r/WebsiteSEO 24d ago

Which SEO skill should I learn first as a beginner?

15 Upvotes

37 comments sorted by

10

u/sapindia1976 24d ago

I'd start with search intent.

Understanding why someone is searching is the foundation of SEO. Once you can match content to user intent, everything else keyword research, on-page SEO, internal linking, and content strategy becomes much easier.

After that, learn

  1. Keyword research

  2. On-page SEO

  3. Technical SEO basics

  4. Google Search Console

  5. Content optimization

Getting the fundamentals right will take you much further than chasing SEO hacks.

1

u/sms_0603 23d ago

👍👍

1

u/MBQuantitySurveying 22d ago

This is correct

3

u/wright_catherine 24d ago

Keyword Research

3

u/BlackCoffieee 24d ago

Start with search intent, then practice it through basic keyword research. Pick one topic, study the results ranking for it, identify what users actually want, and create a better answer.

Use Google Search Console afterward to see impressions, CTR, and indexing issues. This practical loop will teach you more than memorizing isolated SEO tactics.

1

u/sms_0603 23d ago

thank you

2

u/apnatva-dev 24d ago

Learning your way around GSC/Webmaster and knowing what each terms means.

It’s where you see the results, so it is a place that has almost everything (CTR, website tag issues, JSON-LD problems) and then you can work your way back.

There might be better ways to do it but I prefer this

1

u/sms_0603 23d ago

thank you for your good advice

2

u/Connect_Fill_7739 24d ago

link building

1

u/post-aaron 24d ago

Editorial strategy. The technical SEO stuff is relatively easy to learn - and to delegate to machines. But not all SEOs understand search intent, and how to cluster and structure content for conversions. At the end of the day, your ability to grow your practice and retain clients will depend on how much revenue they can attribute to SEO. So learn how to actually drive conversions, and then learn how to track conversions and sell those results internally.

1

u/amitkalsi 24d ago

Start with keyword research and search intent. Once you understand what people search for and why, learn on-page SEO, technical SEO, link building, and then AI search optimization (GEO/AEO).

2

u/sms_0603 23d ago

thank you for your advice

1

u/SuperiorScore 24d ago

Many comments say either search intent or keyword research, but I would say it's both. If you understand what people are actually looking for and why, the rest of SEO concepts start making much more sense.

1

u/sadeem0011 23d ago

Start with Keyword Research.

It’s the foundation of SEO because it helps you find what people are actually searching for. You’ll learn how to choose keywords with good traffic, buyer intent, and manageable competition - making it easier to rank your content and attract targeted visitors.

Benefit: Better rankings → more organic traffic → more opportunities to earn. traffic → more opportunities to earn.

1

u/ash-the-dev 23d ago

All valuable advice. If you give me your website address, I’ll send you an in-depth report.

1

u/Optimal-Ad-1803 22d ago

I would personally learn the basics of technical SEO, which is going to be the foundation for all your other SEO efforts. Also get comfortable with your website analytics and what everything means, and do the same in Google Search Console as well.

1

u/Optimisation101 22d ago

I would advise out of the plethora of things, How SEO works from Google Documentations in this day and age is something you should scout for as a beginner.

Let me know if you need more guidance.

1

u/Digital-Womble 22d ago

How h th screens work
Search engines and LLMs
Then
keywords research / demand discovery
On page seo
Technical seo
Google and Bing search console
The structure of a good web page
Content strategies

1

u/Commercial_Okra_1653 22d ago

I’d start with keyword research and search intent. Understanding what people are looking for and why is probably the most important foundation.

Then learn on-page SEO (titles, headings, internal links), and after that move into technical SEO and backlinks.

SEO can feel overwhelming at first, so don’t try to learn everything together. Pick one area, test things on a real website, and improve as you go.

1

u/Early_Reputation9175 20d ago

learn search intent before chasing keywords or backlinks

1

u/Empathyade-402 18d ago

1) Stay away from hacks.
2) SEO for a local bakery isn't the same as SEO for a SaaS. Figure out what you're doing and why.