SEO Fundamentals Course by Ahrefs

Instructor Introduction

• Name: Sam Oh
• Course: SEO Fundamentals by Ahrefs
  • Focus: Execution of SEO fundamentals
  • Suitable for beginners but applicable to all business sizes

Course Structure

• Introduction Video: SEO 101 Basics
  • What is SEO?
  • Why is SEO important?
  • How SEO works
• Module 1: Keyword Research
  • Finding beneficial keywords for business.
  • Lays the foundation for on-page SEO.
• Module 2: On-page SEO
  • Optimizing pages for keyword ranking.
• Module 3: Link Building
  • Google’s ranking signals and importance.
• Module 4: Technical SEO
  • Best practices and website maintenance.

SEO Basics

• Definition: SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization.
  • Process of optimizing content for search engine visibility.
• Function: Search engines act like libraries storing web pages.
  • SEO helps search engines identify relevant pages.

Importance of SEO

1. Traffic: SEO generates free organic traffic.
2. Consistency: Organic search traffic is stable compared to social or email marketing.
3. Reach: Opportunity to connect with a massive audience (4 billion Google users as of 2019).

How Google Works

• Crawling & Indexation: Google uses spiders to crawl web pages and add them to their search index.
• Ranking Algorithm: Google uses hundreds of ranking signals and makes frequent updates.
  • Backlinks: Considered votes of confidence.
  • Search Intent: Understanding the reason behind a search query.
  • Content Depth: Providing comprehensive coverage of the subject.

Keyword Research

• Importance: Foundation for SEO.
• Process: Finding and choosing keywords.
• Checklist for Choosing Keywords:
  1. Search Demand
  2. Traffic Potential
  3. Business Potential
  4. Matching Search Intent
  5. Ranking Difficulty
• Search Intent Types:
  • Content Type
  • Content Format
  • Content Angle

Practical Keyword Research

• Tools: Use Ahrefs Keywords Explorer or free alternatives.
• Generating Ideas: Start with seed keywords.
• Finding Topics: Use search volume and modifiers.
• Competitor Analysis: Identify keywords driving traffic to competitors.

On-page SEO

• Definition: Practice of optimizing web pages for search engines.
• Misconceptions:
  • Not about keyword stuffing or exact match keywords.
  • Not about word count.
• Best Practices:
  • Satisfy search intent.
  • Optimize HTML tags (titles, meta descriptions).

Link Building

• Importance: Backlinks are critical for ranking.
• Types of Link Building:
  • Creating, buying, or earning links.
• Attributes of Good Links:
  • Relevance, authority, anchor text, rel attribute.

Link Building Tactics

1. Help A Reporter Out (HARO): Provide expert opinions.
2. Guest Blogging: Write content for other sites.
3. Skyscraper Technique: Improve on high-performing content.

Technical SEO Basics

• Definition: Optimizing technical aspects to aid search engine indexing.
• Key Areas:
  • Noindex Meta Tag
  • Robots.txt
  • Sitemaps
  • Redirects
  • Canonical Tags

Technical SEO Best Practices

• Site Structure: Use logical hierarchy.
• Page Speed: Ensure fast loading times.
• Audits: Regularly check for SEO errors using tools like Ahrefs Site Audit.

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to SEO, covering foundational aspects through practical strategies for implementation.