Nikko Marasigan
@nikkomarasigan
Latest posts by Nikko Marasigan (see all)
- How to Start Your Online Business in 8 Easy Steps - March 30, 2013
- Evergreen Content 101: A Quick Overview - January 9, 2013
- SEO FAQs: Answers to 10 Questions SEO Starters Ask - November 23, 2012
Doing so means you get exposure to thousands and thousands of other CommentLuv users and your posts get sent out to the massive subscriber list.
Google loves this site and indexes it multiple times per day and posts always get lots of comments so you can be sure of some excellent exposure.
See the Write For Us page for more details
btw.. you can get this author box here
The Internet has become the second home to billions of people worldwide. Businesses, big and small, can no longer deny the importance of having online presence. One major factor for having good online presence is ranking high on search engines. This is where SEO comes in.
Image Source: Close Up Chains
1. What is SEO?
SEO is the abbreviation for search engine optimization. Essentially, it is about making a website as presentable as possible to search engines so they’d rank higher and appear on the first pages of web search results. This is done through both on-site optimization, which deals with the technical aspects of the actual website’s structure, contents and appearance; and off-site optimization, which deals with building relationships with other webmasters and communities to attract links.
The origin of the term itself is up to debate. Some of the first Internet marketers Bob Heyman, Danny Sullivan, Bruce Clay and Per Dahlin all have claims to coining the term SEO. As for the method, it has been in practice in the mid-90s, when search engines first came to be.
2. What set of skills must I have in order to do SEO well?
Although I don’t believe in any hard and fast set of skills that will guarantee success in SEO, there are certain characteristics that will help make the job much easier. Here are two that are invaluable:
- Knowing how to communicate well with people is one of the more important ones. As previously stated, half of SEO is building relationships with people in other websites and in all sorts of online communities. Although you’ll be mostly communicating through a computer, you’ll still have to be able to make your intentions clear, while not coming off as rude. You also have to deal with clients and all their demands.
- Having the thirst for knowledge is another major positive trait due to the inherently volatile world of SEO. Search engines constantly update their algorithms, the popularity of keywords rises and falls in time, and the competition is only getting fiercer. Discovering and applying new techniques to get to the top of the rankings must be done continuously.
3. Why do people hire SEOs?
Of course, just having those two skills won’t be enough to do SEO well. If that were the case, everybody who owns a website would rather just do it by him/herself. Professional SEO practitioners know more than just plugging in a couple of keywords into articles and submitting websites to directories.
We run analytics on multiple domains tracking which keywords bring in more visitors, which sites provide backlinks, how well structured a website’s internal links are, and so much more. We also look up our client’s competitors’ websites to know what methods they’re employing, we run outreach campaigns to webmasters from all over the world, and we always keep an ear on the ground for any news regarding search engine algorithm updates, breakthrough techniques and a number of other related things in the industry.
And all these require plenty of time and money. It’s a full-time job.
4. Does Google Love or Hate SEO?
Google is the leading search engine in the world, so all SEO specialists have to cater to its needs. Its guidelines for websites to rank highly boils down to the simple manner of having fresh content that attract natural links in a structurally sound website. Good SEO or “white hat” SEO basically does just that, and Google has no problem with it.
Conversely, there are SEO practitioners who would rather exploit loopholes in the system to get instant high rankings instead of using ethical techniques. That kind of SEO is either black or grey hat depending on the severity of their actions. Google hates black and grey hat SEO, penalizing websites through lower rankings or banning them outright.
5. What do you mean by White Hat, Grey Hat and Black Hat SEO?
To get more specific, white hat SEO covers all the techniques that search engines accept such as inserting the right amount of keywords in the content, creating a sitemap for search engine “spiders” that crawl websites, getting external links from other websites through promoting fresh content, and more.
Black hat SEO sets out to fool search engines through techniques like keyword stuffing, connecting with link farms, and simply copying content. Grey hat SEO walks the thin line between black and white hat SEO with methods like building links with popular websites that are not relevant, pushing the limit of accepted keyword density for content, and scheming with other websites to link to one another simply for pure rankings.
6. What are PageRank and Alexa Rank?
SEO specialists use plenty of tools to figure out how well a website is doing. Google Toolbar is one such tool with a metric called PageRank. PageRank shows a number from 0 to 10 to indicate a website’s popularity, with 10 being the most popular. At times, “n/a” appears where the number should be to indicate a website that hasn’t been ranked. The basic factors that determine a website’s PageRank are the number, the authority and the relevance of the external links of that website.
Alexa Rank is based on the web information company Alexa. It ranks all the websites that it has indexed according to their traffic. Ranks can go from 0 for one that has unimaginably high traffic to the corresponding number for the least popular website. Thus, the higher the number, the lower the traffic is.
