What is the best way to learn SEO?

1. Study SEO fundamentals

• Before you begin using tools and resources, ensure that you understand the fundamentals of SEO.
• Learn What SEO is
•  Search engine optimization, or SEO, refers to any methods and tactics that help you rank better in search engines like Google.
• The better your ranking, the more likely you are to attract visitors to your site. So, the fundamental purpose of SEO is to increase organic (unpaid) traffic from search engines.

Learn How Search Engines Work

•  To understand how to conduct SEO, you should first grasp how search engines function.
• First, search engines need to find your page. They utilize computers (known as website crawlers or bots) that follow links from existing pages to find new ones. This is known as creeping.
• When a search engine discovers a new page, it evaluates its content and (ideally) saves it in a large collection of pages known as an index (for example, the Google index). This phase is referred to as indexing.
• Finally, the search engine employs a variety of algorithms to choose the best and most relevant sites from its index and present them as sorted search results for users’ search queries. This process is referred to as ranking.
• SEO is about ensuring that search engines can crawl and index your pages. Showing search engines that your material is superior (in terms of quality, relevancy, and user experience).

Understand SEO Ranking Factors

•  SEO ranking elements are things that influence how your website and individual pages perform in search engine rankings.
• According to our ranking factors analysis, text relevance is the most crucial Google ranking factor. This means how relevant your page’s content is to the user’s inquiry.
• Google examines items like:
• How quickly your page loads?
• How many other websites connect to yours?
• Whether your web page employs the secure HTTPS protocol.

Know the Types of SEO

•  The most common forms of SEO are:
• On-page SEO is the process of optimizing a single page so that it ranks higher. Content optimization, title tag optimization, and internal linking are some of the tactics used.
• Off-page SEO refers to SEO actions that occur outside of your website. Link development, content syndication, and social media management are all effective tactics.
• Technical SEO is improving the technical features of your website for both search engines and users. Techniques include increasing page speed and site architecture.
• There are SEO methods for certain content types, such as:
• Image SEO: Optimizing images to rank higher in both normal and image results.
• Video SEO: Optimizing videos to rank higher in normal results, picture results, video results, and on sites such as YouTube.
• There are also SEO specializations for certain sorts of companies or websites, such as:
• Local SEO: Strategies that assist local companies rank higher in local search results.
• International SEO: Techniques for websites that serve different languages and locales.
• Ecommerce SEO Strategies for Online Stores
• SEO strategies for software as a service (SaaS) firms
• Small Business SEO Tactics
• B2B SEO: Tactics for B2B brands.

Build Essential SEO Skills

 SEO encompasses numerous fields and involves various hard skills. Here are the most critical SEO skills:

Keyword Research

•  Keyword research is the practice of identifying search phrases (or keywords) that relevant audiences use in search engines. So you may focus on the ones that are most likely to benefit your business.
• A decent keyword research tool can help you assess topics like:
• Search volume is the average number of monthly searches for a term.
• Keyword difficulty is a measure of how tough it will be to rank highly in search results.
• Search intent: The purpose of a user’s search (also known as keyword intent).

SERP Analysis

•  SERP analysis is the process of evaluating the search engine results page (SERP) and its results for a certain term.
• It helps you uncover SEO ranking chances. Determine what you need to do to safeguard them.
• For example, the SERP for “chocolate cake” is dominated by recipes from prominent websites that search engines see as credible. This means that different sorts of material and less-known websites may struggle to rank here.
• You will also notice certain SERP characteristics (non-standard search results). Consider rich snippets with star ratings.
• If you were developing a chocolate cake recipe, you could optimize for these factors. With the purpose of increasing exposure and clicks.

Content Creation

•  Content development is a crucial aspect of SEO since it provides something for search engines to examine and rank.
• To achieve the greatest outcomes, you should:
• Generate relevant content or blog ideas.
• Make use of content development tools.
• Create great material suited to your target audience.
• Distribute your material via several channels.
• Google prefers to prioritize original material that displays Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T). Because it strives to give people with useful and dependable results.
• This implies that your material should be precise, complete, and relevant to your brand.

