Before Search, Comes Curiosity

The type of curiosity is dependent upon your purpose of studying SEO.

If it's for you as a professional, you'll need to be 'in the know' in every aspect of subject matter relating to your industry.

If it's so you can be an SEO for others, you'll need to learn how to be 'in the know', in multiple aspects of subject matter relating to your client's industry, over and over.

If you're the type to give up after a short amount of time. 

If you've quit because the first two attempts didn't go your way.

SEO will not be an easy practice.

The entire point of the website is to beat out the competition and own a website that is authoritative for your industry & business model.

SEO is the type of subject that forces you to update your mindset.

There are many reasons to keep this behavior at the front of your mind. Google has hundreds of ranking algorithms for different sub-services of search that amalgamate into the 'Google' that you think of when I say "Google".

Most of what exists as far as organic search engine results, do so because of a myriad of ranking factors that are disclosed and undisclosed.

Some of them are measured with explicit means, as in Core Web Vitals.

Some of them are a measure that are implicit, as in E-E-A-T.

As a professional wading their way into the organic traffic competition, there are a few tools that will be of most use:

1. Beginner's Mindset: Move with the intent that your website will evolve, your writing style will change, the way you learn to communicate your expertise will grow — all as your website does.

2. Ask Questions: Learning how to ask yourself the questions that both users and search engines are seeking to have answered, will guide you in being creative in your content creation, and can ensure that the subjects you intend to cover are done with a methodology.

3. Avoid Complacency: This is the easiest trap to fall into as a professional with a website. Those who were 'ahead of the curve' in this regard are the most at-fault for not keeping up with the shifting needs of organic search. Your website will never stop being improved.

There are many ways to distinguish your website among your competition, but the basics break down as follows:

- Have Better Writing — Self-explanatory.

- Have Better Design — Fast-loading, easy-to-browse website.

- Have Better Links — Internal, External, & Back

SEO is a discipline that requires a beginner's mindset, the ability to question, test, & record your own methods, and asks that you do all of this in a way that makes it easy to read for your audience.

Easy, right?

Tomorrow we’ll discuss what happens before writing… research.