Invest in Yourself First - SEO Training

Holy cow, I thought I had seen it all until just today. I read a post on the BANS forum that was from someone who had 2 sites up already and was complaining about why they weren’t making any money. During the ensuing conversation they asked another question….”Serps? What’s that and how would I know where my traffic comes from?”

Are You Kidding Me? This person has invested the time and effort as well as 100 dollars for the BANS software without even the slightest foundation of SEO or even basic niche site fundamentals.

Who doesn’t know to use Google Analytics or any of the other 10 billion stat tracking packages out there? I was flabbergasted.

Victim Mentality

I have noticed another phenomenon on the BANS board and that is what I call Victim mentality. A person will ask a basic question that they could find the answer to in 2 minutes using the search function or Google. Why would anyone wait for someone to give you an answer? You will NEVER succeed in niche site building or Internet Marketing (or anything at all) if you don’t have the gumption to go find answers for yourself.

I don’t think I have ever run into a problem that I haven’t been able to resolve using Google and a bit of common sense. If you are contemplating building niche sites or becoming an internet marketer then take a look in the mirror and make sure you have the level of commitment necessary to succeed.

Invest In Yourself

Too many people think that building niche sites is simply a matter of buying the package, a domain and building a blue widget store. It isn’t that easy or simple and never let anyone (including me) kid you into thinking it is. You will need to invest time, effort and energy along with a lot of hours if you expect to build enough sites and the right sites in order to succeed.

I would suggest that you should read everything you can find about SEO basics. You don’t need an elaborate education in SEO but you should have a working knowledge of SEO and the fundamentals involved here. A decent understanding of:

• SERPs - What is it? How do you check your rankings.
• Link Building - Anchor text, do follow, no follow and the basics.
• Title Tags, Meta Tags and Keywords - Basic understanding of what these are and how they work.
• On Page SEO/Off Page SEO
• Keyword Research
• Competition Analysis
• Niche Discovery Techniques
• Keyword density and the need for content.
• Duplicate content.
• Bookmarking, Link Directories and Article Directories.
• Blackhat methods and how to avoid them.

I know I probably missed a few basics but many of these categories are pretty broad and encompass a lot things. If you see something on the list that you don’t understand pretty well then Google it. I am sure if you play with it a few minutes you can find a TON of information on any of the topics.

Success Takes Work

A basic understanding of SEO is so important that I can hardly explain it, and upon further thought I don’t think I will even try. If you don’t have a pretty good idea of what SEO is and how you can use it to your advantage then you are destined to fail. I love analogies, not understanding SEO is like a QB not knowing the playbook, it’s like a Cook forgetting the recipe, it’s like a judge not understanding the law.

In case you haven’t figured it out then SEO is important. Actually, important isn’t even a strong enough word for it…it is CRITICAL to your success. So critical that you simply WILL NOT succeed without it.

I assume that most people have a goal of developing a sustainable income from their niche sites. If you truly expect to develop a 50-100k dollar annual income from these sites then can’t you invest in yourself to develop a crucial foundation for your future?

Of course should be the right answer.

SEO Gurus

The problem with SEO techniques is that so many claim to know it and try to teach it yet even they don’t know what works either. They simply rehash everything that they have read and make it sound like they know what they are doing.

When I was learning what I know about SEO I was fortunate enough to pick up a copy of Aaron Wall’s SEO Book which was great. It cost some money but it was an education that was WELL worth it. I would still recommend it but Aaron has changed his business model and now offers his services for a monthly fee. I am not personally a fan of monthly fees but the education is worth it in my opinion. You can check out Aaron’s SEO Training here and see if it works for you.

Another guru that I am a BIG BIG fan of is Brad Callen. Brad is the mastermind behind some of the most popular internet marketing tools ever put out on the market, SEO Elite and Keyword Elite. They are both dynamite and also worth it once you have decided to make this your career. Brad offers a program that you can buy for a one time fee of 97 dollars called SEO Mindset. 97 dollars is a lot of money to some but compared to the education that you get it is a song.

You can spend hours trying to piece together information from so called gurus or you can get an education from two people who are widely known as experts in their field. Easy choice if you ask me.

Conclusion

This is kind of a rant post and for that I apologize. It frustrates me to no end to see people jump into things completely unprepared and then disappointed when they fail. Many of these people will blame BANS or EPN or Google for their woes when the blame lies squarely on their own shoulders.

I wouldn’t THINK of taking apart a transmission without at least having a manual to consult, I wouldn’t perform surgery without an education and I sure wouldn’t practice law without the right degree so why on earth would I try to build websites without the slightest clue?

I am a firm believer in making your own luck. You can make your own luck by educating yourself before taking the plunge and failing.

Success is a choice.