Learn from SEO Professionals
All of our SEO classes are taught by industry professionals who have worked with clients globally. Gain valuable knowledge and optimization secrets from their wealth of experience.
What is SEO?
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the process of using unpaid search results to increase the quality and quantity of traffic a website receives. SEO involves improving a website so that it is more visible in relevant searches. Increasing a website’s visibility is a proven way to raise attention about a business, service, or product, appeal to existing customers, and attract new ones as well.
There are currently over one billion websites in operation. Every year, trillions of online searches are conducted, many of which are executed with commercial intent to learn more about a service or product. SEO is the act of convincing search engines like Google and Yahoo that the given content should be recommended to their users as the best solution to their queries or problems. SEO is a core component of digital marketing, and learning more about this valuable skill set is an important first step toward pursuing a tech career in NYC.
Why is SEO Important?
Think about the last time you wanted to buy a product or a service online. What’s the first thing you did? You probably fired up Google and gave it a search. Thanks to Google, we can now easily find what we need with the search engine. On the flip side, for marketers, that means we need to figure out how to stand out and show up in search engines. Showing up in search engines is so critical because the searchers are expressing interest in a product or service that you offer, and that is your chance to show up.
Think about it like this: if I were selling shoes and I went around offering them to every person on the street, I’d probably have a tough time making a sale. If I sold shoes to people in a shoe store, I’d probably have a lot more luck. When people search for something, they are coming to you and expressing their interest. All you have to do is show up.
SEO vs. SEM
Now that we understand the power of the search engine, let’s compare SEO to another search engine option, search engine marketing (SEM). With SEM, or Google Ads, advertisers can pay to show up for specific keywords. Say we sell shoes, but we are struggling to show up in the organic search results, we could go ahead and bid on keywords related to the shoes we sell using Google Ads. You might be thinking, “Wow, I can just pay and be at the top!” Well, there are pros and cons to Google Ads compared to SEO.
While Google Ads provides the convenience of quicker results, good SEO often provides more sustainable results over the long term. If you invest in SEO with content, backlinks, technical optimization, and other SEO techniques, you will be able to reap the benefits of good SEO for a while, for free. With Google Ads, no matter how good your campaigns are, you will need to pay for every click, every time.
I sometimes think of it as renting vs. buying an apartment or house. It’s really tough to save up enough to buy something, but once you do it, you have it forever. With renting, you get the short-term benefit but at the end of the day you need to keep paying to live there. Doing SEO right is a great way to build long-term value for your business and continually be found.
3 Types of SEO
Mastering SEO is an art and a science, but for starters, let’s get to the basic pillars of SEO. The first pillar is on-page SEO, which is what actually exists on your site. Think about the content on the pages, the headers, the user experience, etc.
The next up is technical SEO, which refers to the technical parts like crawlability, sitemaps, and site speed.
Finally, you have off-page SEO which is primarily about gaining credibility from other relevant sites via backlinks. Backlinks give the search engine the proof that other reputable sites value your site.
5 Tips to Get Started in SEO
1. Write
Adding high-quality content to your site is probably the single most important thing you can do for your SEO. Do some keyword research to find out what people are searching for related to your product or service and tailor your content to what people are interested in.
Having good content boosts on-page SEO, might drive traffic by ranking on its own, and increases your chances of getting a quality backlink. Content is king, and the higher the quality, the higher the value. Also, do it consistently because fresh content can influence rankings.
2. Text Formatting
Make your articles easily scannable for users and search engines by using appropriate headers (h1, h2, etc.) and using things like bullet points to improve the reading experience.
3. Image Optimization
Optimize your images for page speed as well as accessibility. If you need to, compress your images to improve page load time (or use caching). You also want to make sure to use alt tags on your images to indicate what the images contain.
4. Internal Linking
Internal linking can create an awesome network of content and information for both search engines and users. Say you have an article about 10 ways to run faster, within each of the tips you may want to link to an article/page about that specific technique. This can keep people engaged and let them go deeper into the site, and it helps search engines understand the linking of your content.
5. Keyword Research & Tailoring
To rank for certain keywords, you need to do the research to know which keywords are best and then tailor your content accordingly. The best keywords for you to target will likely be a combination of keywords with high search volume as well as relatively low competition.
For example, if you are selling pens online, ranking for the term “pens” will likely be impossible (unless you are Amazon or Staples), but you might be able to rank for “cheap pens online” or “ballpoint pens online.” Knowing what keywords you are trying to rank for in search is the equivalent of knowing your audience for a product when launching.
