There is no standard way to learn search engine optimization (SEO). Ask anyone who works here at SEJ how they got started in SEO, and you’ll get plenty of stories.
It can be frustrating because if your business has an online presence at all, you need to know at least some SEO.
Maybe you just launched an awesome new website and you want Google to rank you on the first page.
Or maybe your current website isn’t getting the traffic you want. Or you just want to start a new and in-demand business.
Whatever your reason for wanting to learn SEO, you’re in the right place.
Right now, some of you are a little scared. All this talk of search algorithms and keyword research and integration is complicated.
Relax, despite all the technical jargon, SEO is not difficult to learn, even for a complete beginner. You just have to be willing to put in the time and effort.
This article will give you a step-by-step process you can follow to build SEO skills from scratch or improve your current knowledge.
And while we can’t promise you a top position in Google, we promise that if you put in the work, you’ll see results.
Your Guide To Learning SEO
Contents
Before we dive into the first step on your way to becoming an SEO Jedi, let’s take a look at what we mean by search engine optimization.
According to Google’s developer guide:
“Search engine optimization is the process of optimizing your site for search engines.”
In other words, it identifies the exact changes you need to make to your website to make it more relevant to search queries.
SEO factors fall under two main categories: on-page and off-page.
As you might expect, on-page SEO elements are the parts of your website. These include:
Off-page SEO content, on the other hand, is important content that comes from outside your domain. This primarily focuses on link building and getting other quality websites to link to your content.
Now that we have that out of the way, let’s dive into the step-by-step process of SEO management.
Step 1: Master The Basics
One of the best things about Google is the amount of information available. While they won’t give away the secret sauce of what drives its algorithm, the search engine giant is very specific about what it does and doesn’t get involved in.
And even better, they provide a very helpful SEO beginner’s guide for people just starting out in the field. This is a great overview of how search engine optimization works, including the definition of common keywords and the basics of getting ranked.
If you are starting your SEO education completely from scratch, this is the right place to start.
It will tell you how to find your site on Google, the best ways to manage crawling so that the search engine can find your content, and the value, which will help it understand what your content is about – and what questions will be relevant nice shot.
Every year at SEJ, we produce dozens of e-books on various SEO and digital marketing topics. One such ebook is the SEO for Beginners Guide, a complete beginner’s guide to how to do common SEO tasks.
Step 2: Dive Deeper Into The Technical Side
Once you feel confident that you have the SEO basics down, it’s time to move on to more technical techniques.
Once again, Google provides many excellent resources for educational purposes.
A good place to increase your knowledge is the webmasters’ guide to maintaining your site’s SEO. It can help you get started with intermediate to advanced strategies to improve your ranking or deal with other SEO issues.
This includes information on how to deal with duplicate content and canonical pages, using robots.txt files to tell Google which pages to crawl and index, building and submitting sitemaps, and other methods. you can help Google better understand your site.
Depending on the type of content you have on your site, you may need to use different techniques to maximize its exposure.
For example, videos are a popular type of content that needs more SEO work to ensure they rank as well as possible.
If you’re using anything outside of plain text (and you should be – no one wants to scroll through a wall of text), be sure to check Google’s specific content guidelines.
Step 3: Create An SEO Process
At this point, you hopefully have a good understanding of what SEO is and how it works.
And now, it’s time to apply this knowledge by developing and implementing your SEO strategy.
If you are working on an existing website, the first thing you need to do is to do SEO research. This is a very broad task, but again, Search Engine Journal to the rescue!
We’ve created an ebook that walks you through the entire process of evaluating your current SEO efforts using a checklist.
After you understand where you stand now, it’s time to build a strategy. If only there was a helpful ebook you could use to guide you through this process – oh wait, we have one.
This is a step-by-step guide (with templates) to building a year-round SEO strategy, with a monthly guide to help you measure results and improve your rankings.
And regarding the monitoring function, Google Search Console provides you with a lot of analysis and data that you can use to improve your site traffic. You’d better get to know this tool.
Step 4: Optimize Your Content
It is impossible to overstate how important your website content is. Content is what drives people to your site, motivates them to take action, and is the whole reason your site exists in the first place.
