Should newbies learn SEO?

[zigato]

I've read lots of 'gurus' say that "SEO is dead". Personally, I don't agree with this but I'm currently having a debate with a friend about the importance of SEO. If SEO is allegedly dead, what is "alive"?

[adenclark]

SEO is certainly not dead. The only reason why the so called GURU's say its dead, is to make it easier for them to gain rankings as everyone moves on to something else that the guru is selling such as facebook, youtube or any other method they can force down your throat.

You should certainly learn SEO as its very rewarding, as long as you follow the rules and are patient. You cannot rush SEO or you will waste your efforts. Always choose quality, over quantity, especially when it comes to backlinks. Forget the 5 billion backlinks for $5, it just dont work.

Hope this helps, if you have any further questions or want to learn anything, just post below and i will keep an eye on this thread.

[Mike Anthony]

Originally Posted by zigato

. If SEO is allegedly dead, what is "alive"?

Ignorance. Alive and very well

Google is one of the most powerful companies in the world and derive most of their income from adwords which is directly related to search engine traffic.

Billions of people still use them to find things each month.

Tell the "gurus" to take off that label and put on dunce caps instead.

[jscanlan84]

Yeah I totally agree with adenclark. SEO is definitely not dead. In my opinion it is more viable than ever. Fewer and fewer people feel the need to learn SEO, so there is more room for those of us who take the time to learn it.

Yes, other things like Facebook, are viable options, but SEO is the way to go for a long term business, IMO. You just have to be willing to change and adapt, as with any business. These days, SEO is going much more local. It is a good idea to start targeting very specific markets, eg. "orlando dentist" rather than just "dentists".

These types of local keywords are very easy to dominate. They have very little competition at the moment. Definitely a good place to start.

Jack

[adenclark]

Originally Posted by jscanlan84

These days, SEO is going much more local. It is a good idea to start targeting very specific markets, eg. "orlando dentist" rather than just "dentists".

I totally agree. You would not believe how much demand there is for local seo. I have many companies literally begging me to get them local keywords which is great, and its very easy to dominate the whole first two pages in google for local keywords.

[simontts]

To answer your original question, YES you should absolutely learn SEO as a newbie to internet marketing. I spent the first six years of IM learning all sorts of other methods of getting traffic because I didn't think I would be able to rank on the front page of Google. But in the last year or so I have learnt that SEO is really very straightforward and very few people/businesses do it well so I can actually quite easily get on the front page of Google for some quite attractive keywords.

The reason I steered clear of learning SEO for so long was that it just seemed so complicated. But actually, it is just logical.

1. Conduct in-depth keyword research
2. Build highly optimized webpages
3. Get indexed
4. Build quality backlinks (blog commenting, articles etc.)
5. If necessary, generate regular, fresh content and distribute.

So my advice would be, ignore the gurus and learn SEO, then you will find many, many niches where you can rank on the front page of Google for keywords that people are searching for.

[InitialEffort]

As a newbie I would recommend learning:
How to Select Keywords
How to Build a Wordpress Blog around that Keyword
How to SEO tje Website for a Keyword

[Sokar]

Yes, and they should stick with it and not give up so easily. I think companies are starting to realize the power of SEO and thus i don't think it is going to die. In fact it might get more alive than it can ever be in near future

[cristi_d6]

without SEO marketing online would be lost in the forest

[osho3]

I don't think Seo is dead, Even SEO business is on the Top and All Company want
a good ranking...

[theseoguys]

As long as there are search engines that return organic results, there will be SEO.

[natorob]

SEO is not only very much alive; but working very well.

Simontts is correct; the most importnatpart of SEO is the keyword research.

And don't be afraid to go after some of the heavy hitters (200K competitors or so); if you put in the effort, youcan rank on 1st page there as well.

May not be #1; but with a good description, I've found that I am still getting traffic from a #5 or #6 listing on these pages still...

[margotoliver]

Seo is the foundation of Internet Marketing, it is very important to learn the basics of SEO and how and why search engines work.

[actionplanbiz]

Yes, Newbies should learn SEO. i believe it will develop quality attributes that a Internet marketer should have.

[jacky212]

SEO is alive as long as SEs are alive.. So there is no point in saying that its gone or it will be gone.
Try to learn the basic rules to be the master and beat the 'guru'.

[Tannerews80]

Agree, SEO isn't dead (yet), but it is hard to promote than it was on the past...

[Quenta]

SEO is still the most powerful way for website exposure, but results will take time. It includes keyword research and analysis as well using free and paid tools like Keyword Winner. Until now, I'm still doing SEO for my niche articles in Web 2.0's and article directories to dominate the competition.

[Seleyna]

SEO is very much alive and kicking dearie.

[Thomas De]

Search Engine Traffic is cheap and targeted. In my opinion it´s the best you can get, so SEO is still important. I can´t find a reason why this should change in future...

