Can I Do SEO on My Own? Yes, and here's how to start

If you’ve ever wondered, Can I do SEO on my own? The short answer is yes, absolutely! But just because you can do it on your own doesn’t mean it’s easy to do on your own. Honestly, it's much easier to do it with help or guidance. 

Many business owners, course creators, and coaches feel overwhelmed by SEO because they aren’t marketers. They’re focused on running businesses, helping clients, and building their brands. SEO can feel like another thing they have to learn or hire out. And that can feel overwhelming, especially in the beginning. They may worry that it's going to take too long or be too technical to learn it on their own, but thankfully, with the right guidance, it's a lot easier to learn and do SEO than you might think. 

Why Learning SEO Yourself is Worth It

I talk to many small business owners who don't want to learn to do SEO. They want to hire it out because they're too busy doing everything else they need for their business. However, it's often not in the budget because hiring an SEO expert can cost thousands of dollars per month. Once they realize it's not in the budget, they're more open to learning and doing the work themselves. At this point, they often struggle with the decision to either try to Google and YouTube their way through it since there is a lot of free information out there or pay to take a class. I always suggest they pay to take a class because it's the fastest and easiest way to learn something new. We didn't learn math, reading, and writing from Google and YouTube as kids (I mean, they didn't even exist when I was in school); we learned from teachers who were experts at what they were teaching and could help us learn and answer our questions. 

When you follow the right steps, SEO isn’t as complicated as it seems. The key is avoiding common mistakes and using proven strategies. It's the advantage of taking a class and having someone guide you through the process. 

SEO isn’t just about keywords. It’s about answering the questions your audience is already asking. Google wants to rank content that solves problems. They want it to be helpful and provide value to the reader because if people can't find what they want on Google, they'll start searching elsewhere, and then Google's business will slow down. Google is in the business of selling ad space at the top of the search results. If fewer people are using Google Search, then they have fewer people to show ads to, and their business suffers, so they are very focused on providing the best search results they can for their customers. 

Let's get into how you can do SEO on your own

Start with SEO Keywords - Choose the Right Ones and Use Them In the Right Places

If you don’t start with the right keywords, the rest of your SEO work won't matter. 

The biggest mistake most people make is either picking keywords that are too competitive or ones that no one is actually searching for. By doing this, you limit your chances to show up on Google and get organic traffic because either you aren't able to rank for that keyword (it's too competitive) or you potentially rank high but no one sees you because they're not searching for that keyword. We need to make sure you're choosing the best keyword for every page or blog post on your website. 

How to Choose the Right Keywords

Use long-tail keywords instead of broad, highly competitive ones. Instead of targeting business coaching, a better choice might be business coaching for female entrepreneurs. While there's less search demand for a longer tail keyword or keyphrase, they're often the ones that small businesses can rank for easier. We want to focus on choosing keywords we can rank for so that we don't waste our time and effort. If you use a keyword that's too competitive you can do everything right with your SEO and still not show up because Google doesn't think your site is authoritative enough to rank for that keyword. And, if you choose a keyword that no one searches for, you can rank high but no one will find you because they're not searching for that keyword. Choosing the right keyword is critical to your SEO success. It takes time to learn how to do it right. 

What Should you Think About When Choosing Keywords? 

Start with search intent - what does the searcher want help with or information on? What is your ideal customer actually looking for when they search with a specific keyword? You want to make sure that the page you optimize with a keyword has the information a consumer would expect to find for that keyword. If you don't have the information they're looking for, they won't stay on your website for long. You want to make sure you're being very strategic with your keywords and sending people to the right information for the keyword they're searching. Always think about the keyword you're choosing for the page and make sure you're using the one that's the best fit for the content on the page. 

Where to use Keywords when Doing SEO on your Website

• Page title and meta description
• 1st paragraph of your blog post or website page
• In your H2 and H3 subheadings (that's what you use to separate your content blocks)
• Naturally, throughout your content

There is no perfect keyword count or keyword density score. Yes, people will tell you there is, but Google itself says there is not, so don't try to write to a specific keyword density score. Focus on providing great value for your ideal customer, and you'll use your keyword naturally. If you're not sure where to use your keywords be sure to request a copy of my free Beginner's Guide to SEO here. It will walk you through what to do on each page or blog post. 

Write Content That People Are Actually Searching For

Before you write anything, ask yourself:

• Would someone actually search for this?
• Does this help my ideal client?

Stay focused on your ideal customer, create the content they are searching for (based on your SEO keyword research), and anticipate their questions, and you'll have better results.  When your content is valuable and well-optimized, it can continue bringing in traffic for months or even years.

How do you do SEO on your website? 

Start with your homepage. Focus on one page at a time. Choose a keyword for the page and then use that keyword in your SEO elements. Start by optimizing your homepage's Title Tags and Meta Descriptions. This is one of the easiest things you can do to improve your SEO. Your title tag and meta description help searchers decide if they want to click through and visit your website. You want to think about them as a way to invite someone to your website to learn a bit more about your content. 

Think of the title tag as the story's title, and the meta description is just a bit more information, like an introduction to the subject. 

Your title tag should be under 60 characters, including spaces, and your meta description should be under 160 characters, including spaces. Every page and blog post should have a unique title and meta description. Get a copy of my Beginner's Guide to SEO today, and it will walk you through how to do this on your website. 

Once you've optimized your homepage, you'll want to work your way through the rest of the pages and blog posts on your site. You want to ensure that everything you want to have found in search is SEO-friendly. If it's a page you don't want to find in search, like your terms and conditions or privacy policy, you don't need to optimize the page. 

Can You Do SEO on Your Own? Yes, But It’s Easier with Someone to Show You How

You absolutely can learn how to do SEO on your own.  However, it's a lot faster and easier to learn how to do it with someone showing you the way and answering your questions. I find when people try to learn SEO completely on their own, they tend to make mistakes, get stuck, or give up. If you've tried it on your own, it's possible you've chosen the wrong keywords, not followed SEO best practices for your SEO elements, or gotten frustrated by the conflicting information you read online. 

If you're ready to learn how to do SEO in the easiest way possible, join me in Simple SEO Content and let me guide you through the process. I'm here to help you learn how to do this so you can start showing up more often on Google, ranking higher, and getting more traffic to your website. I'd love to help you with this for your business.