So, after you’ve done the background work, skills and techniques necessary to improve your ranking, it’s time to focus on your content.
Your content strategy should be a big part of your overall strategy, as discussed in the last step, but this is where the rubber meets the road.
This is where you’ll create keyword-rich (but not perfect) copy, build a solid structure that’s easy to read for bots and humans, and improve the overall content experience.
For details on how to do this, watch this webinar.
Step 5: Build Your Backlinks
This one has already been touched on, but it warrants its own level.
Your inbound links tell Google a lot about the credibility of your site.
For example, if you mention one of these affiliate farms, payment scams (which, of course, you will never do), Google will probably ignore these links.
On the other hand, if the Chicago Tribune is directing people to your page, Google may see this endorsement in a positive light and consider this link valuable.
But how exactly do you build links? Do you really think we would ask this question and not have a great ebook that answers this question in depth?
Download and read this for everything you need to know about building and maintaining a strong link building campaign.
Step 6: Don’t Forget About Humans
With all the technical aspects of search engine optimization, it can be easy to forget about the real purpose of your website: to provide value to real people.
And don’t think that Google search is entirely made up of various computer programs, don’t forget that real people verify the algorithm’s performance.
These people are called Surveyors. They follow a general guide to determine how well Google search results match the needs of the inquirer and evaluate the quality of your pages.
So, always keep that in your mind – that even with all the branding and image optimization and design work you put in, at the end of the day, SEO is all about people.
Step 7: Never Stop Learning
Whew, that’s too much. Now you can just sit back and relax, enjoying your new title of sixth grade SEO black belt, right? Not a little.
Search engine algorithms are constantly undergoing changes.
Some of these are small enough that you won’t notice, while others make a big difference in the types of return queries. And this constant state of flux means the last thing you can do is rest on your head.
Fortunately, there is a huge sea of SEO resources out there, including this website, where you will find all the news, as well as daily updates and blogs on various topics and related to search engines.
But we’d be remiss if we didn’t tell you about some great online courses to help you take your search engine optimization skills to the next level.
For your convenience, we have provided a list of options here, and you can explore some of them in detail in this post about SEO certification.
Free SEO Courses For Beginners
Coursera’s Basics of Search Engine Optimization: This 13-hour, 4-module digital course (created by the University of California, Davis) is designed to help you understand how search algorithms affect search engine results. It covers everything from building an effective strategy to analyzing and optimizing your current website.
Ahrefs’ SEO Training Course: This program, presented by SEO tool provider Ahrefs, consists of 14 lessons divided into four parts, each lasting two hours. It will teach you the basics of SEO, including how to conduct critical research, technical SEO, and link building for beginners.
Shopify SEO Course for Beginners: The ecommerce platform Shopify offers a 30-minute course designed to help online merchants get up to speed on the basics of SEO quickly. This course will give you a repeatable process that you can use to help improve your business’s search engine rankings.
Yoast’s SEO for Beginners Training: Another SEO tool provider, Yoast’s beginner’s course in SEO has two hours of instructional videos, PDF files, and questions to train you in what you’ve learned.
Introducing WP Tutorials for Search Engine Optimization: This free course is designed to teach you how to optimize your site for search engines and human visitors. It covers the basics of SEO, including doing critical research, creating great content, and optimizing your site for higher rankings and traffic.
Bruce Clay SEO Tutorial: Bruce Clay is known as the developer of the first web search engine. Now, he runs a marketing company (Bruce Clay, Inc.) that offers a wide range of digital marketing services. This online course will teach you how to improve your website’s ranking with a focus on E-AT. It contains more than 15 hours of instruction in 48 videos.
Next.js Introduction to SEO: This text-based course offered by Next.js provides a quick, four-page overview of SEO. It covers search engine and robotics and web performance topics, focusing on using them with Next.js.
Hubspot’s SEO Course: This short course offers free certification and focuses on the business impact of SEO. With six lessons built around 22 videos and three questions, he uses Hubspot’s blogging strategy as a great example when explaining how SEO works.
