Starting with SEO isn't hard
If you’ve come here, you probably recognize that search engine optimization (SEO) is the difference between your website receiving lots of clicks and fading into obscurity.Â
And you’re right.Â
Mastering SEO gives you a leg up over your peers and competitors. When you enter the front pages of a search engine as gargantuan as Google, you maximize your reach. People around the world can know more about you. They can connect with you. And they can benefit from what you have to offer.Â
Just think about the following statistic for a moment. Over 90% of users click only on the first page of results they see.
Despite the potential benefits, SEO is an intimidating term. Not much has been written about SEO in peer-reviewed literature, if at all. Rather, much of what we know about SEO rests on a combination of decentralized resources that hold common concepts which experienced marketers agree on. These resources can come from all over the place. Authors have poured words describing SEO as an indispensable marketing tool. Google also lists reputable online sources to study SEO that you can access with a few clicks. And many experienced marketers are more than happy to share their insights on social media.Â
With so many resources available and little by way of official peer review, a scientist has many options to turn to if they wanted to learn SEO, explore a career in marketing, or use it to promote their startup. However, some resources are more authoritative than others depending on popular opinion.Â
That’s where this article comes in.
In the years I’ve explored and conducted content marketing, I’ve gathered a list of resources that aspiring life science marketers can follow to get started with content marketing. The list covers diverse formats, including books, website, and social media content. Many more such content exists. Nevertheless, this list acts as a springboard so you can explore the topic further and find more resources. All in all, this list is an opportunity for you to become interested in and inquisitive about SEO once you get started.
With that said, let’s dive into my resources list.
What SEO books can I read?
Most biotech founders read literature from academic sources, including books. I am no exception to this rule. As bookworms, we love gaining knowledge by reading books. Books on marketing and SEO-related topics are no exception. In fact, GenoWrite has integrated SEO-related concepts from several books when writing for clients worldwide. These books can also help you learn what SEO is and how you can adopt it as you build and maintain your website. Here they are:Â
- The Art of SEO, 4th Edition:Â Read this book to get a detailed picture of how to perform SEO. The Art of SEO is a 773-page textbook that teaches you the basics of SEO, how to boost website traffic with it, and other aspects of SEO you need to thrive on online search engines. If you want a comprehensive compendium about SEO, this book compiles all of SEO’s most important aspects in one place.
- Powering Content: Building a Nonstop Content Marketing Machine by Laura Busche: Read this book to contextualize SEO within content marketing. I bought this book from Amazon for less than CDN$10 and it’s been a most worthwhile purchase. To start, SEO occurs within the umbrella of content marketing. Laura shows that in content marketing, you have three hats to wear: the content strategist, the content creator, and the content manager. You have to interchange between three hats and relate SEO to your content marketing goals to succeed. To do that, you read this book. Â
- Product-led SEO by Eli Schwartz:Â Read this book to tune your SEO efforts to your product. Eli is a well-established consultant and SEO experts. He’s worked with countless B2C companies, from Quora to WordPress. He shows that the key to success with SEO lies not in keyword stuffing and gaming the algorithms. You must build solid SEO principles based on what you’re offering to your customers and how you solve their problems.Â
What online resources can I access?
Books are a great resource to learn the core principles of SEO, especially if you’re new to SEO. As life science researchers can attest, the technical aspects of research change rapidly as new knowledge is disseminated. The same goes with anything posted on the internet. Online resources keep you up-to-date with the latest trends and can help you thrive in a changing landscape. Here are some websites you can access to get started on SEO. The best part is that each of these online resources are free.
- Hubspot: Access Hubspot for their free SEO certification course. Hubspot develops software that help marketers convince potential customers to buy their products online. Their software covers many aspects of marketing, including inbound marketing, sales, and customer service. Importantly, their SEO certification course covers all the basics, from how search engines work and how to track website visits. Additionally, the course teaches you how to develop and implement a comprehensive SEO strategy. Hubspot Academy also comprises other courses that you can use to further bolster your SEO.
- Moz: Access Moz’s Beginner’s Guide to SEO if you want to get started with SEO. Like Hubspot, Moz provides SEO software and other tools that make marketing your products online possible. They also provide free SEO tools as a free trial of their products. That includes exploring keywords, analyzing your competitors’ digital marketing, and measuring SEO metrics. The site also has video and written guides on how to optimize SEO.
- Semrush:Â Access Semrush’s Knowledge Base if you want to learn more about SEO tools. The website provides a suite of tools for maximizing your chances of success in your content marketing efforts. Semrush’s knowledge base includes multiple pages that deal with various topics, including how-to-articles, an introduction to their SEO toolkit, and other platforms to help you get started with your content marketing.
- Learningseo.io: Access this website if you want a fully dedicated educational site about SEO. There are no products to sell, no sales gimmicks. Just a wide range of pages that teach you everything about SEO. From the fundamentals to execution, you’ll receive an excellent free resource to become acquainted with the basics of SEO-based marketing.
Who should I follow on social media?
Reading books and reading online resources are great starting points to familiarize yourself with SEO concepts. Learning from experts on the field, however, provides valuable proximal experience within the life sciences. That said, several consultants and experts on social regularly post insightful tips on how to maximize your chances of success when marketing in the life sciences. Here are just a few of these people:
- Sébastien Simoncelli: Sébastien has established himself as a premiere life science marketer on LinkedIn. In the years I’ve known, he has grown to over 6000 followers and posts and answers common questions companies face when marketing on LinkedIn. His posts are always entertaining, and you won’t go away without learning something about social media marketing with him. You can hear more about his approach to SEO and social media marketing through our interview with him.
- Joachim Eeckhout: Since starting Labiotech.eu, Joachim has developed a penchant for communicating research across the life sciences sector. By using SEO optimization techniques, he has created a well-established and well-reputed digital media platform that covers the biotech industry in the EU and beyond. You can read the story behind Labiotech.eu and how his experiences growing his website have helped him become an expert in SEO marketing in the life sciences.
- Liz Willits: Liz was among the first LinkedIn thought leaders I followed when I founded GenoWrite. She creates high-level posts that inspire many of my own LinkedIn posts. Here’s one that particularly stands out. With AI rapidly on the rise, maintaining a human voice remains essential to differentiate yourself from other brands.
Getting started with SEO isn't hard
In this article, I’ve given you many resources you can use to get started on SEO, even if you’ve never touched content marketing in your life. Even with these resources, however, experience is your best friend. Before you find companies to work with, do the following:
- Create your own website: The website can be of any topic you wish. You can also use any method to build your site, too. WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, even something else. It doesn’t matter. All you need is to pick a platform and try it out.
- Research different aspects of SEO: See where SEO comes to play within your website. This includes writing blogs, measuring how long it takes to load your website, and even picking the images you want to add to your website.
- Install Google Analytics on your website: No SEO afficionado can truly be well-versed in SEO unless they know how to track how well their marketing efforts are going. As you try out various SEO tools, you can use Google Analytics to measure key performance indicators (KPIs) such as year-on-year revenue and conversion rates. To get started on Google Analytics, you can visit Google’s resources on their tool.
Being familiar with SEO will take you far if you want to garner new leads. When combined with trial and error and the scientific method, you too can position yourself as a leader in the sectors in which you’re specializing within the life sciences. Once you have a better understanding of how SEO and search engines work and evolve, start experimenting. Play with different free and paid SEO tools to see which will inform you most in relation to your content marketing strategies.
All in all, take chances, make mistakes, and get messy!Â
