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Starting Your First SEO Campaign Without Hiring an Expert

By on August 23, 2012

Starting your own SEO (search engine optimization) campaign does not mean that you have to go out and hire an expensive search engine optimization expert. If you are new to building websites and want to try your own hand at SEO then this fine as long as you stick to some basic rules.

The first thing you need to do is understand what search engine optimization is?

The Basics of SEO

Search engine optimization is all about optimizing your website both on the page and off the page so the search engines can find your precious content. This is a basic explanation but many people like to over complicate SEO.

Onpage SEO involves having keywords in your content, meta tags, titles. It also goes deeper into category names and the way your navigation is set up. Then there is internal linking.

See one of my guest posts on Ana Hoffman’s blog: Why is internal linking crucial to SEO

Then there is Off page SEO which is all about people linking to your website, talking about it, sharing it. Inbound links from quality websites indicates to Google that your website contains valuable content.

The true and simple aim of the game is to get your website content listed in the search engines, preferably closer to the top of the search results, in order for your website to get the most exposure to the humans that type the search terms in . Therefore writing SEO content is not just to please the actual search engines, it is also there to please the humans, as you want them to click on your titles and visit your articles.

I have explained how SEO works under the hood of your website and how this is a great way to understand what you need to do to get listed in the search engines.

Here is a list of my best beginners SEO articles:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Explained for New WordPress Website Builders This article explains search engine optimization, hopefully in an easy to understand language and not too technical. You will see the difference between on page and off page search engine optimization.

Beginners’ Guide To SEO When I first started out building WordPress websites, I had no idea what is search engine optimization was, therefore I did not know what to do.

How SEO Works Under the Hood of your WordPress Website Why we need SEO and how it works? A deeper look at who and why.

10 Point SEO Checklist for New WordPress Webmasters In this 10 point SEO checklist I mention everything you need to have fantastic search engine optimization for your WordPress website. I even talk about the SEO maintenance you have to do in order to keep your rankings.

See more SEO articles.

Keep it Simple

starting your first SEO Campaign

If you are new to SEO then keep it simple. Write great content and then promote it naturally.

Sonia Simone wrote an article at Coppyblogger that pretty much says the same thing, stick to all natural SEO. It is a great article, you should check it out!

Also I think people should keep their website simple in the beginning as flashy designs and million dollar layouts are out nowdays. Don’t overcomplicate the process of building a website by worrying about stuff you don’t know. Just do what you can and be patient about learning the finer details as you go along. This includes SEO.

Choose a Niche

This is a hard task unless you are choosing your topic because you are passionate about something. I believe that it is easier to build a website around something you have a passion for because the passion will help you stay motivated.

I have many websites, but the ones that I am most passionate about are the most successful. I only work on the other ones when I have time and even when I do get to work on them; it is not a labor of love. Unfortunately it then becomes a job that I don’t want to perform.

Let’s talk about choosing a niche that you have passion for:

I am just going to give you an example here, because this is exactly how I got into building websites. I have passion for computers. I essentially was a computer freak and my best friends were also computer freaks. We used to literally create problems just so we could solve them. One day I decided to build a website and I did not have any idea about choosing a niche, choosing keywords, or anything like that.

I went out and bought a domain name (which I later changed to tips4pc) and started building the ugliest website you have ever seen. But I had a passion for computers and all I wanted to do was share my knowledge. I was already aware that people were interested in what I had to say, because in real life I was continually helping people fix their computers.

Now my website was totally unprofessional, and as I said, as ugly as sin. But this did not matter, as people were only interested in the information and showed great appreciation for my help. I could not believe that people wanted to know even the simplest things about computers.

I had no idea about keywords, and decided to go for “computer tips”, which in hindsight would have been better to go for “computer help”. But I stuck to my keyword and continued to provide content in that direction. I had no idea that the niche I was entering had huge competition, but this did not matter to me as I had a passion for what I was doing.

