SEO primer

pattonb

I have been coerced into the 'seo' arena. I have read Scott's post and associated threads. Very informative. The 'net has
so much on the subject, and a lot of 'snake oil', I am wondering if anybody knows of a good primer I could utilize/follow to get started. Also, google analytics, necessary, optional, ....... thanks kindly

scottalanmiller

The simplest rules around SEO are universal...

Make sure everything is "correct". Easy to say, hard to do. Make sure your HTML is correct, your CSS is correct, your meta tags, your overall code is "correct", up to standard in every way.
Make sure everything is "complete". Don't skip things you can't see, that's part of properly formatting meta data.
Make sure your site(s) are fast. Very fast. Speed really matters.
Make sure your site(s) are reliable. Downtime hurts you, a lot.
Create good content that has value. Things that people actually want to find.
Create content that can be searched. Make sure the terms that people use exist in your content.
Don't try to game the system, the more you do, the more you are punished.

scottalanmiller

Google analytics is handy, when it works. It's just a tool to see what is going on in your system.

pattonb

I understand, a summary of all your previous blogs, I was hoping for something with a little more detail, ( I did say hoping)
as in a pdf , a primer. Perhaps I am trying to 'game' the learning process. I haven't had to deal with web pages in many years, and I see change in the only constant.

pattonb

@scottalanmiller Is Matomo,Open Web Analytics,AWStats of any value. I suspect am I asking as to whether tying into the Google World provide any advantage. or will the other software provide me with the data I need. as for as data , I only really need traffic, visits, pages, how long they stay, or pages they view. Basic ( in my mind) , to see whether traffic is increasing/decreasing , and which pages draw the most interest. The audience is local, services provided don't extend beyond the local area , pop, ~1.4 million

scottalanmiller

@pattonb yeah, don't have anything like that. SEO isn't something that I teach generally, so don't have things prepared. The general stuff of SEO is easy to say. The specifics change often and are a constantly moving target.

scottalanmiller

@pattonb said in SEO primer:

@scottalanmiller Is Matomo,Open Web Analytics,AWStats of any value. I suspect am I asking as to whether tying into the Google World provide any advantage. or will the other software provide me with the data I need. as for as data , I only really need traffic, visits, pages, how long they stay, or pages they view. Basic ( in my mind) , to see whether traffic is increasing/decreasing , and which pages draw the most interest. The audience is local, services provided don't extend beyond the local area , pop, ~1.4 million

Yup, other tools work really well, too. No need to stick to Google's platform.

IRJ

@pattonb said in SEO primer:

@scottalanmiller Is Matomo,Open Web Analytics,AWStats of any value. I suspect am I asking as to whether tying into the Google World provide any advantage. or will the other software provide me with the data I need. as for as data , I only really need traffic, visits, pages, how long they stay, or pages they view. Basic ( in my mind) , to see whether traffic is increasing/decreasing , and which pages draw the most interest. The audience is local, services provided don't extend beyond the local area , pop, ~1.4 million

Matamo provides all this. It is what I use.