When I first came across SEO, I had no clue what it meant. Googling didn't help either because I had absolutely no idea what Wiki was saying at that time. I mean, if you read the first sentence of the entry, I doubt you'd get any measure of clarity either. Here's how Wiki explained to me what SEO meant:
"Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine's "natural" or un-paid ("organic") search results."That just left me with more questions than answers. What is a search engine? How do you affect the visibility of a website/page in it? What are natural/unpaid search results? Naturally, like what Brooke McDonald said in her blog SEO from a Newb's Perspective, you'd think that SEO is something reserved for people in the IT industry, people who can write thousands of lines of code, or do hours of programming, or build websites from scratch. If you approached me while I was still in college and asked me if I was interested in doing SEO to earn money, I'd probably give you a long, blank stare and follow it up with, "What's that?" It was a concept that was far too alien to me.
But after trying my hand at SEO writing (the first online job I ventured into), I figured I might actually be able to earn some good, honest money while doing something that's more or less in line with what I studied for in college (journalism). It was relatively simple: write content - usually a post with 350 words or less - and sprinkle some client-provided keywords in the first, middle, and last paragraphs. Make a title with the same keyword included in it, and you're all set!
Of course, you had to do your research on the topic and get your facts straight. This part I got pat down because, if there was something I learned in college that I'd never forget, it was to always do research and crosscheck information through different sources before doing any writing. That was something all my professors and instructors hammered into me while I was in college, and that was something I realized was particularly useful in SEO writing.
Moreover, I realized that SEO is not just about writing lines of code, or looking at a webpage and seeing numbers and symbols fall down the screen, Matrix-style. You don't have to be a math wiz or an I.T. graduate majoring in programming to have a career in SEO.
In my case, it was all about using what I had in my arsenal - my creativity and strong grasp of writing - to create content that's both compelling and informative. My knowledge and skills in communication and writing proved useful in SEO. Because I was used to making articles, doing research, and talking to people, engaging with users online came easily for me. And with Google shifting its focus away from links to actual website content, people who can create good quality content have become even more important to the industry. People who are creative and are effective in translating their creativeness into writing are increasingly valuable nowadays.
I'm still most definitely a newbie in SEO, and I've still got a lot to learn about it. But that's the beauty of the internet marketing industry. It's continuously growing, evolving, diversifying. There's always something new to discover; there's always a new area to explore. You won't ever find yourself stagnant because there's always room to grow and improve.
What you need is a healthy sense of interest towards self-improvement. More than anything else, what matters is that you constantly find a need to expand your horizons. Because of the nature of the industry, you will always have to keep up with changes. Search engines will continue to alter their algorithms to bring a higher level of satisfaction to the search experience. As internet marketers, our main role is to bring the right kind of deliverables to consumers that need them. That is what makes this industry exciting, and at the same time, challenging.
My journey in SEO has just begun. There's a whole world ahead waiting to be explored. I've hopped on the bandwagon, and I'm looking to enjoy the ride.
Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.
- Sir Winston Churchill