Choosing a niche by research

I still recommend having a passion as a base, but you can also choose your niche by researching the most sought-after keywords. Well in fact they do not have to be the most searched for keywords, but they need to have less competition for you, especially if you are new.

I explain in detail how to research for your niche in my free e-book about building a WordPress website which is available for free download in the sidebar.

What Keywords to Target

This is one of the biggest hurdles that a new website builder will hit. Deciding what keywords your website should be targeting is a daunting task at first.

I will use my computer tips website as an example.

I decided that my main keyword was going to be “computer tips”. I built links back to my home page using these keywords and a few variations.

  • Computer tips
  • computer tips and tricks
  • easy to understand computer tips
  • PC tips
  • computer tips made easy
  • free computer tips

As you can see I did not just make links that just targeted my main keyword only. If I did, this would be seen as spam.

Then I started writing articles about various computer tips. I decided that I would choose a few different types of software and write articles and tips about them. For example, most people use Windows operating system, so I wrote articles on how to use this software.

Later when I learned how to research keywords, I noticed that some articles on my website were far more popular than others. They receive the most traffic, the most comments, and the most sharing. The human visitors that came to my website gave me clues on what they liked and the traffic goldmine in Google Analytics was also a saviour. So I started to create more articles along the same lines.

When I created an article, I did not back link to it with my main keywords. Each article and each page had its own keyword, but they were all related to computer tips. Every piece of content on my computer tips website is in actual fact a computer tip. I do not write cooking articles, car articles and so on. I only have content that is related to using a computer.

I also have a saving money website, where all the articles are about saving money, but each page or post has its own keyword.

The Key to SEO

If I didn’t know anything at all about SEO, the first thing I would suggest is to always be natural in your SEO efforts. Hiring an expert in the SEO field will not guarantee that the work performed by them will be natural either, as a lot of companies still like to take shortcuts that are frowned upon by Google. They might do mass link building in the form of automated article distribution, or they might optimize your articles on your website with far too many keywords.

The best way for you to start your first SEO campaign is to create quality content (which will of course be easier if you have a passion) and then promote this content, without using automation methods at all.

It is also best to go easy on the keywords, but let’s not neglect keywords altogether, as the search engines and the humans need to know what your content is about. The thing is, if you are writing fantastic content, you should naturally be using keywords and related keywords within the content. If you are not doing this, then how the hell will your readers know what your content is about? The next question is, have you really got great content?

Get Known For Your Passion

Yes I am still on the passion topic! If you want to call yourself an expert in a particular niche, again having a passion for your topic will certainly take you to the top. When you have fantastic content and are being recognized as an expert in your niche, people naturally link back to your website. They use your content as a resource for their own readers and this in turn gives you great search engine optimization benefits.

Another way to get your name out there and get known for your passion is to guest post on other popular blogs. I still do this at least twice a week for each website, as I get to back link to my website and also get known for my passion at the same time, i kill tow birds with one stone.

Social Media and SEO

When people share your content, this is like proof that you really do have good content. The more people that share, the more chants you have of your content going viral through the social media outlets.

There are many ways that social media can benefit your website search engine optimization and one of those ways is to have a profile on each of the top social media websites. I have a social media checklist I use for each website I build and the content that I share on these profiles is highly targeted for my niche topic. I do not share anything that is off topic. This way I gain targeted followers who share my targeted content.

Social media is a great way of building back links, if not for direct SEO, this method also generates traffic to your website.

Your First SEO Campaign DIY Style

What do you think about my way for newbies to do SEO? I did not even know that search engine optimization existed when I first started out and I got by. Gradually I caught on to this amazing opportunity and quadrupled my traffic, but prior to that, my SEO was done naturally by others. I just supplied the content and people liked it, linked to it, and talked about it.