On-Page Optimization

•  On-page optimization is the process of enhancing both the technical and content components of your website. Make them more user-friendly and related to your desired keywords.
• It also helps you rank better in search engines and drive more organic traffic to your website.
• On-page SEO involves several critical factors, including:
• Meta Title tags are clickable headlines that might show in search results. They should incorporate your primary keyword as well as a compelling value proposition that entices consumers to visit your website.
• Meta descriptions are bits of text that may appear underneath headlines in search results. They should include a brief overview of your page and a call to action that motivates people to click.
• Headers are subheadings that help organize your material and make it simpler to read and skim. They should employ appropriate keywords and adhere to a logical structure (H1, H2, H3, etc.).
• Content: The major body of your page that contains relevant and entertaining information for your readers. It should go over your topic in detail, answer the searchers’ inquiries, and utilize natural language and variations on your keywords.
• Images are visual components that improve your page’s content and appeal to your target audience. They should contain meaningful alt text that summarizes what the image depicts and incorporate your keywords where applicable.
• Internal links are the connections that connect your pages and assist people browse your website. They should utilize descriptive anchor language to explain what the linked website is about.
• To do on-page optimization, employ a technology that can examine your pages in bulk.
• For example, On Page SEO Checker identifies flaws and makes ideas on how to optimize pages throughout your website.

Technical SEO

•  Technical SEO entails optimizing numerous technical parts of your website. The idea is to ensure that search engines can crawl and index your website correctly.
• This contains items such as:
• Creating an XML sitemap (a file that specifies all the sites you want search engines to index)
• Create a robots.txt file (a file that notifies search engines which pages on your site should be scanned)
• Using meta robots tags (HTML that informs search engines how to crawl, index, and display a certain page)
• Implementing structured data (code that allows search engines to better comprehend your material)
• Much of technical SEO focuses on increasing website performance and user experience.
• Things like:

Mobile-friendliness

• Core Web Vitals (a set of measures that assess your sites’ user experience)
• HTTPS (which refers to website security)
• You may run a technical SEO audit to detect and prioritize issues with your website.
• Test it out today using Semrush’s Site Audit tool. You may then work through all of your “Errors” (the most serious concerns), before moving on to “Warnings” and “Notices.”

Link Building

• Link building is a collection of techniques designed to increase the amount of links you receive from relevant, high-quality websites.
• It is significant because search engines might interpret these types of links (backlinks) as indicators of your site’s reliability and quality.
• The idea is simple.
• If many authoritative pages link to a single page, that page is likewise deemed authoritative. This is why link building has always been a key component of SEO.
• Our backlink management training will teach you the fundamentals in less than one hour.

Website Architecture

•  Website architecture refers to the hierarchical structure of your websites and how they are linked together. It impacts both the user experience and your SEO results.
• Here’s a graphic representation of website structure:
• An effective website architecture should:
• Help people locate the information they need and navigate your site simply.
• Help search engines scan and index your site effectively, as well as grasp the links between your pages.
• Distribute your page authority equally and increase your topical authority for your desired keywords.

SEO Performance Monitoring

•  Being able to track and evaluate SEO outcomes is an essential skill. Because it tells you which techniques are most effective for your firm.
• It’s a good idea to monitor SEO key performance metrics.
• Keyword rankings
• Organic traffic
• Organic Conversions

2. Learn by Doing

• The most effective approach to study SEO is to put your knowledge into practice.
• You may already have a website where you would like to use what you’ve learned about SEO. If you don’t, here are some alternatives:
• Create a blog on any subject you are passionate about. And attempt to rank for a few keywords.
• Begin a side project (e.g., an affiliate website) that might turn into an extra source of revenue.
• Help a friend or family member to improve their website for free.
• Every specialty is a bit unique. So, even if you have a corporate website, it may be beneficial to operate a personal project in which you may experiment freely.
• The more websites you work on, the more SEO experience you will have.
• When selecting a blog niche (or a niche for another side project), be sure that:
• You are interested in
• You possess valuable knowledge that can lead to financial gain.
• Do not be hesitant to attempt new things, such as SEO split testing, and learn from your errors.
• Throughout the process, you will need to employ several SEO tools. Like Google Search Console.

Set Up and Learn Google Search Console

•  Google Search Console is a free Google service that lets you track your website’s performance in Google Search. In addition, there are other technological factors to SEO.
• When you sign into Google Search Console, you will see the following reports:
• Search results report: Data on how your website performs in Google search results.
• A page indexing report includes a list of all pages that have been successfully indexed. Also included are individuals who were omitted, as well as the reasons why.
• Page experience report: An summary of your website’s usability performance.
• All of these reports are useful and will come in handy at some point.

