Investments in e-learning in 2022 have increased, and there is no sign of slowing down. The global e-learning market will exceed $243 billion in 2022, Statista estimates.
E-learning was already a growing segment when the pandemic fueled record numbers in online learning for corporations, people and students. In fact, Coursera reported that enrollment in its courses nearly doubled from 2019 to 2020 and only accelerated from there.
Online SEO training is a great way for companies to train teams on SEO. KPMG reports that employees prefer online training because they don’t have to travel and they can learn at their own pace.
It also works for people who need upskilling or reskilling when changing careers or looking for a new job – “digital marketer” is still among the top 10 most in-demand jobs, according to LinkedIn.
If you are looking for SEO training, there is no shortage of courses out there. But what is a good SEO training course, and how do you rate it?
Here are five things to look for in SEO training.
1. Who created the SEO training?
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One of the most important things when evaluating SEO training is to understand who the person or people behind the training are.
There is no “one way” to do SEO, so you won’t find strict standards for how SEO should be taught either. That’s why it’s important to get to the bottom of who’s behind the information. Do they have the experience and knowledge to provide reliable leadership?
Remember, bad SEO advice can kill websites, their rankings, and even entire businesses. So get to know the qualifications of the teachers you will be learning from.
Pro tip: When evaluating course creators, do a little digging into their years of experience – are they authorities in their space? Can you trust their information? Reviews can also help here. (More on that later.)
2. What material does the SEO training cover?
An SEO curriculum can go through everything from broad lessons on SEO concepts to niche topics.
For example, some SEO courses provide a general overview of SEO, while others may dive deep into just one area, such as technical SEO or SEO copywriting.
Using my company’s online SEO training as an example, here is a sample SEO curriculum:
There are many SEO training courses to choose from, and you can check out a list of independently reviewed SEO courses for 2022 to find out what they teach and how they compare.
Pro tip: Know ahead of time the concepts you want to learn, then evaluate your options. Also, some people really want to have something to show for their SEO training, like a certificate. So if that’s important to you, you can find out which SEO courses offer some kind of certificate at the end of the course.
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3. How is the information presented?
Not everyone learns the same way. Some people like in-person classes, while others prefer videos, podcasts, or even reading. Keep in mind that even in the world of online training, the way courses are presented varies.
For example, many online SEO courses have a set of static videos that you can watch at your own pace, and that’s it. Others might offer more resources as a complement to those videos, for example, a hands-on project or downloadable content.
When we decided to take my company’s SEO training classroom online, we wanted to create an experience that was more than just passive learning.
We decided to create an SEO training membership site to help fill the gap of what people were missing in personal learning (like collaboration and Q&A) and to cater to different learning styles.
For example, our membership site gives students not only access to video lessons but also:
Pro tip: Think about how you like to learn, and then evaluate how the information is presented. For example:
4. How fresh is the information in SEO training?
SEO is constantly changing. Yes, we have best practices, but there is always some new algorithm update, some new discovery, and some new SEO news. So you don’t want to learn stale content.
This is why many of the SEO courses can quickly become outdated. And it’s unlikely that most instructors will update their course videos with every new change.
Here, you want to find out how dated the SEO curriculum is and how often the material is updated. This may be less important with some SEO topics than others, but it’s still worth researching before you sign up.
Pro tip: Look for information about when the course was created and the last time it was updated. You can even ask the creator of the course if it’s not obvious.
5. What kind of reviews does the SEO training get?
There is often no better way to evaluate a course than to read reviews and testimonials. Of course, not everyone will get the same results after a course. But if enough people are raving about the SEO course, then you can bet it’s probably good.
Here, you want to look for visible signs of praise on the course web page or website. How many stars does the course get? How many people signed up? What do the testimonials say?
Next, take your research to Google. Type in “[course name] reviews” and see what comes up on third-party sites.
Pro tip: Remember that not every student will like any course. Be sure to read what people didn’t like about it, but balance that with the good reviews as well.
SEO training has many benefits
Taking an online SEO training course offers many benefits for people in many roles. So no matter where you are, SEO training could help with:
Knowing how to evaluate a course can help you invest wisely in the future of your career or business.
Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.
Bruce Clay is the founder and president of Bruce Clay Inc., a global digital marketing optimization company providing search engine optimization, PPC management, paid social media marketing, SEO friendly website architecture, content development and SEO tools and education.& #xD