About Mitz

My name is Milica Pantic but everyone calls me Mitz. I am addicted to internet marketing and making money online. Who wouldn't want to live that life? I started out with one website as a hobby and now have over 20. Building websites and making money online is not that hard. You have to actually take action to make money...that is the biggest hurdle! :)

48 Comments

  1. Arthur Sparks

    December 3, 2012 at 2:55 am

    Earning a huge amount of money online is possible. Some people may be skeptical about this but I tell you, making a living online is possible. The best part of doing your business online is that you don’t even have to step foot outside your house just so you can make lots of money. If you want to start your journey on putting up a business online or expanding the horizons of your current business by using the internet, you need to learn the basics of SEO or Austin Search Engine Optimization.
    Arthur Sparks recently posted..Getting Quality Links From Good Pages

    Reply

  2. Arthur Sparks

    November 20, 2012 at 1:30 pm

    First of all you need to plan if you are going to promote your website by yourself or to hire an SEO expert. In case you wish to do SEO by yourself be prepared to spend at least two hours every day if you are experienced, and four hours if you a novice.
    Arthur Sparks recently posted..How Do I Rank Well For Google Places?

    Reply

  3. Pingback: Search Engine Ranking Optimization Tips for New Webmasters

  4. Leny Turns

    October 21, 2012 at 2:46 pm

    Thank you so much for providing such a comprehensive SEO guide. I believe that this will really help a lot of small business owners who do not have sufficient funds for hiring a professional SEO.

    Reply

  5. Nina Corales

    September 24, 2012 at 1:44 pm

    Thank you so much for sharing these great resources Mitz! SEO is crucial for many businesses today since acquiring online presence is the new trend today!
    Nina Corales recently posted..Subdivision

    Reply

  6. Frank

    September 19, 2012 at 8:26 am

    As soon as you have created a good list of steps to do for SEO. Then you can get high in the SERPS very quickly without any need of spamming.
    Hiring SEO experts can be very expensive indeed and there many of them you would like to avoid!
    Frank recently posted..Ster Tattoo

    Reply

  7. Elaine Salt

    September 12, 2012 at 8:16 am

    This post really help me to know more about SEO and as a guide to learn much. This is to help people to choose niche accordingly to their interest, and this will help in opening and building new relationship to people. Keywords are really helpful in writing blogs. This is informative and worth-reading. Thanks Mitz for this great post!

    Reply

  8. Steve

    September 11, 2012 at 4:59 am

    Great Sound Mitz…
    I appreciate this valuable information. “What Keywords to Target” its a big problem however webmasters target keywords for a webstie but relevant keywords helps for a web site & another site Social Media and SEO both are valuable platform for a Business.

    Reply

  9. Remy Santos

    September 8, 2012 at 2:42 pm

    SEO and social media are both important if you really aim for online visibility. SEO helps you position your blog or website in the search engine while social media allows you to build relationships with your target audience.
    Remy Santos recently posted..LIVESUN Temporary Lighting Applications Video

    Reply

  10. Jez

    September 5, 2012 at 2:50 pm

    A great post that should inspire all budgets to tackle their seo in their sites. I like to think that SEO should take a holistic approach and the passion driven elements to this post re-installs this approach and that passionate website builders will shine through if they are passionate about their niche of choice.
    Jez recently posted..Distraction from quality content you are providing

    Reply

  11. Miami Luxury homes

    September 5, 2012 at 12:48 pm

    This is a nice informative post especially for me as i am quite new to this field. I learned many things from this post. Thanks for sharing with us.

    Reply

  12. Mei Mayore

    September 5, 2012 at 6:47 am

    I ma new to SEO and blogging, I am still learning the basic techniques on how to blog and do SEO the right way. I find this post very helpful. Thank you Mitz for providing these information and resources.
    Mei Mayore recently posted..COMPARE LIFE INSURANCE QUOTES

    Reply

  13. Seatle SEO Expert

    September 4, 2012 at 3:51 pm

    “The best blog always serves information regarding products and services after making confirmation. Perhaps Blogger is highly knowledgeable that is the reason information that I have read here is genuine and helpful. Your information will help me a lot to improve my seo .
    Thanks again for such a informative information.”
    fannit.com/seattle-seo-expert/
    Seatle SEO Expert recently posted..Six Steps to Inbound Marketing Success (dofollow)