Get Acquainted with an SEO Tool Set

 If you operate a company website, investing in a decent SEO tool package will be well worth it. It will not only allow you to make data-driven SEO choices, but it will also save you a significant amount of time.

Furthermore, it provides you a competitive advantage over competitors who solely utilize free SEO tools (or none at all).

When selecting your SEO tools, be sure to search for at least the following:

• Keyword research tool.
• Competitor Analysis Tool
• Rank Tracking Tool
• On-page analysis tool.
• Technical auditing tool
• Link-building tool

You may require additional tools depending on your specific requirements. Consider using a listing management solution for your local SEO efforts.

Getting acquainted with your alternatives might take some time, especially for inexperienced SEOs. Make sure to select ones that offer a wealth of materials to assist you in getting started, as well as excellent customer service.

https://www.semrush.com/signup/

Better yet, search for all-in-one platforms.

Semrush offers more than 55 tools, including those listed above. It also includes a large Knowledge Base and a dedicated support team available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

You may test Semrush with a free account. Sign up today and check out these resources:

Master SEO Tools within Your CMS

•  Each content management system (CMS) has unique options and plugins that might impact your SEO performance.
• Learn the basics of SEO for your CMS:
• WordPress SEO
• Wix SEO
• Shopify SEO
• Squarespace SEO
• WooCommerce SEO

3. Get Advice from Expert Sources

•  Unfortunately, there are several SEO fallacies out there. As a result, you should exercise extreme caution and only use instructional sites that give reliable and current information.

Use Official Google Sources

•  Google is the world’s largest search engine. And studying straight from their official SEO resources ensures that you receive information from a reliable source.
• Here are several official Google resources that every SEO should know.
• Google Search Central site: The official site for news, algorithm changes, and SEO best practices (which includes Google’s SEO Starter Guide).
• Google Search Central’s YouTube channel features Google news, updates, lessons, podcasts, and interviews. It also features SEO Office Hours, which are Q&A sessions regarding SEO with actual Google representatives.
• Search Quality Rating Guidelines: Extensive instructions for Google’s search quality raters, who evaluate search results and submit input to Google. These criteria might help you learn a lot about what Google considers high-quality content.
• Last but not least, consider following John Mueller, Google’s Search Advocate and one of the most well-known mediators between Google and the SEO community. He is active on X (previously Twitter) and Reddit.

Read SEO Blogs

•  Reliable SEO blogs can educate you the fundamentals of SEO, offer tried-and-true strategies, and keep you up to date on the newest developments.
• Here are some of our go-to SEO blogs.
• Semrush blog features beginner-friendly pieces, advanced tips, SEO research, and views from industry professionals.
• Backlinko: Brian Dean breaks down complicated issues into simple recommendations so that anybody can understand SEO and apply it to their site.
• Search Engine Journal is a famous SEO site that features the most recent search news, guidelines, seminars, and how-tos.
• Search Engine Land is a prominent book that includes how-to tutorials and the most recent advances in the sector

Take Free SEO Courses

•  Courses are an extremely popular approach to study SEO online. They are often broken into manageable segments and end with an SEO certificate.
• Here are some popular free SEO courses:
• Semrush Academy: A broad range of SEO and online marketing subjects taught by industry specialists such as Brian Dean, Eric Enge, and Nathan Gotch.
• Google SEO fundamentals: A course to master the basics of SEO from the University of California, Davis.
• SEO Certification training: A popular four-hour training from HubSpot.

FAQs

What are the fundamentals of SEO?

Understanding how search engines function, keyword research, on-page optimization, content development, link building, and measuring website performance using tools such as Google Analytics and Search Console are all part of the fundamentals of SEO.

How long does it take to learn SEO?

The time it takes to master SEO varies based on your background and how much time you devote to learning. It might take a few months to learn the fundamentals and a year or more to become proficient.

What are the greatest resources for learning SEO?

Some of the finest tools for learning SEO are online courses from platforms such as Coursera, Udemy, and Moz, SEO professional blogs, Google’s SEO starting guide, and SEO forums and communities.

Is coding essential to master SEO?

While understanding basic HTML and CSS might be beneficial, coding is not required to master SEO. Many SEO tools and platforms have user-friendly interfaces that don’t require coding skills.

Can I study SEO for free?

Yes, you can study SEO for free utilizing internet resources such as blogs, YouTube videos, free courses, and instructions from trustworthy sources such as Moz, Ahrefs, and Google’s SEO beginner guide.