Prior experience needed?

[DiegoSpanish]

I do not really have experience in SEO, in fact this is the first program that I am using to really do anything SEO. My question is what do I need to do in order to really have a firm grasp and understanding of what I need to do in order to really take my website to the top?

Thank you.

Diego

[94501]

I'd start here: http://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo and think of it like a fun game that may take moments to learn, but a life time to master.  That guide will lead you to still more handy resources.

[PatrickDelehanty]

Hi Jose

Moz offers a TON of great resources. Here are a couple:
Learn SEO and Search Marketing
Moz Academy

I would also look into Google's resources:
Analytics Academy
Training Resources Analytics Help Training & Certification

KISSmetrics also has a great resource to help get you started.

I would also look through the Q+A, Whiteboard Fridays, and the blog on Moz as there are constantly great discussions happening.

Also look into:
Search Engine Journal
SEO Theory
SEO by the Sea
Search Engine Roundtable

Hope this helps! Good luck and welcome!

[KevinBudzynski]

Along with what was described above, pick up some good books. Here are some of my favorites (including Avinash Kaushik's GA book):

• Art of SEO
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Secrets
• Search Engine Marketing, Inc.
• Inbound Marketing and SEO: Insights from the Moz Blog
• Google Semantic Search
• Web Analytics 2.0

Yes, I realize Rand has contributed to two of the above, but they are good books:)

[randfish]

Jose - I won't recommend more resources, because those provided by Kevin and Patrick make for excellent lists. What I will say is that before you engage in SEO for clients or on your company's primary site, I might try to gain some experience by building a site of your own (or two) and trying things out - what kind of content can you make that engages an audience? Where can you earn links? Try out some keyword targeting and learn what level of competitiveness you're comfortable with (and note the differences between trying to rank for various terms/phrases). Ours is a field with a lot of trial and error, and finding your strengths through building a site of your own is, IMO, invaluable.

[EGOL]

I agree with getting some experience with a couple of less important sites.

I would also keep an "SEO log" that documents the things that you try, when you tried them, and how they worked.

Paying close attention to analytics and rankings are really good things to do and you can track this stuff with moz tools.   This work is essential to understanding what works and what doesn't.