    Reply

  14. Jack

    September 1, 2012 at 10:53 pm

    After about two month of researching i have found that the best strategy to follow is.
    1. Find a long tail keyword that has minimally 5000 visits per month
    2. Write original articles
    3. Register your site to web directories
    4. Create quality backlinks

    Thank you,
    Jack
    Jack recently posted..Romantic Valentines Day Gifts | Valentines Day Ideas

    Reply

    • Mitz

      September 2, 2012 at 8:29 pm

      Yes this sounds like a great strategy and this should be done continually…but not submitting to directories, as that can be done once. They key is to get a variety of quality links pointing to your site. :)

      Reply

  15. Aditya

    September 1, 2012 at 7:31 pm

    This is really amazing article for the optimization for the website.I don’t know much about seo but I am trying to learn many things.

    Reply

  16. katherin

    September 1, 2012 at 9:24 am

    Very informative post..
    you have explained a basic steeps in seo..
    The blog must be user friendly…we should choose a appropriate keyword according to the blog,its very important step..
    Thanks for sharing this information with us..

    Reply

  17. Carl

    September 1, 2012 at 5:37 am

    I personally believe that the best SEO is always done in house. Outsourcing SEO is a mistake in most cases and it cost a lot. SEO is not a rocket science and just following the basics on regular basis is more than enough.
    Carl recently posted..Mike created new blog post What Should You Look For In A Web Designing Company in Web design & Development

    Reply

    • Mitz

      September 2, 2012 at 8:47 pm

      I agree Carl. You can outsource the articles, check them over, even re-write them, then be in control of the SEO yourself! :)

      Reply

  18. Link Building Services

    August 31, 2012 at 2:31 am

    If you are planning on setting up an online business or website and yet you have a low budget, don’t worry too much. There are plethora of ways that can help you generate traffic for free like social bookmarking, blogging, video marketing and article submission.
    Link Building Services recently posted..Does PR Flow Between the Main Domain and Subdomain at All?

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  19. Laurie Marks

    August 30, 2012 at 9:24 pm

    Thanks Mitz for the encouragement to write blog articles myself. It seems that’s the only way we’re going to get quality content on our site. I started with hiring a company to write our blog articles but they were so bad I ended up rewriting them. Its easier to write the quality posts when focusing on subjects I care most about.
    Laurie Marks recently posted..Psychics Of Light or Dark, Choose Wisely

    Reply

  20. Richie Richardson

    August 30, 2012 at 9:58 am

    Hey Mitz,
    This is really some serious stuff from the old school of SEO. I wonder why many still run for temporary benefits then yell at Google Webmasters while the truth is so visible.
    Richie Richardson recently posted..Need Guest Posting Service/Guest Posters?

    Reply

  21. ozrotco

    August 28, 2012 at 5:15 am

    As an Internet marketing strategy, SEO considers how search engines work, what people search for, the actual search terms or keywords typed into search engines and which search engines are preferred by their targeted audience. Optimizing a website may involve editing its content and HTML and associated coding to both increase its relevance to specific keywords and to remove barriers to the indexing activities of search engines. Promoting a site to increase the number of backlinks, or inbound links, is another SEO tactic.

    Reply

  22. Link Building Services

    August 28, 2012 at 1:36 am

    Hiring an expert to do your first SEO campaign is very crucial because they will help you create traffic, build online presence and get notice online. Yet, you have to carefully choose SEO expert that are reliable and trustworthy.
    Link Building Services recently posted..The Top 20 Lessons Learned From Over 3 Years of Being SEO Consultants

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  23. Justin Mott

    August 27, 2012 at 11:55 pm

    I’ve got to say that I loved this post. I’m new to this game of creating a website but about half way through reading your article I got excited about the content that I’m posting. Here’s hoping that I can put your advice together to keep creating good content that will be read.
    Justin Mott recently posted..Having Confidence in Your Catfishing

    Reply

  24. Aswin Vayiravan

    August 27, 2012 at 12:57 pm

    Is deploying a sitemap crucial for SEO?
    Also Is SEO same for all search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing etc………….?
    I feel most people optimize their sites with Google in their mind
    Aswin Vayiravan recently posted..Why Pay For Online Resources When We Have Open Source?

