SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a popular term in digital marketing. Whether you work as a content writer, content marketer, copywriter, or social media marketer, your job function is likely a role working towards the SEO of a business.
I started as a content writer, but I only had a faint idea of SEO when I started out.
Now that I’m pursuing a career as a technical SEO, what’s going on?
It feels like a magical experience where you slept on a bed and woke up in a beach.
Don’t think too far. I will share my tech SEO story from A – Z.
But wait, what is technical SEO?
Well, Technical SEO is an aspect of SEO that deals with the optimization of technical elements of a website for search engines and humans. The focus of every business is to generate organic traffic to their websites. But this is not possible if a website suffers technical issues that affect how search engines perceive the website.
So, you can consider a tech SEO as the doctor of a website. Doctors ensure the well-being of their patients, and so do tech CEOs.
Now let’s get into the details of my tech SEO story in a bit!
Brief Highlight of How My Tech SEO Started
Fast forward to when I ventured into freelance content writing in 2021.
I’veI’ve always been a good writer, but I understood that freelancing is a business that needs quality attention and skills. So, I joined an academy to learn how content writing works in the digital space. But as I was upskilling in content writing, I kept hearing about SEO from one of the coaches. This wasn’twasn’t very clear to me, but thanks to Google, that saved my head from the non-stop thought about SEO.
I saw a comprehensive resource from Moz, which helped me to understand Search Engine Optimization a bit. When I discovered that SEO is only a family name to other elements such as content, link building, and technical SEO, I saved myself from the stress of learning everything. SEO is wide. In short, I learned the basics of keyword research and how to implement it in my writing process.
It paid off because I added keyword research knowledge to my buckets of skills.
I forgot to mention that I was active on LinkedIn, sharing and engaging people’speople’s content. And that was where I got my first writing client.
So, on a fateful Friday, I was on LinkedIn, and what did I find?
Alas!
I came across Chima Mmeje’s piece about her recent call with Aleyda Solis about the lack of diversity in the SEO space, primarily technical SEO. So, she shared a form where fellows interested in upskilling in technical SEO can show interest.
I promptly filled out the form and wrote my story with joy.
In her next LinkedIn post, she stated that she would notify both the successful and unsuccessful applicants in a few weeks.
Then, one day, I was sitting in my room, trying to finish an article.
My phone beeped, and it was a call from a friend I also regarded as a boss. Sodiq called and said, “You applied for Chima’s FCDC, tech SEO, right” Yes, what’s going on?” I said.
I cheered and screamed when he informed me to check my mail and that I had been selected. You can’t imagine the joy that flooded my heart. It was like embarking on a wondrous trip to the moon.
Then my Google workspace, which usually opens up quickly, appeared sluggish at this particular time, causing me to sweat like a goat. After a few minutes, my email opened, and I rushed to read the message. I jumped and almost burst into tears.
But wait, there there’s more.
Indeed, the quote by Dr. Seuss became a reality.
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” ― Dr. Seuss
Let’s see what happens!
My First Learning Phase in Technical SEO
Our congratulatory message came with an instruction that goes like this:
For the next three weeks, you’ll be taking the following steps;
– Take the Blue Array SEO course
– Take the Semrush Tech SEO course
– Familiarize themselves with the fundamentals of tech SEO under learningseo.io
– Take note of anything you don’tdon’t understand so you can raise it with Aleyda.
I studied the Blue Array and SEMrush Technical Courses, as directed above. It was an eye-opening experience for me. The more I learned, the more questions I had.
At this point, the journey has started being an interesting and overwhelming one. But thank God for Twitter. I started posting regarding my new career and got help as needed.
Then I heard about Women In Tech SEO, an SEO community for women created by Areej Abuali. The community also aided my development.
I was amazed the first time I asked a question on one of the Slack channels because of how willing community members were to assist. I’dI’d run out of time if I tried to name everyone who helped with every question I posted. I call the community a safe and healthy place to grow.
Most importantly, Chima ideally structured every aspect of the training by inviting enthusiastic SEOs to share their experiences with us. She brought in SEOs like
- Crystal Carter,
- Areej Abuali,
- Miracle Inameti,
- Simon Schneider
- Sam Torres, Chief Digital Officer, The Gray Dot Company
- Claudio Eduardo Cabrera, VP of Newsroom Strategy at the Athletic
And we were all blown away by their inspiring stories.
Our confidence grew, and everyone was ready to overcome any hurdles.
Then, on Tuesday, April 19th, 2022, we began our mentorship session with Aleyda Solis, an Internation SEO expert.
Our first class with Aleyda convinced me that I could do technical SEO as she started with the most crucial elements of SEO. She asked us to drop any SEO doubts and questions we had a few days before the class. And I could see how she addressed our questions even as she lectured.
Everything became crystal clear, and I grasped the best technical SEO technique. The enthusiasm Aleyda brought to the class convinced me I could do it.
Learning new skills is easy when you are passionate about what you do. However, technical SEO requires continuous learning, which can be through watching videos, reading articles, attending conferences, and never relenting. You need to catch up with recent trends and news in the industry to stay relevant.
It is achievable with proper time management and knowing where to get information. So, I subscribed to the SEOFOMO newsletter, an SEO newsletter sharing the latest updates in the industry.
I’ll be sharing more of my stories here.
Keep an eye out!