Today, everyone should know at least the basics of search engine optimization (SEO). It should be incorporated into your website design and part of all your ongoing content marketing efforts, and it’s important for helping prevent your brand’s website from being penalized by Google and other search engines. Fortunately, there are lots of ways to learn about SEO.
Of course, you have to choose them carefully. While many of the basic principles of SEO stay the same over time, it’s a constantly evolving field. At least some of the information in printed books quickly becomes obsolete. And if you’re using on older online source that doesn’t get updated, same problem. Also, there’s no shortage of self-proclaimed “SEO gurus” out there, many of whom aren’t actually reliable sources of information.
Below are some ways to learn about SEO that connect you with reliable, up-to-date information. As an added bonus, most of them don’t even cost anything, other than the time investment. Because SEO is such an integral part of doing business online these days, it’s in everyone’s best interest to be familiar with at least the fundamentals and the most significant current trends.
Resources to Learn About SEO
- Moz Blog – Moz designs software that audits and helps improve SEO, content marketing, and other aspects of a brand’s web presence. Its blog is a great resource for up-to-date information on SEO and related subjects.
- Moz Academy – If you’re willing to pay for some quality coursework on SEO, Moz offers that too, covering a wide range of topics at a wide range of prices.
- Google Webmaster Central Blog – This is an essential resource for getting announcements about Google updates and other changes straight from the source.
- SEMrush Academy – SEMrush, which offers search engine marketing and other digital marketing solutions for businesses, has lots of free online courses about SEO, and you can follow learning tracks that get quite in depth.
- HubSpot’s SkillUp Podcast – The first season of the SkillUp podcast from digital marketing giant HubSpot is covers essentials about inbound marketing, with a lot of time dedicated to SEO topics.
- HubSpot Academy SEO Training – HubSpot also has a free online course, and it’s one of the most convenient ways to learn about SEO if you’re a beginner.
- Search Engine Land Blog – This is an excellent resource for keeping up with SEO news and current trends. It helps you keep up with changes in search algorithms, what Google is up to, and other aspects of SEO that affect the way your brand does business on the web.
- Search Engine Journal Blog – This is another recommended resource that’s similar to the previous entry.
- Serpstat Academy – Serpstat is an SEO platform for businesses that offers short, free online courses covering various aspects of search engine optimization. Most of the lessons incorporate Serpstat, but it’s easy to apply what you learn to whichever SEO tools you use.
- SEO by the Sea Blog – This blog offers lots of unique insights into SEO based on patents that Google and other search engines secure. Some of the posts can be a bit difficult to digest, especially for SEO novices, but it’s worth it.