    Reply

    • Laura

      September 11, 2012 at 1:54 pm

      Hi, Aswin! Good questions – as far as I know, a sitemap is useful to index pages in search engines. Everybody talks about Google because it is more complex than Bing and Yahoo (in my opinion, anyway) and it brings more traffic on your website.
      Laura recently posted..Google Translate Client Portable (dofollow)

      Reply

  25. mithun

    August 26, 2012 at 1:03 pm

    This article was very helpful for me in knowing the basics of SEO. So i ll try to concentrate more on SEO for the betterment of my blog. Thanks
    mithun recently posted..Top 10 Blogs for bloggers : Make your blogging life better

    Reply

  26. Sanjib

    August 26, 2012 at 1:02 pm

    Hello Mitz,

    Another masterpiece from you. This article is a bliss for all those small time bloggers who cannot afford hiring experts for SEO. If your tips are followed systematically, all the posts will find their way straight to the top. Also, they will excel the art of SEO gradually.

    Regards,
    Sanjib
    Sanjib recently posted..LG Optimus L3 Review, Tech Specs And Price

    Reply

  27. Gedichte

    August 26, 2012 at 10:57 am

    I’m new to seo and I need a lot of help in the beginning and I see these tips as helpful.Thanks for sharing,this will help me a lot.
    Gedichte recently posted..Jaa ich weiss

    Reply

  28. Pressa

    August 26, 2012 at 10:26 am

    I´m on the same lavel as you, but it sure takes lots of time to write articles when doing SEO :(

    Reply

  29. Tim Anderson

    August 25, 2012 at 1:14 pm

    Tops tips here for beginners!
    I started with SEO few months ago and so much have changed since I was doing SEO last time (over 10 years ago). I read in a forum that the algorithm search engines uses changes over time so its vital to stay well updated. When I did SEO 10 years ago all required was to add keywords in your META tag which today has very little effect.
    Tim Anderson recently posted..Colorbond Fencing Prices

    Reply

  30. Jason

    August 25, 2012 at 12:43 pm

    I read your article on the internal linking. I have to say that is one thing I have never really done and I feel kind of dumb for not picking this up. I knew about most of the other things in your post but not this one. I will have to start doing this on my sites.
    Jason recently posted..Lifted Monster Chevy 2500HD 18″ lift, a Nice Lifted Truck For Sale in Florida

    Reply

  31. Richard

    August 25, 2012 at 4:53 am

    On page SEO optimization and Off page SEO optimization are must for any blog to succeed. Using of right keywords with appropriate h1, h2 and h3 tags followed by videos and Images are absolutely must for any blog. Apart from that unique and original content will bring organic traffic to your blog automatically.
    Richard recently posted..How To Retain Employees – Employee Retention

    Reply

  32. Jon

    August 24, 2012 at 9:41 pm

    Great stuff! I’ve been looking for an article like this. I often have clients who are very interested in SEO but aren’t quite ready or able to spring for professional services. I think this is a great resource for people who have time and are willing to learn!
    Jon recently posted..How To Stick WordPress Comment Labels Inside Input Boxes

    Reply

  33. Md Firdosh

    August 24, 2012 at 6:36 pm

    Great article and tips . This will really help all the new blogger.We all know that SEO is backbone of a blog and all the new bloggers are looking for the tips to optimize their blog without investing.So this article will help them
    Md Firdosh recently posted..Career in Indian Railways & Government Jobs in Indian Railway

    Reply

  34. Faissal Alhaithami

    August 24, 2012 at 12:14 pm

    When getting started with SEO, it’s vital to choose the right keywords. And right keywords are those that are very clear, not very competitive and used by your target audience. Very good tips on the fundamentals of SEO.

