SEO Resources & Best Practices

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There’s no shortage of information on Search Engine Optimization. Enter any term or question into a search engine and you’ll get tons of results in return. “SEO Tips and Tricks,” for instance, returns about 1.29 million search results. That’s a lot of tips and tricks!

Of course, there’s no way all of that information is useful. But when you’re just starting out, it’s hard to know what info is good and what’s just bunk. Even if you’re an experienced SEO veteran, there’s still a ton of material out there to wade through.

This Complete SEO Resource Guide is here to help all levels of SEO professionals, even total beginners. These are all links to a variety of trusted industry sources, big-name blogs and other valuable content.

These resources are all relevant for current SEO trends of 2016. Check out my hand-picked collection of articles, tutorials, videos, tools and more:

Beginner SEO Guides

These resources are a good place to start. They introduce core concepts about SEO, Google, how search engines work and other introductory material.

We all have to start somewhere! Here’s a collection of guides, posts and videos which will give you a solid overview of what SEO is and how it works:

  • How Google Crawls – Learn how Google crawls the web, indexes and serves results. Basically, how does Google find your site.
  • How Google Works – This video is a more comprehensive view of how Google does all it does.
  • Getting the Basics – This article covers the basics of how Google ranks and then drives traffic to your site. Learn an overview of the signals Google looks for to determine a site’s quality.
  • Domain Authority –  SEO metric used to describe the probability that your site will be found on a search engine. Use Domain Authority when comparing one site to another or tracking the strength of your website over time.
  • Quick Sprout’s Guide to SEO – A nine chapter, infographic-style guide to general SEO concepts. More thorough than a blog post and a quicker read than a textbook.
  • Moz’s Guide to SEO – Moz is a trusted name in SEO with a lot of helpful guides on their site. This a 10 chapter guide.

Advanced SEO Guides

There’s not a lot of room at the top of the search results page. Competition is fierce, and only getting tougher.

You’ll need to learn which specific SEO strategies will work best to reach your target audience. Here are a few specific SEO strategies you’ll want to know about:

Keyword Research

Before you write content, you’ll need to identify the right keywords. Then you can seamlessly incorporate them into your blog posts, video titles and other content. The right mix of broad and long-tail keywords will help increase your position in the search results.

Link Building

Internal and external links help increase your site’s visibility in the search results and even across social networks. Here are some link building articles for all levels:

Bonus! Our Complete Guide to Anchor Text.

Optimization Tools

Building a great website is similar to building a physical object. High quality tools make the work easier and lead to a better finished product. Here’s a variety of free SEO tools you’ll want to be familiar with:

  • SEO Crawler – Full SEO Suite & the best all in one SEO Tool. Check your architecture, internal links, content, metas and more.
  • Open Site Explorer – This Moz creation is also known as the search engine for links. Open Site Explorer tool allows you to see who links to your site, find old/broken links, and research the links of competitors. Toolbar and product demo are available on this page. In order to understand this tool, you’ll need to be familiar with the terms Page Authority and Domain Authority.
  • Keyword Suggestion Tool – A free tool (with an account) from SEO Book. Shows the number of searches for a specific keyword and gives suggestions.
  • Majestic SEO – This tool for viewing backlinks to your website with metrics.
  • Ahrefs – Track your backlinks, keywords, brand mentions and know what your competitors are doing
  • Spider View Simulator – View your website the way a spider would. This will give your site a different perspective and may help you find and fix errors.
  • Robots.txt Checker – Errors in your robots.txt can cause problems for a spider’s ability to crawl your webpage. Find and fix any potential problems with this free tool.
  • Google Trends – Shows volume of searches over time. A good tool to view keyword popularity.

SEO Campaign Monitoring

You’ll need to check how well your SEO campaign is running. This lets you identify which SEO strategies are working well, and what isn’t connecting. Here are some ways to examine your optimized site:

  • Webmaster Guidelines – These guidelines make sure your site is in compliance with Google. Don’t forget to check out the Link Schemes document, which has recently been updated.
  • Marketing Grader – HubSpot’s popular free tool gives you an overview of your marketing efforts, including an SEO analysis.

Tips, Tricks and Extras

There’s no magic formula for success, so these aren’t really “tricks.” But they are a collection of tools, articles and other useful stuff which will help with your site optimization:

  • Setting up an SEO Friendly WordPress Site – WordPress is a publishing platform that is used by millions of websites. Read this article if you have a WordPress site or want to set one up but aren’t sure how.
  • SEO for Blogs – Don’t have a WordPress site but still want SEO for blogs? Have a WordPress site and want to learn about SEO for any kind of blog? This article shows you how.
  • SEO for Software Companies – Run a software company and want to know how to get traffic to your website via content creation? This article has all the details.

Staying Updated in the SEO Industry

You always want to maintain a quality site containing fresh content filled with accurate info. That type of site will never go out of style.

However, a site also needs to stay up-to-date with the latest changes in Google’s search algorithm. These resources will help ensure you’re always complying with Google’s guidelines and requirements. Add blogs to your RSS reader in order to always stay on top of all things SEO.

  • Google Webmaster YouTube Channel – Frequently updated with a Q&A from Matt Cutts. If anything about SEO is a “must watch,” it’s this. No speculation and no conjecture — just accurate information from a key employee on Google’s search team.
  • Google Webmaster Central Blog – The official Google blog is for all the latest info related to search. Written for webmasters.
  • Google Algorithm Changelog – A good, unofficial resource where you can find the change history to the Google algorithm.
  • Moz Blog – A variety of topics in the SEO arena are covered. Features a variety of guest bloggers.
  • KISSmetrics SEO posts – A collection of SEO articles that have been posted to the KISSmetrics blog.
  • Search Engine Land – This homepage has lots of good articles related to SEO.
  • Dave Naylor – Dave Naylor is well respected in the SEO industry. Read his blog to get the latest insights.
  • HubSpot SEO Posts – A collection of posts HubSpot has relating to SEO.
  • SEO Book Blog – Aaron Wall is well known in the SEO community. This his blog, which is part of his site.
  • Search Engine Journal – Gives you tips while also providing some industry news and commentary.
  • SEO Roundtable – Provides a good overview on SEO news.
  • YouMoz – Blog posts written by the Moz community.
  • Search Engine Guide – Contains lots of intriguing and educational posts.
  • Alltop SEO – A continuously updated collection of all the top posts from a variety of SEO blogs.

Connecting with Other SEO Pros

There’s always more to learn. Connect with other SEO pros around the world with this forum, community and subreddit:

  • Moz Community – A community hosted by Moz that features a Q&A, articles written by others in the community, and webinars.
  • SEO Subreddit – An SEO community in Reddit. Features news, Q&A, case studies, and more.
  • Talk with an Expert – Need to talk to someone for help or advice with SEO? Check out the experts available on Clarity.
  • Growth.org – A Hacker News-like discussion board where many inbound marketing issues are covered. There’s a heavy focus on SEO here.

Search engine optimization is a lifelong learning process. Don’t let the sheer volume of information scare you away. Simply start with the most basic information and build from there.

With over a decade of experience, I’m always ready to help answer a question or otherwise provide advice. Check out our blog section here or contact us today to learn more about how I can help you achieve your e-commerce goals.

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