Intermediate To Advanced SEO Resources
Got the basics down and ready to move on to more advanced topics? There are many great resources out there, including:
Semrush Digital Courses: Online visibility and content marketing SaaS provider Semrush has put together one of the best libraries of SEO content available anywhere. These free courses, which usually run an hour long, are hosted by various experts and cover almost every aspect of digital marketing you can think of – including a dozen on search engine optimization.
Ahrefs’ Advanced Link Building Course: This 14-lesson course can be completed in less than two hours. It’s designed to give you links building techniques at scale – that go beyond traditional backlinking techniques. It will teach you how to plan and distribute direct mail, validate campaigns, and effectively manage your affiliate team.
Coursera Search Engine Optimization Strategies: This free 25-hour course focuses on technology, mobile, and social strategies to increase your website traffic. It will teach you more advanced SEO skills such as developing site architecture, evaluating competitors, and developing global strategies.
Learning LinkedIn: Formerly Lynda.com, the educational arm of social networking platform LinkedIn offers a variety of SEO topics, from beginner to advanced. It offers a free trial but costs $19.99 per month for unlimited access. Learning LinkedIn has 86 videos related to SEO, most of them specialize in a specific area, for example, SEO for ecommerce sites or data planning for web crawlers.
Advanced Technical SEO: The Complete Guide: You didn’t really think we’d make this list and not include another one of our ebooks, did you? We may be biased, but this free downloadable ebook will teach you everything you need to know about technical SEO, including finding the best hosting company, designing your site to be crawler friendly the web, and the best practices for the field, with rich wealth. other useful information.
Google Analytics Academy: While speaking strongly is not an SEO course, if you are serious about SEO and improving your skills, this certification is worth earning. This free course will help you understand the content and digital marketing industry while making sure you get the best tools the search engine giant has to offer.
Stay Up To Date And Get Optimizing
As you can see, there are many factors that go into search engine optimization. And even experts learn new things every day.
Hopefully, through this article, you’ve learned a little about the basics of SEO and where you can learn more about them.
And after you’ve considered some accessories, it’s time to put your new knowledge into practice.
Don’t get discouraged if you don’t see results right away – remember, search engine optimization is a marathon, not a sprint. Sometimes, it can take months for your changes to start showing up on search engine results pages (SERPs).
Just remember, this is a constantly changing environment, and what worked yesterday may not work today. This is partly due to shady SEO experts who use the algorithm by things like keyword stuffing and article flipping (ie recreating content with different keywords).
But the main reason why you have to stay on top of SEO is Google’s never-ending quest to provide the best, most relevant results.
At the moment, this means focusing on research purposes rather than words, but who knows what it will mean tomorrow?
The only way to stay on top is to keep working once you get there. Because if you kick your heels up, it won’t be long before your difficult position goes to a stronger, savvier improvement.
Don’t stop learning, and now get out there and reach the top of the search results!
Credit: fizkes/Shutterstock
How many months it will take to learn SEO?
If you can learn SEO for two hours every day, then you can master the basics of SEO in 4-8 weeks and do your first SEO job in 3-6 months. If you can learn SEO full time, then you can master the basics even in 1-2 weeks.
Is SEO hard to learn? SEO is not difficult to learn. All you have to do is be willing to set aside the appropriate time and effort to learn different SEO concepts. If you’re just getting started with SEO and wondering what it takes to go from novice to expert, then this post is for you.
Can I learn SEO in 2 months?
You will want to blog for at least six months to two years to see results. At this point, you will know that you understand SEO and can develop a natural audience. But, once you get good results keep building that momentum and keep posting regular blog posts.
Is SEO course difficult?
SEO is not necessarily difficult to learn, but it does take time, effort, and persistence. If you are just starting out and know nothing about search engines and how they work, you can expect to feel uncomfortable at first, especially if you are trying to learn SEO on your own. However, it is important to keep trying.
How long does it take to get Google SEO certified?
On average it takes students a week to complete the courses and receive their certificates. The cost of this course is $89 (one time payment) and is offered as part of the SEO Course Bundle which includes 3 additional courses (Keyword Research Course, eCommerce SEO Course, and Google Analytics course).