    Thanks.
    Faissal Alhaithami recently posted..5 ways to get more views to your Youtube videos

    Reply

  35. Dave Caufield

    August 24, 2012 at 8:56 am

    Good post and love the resource list. Keyword research is definitely the first and most critical step in my opinion. Once you are able to determine the keywords that will drive traffic to your blog, you can then concentrate on on-page and off-page optimization. However, based on my experience, content is always king. Invest in good content and update your blog regularly. This will make your link building and overall SEO efforts stronger.
    Dave Caufield recently posted..YouTube and the Real Estate Industry (dofollow)

    Reply

  36. Anton Koekemoer

    August 24, 2012 at 7:36 am

    Hi Mitz,

    Great advice for any newbie and or amateur – The sources you’ve shared is great for starting with sourcing the relevant information to begin with your own SEO strategy.

    Reply

  37. Reese

    August 23, 2012 at 11:53 pm

    These tips are ace. And this is a very timely read for me as I am planning to start my own personal blog. I have been writing for other people’s blogs for quite some time now but I have never embarked on working my own blog because I could not make up my mind on a niche. But I think I have a niche now and your tips will come in very handy.
    Reese recently posted..Should Teenagers Have Credit Cards

    Reply

  38. ALEX

    August 23, 2012 at 11:19 pm

    Thanks for the help here, I’m a newbie but understand the importance of SEO. I’m aware of the chaos the Panda and Penguin updates created and don’t want to go down that road myself, from what I understand though, many people didn’t understand why they were hit.
    ALEX recently posted..Occupy Wall Street & Habakkuk Video

    Reply

  39. mybazaar

    August 23, 2012 at 6:59 pm

    thanks for sharing useful articles i am new to blogging and was not knowing about SEO to much but now i am knowing about it and will be keeping all this points while writing a lot..thankss

    Reply

  40. Jhon

    August 23, 2012 at 2:16 pm

    This is great. SEO has been a big headache for me, and it’s good to get some professional feedback. I’m not one for posting comments but your blog was so well written, it kept me entertained throughout…. Not normal for me. You should consider writing a book. Thanks for the tips
    Jhon recently posted..Chat outsourcing para satisfacer a los clientes

    Reply

  41. Rahul Kashyap

    August 23, 2012 at 9:58 am

    thanks for sharing useful articles in this post and this post is very informative good read :) i am not expert in SEO but i have a seo company in karnal (haryana, india)
    Rahul Kashyap recently posted..Best 10 Crime Movies List 2012

    Reply

  42. Bhushan

    August 23, 2012 at 8:13 am

    In blogging there is a good path but to choose and walk is a little difficult.you can make it good by having some info and guidance of good one.Keyword,phrases and title should be very good here.In short meta tag works good.start the career with some mentioned tips can set you at top…..
    Bhushan recently posted..College Management Software (dofollow)

    Reply

  43. Aditya

    August 23, 2012 at 6:01 am

    Hi Mitz,
    You have given a well maintained tips for the newbies who want to make their mark in SEO field.
    They should first learn the basics of SEO and then start doing it.The best way is to make the keywords specific and related to the content.
    SEO’s should understand every term related to it and be up to date with all Panda and Penguin Updates.If they are not aware of these updates they can never make a site rank well.
    Aditya recently posted..Online Mobile Recharge Software (dofollow)

    Reply

  44. mohit rajwani

    August 23, 2012 at 5:57 am

    i am new to blogging and was not knowing about SEO to much but now i am knowing about it and will be keeping all this points while writing a lot..thankss
    mohit rajwani recently posted..Make Communication easy using today’s Top 5 I-Phone Email Applications

    Reply

  45. Azam

    August 23, 2012 at 5:48 am

    The first step in SEO is the choice of keywords
    Second Step is the choice of on-site optimization
    Third Step is off site optimization
    For on site and off site optimization consistency and frequency is loved by the Google. Always try to give links to your sites that have high PR and less than 100 inbound links.Try to give minimum three unique links to your site each day for higher ranking.
    Azam recently posted..Silpada Designs National Conferences

    Reply

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