want to achieve.

Understanding the domain/niche and the current goals takes priority.

SEO is the sealant to glue the pieces of your project together.

Asking me if I want guest posts or addressing me as "Sir" will not get you very far in life.

If you liked this thread consider liking and/or retweeting it. Let's fight the misinformation together.