7. What should I avoid when doing SEO?
Getting into SEO is an exciting experience, but some newbies eager to dive into the process are prone to committing some mistakes. Some of the more common ones that should be avoided are linking each page in a website to all the other pages in an attempt to make navigation “easier”, forgetting to update sitemaps that leave broken links, focusing on one popular anchor text for backlinks, and directing those backlinks mostly to the website’s home page.
8. What’s the difference between Search Engine Marketing and Search Engine Optimization?
Search engine marketing or SEM is a broader term that deals with all sorts of methods using search engines to garner attention for a website, including SEO. This usually involves paying for immediate placements on search engines or directories, and placing straightforward advertisements on websites depending on the relevancy of the content.
Simply put, SEO is all about achieving results organically, while SEM is more of the traditional and aggressive form of getting people to visit websites and purchase products.
9. Will SEO stay for a long time?
There have been plenty of people crying out that SEO is dead or dying. Although these claims have been generally exaggerated, there are some real issues that the industry now faces and must resolve in order to survive in the long run. Google is beginning to use personalized searches, which show results based on an individual’s own search history. Social media has become integral to the online experience; and algorithms are weeding out more and more techniques that used to work in the past.
However, I do believe that people will still have good use of SEO simply for the reason that SEO specialists know how to adapt. We have built, and will continue to build large networks in social media platforms. We develop more tools to make our job easier, and we are always coming up with new techniques to go with the changes.
10. Who do I follow on Social Networks/Blogs if I want to learn more about SEO?
Hopefully I’ve given satisfying answers to the basic questions in this article, but I’m sure that you still have plenty of more advanced questions that need more detailed responses. Here are five websites that will help you along your journey of learning more about SEO:
SEOMoz- One of the biggest SEO websites that not only provides the best tools, but also great content from the industry’s leading experts including the site owner, Rand Fishkin.
Search Engine Journal- This website contains all the latest news regarding the industry, as well as various content covering link building methods, social media use, and more.
SEO Book- Beginners like you will want to check this out as it offers more than a hundred training modules, SEO tools, tips and a very welcoming community.
Search Engine People- Besides having all the best SEO services, it also has a very insightful blog, a lot of useful tools, and news updates.
Search Engine Land- For a comprehensive view on SEO, visit this website by Danny Sullivan packed with news, columns, guides and tips on dealing with social media and SEM.
![DiTesco of IBlogZone the SEO Guru Who Helps You Succeed Online [Featured Blogger]](http://cdn.comluv.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Ditesco.jpg)
Thanks for explaining the differences in White Hat, Grey Hat and Black Hat SEO. I presume SEO wont die out any time soon.
mlanguzi recently posted..PD-Proxy VPN Service, The Best VPN Around.
Twitter: TheTechnoMAG
You are right! SEO wont die but it keeps changing its forms and brings new challenges for webmasters!
Twitter: zaccshegzy
SEO can be really annoying sometime.
ZaccshegzyBlog recently posted..Tips For Re-Entering Society After Being in Jail
Twitter: nikkomarasigan
Thank you for dropping by guys! Glad you liked the article.
Nikko Marasigan recently posted..7 Ways to Use Your Images for Link Building
Worth reading, really help full for starters, specially point 5 that tells starts to avoid negative side of seo, 8 that shows difference and the 10 for seo top website for test our websites and compare with others.
Thanks.
Twitter: Steps2BuildSite
Nice post on SEO, which would be useful for the new bloggers. I like the content of “What’s the difference between Search Engine Marketing and Search Engine Optimization?”
Thumbs up! to post
Chaitanya recently posted..Dofollow vs nofollow backlinks
I dont think SEO will ever ‘die’, just continue to evolve and change – pretty much like what’s happened in the past few years. Whether it changes for good or for worse remains to be seen. But yes, SEOs will have to adapt and change with it.
Twitter: teesort
Great tips for newbies. These are the common and important terms that every one wants to know for SEO.
Thank you Nikko Marasigan for sharing your knowledge. In my opinion beginners should focus on creating new content with little knowing Of SEO, If you are using WordPress or Blogger just properly fill all given fields, e.g title, description and meta keywords… This is On-Page SEO… And If you’ve written interesting post people will link to your site or article this is Off-page SEO and you will get backlinks automatically. That’s it, you are now Professional SEO…
Irfan Ahmad recently posted..How To Deal With Your Children’s Internet Safety: 6 Tips For Parents
I cant say that i am a seo expert. I start 4 months ago i read few articles about seo, it was sound easy get few backlinks here and there write some blogs here and there sometimes get boring because you dont see the result right away. You dont know you are doing it right or wrong. I almost gave up everyday add link submit url this and that then last month google took one of my keyword to second page and my pr went from 0 to 1. I was happy it paid 3 months of hard working. Now sad part Now 20th and 22nd those two days i travel overseas so i didn’t do anything with website. Google get mad at me i guess
i was in 2nd page now i am not even in first 50. It might sound easy but it is not. I have this question what should i do after my website comes to certain page or rank keep it in that page?
