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WebiMax Blog

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Trusted SEOs: A Beginner SEO's Checklist

WebiMax Contributor, September 14, 2012

 

Our 2nd Agile SEO Meetup of South Jersey took place last Monday at our HQ as well as on the web. It was a small gathering of Maxers (Bill Slawski’s new name for our team), business owners, web designers and other SEOs from the area. Our first meetup the month prior was held in a noisy, crowded bar. And although the waitress was kind enough to lower the music, the thunder of imbibing patrons boomed over our esteemed presenters, Richard Ortiz and Bruce Rymshaw.

But, in spite of the noise, both Maxers were determined to deliver a quality experience to those who attended. And this was their first time presenting. Public speaking isn’t for everyone, but to present a PowerPoint in a loud, jam-packed bar in front of complete strangers takes courage. And it takes self confidence in your ability to be able to shout what you know. And did I mention this was their first public presentation?

Yes, they shouted and they should be proud. I am.

No one had to shout this time as we brought the meetup to our office. Bill Slawski gave a great presentation on search engine spiders while I took on a less technical theme: a fantasy football analogy that included some (and only some) of the smartest people in our industry. To be honest, I am not very happy with how my presentation turned out or how I delivered it. I feel as though the experts I mentioned deserve a better display of appreciation than a few chalkboard-themed slides.

The initial idea for the presentation (shown below) was sparked by a Twitter conversation I had regarding new members of the SEO community and where they should begin their journey. I started as an in-house SEO working directly with Bruce Clay, so I had a good start. But many new SEOs, in-house and agency alike, get thrown to the wolves with little more than an “SEO for Dummies” book and a “go get’em champ!”

So, as a follow-up to my presentation, I offer the following checklist for new SEOs. I know, I know. I hate homework, too, but it’s for your own good. I hope you find it useful. :)

Create profiles on the following communities(ask questions, get help):

  1. SEOmoz
  2. Inbound.org
  3. SEO Training Dojo

Subscribe to the following SEO news sources(see what’s changing in the industry):

  1. Search Engine Roundtable
  2. Search Engine Land
  3. Search Engine Journal (I’m starting to see a theme here…)
  4. Search Engine Watch

Subscribe to the following SEO blogs(read tutorials, case studies and rants; get to know other SEOs):

  1. Bruce Clay
  2. Distilled
  3. GetStat
  4. iAcquire
  5. Portent Interactive
  6. Outspoken Media
  7. SEER Interactive
  8. SEOBook
  9. SEO by the Sea (Hey! This is Bill Slawski’s blog!)
  10. SEOGadget
  11. SEOmoz (these guys again?)
  12. WebiMax (Hey, that’s us!)
  13. Yoast.com (this smart gentleman created the most popular WordPress SEO plugin)

Get to know these SEO tools:

  1. CDNJS
  2. Redirect Check Tool
  3. Browseo
  4. BuiltWith
  5. Check My Links
  6. Firebug
  7. Google Webmaster Tools
  8. Screaming Frog
  9. SEOTools for Excel
  10. WebPageTest.org
  11. Xenu Link Sleuth
  12. YSlow
  13. SerpIQ

Dashboards and Campaign Management

  1. ahrefs
  2. Citation Labs
  3. Google Analytics
  4. Link Detective
  5. Majestic SEO
  6. Ontolo
  7. Raven Tools
  8. Searchmetrics
  9. SEOmoz

Beginner's Guides

  1. SEOmoz
  2. Hubspot
  3. SEOBook
  4. Google Analytics Study Guide

BONUS: 101 Internet Marketers to Follow on Twitter and Google+

Where you take it from here is up to you, but I'd recommend you start up a blog of your own and write. Participate in Twitter chats, meetups, conferences, forums - absorb as much as you can and give back even more.

Thanks to everyone who attended our Monday meetup and I look forward to seeing you at the next one!

 

Need an Expert Contributor?

Ken Wisnefski is a seasoned web entrepreneur and a frequent contributor to news outlets and business publications. Ken’s vast knowledge of how to make online businesses succeed has made him a sought after consultant from businesses wishing to improve their online initiatives. Contact pr@webimax.com to collaborate!

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