Beginners guide to everything SEO!

With fierce competition in website conversion dominance, standing out has never been more important...

What goes into creating a website? Passion, finesse, accuracy, and much diligence. You've invented a webpage to perfectly address and assist anyone's questions or needs. Now you need people to visit it! How should you go about starting the process? Are there specific people you would prefer to visit? Certain areas? Would you like the website to slowly begin attracting its own clientele? Here are some beginner's info and tips to getting started with search engine optimization.

What, why, and how?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of optimizing websites, online content, or one's online presence to incentivize increased traffic and perceived ranking on any search engine. In more recent years , some search engines, namely Google, have shifted priority for the links provided during a search away from websites that barrage you with more links or incessant keywords but onto the user. Emphasis has shifted to improving the quality of the user's search engine journey by providing them with more relevant and high-quality websites. So in regards to why, there are really two we should be focused on -

1. Why has Google made this switch?

Obtaining a quick and relevant website that helps you solve whatever problem you have should always remain the top priority. This will help build a user's trust with Google and more websites over time as they shift to improve their own websites to adapt to this new hierarchy of SEO priority.

2. Why should we practice SEO?

Simply put, we want people to visit our websites. It doesn't matter if your website is flawless and every user has a perfectly satisfactory interaction with it, the website must first be known and readily available.

The method by which we improve SEO is ultimately up to the website creator, but is important to keep these strategies from here and here in mind.

• Consistently update your website with correct, updated, and relevant information
• Keyword understanding and research (it is still very important)
• Be noticed and referred to by other websites within your area of expertise
• Ensure proper UI/UX adaptability on all devices
• Provide users with additional information concerning the creator's backlinks to trusted sources, authority, or expertise.
• Be a GOOD website you would be proud to visit!

Link building strategies

What is it?

Link building is the process of obtaining hyperlinks that are present on other websites that lead back to your own. These can come in two forms- hyperlinks that you had a hand in pushing and hyperlinks that came organically. While both are great, aiming for the ladder is the goal . In general, links are used to both become discoverable web pages and to tell search engines when, why, and where they should pop up during a relevant search. If we can't come up, don't come up, or aren't deemed relevant enough to be clicked on during a user's initial search, we can surely aim to be found through backlinks.

Why do we care about it and how can we improve it?

As I began to go into it above, we can't always be first or even present on a search engine's main page. After this, our best approach is to be found through the other websites that came up during the search or through websites that linked to us for a plethora of reasons. We can use Google's updated and famous E-E-A-T model to understand why.

• Experience: If a website backlinks us as a source with "experience", maybe next time the user will come straight to our website.
• Expertise: We can gain new clientele or visitors who may be more interested in what the professionals have to say.
• Authoritativeness: Similar to trustworthiness, having increased credentials can offer users even more confidence in our website.
• Trustworthiness: Being trusted online in the digital age is a golden egg; owning this trait can make you a one-stop shop for information about whatever it is on your webpage.

The best way to utilize link building is to create cherished channels of trust and respect with other online businesses, creators, or websites by providing the best and most accurate information you can. Even though you may start by shilling yourself to those whom you want to recognize you, the time and effort will certainly pay off as long as you continue doing everything listed so far.

How can underground artists stand out?

I have been a longtime supporter of one of my favorite music labels, backwoodzstudioz. I have seen artists from this label twice live and purchase almost every vinyl they release. While I enjoy being a part of this niche group, I of course would rather see them thrive and gain the attention and money that they deserve. Just how can these artists utilize SEO and what is its place within the industry?

Standing out, but not too much

After reading through this article that touched on some of the nuances regarding SEO in the up-and-coming music industry, some of it caught my eye.

1. First and foremost, it is necessary to stand out when your name or stage name is searched. Ensure that whatever name you have chosen is unique enough to warrant you coming up first every time.
2. While standing out with your name is important, it may be better to be less original with song names. Of the 10 most used words in song titles that appear in Instagram stories, 9 of them are associated with things that make us happy. Including heavily used words in combination with other lesser-used words will also help you stand out.
3. Remaining current with album covers, song titles, merch drops, or any and everything related to you can help your fanbase grow. You should not make every piece of content current or "in" as these will grow stale quickly, but it can help you get an initial burst of new listeners.

"With so much competition, it can be hard to stand out from the crowd. There are so many talented people out there vying for the same attention and opportunities. But if you can find your own niche, and build a strong identity, you'll be on your way to success."

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