Twitter: nikkomarasigan
Most of my strategies this year are focused on creating highly valuable and useful content that can target my campaign’s targeted keywords. This can help you rank with your keywords and at the same time give helpful information with your readers thus building your influence/authority in your industry.
Building your Brand’s Authority will also play a big role when it comes to generating links as well as referred traffic.
I have a list about building authority that I recently wrote and it’s published here:
Build Your Brand’s Authority to Improve Revenue
You might find something that you can use there.
Nikko Marasigan recently posted..7 Ways to Use Your Images for Link Building
Thank you for the reply.
Thank you for this post. Especially the difference between SEM and SEO was new to me. I agree to your opinion about point 9. We can recognize a change in SEO. But reminding that the number of people using the web steadily increases, SEO can not be dead. In my opinion the methods are changing but the optimization for good rankings gets more important nowadays.
Great post Nkko… very valuable points!
Every blogger must have atleast the basic knowledge about SEO before he steps into the market.
Patrik recently posted..How to Make Long Distance Relationships Work
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Shoryabist
Hi Nikko,
Thanks for sharing the information, yeee i know all the above points LoL..jokes apart. The content is great and truely professional.One thing i also think that SEO can never die, its like a language for a search engine to read what is there in the content.SEO will change its shape but Seo experts will make out a way for SEO..
Thank You
Shorya Bist
From Youthofest
Aspiring SEO managers, print this article out and put it up on your bedroom wall. These are the words to live by. Well done, sir!
Best wishes,
Double A
Twitter: problogsuccess
Hi Nikko,
Thanks so much for putting up an FAQ on this topic – this is much needed in the blogosphere. Especially, the info and difference between black hat / white hat and grey hat SEO – this is the reason why most webmasters get slapped by the algo updates.
Thanks once again!
I’m sorry, but I’m really sick of hearing about the importance of SEO.In my opinion good design is much more important.If you ever read a site with good SEO You’ll know it reads like a government manual.So if your business is writing government manuals,then you’re fine.For the rest of us I prefer usability and attractive design.Thank you!
Twitter: Martin_Cooney
Good one, Selena. I was thinking I was the only one that thought this. While I plug in and use SEO techniques, nothing beats readability and usability. In fact, that’s what Google is trying hard to encourage – provide value to its customers and encourage blog owners to concentrate of the user experience hence their recent penalties in over optimizing from the SEO standpoint.
Martin Cooney recently posted..Increase Blog Engagement with Commenting on Steroids
Thanks nikko. Your post is very helpful for the beginner
julidarmaputra recently posted..Triactol-How To Increase Your Boobs Size Without Surgery
That’s one of the frustrating things about SEO. It’s constantly changing. It’s always a moving target. Just when you think you’ve got the game figured out Google changes it again!
I’ve moved to doing “Basic SEO” and doing the rest of my marketing through other channels.
Matthew Jones recently posted..Quick Tip on Picking a Wedding Venue!
Don’t all the new Google updates mean that SEO is no longer necessary, or actually detrimental to a website. Why isn’t it enough to simply write good content, which the updates seem to reward highly, more so than any SEO techniques.
Leo Kolache recently posted..Additional Accountant Jobs
point number 4, if we can’t use SEO, our blog may not have a profit.
so,does google love or hate SEO?, my answer no choice, i must use SEO to optimized my site.
Anthony recently posted..Breast Cancer as One Dangerous Disease Type
Twitter: TheTechnoMAG
Hi Nikko!
These FAQs are good to made a good SEO base as a beginner and as well as experienced bloggers.
Joe
Joe Clark recently posted..CommentLuv blog commenting, is it still effective?
Twitter: salman1507
Great share Nikko …
This post clears all doubts that may arise in a newbie’s mind … I plan to recommend this to everyone who asks, What is SEO?
Salman recently posted..Selecting a Mermaid Wedding Dress
Twitter: george_defo
seo will die only when semantic search comes. right now search engines have no inkling of what we want when we search stuff.
george recently posted..Bluehost review 2012
I didn´t even now about grey hat and black hat SEO it’s really good to learn new stuffs about SEO thanks for sharing.
Twitter: xlimderek
I’m considering susbscribing to seomoz, hope that really helps cause i really want to build my blog for the better.
Besides getting a good google pagerank one has to backlink alot
Derek recently posted..How To Increase Your Page Rank Real Fast
Twitter: PTgifts
Hi we’ve started a new website and are attempting to do the SEO ourselves due to budget constraints. I noticed you’ve mention Alexa, on their site they have a basic option to sign up for $9.99 – would you consider this a worthwhile option?