Can I learn SEO in a month?
While it is a long process, you can actually learn SEO in about a month – enough to make a big impact on your website and thus your business as a whole.
Can I learn SEO in a month?
While it is a long process, you can actually learn SEO in about a month – enough to make a big impact on your website and thus your business as a whole.
Can I do SEO on my own?
If you wonder, “Can I do SEO on my own?” the answer is probably yes. You don’t need to hire an outside agency to improve your SEO, and this guide gives you some basic SEO tips to get you started.
How can I do SEO at home? 6 Steps To Learn SEO For Free â Learn SEO at Home
- Understand the concept of SEO. …
- Advanced keyword research. …
- Know the difference between on-page and off-page SEO. …
- Learn to identify UX cues. …
- Embrace SEO friendly content creation. …
- Start the build connection.
Can SEO be done by yourself?
You can do SEO yourself or DIY SEO (Do It Yourself SEO). With some research and a lot of practice, anyone can learn how to do SEO for their business. A quick way to get started with SEO is to enter your URL here and focus your SEO efforts on the recommended content.
Is it hard to do your own SEO?
SEO is not as difficult as people pretend it is; you can get 95% of the effort with 5% of the work, and you don’t need to hire an SEO expert to do it, and it won’t be difficult to start ranking for the selected keywords.
Do I need to hire someone for SEO?
Yes, hire an agency if you are looking for long term success. Unless there’s something easy to fix on your site (like blocking it completely with your robots.txt file), most SEO builds long-term success and value.
Can I do SEO on my own?
If you wonder, “Can I do SEO myself?†the answer is no. You don’t need to hire an outside agency to improve your SEO, and this guide gives you some basic SEO tips to get you started.
Do I need to hire someone for SEO?
Yes, hire an agency if you are looking for long term success. Unless there’s something easy to fix on your site (like blocking it completely with your robots.txt file), most SEO builds long-term success and value.
Can you hire someone to do SEO on your website?
If you want more help navigating these SEO tips or if you don’t have the time to dedicate to optimizing your website’s SEO, another option is to hire an SEO expert. If you find the right person, they can be your long-term partner as you grow your website and business.
How much does it cost to hire someone for SEO?
Average SEO rates are $100-$250 an hour for US SEO agencies. SEO costs range from $2,500 to $10,000 per month for US agencies. The average SEO plan costs $2819 per month (per Ahrefs) Offshore SEO companies can charge $10-$50 per hour.
Is it easy to learn SEO?
SEO is not easy. But it’s not rocket science either. There are things you can implement right away and there are ideas that will take more time and effort. So yes, you can do SEO yourself.
Can I learn SEO by myself? It is possible to learn how to do SEO on your own, you don’t have to be an SEO expert or expert. The first thing you have to do is convince yourself that SEO is not hard. If others can do it, so can you. All that is required is a willingness to learn and time.
Is SEO job easy?
SEO is not as difficult as people pretend it is; you can get 95% of the effort with 5% of the work, and you don’t need to hire an SEO expert to do it, and it won’t be difficult to start ranking for the selected keywords.
Is SEO job difficult?
The answer is simple. Learning SEO is difficult because there is a lot of information to read about search engines and how the optimization process works, and this can be overwhelming at first.
Why is SEO so difficult?
SEO itself is a complex discipline. It includes a large number of tools, best practices that occur periodically, and always adapts to Google updates. The main reason behind the complexity we are facing now is the many changes to Google algorithms such as: Alert Algorithm Updates.
Is SEO a high paying job?
The highest salary an SEO can earn is â¹11.2 Lakhs per annum (â¹93.3k per month).
How do I SEO my website?
10 tips to improve your SEO and get ranked: Create a title and description for each page. Use anchor text. Add alt text to all your images. Design your site with appropriate headers.
Can I do SEO on my own? You can do SEO yourself or DIY SEO (Do It Yourself SEO). With some research and a lot of practice, anyone can learn how to do SEO for their business. A quick way to get started with SEO is to enter your URL here and focus your SEO efforts on the recommended content.
