Starting SEO: Where to Begin — Tips from Reddit Users

Introduction — Based on Reddit discussions

This article synthesizes advice from a lively Reddit thread on learning SEO. Users from beginners to seasoned practitioners weighed in with what matters most when starting seo: foundational skills, practical experiments, the right tools, and how to build a portfolio. Below you’ll find the community consensus, where opinions diverged, a step-by-step starter plan, and two expert insights that extend Reddit’s advice.

What Redditors Agreed On

Across the thread, several themes emerged again and again. These form a practical baseline for anyone starting out.

• Learn the fundamentals first. Basics like how search engines work, HTML structure, canonicalization, and meta tags were recommended as must-knows.
• Practice on a real site. Many recommended building a simple site or helping a small business so you can apply theory to real-world issues and track results.
• Use Google tools. Google Search Console and Google Analytics (or GA4) are indispensable and free—learn them early.
• Focus on content and intent. Producing helpful content optimized for user intent was emphasized over trying to ‘game’ rankings.
• Track and measure impact. Set up proper tracking to tie SEO changes to traffic and conversions—Redditors stressed this repeatedly.
• Join communities and keep learning. Read blogs, follow forums, and participate (like Reddit!) to stay up to date—search algorithms change.

Where Redditors Disagreed

Not all advice was unanimous. Below are the key areas where opinions diverged and why each viewpoint has merit.

• Certifications and paid courses: Some users recommended paid courses and certifications to accelerate learning and provide structure. Others argued free resources (Google’s guides, Moz, Backlinko) are sufficient if you’re disciplined.
• Tools vs. fundamentals: A faction advocated investing in premium tools (Ahrefs, SEMrush) early to learn data-driven SEO. Others suggested mastering the fundamentals and free tools first to avoid reliance on tool outputs without understanding underlying issues.
• Start with technical SEO or content SEO: Some suggested tackling technical fixes first to ensure crawlability. Others recommended beginning with content and keyword targeting because content drives user value and immediate traffic gains.
• Using AI-generated content: Opinions varied on AI. Some see it as a productivity booster when heavily edited and fact-checked; others warned against over-reliance and thin, low-value content that harms rankings.

Concrete Tips Redditors Shared

These are practical, actionable tips pulled together from multiple Reddit contributors and organized into a logical learning path.

Week 1–2: Learn the basics and set up tracking

• Read Google’s “Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Starter Guide” and Moz’s Beginner’s Guide to SEO.
• Create a simple website (use WordPress or a static site) to practice on.
• Install Google Analytics/GA4 and Google Search Console. Verify ownership and submit a sitemap.
• Learn to use Chrome DevTools to inspect HTML, check mobile view, and measure load times.

Week 3–6: Hands-on content and on-page SEO

• Research keywords with free tools (Google Keyword Planner, Search Console queries, AnswerThePublic, or limited free versions of Ahrefs/SEMrush).
• Practice writing titles, meta descriptions, headings, and optimizing page structure around user intent.
• Create 5–10 well-optimized pages or posts on your site targeting different intents and track their performance weekly.

Month 2–3: Technical SEO & audits

• Run site crawls—start with Screaming Frog (free mode), then consider Sitebulb or full Screaming Frog license if needed.
• Fix basic issues: duplicate titles, missing meta, broken links, slow pages, and mobile problems.
• Learn about structured data (schema) and implement basic markup where it helps (articles, products, FAQs).

Ongoing: Links, measurement, and growth

• Experiment with outreach for guest posts and resource pages; help small businesses and request testimonials that link back.
• Monitor rankings, impressions, clicks, and conversion metrics. Use annotations for major changes so you can correlate actions to outcomes.
• Document wins in a portfolio: show before/after traffic, keyword positions, and conversion improvements.

Useful Tools and Resources Mentioned

• Free: Google Search Console, Google Analytics/GA4, PageSpeed Insights, Lighthouse, Keyword Planner.
• Paid/Pro: Ahrefs, SEMrush, Moz, Screaming Frog (paid mode), Sitebulb, Majestic.
• Educational: Moz Beginner’s Guide, Google SEO Starter Guide, Backlinko/Neil Patel articles, industry newsletters like Search Engine Journal.
• Communities: Reddit (/r/SEO), SEO Twitter, niche Slack groups, and local meetups.

Common Mistakes to Avoid (from Reddit experience)

• Not tracking baseline metrics before making changes—then you can’t prove impact.
• Chasing high-volume keywords without considering intent or competition.
• Relying only on automated tool recommendations without human review.
• Creating lots of low-quality or thin content quickly and expecting results.

Expert Insight: Prioritization Framework

Redditors often listed many tasks but struggled to prioritize. Use a simple scoring system like PIE (Potential, Importance, Ease):

• Potential: How much upside could this task bring relative to your goals? (traffic, revenue, leads)
• Importance: How critical is the issue to the site’s core functionality or user experience? (e.g., site wide canonical problems rank high)
• Ease: How quickly can this be implemented and measured?

Score each task 1–5 on these axes. Multiply or average the scores to rank tasks and focus on high-PIE items first. This reduces busywork and aligns effort with measurable outcomes.

Expert Insight: Set Up Experiments and Attribution Correctly

Beginners often change pages and celebrate traffic lifts without isolating the cause. Treat SEO changes like experiments:

• Define a hypothesis (e.g., “Improving title tags for topic X will increase organic CTR by 10% and bring 15% more sessions”).
• Identify primary metrics (click-through rate, organic sessions, conversions) and secondary metrics (bounce rate, time on page).
• Use UTM tags for any internal promotional links, and add annotations in Analytics/Search Console for the date of changes.
• Run changes on a sample of pages first, if possible, to see impact before wide rollout.

Accurate measurement lets you build a portfolio of wins that demonstrates ROI to clients or employers.

How to Build a Portfolio When Starting Out

Reddit users recommended several low-risk ways to get measurable wins:

• Optimize a personal blog or hobby site and publish a case study showing traffic/keyword improvement.
• Volunteer to help a nonprofit or local business and track baseline vs. after metrics.
• Perform audits with prioritized recommendations—include screenshots and projected impacts if you can’t implement changes.
• Document all experiments with dates, actions, and results. Employers care about outcomes, not just theory.

Final Takeaway

When starting seo, combine structured learning with hands-on practice. Start with the fundamentals—crawlability, content that matches intent, and measurement—then layer in tools and advanced tactics. Reddit advice coalesced around practice, tracking, and community learning. Use a prioritization framework and treat changes as experiments to build a portfolio that proves your impact.

Read the full Reddit discussion here.