Michael McNeillis recently posted..Daily Deals
This is an awesome list or how to. I personally use SEOMoz all the time. It is a very valuable resource. Even if you just have the free account. Their blog and free resources are very nice, but their paid plans are unreal.
Gary recently posted..Alexa Ratings Help Drive Traffic to Your Site
Great article for those just starting out. I think the comments above me raise some good issues that I would like to see covered in future posts. I’d like to see a post about tools that you suggest you like SEOMoz, etc.
Twitter: rancorinfotech
Hey Nikko,
Really useful and informative article, which not only tells what is SEO all about but also inform you how can you learn and improve your skills. I really like the last question and it’s answer because it’s really crucial for any SEO.
Aasma recently posted..Paying Guest in Delhi for Girls
Thanks nikko, communication skill is very important in seo. Good comucation can drive traffic from social media
julidarmaputra recently posted..Seven Foods To Counteract Diabetes
Thanks for the informative post. It’s a good general topic coverage of SEO.
Robert Koenig recently posted..Massive 140 Car Accident Over Weekend in Texas
Twitter: SMARTSocMed
LOL, I know that a lot of people have announced the death of SEO…it’s still here. I think it’s been redefined and is now more holistic rather than just about numbers.
Really great job on this post!
D. Dixon recently posted..Basic SEO Checklist: 7 Blog Traffic Tips To Keep In Mind
Thanks for such a helpful article on SEO, Nikko. I had not come across Search Engine People, which has what looks like a really interesting blog.
Thanks for once again educating us on an important topic. Your tutorials are the best!
thanks!
Hi Nikko,
Hey, thanks for the list in tip 10. I didn’t know about three of those sites. Hope I have time to scan them periodically. So much to learn, so little time.
Robert Thompson recently posted..Colts Neck Hurricane Tree Removal Services
Twitter: qualitylogo
As far as I’m concerned, SEOMoz is the bible of SEO practices! I’d highly recommend it for newbies, moderately experienced folks, and experts alike. They update pretty frequently, too, so you know they’re always up to date with their information and tactics.
Another reader already mentioned this, but nice job pointing out the differences between black, grey, and white hat SEO. Not all search engine optimization is created equal! Not even close. Black hat practices are never worth it in the long run.
Jill Tooley recently posted..The Pitfalls of Relying on Brand Fandom: Part 1
Nice list and explanations for people new to SEO and blogging. As long as there are search engines there will be SEO, and people trying their best to rank at the top.
Nice list explaining the basics of SEO but my question is how do you find a good SEO company? All of them claim to be the best at what they do and only use white hat techniques. There are thousands and thousands of them out there but through personal experience I have found most of them a waste of money. Who can you trust? Anyone on here know of a really good SEO company?
Twitter: m_bartlett_seo
SEO will always be here. However, it will likely always change as well. I’ve been doing SEO for over 5 years. Although my strategies and techniques haven’t changed that much, it is amazing to me how much the industry as a whole has changed. So, you are definitely right. SEO is not dead, nor will it die anytime soon.
Michael Bartlett recently posted..Ultimate Guide to Outsourcing SEO: 8 Things You Should Know
Twitter: SEON_2012
Hello Nikko,
I think this a great article, and most of these answers are extremely applicable in every questions! The only thing I slightly disagree question No4.
Thanks,
Sasan
Twitter: GarSpecialties
Thanks for explaining all the ins and outs of SEO marketing and blogging. SEO is not going away in time soon, so if you are not aware of what you need to do to get those hits to your site, their are a lot of good companies out there that really know what they are doing without scamming the search engines. Algorithms will continue to change to get searching fresh.
Twitter: prabhatrayal
nice tips nikko
SEO is not an easy and fast process, it takes time to apply SEO on your blog and see results. but yeah it surely works, if done efficiently and in correct way. it can drive huge traffic to your blog. i am learning the process and getting the results. i have applied the tricks on my new blog and within 20-25 days my all posts are indexed on page 1,2 or 3 on google
prabhat recently posted..Top 5 Free and Best Antivirus for Android OS
Twitter: surajramnani
Hey;…Very well explained article..Thank you…Even though SEO is simple..You need to have a lot of patience orelse you can end up in a wrong place..
Suraj recently posted..Florida Sinkhole Swallows man of his bedroom
Twitter: googlai
Hi friend ! can you clear about the Black Hat and White hat link. i listened these word many time but not exactly clear on this point.
Twitter: techtapper
Search Engines are nothing without SEO it is as simple as that we cannot live without oxygen
Hamid Roshaan recently posted..Will Samsung Galaxy S4 Really Beat iPhone5 in Market
Good post. When the link builds naturally, it called white hat seo and when the links builds automatically by tools it called black hat seo.