Ways to Become an SEO Expert

This is part two of my article on becoming a SEO expert.You can find out the part one of this becoming SEO expert Here @ How to become SEO Expert-1.

By spending time in online marketing forums, you may find you absorb a lot more search engine optimization (SEO) information than you realize. When I joined my first tech forum, I was baffled by the techie language. Within a few months, I could hardly believe I’d ever not understood what they were talking about.

This article shares seven SEO forums and two excellent online marketing blogs. On SEO forums, you’ll find a mix of people managing niche websites, people wanting to market their brick and mortar business, black hat SEOs, and prominent leaders and “gurus” in the SEO field. As with anywhere in the world, some people will be kind and others rude.

Read on to get the list of seven SEO forums and two blogs.

1. Warrior Forum: This internet marketing forum encompasses numerous aspects of SEO and online marketing issues. You can organize networking functions in your geographical area, complain about the latest “launch buzz” in the internet marketing world, or get advice on how to get top ten rankings. The forum is moderated, though not to a suffocating extent. At the same time, be sure to learn the rules and stick to them. People get annoyed easily here.
2. SEO Black Hat: This is the only one I’ve not personally tried myself. I found out about it from Aaron Wall of SEO Book fame. You have to register before you can read any of the posts. However, it intrigued me enough to include it here. I’ll be checking this one out for myself soon.
3. Digital Point: This is one of my favorite forums. The moderator(s) is extremely laid back, and the information shared proves more useful than not. The main website, Digital Point, offers a number of free SEO tools to help you analyze and assess your online marketing work. Keep in mind that you are giving away your website information when you use these free tools, so be careful.
4. Search Engine Watch (SEW) Forums: This website, and its forums, have been on my “visit” list the whole time I’ve worked in SEO. I first started to learn the ins and outs of SEO at SEW. The site has an excellent reputation and many of the online marketing “gurus” hang out here and offer up useful information. Right now, there’s an interesting thread on a downturn in online sales. You can also find out the top 10 search terms in various categories.
5. SEO Guy: The free SEO tools offered by the forum manager set this site apart from most.
6. Thirty Day Challenge Forum: This is mostly for people doing the 30-Day Challenge I mentioned in part one of this SEO education series. However, it’s a great forum to get your feet wet and get your newbie questions answered. My only warning is to be sure that you are getting advice from someone who knows what they’re talking about — and not from another newbie.
7. SEO Chat: Like most SEO forums, this one offers the Google chat rooms towards
   the top. These forums offer multiple rooms on affiliate marketing, link popularity, MSN, Google, Yahoo, site reviews, SEO scripts and more.
8. Sugarrae Blog: Rae Hoffman never minces words when it comes to SEO or any other topic she cares to tackle on her blog. I find her irreverent tone a breath of fresh air.
9. SEO Moz Blog is read by nearly everyone I meet in SEO. The blog posts I’ve read recently have not offered the nuts and bolts and the latest SEO tips. Most of those are reserved for the paid membership. The blog does offer interesting takes and philosophical posts on subjects such as advice for startup CEOs.

Good luck creating your educational SEO plan. One day, you may find SEO offered in colleges. (I like that it isn’t yet.) Until that time, the best way to learn is to teach yourself and through trial and error.

What tools, forums, blogs do you find useful? Share them in the comments below.