One of the best ways to achieve your goals in any field is to learn from those who have achieved success in your industry. I asked some of the top professionals and leaders in the SEO field to share their best advice for being successful in the SEO field. Here are their responses:
"90% of the information you need to know about SEO is available online and in books. Once you have figured out that much (you will know because you will start to feel like you aren’t learning anything new from reading and attending conferences) spend the rest of your time innovating and trying out completely new tactics. That last 10% might be findable through the right connections but honestly your time is better spent coming up with your own ideas."
-Danny Dover, writer at LifeListed.com, a bucket list blog.
"Intellectual honesty. Which is somehow different from plain honesty. Intellectual honesty is what makes you say no when no must be told... and not just in the case you are dealing with a pushing client, but also - and maybe especially - when you don't say 'No' to yourself and accept deals that you maybe you should have not have taken. That is an horrible mistake I did and I wish to not do again.
Intellectual honesty, and humbleness, is what makes you stay with your feet on the ground, even though you maybe are living your 15 minutes of fame. 'I know that I don't know', I like to repeat to myself, and that is why I try to learn one new thing every day and that is why I consider everyone in the field as a potential teacher.
But Intellectual honesty is also what makes you defend your values, also in this field. And defend your point of views... maybe that is what should be called 'ethical SEO'."
-Gianluca Fiorelli, SEO Specialist at I Love SEO.
"Don't just learn by reading what other people write. Learn by doing - test tactics out on your domain; test new things, not just what people are talking about. Try to take a tactic and do it better or try to scale it. Have test domains to try out tactics that may have an adverse affect on your site."
-Geoff Kenyon, SEO for Distilled.
"Never stop learning. Data visualization, language processing, search in general, writing skills and your general marketing savvy have to continuously mature and improve. The best SEOs I know are mental sponges - they soak up information, all the time."
-Ian Lurie, Founder and CEO of Portent.
"Run a number of projects & test what works. To learn the algorithms does not make one a tainted person (it is ignorance that is bad, not knowledge). Do not allow others to influence what you are willing to test by inserting suggestions aligned with their own business models as though they are moral clauses/code."
-Aaron Wall, Founder of SEO Book.