Key Terms for SEO
Keywords
Keywords are the most critical part of SEO and refer to what users, clients, and customers search to find a specific type of content. For example, when looking for an SEO class, you may type “SEO classes in New York” instead of just SEO. The goal of SEO practitioners is to determine which keywords are related to their business and use these keywords on their website and blog to help customers find their content. Learn more about keywords in search.
Organic Search
Organic search refers to search results that don’t include paid content. While it’s more difficult to rank higher in organic search, if you do, the results are advantageous. Companies and individuals rank higher by using keywords effectively in page titles, headings, and throughout their text.
Paid Search or PPC
Paid search techniques involve paying Google Ads, Bing Ads, or other search engines for premium placement at the top spot of search results related to a specific keyword. Such strategies are useful, but only if you understand how to price your ads. Other terms often used synonymously with paid search are PPC, Search Engine Marketing (SEM), and Google Ads (technically it is a tool for paid search). Learn more in our Google Ads blog.
On-Page SEO
The techniques you use on your web content to improve your position in search engines, including adding keywords, keyword placement throughout the document, and web design.
Off-Page SEO
This refers to things not directly on your website that will affect the ranking of your site. This includes things like social media, backlinks, and other methods used to drive traffic to your website.
SEO Careers in NYC
An estimated 68% of online experiences are initiated by the use of a search engine. Both small and large businesses rely on SEO to help foster their online presence. Because search engines direct the most valuable customers toward a website, knowledge of SEO is a valuable and relevant skill in the current NYC job market. There are many digital marketing agencies in the city such as Major Tom and P3 Media, that seek out candidates with a working knowledge of SEO. In addition, SEO is also used in other professions such as Digital Media Managers, Digital Content Specialists, Content Marketing Strategists, and Internet Content Writers.
If you are interested in pursuing a career in SEO in NYC, there are a variety of job openings for qualified candidates. Web Optimization Specialists in NYC who study web traffic to suggest ways to increase user engagement earn about $51,000 a year. Paid Search Managers and Digital Strategists in NYC typically make between $68,000 and $69,000 annually, which is slightly above the national average. Marketing Managers in NYC, whose job involves targeting growth opportunities for their business, earn a yearly salary of $80,000.
SEO Classes from Noble Desktop
Since its founding in 1990, Noble Desktop has evolved from a desktop publishing studio into one of NYC’s leading educational providers. Over the past three decades, more than 45,000 students have received industry-relevant instruction and training. Noble is located in Midtown Manhattan, the country’s hub of entertainment, media, and entrepreneurship. Those commuting for in-person classes in NYC can easily reach Noble via Penn Station, Grand Central, or the NJ PATH. Once in class, students have access to a state-of-the-art facility, with powerful computers equipped with the necessary software and tools for coursework. Through its diverse course offering of certificate programs, bootcamps, and classes, Noble Desktop continues to provide learners at all levels with an educational environment conducive to success.
Noble Desktop currently offers a variety of SEO classes. Their Digital Marketing Certificate is a 78-hour program in which participants become familiar with core SEO techniques, as well as social media marketing and Google Ads strategy. For those who own businesses, work in marketing, or are Front-End Developers, Noble’s SEO Bootcamp will provide you with the essential skills to increase your marketability. This two-day bootcamp incorporates hands-on lessons in topics like competitive keyword analysis and SEO so that participants will have the training to help them gain an edge over the competition.
Noble Desktop’s Google Analytics Bootcamp is geared toward professionals working with SEO. This 12-hour workshop provides learners with a comprehensive understanding of Google Analytics and its various applications, as well as how to interpret data to make better business decisions. In addition, Noble’s Social Media Marketing Bootcamp offers participants a close examination of social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. By the end of this 12-hour workshop, students will have a working knowledge of current trends in social media marketing, along with the necessary skill-set to create their own marketing strategy.
Corporate & Onsite SEO Classes
Learning SEO doesn’t just open professional doors, it also provides upward career mobility in a variety of tech fields. Noble Desktop offers onsite and corporate SEO training so that employees at your office or company can receive the necessary guidance and skills to advance professionally. Several options are available depending on your employees’ preferences and needs. Instruction is available at Noble’s offices in Manhattan for those in the city. Noble’s instructors can also provide training at your own office or workplace, or virtual instruction via WebEx or Zoom. In addition, Noble also has vouchers for open enrollment courses, which provide a convenient alternative so that employees can select the training format that most suits their needs.
If you would like to find out more about the various SEO training options available for those at your workplace, don’t hesitate to contact Noble Desktop for additional information.
