I recently received a call from somebody who asked: “How can I learn SEO?” Apparently, the office junior had been tasked with sorting it out and he was wondering where she should go to learn it; as if there was a page of instructions she could read and immediately become an expert. I got the distinct impression he thought it was something which could be all done and dusted before the end of the weekend. By which time the company Website would be at the top of Google.
A word of warning: If you want to learn about SEO and improve your own website’s search rankings it will take some work. It will also take a bit of patience and time to see noticeable results. If you’re looking for a quick overnight fix then please don’t bother to read any further.
Still with me? Ok good, I promise it’s worth it!
Now, anybody who has taken even a passing interest in search and SEO will know that it can be a very broad and often contentious subject area, which takes in not only the elements present on the actual website itself, but also a lot of external factors, such as inbound links, social media presence, and so on. It is also something which seems to change frequently as search engines (Google primarily) change the algorithms which decide the order of results for a particular keyword phrase.
Anyway, endeavouring to be as helpful as possible I sent my caller the following links, which I believe are all excellent resources for the budding SEO expert.
Useful Resources For Learning About SEO
- Before diving into the official Google stuff, a good place to start is https://www.udemy.com/whiteboard-seo/ – Moz is highly respected for their SEO expertise and this course is free.
- https://learndigital.withgoogle.com/digitalgarage/ – Very comprehensive list of courses from Google, includes search, social media, email marketing and more. Courses are free and certified. A Google account (email address) is required to enrol.
- https://www.searchenginewatch.com/2018/02/12/the-2018-guide-to-free-seo-training-courses-online/ – loads of other useful stuff for learning about SEO is linked from here.
No Specialist SEO Knowledge Required
But before getting embroiled in all the SEO and search marketing details and minutiae linked above, there are some very simple things anybody can carry out which I absolutely guarantee will improve a Website’s search rankings. There are no technical or special skills required and following these tips will greatly improve the search presence of any website. Head over to my article about How To Promote A New Website and learn how to build traffic to your Website and open the floodgates to more business.
So, does that mean these things can be called “search engine optimisation”? Actually, yes – they can certainly be considered a part of an overall SEO strategy, but this knowledge alone will not immediately turn somebody into an SEO expert.
Pinpoint Problems With A Website Audit
One very useful tip I would like to pass on is to carry out a website audit. Completing a proper audit of your website will pinpoint the exact areas where there is room for improvement and give you a list of tasks to complete. There are plenty of tools out there but the one I use and recommend is from SE Ranking. Compared to other SEO tools, SE Ranking offers the best value for smaller businesses and non-professionals. It is also fully-featured and apart from the website audit tool, has keyword rank tracking, competitor analysis, backlink checking and monitoring, and more. Click on the banner below for a free 14 day trial.
What Happened To the Guy Who Asked How Can I Learn SEO?
You might be wondering about the original caller who asked about learning SEO? Well, I haven’t heard back from the caller since, so I have no idea whether the office junior found the links useful or has indeed become an expert yet. A search for his area of business doesn’t find his company’s website at the top of Google just yet though so that might be a clue. As I said; it takes a bit of work and patience. Many simply can’t be bothered.
I hope this little lot helps. As I mentioned at the beginning, SEO can be a very broad subject area and one which needs quite a bit of time and ongoing attention to even begin to approach ‘expert’ status. But by following some of the links above and taking some action, you might not be an ‘expert’ but you will know the answer to the question “How Can I Learn SEO?”.
Good luck!