[jazbo]

Where are these "guru's" actually stating that SEO is dead?

[jhonsean]

As one of the newbies yes we should learn SEO for this will benefit us for the future and we will make us a new career in life.

[IndigoJack]

SEO is dead?

What absolute tosh.

SEO evolves as time goes by. New tricks are discovered while others are left by the wayside. It's constantly moving. That's not my idea of dead.

Without SEO we all may as well stay in bed and drink cocoa (it's cold) because most of our activities relate to SEO in some way whether directly or not.

Which 'Guru' stated that SEO is dead?

Ah, but then there is the sales pitch that starts by slagging something off in order to prime you for the new brilliant thing that they are aiming to sell you. It's a well used sales technique.

They'll be saying Google is dead next.

[Novoxborder]

Everything that is searched and found on the web is based off principles of SEO

[yukon]

SEO has been dead for years, don't believe the hype!

[Jonathan Scott]

Well to add to the million "No SEO is Not Dead" comments you've gotten.

No SEO is NOT Dead. Yes newbies should definitely learn seo. It's like a good degree or good training. You'll always have it there to fall back on while you explore other traffic generation methods. But only after you have learned basic seo and have tried it yourself in the real world. There is enough information in this forum category to help you get started.

[RoadToRuin]

How could seo possibly be dead? As long as there are search engines there will be seo.

[warner444]

I recently read a post where someone chronicled the statement "SEO is dead" since 1999. Half the time when people write that they do it for the link bait, which ironically, is an seo tactic.

picking good keywords is seo. is that dead?

seo will die when people stop searching online, and not before.

seo needs to be tied in from first building a site with keyword research to content development and your marketing plan, conversion tactics and overall traffic development. They are really all connected.

Producing really good content helps and having affiliates helps too.

Personally I am fond of developing related content sites on free web 2 type properties like Squidoo, Scribd, etc and Guest Blogging to attract and qualify potential prospects by their interests.

[Corvinus]

Definitely SEO is not dead.. If it's dead? then why we keep posting in this wonderful forum?

[rahulbatra]

I don't think seo is dead and it can't be dead. Everyone needs website for their business and to promote the website they need seo.

[wariswar]

Originally Posted by rahulbatra

I don't think seo is dead and it can't be dead. Everyone needs website for their business and to promote the website they need seo.

100% correct. IMO now most of web admins have decided to do SEO themselves or by SEO tools, that's why there are less opportunities for freelancers like us but SEO cant be dead.

[daisyjones]

I dont agree with you..and i dont think that seo is dead as my 50% of business coming through seo activities..Although, it is decrease a bit but not dead..only slight decrement is there for sure..and i still believe that newbie should learn seo techniques to grow this field further..

[derekad]

you should learn for sure

check ed hale challange

[martycar9]

Where and how can a newbie like myself learn the art of SEO? Can anyone recommend any sites, books, articles, etc. (preferably written for dummies!)??

[seo jack]

Of course. With millions and millions of websites out there, newbies are always welcome to learn SEO.

And i agree with you guys. SEO is not dead. I don't think it will ever be. As search engines change their algorithms every time, there will always be room for SEO people to learn and cope up with all those changes to maintain their websites on top of SERPs.

[xylement]

SEO is not dead of course... to the gurus... stupidity brings them to hell... ignorance brings us to heaven! =)

[Jexo Advertising]

SEO like graphic design (photoshop), PPC campaigns and content writing are all saturated to a degree. If you work in a particular niche this changes slightly, and the more micro/targeted you can get the better.

SEO isn't dead, just easy for people to do as some have created businesses based on it. You can outsource a bunch of stuff, work with blackhat strategies, etc. Google tries it's best to taylor searches as best as possible

[seo jack]

Originally Posted by martycar9

Where and how can a newbie like myself learn the art of SEO? Can anyone recommend any sites, books, articles, etc. (preferably written for dummies!)??

Try to read this: 15 Minute SEO List - Learn how to SEO

You will definitely learn a lot from there ^^

[addyj672]

SEO depends upon search engine if search engine do any thing to dead the SEO then surly they will be very big problem for SEO experts. But Search engine dont want to kill SEO and want to keep it live. So i think it is will live a life......

[mithil]

Oh dear, please tell me who are these so called Gurus?
I want talk to them personally

[PromoDirect]

Search Engine is the primary source for everyone around the world to collect information, to research, to purchase etc. Therefore the source that can generate the maximum traffic to your website will be Search Engine. SEO is therefore still important.

It is important for the newbies to understand & acquire basic knowledge of SEO.

[frans4u]

SEO is not dead. and I think SEO will not gone.
just be patient you will definitely learn all things in SEO world.

[tskailey]

As a newbie, you should definitely learn how to do SEO. It's the basic thing for every internet marketers.

[TBInternetMarketing]

Short answer - YES, definitely! SEO is a skill that once you learn you can use to generate income for years to come.