Best Free SEO Resources & Tutorials

There are plenty of professionals who are eager to learn SEO but hesitate because of the perceived up-front costs. You can learn how search engines rank websites for free by watching tutorials, listening to podcasts, and reading books. However, there is a surprising amount of free resources available to help beginners get the hang of this exciting program.

Read on to learn more about the different types of free resources and tutorials available to help you learn SEO.

What is SEO?

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is a way to drive more traffic to your website and gain more customers. It depends upon content, technical website optimization, link building, and keyword research to ensure that your website appears near the top of a Google results page. A BrightEdge survey conducted in 2019 found that SEO is 1000% more effective at driving website traffic than organic methods like social media posts. Professionals who work with SEO are often called Website Optimization Specialists.

The primary goal of SEO is to build trust between your business and your users. You can do this through high-quality content, ensuring your website loads quickly in desktop and mobile versions, and optimizing your site for voice search. Another way to improve your rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs) is to create a “Google My Business” listing.

Read more about what SEO is and why you should learn it.

What Can You Do with SEO?

SEO is used to determine search engine success in three crucial ways: technical SEO, on-page SEO, and off-page SEO.

Technical SEO looks at a website's technical features and how they affect search engine rankings. These include the site structure, schema, and URL. The site needs to be easy to navigate with a clearly understood organization. Other aspects of technical SEO are website loading speed, mobile friendliness, voice optimization, and the XML sitemap.

The primary goal of on-page optimization is meeting the intent of the searcher/user with high-quality content. On-page content is essential and refers to everything that appears on a website, including text, keywords, images, tags, and internal links. Researching and choosing the best SEO keywords shows that the website has authority and is trustworthy.

Off-page SEO involves building links and strengthening social media engagement. Backlinks and social media help build authority and trust with search engines. Link building refers to finding reputable and relevant websites to link to your website or content. The more references to your content on other reliable sites, the better. Additionally, building out social media presence across various channels will further establish your internet presence and boost your SEO. You can use different analytical tools to track SEO and conversion rates.

Free Digital Marketing Resources

Noble Desktop’s Digital Marketing YouTube channel offers many free digital marketing video tutorials, and the content is updated regularly to present the most up-to-date information in the rapidly changing world of digital marketing. The videos are each about an hour long and include graphics, images, and explanations by digital marketing instructors. Watching these videos is a great way to learn the basics of SEO and decide if you want to change careers.

• The Pillars of Marketing Success introduces viewers to digital marketing and is an excellent place to start. It covers an overview of different channels, presents a framework for digital marketing success, and discusses the importance of market research and how to do it.
• Website Fundamentals & Conversion Optimization covers best practices for building an effective website, including tips for enhancing your website to increase traffic and actions to improve website performance. It also covers how to track website activity and conversions, which is crucial to increasing sales.
• Intro to Google Analytics gives an overview of web analytics and Google Analytics in particular. Web analytics is the measurement, collection, analysis, and reporting of web data to understand and optimize website performance. Google Analytics is a free tool within the Google Marketing Platform that collects data and compiles it into valuable reports that you can use to see who visits your website and what they do there.
• Dominate Local Search with Google My Business focuses on the importance of local search listing and how to use Google My Business (GMB). The tutorial demonstrates how to add your business to GMB, what is included in a GMB listing, how to complete your GMB profile, and where to get additional help setting up your listing.

Other Free Tutorials

• HubSpot Academy offers a free digital marketing certificate course covering search engine optimization (SEO) to improve website performance and paid and unpaid advertising strategies.
• SEMRush Academy is a collection of free classes from the company that creates SEO tools. Topics include SEO crash course, content-led SEO, and How to Get Hired as a Digital Marketer.
• SEO Training Course by Moz on Udemy covers SEO tips and tricks using Moz products.
• Social Media 101 at Constant Contact offers free seminars on the basics of social media marketing. They cover the differences between using social media as a private person and using it as a business, how to create a business page and profile, creating effective content to increase engagement, and using paid advertising.
• Internet Marketing for Smart People is a free class from Copyblogger covering the four pillars of online marketing: building relationships, creating quality content, marketing that content, and having something worth selling.

Podcasts

Podcasts are a great way to learn about digital marketing and keep up with current trends. Here are some popular offerings.

• Search Engine Journal Show is hosted by Loren Baker and focuses on SEO trends, technology, content strategy, and much more.
• The WTSPodcast (Women in Tech SEO) covers many different SEO topics including local SEO, keyword mapping, inspiring stories, and innovations and developments in SEO. The podcast is hosted by Sarah McDowell and Areej AbuAli.
• Azeem Digital Asks with Azeem Ahmad. The content of this podcast focuses mostly on SEO but it also covers avoiding burnout, recruiting, brand building, and inclusive strategies.
• Marketing O’Clock focuses on the broader topic of developments in digital marketing, many of which have to do with SEO. This is an entertaining way to stay up with the latest innovations.

Books

While books are technically not free, you can borrow them from the local library without paying for them. Here are some that are highly recommended.

The Art of SEO: Mastering Search Engine Optimization, by Eric Enge, Stephan Spencer, and Jessie Stricchiola. This highly respected book is considered a must-read for anyone who wants to learn SEO. It starts with the underlying theory and moves on to social media and data, how to do keyword research, and an in-depth look at famous algorithms.

Keyword Accelerator Playbook, by Stephen Hockman covers the right way to do keyword research and creating a content publishing plan. The Sassy Way of Ranking #1 in Google - when you have NO CLUE!: Beginner's Guide to Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing (Beginner Internet Marketing Series), by Gundi Gabrielle is book four of a five book marketing series for beginners. It goes step by step through the process of SEO techniques and strategies to improve Google rankings.

Taking the Next Step

Once you have watched several free tutorials, listened to some podcasts, and read a few books, you may be ready to take the next step and sign up for a paid class in SEO. Many schools offer online courses, and some of them are asynchronous classes that you can take in your spare time. Certificate programs take two to four months to complete. These are intensive courses focusing exclusively on SEO and other digital marketing subjects.

Noble Desktop offers an SEO Bootcamp that includes an introduction to SEO, how search engines rank websites, keyword research techniques with SEMRushm, and SEO content writing. This course is great for individuals looking to start a career in website optimization, or entrepreneurs and business owners looking to start a business and improve their search rankings. This program also includes a free retake so students can come back to refresh the material.

You can take classes in-person or live-online from anywhere in the world. Live-online classes have a set-up similar to in-person instruction, with a real-time, remote instructor who can answer questions and share your screen to show you how to do things. You get the same level of attention as in in-person classes.

Learn SEO with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

If you want to change careers and become a Web Optimization/SEO Specialist, you can sign up for Noble Desktop’s SEO Bootcamp. This two-part class will teach you beginning and advanced SEO strategies to get your website to the top of the page. In the first class, SEO Level 1, you’ll learn how search engines work, how to do keyword research and competitor analysis, and how to use SEO-driven content to increase web traffic. SEO Level 2 covers how to do SEO audits and gives you hands-on experience with an expert instructor.

You can also sign up for a Google Analytics Bootcamp to learn how to set up an account, know which metrics to track, and understand the Google Analytics reports. You can also learn about paid advertising with Google Ads Bootcamp.

Another way to prepare for a career as a Web Optimizations/SEO Specialist is a digital marketing certificate course. Noble’s Digital Marketing Certificate includes the digital marketing, SEO, and Google Analytics bootcamps, plus Google Ads and classes on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, and Twitter marketing, as well as content marketing with blogs.

Use Noble Desktop’s Classes Near Me to find other courses in digital marketing in your area.

Key Insights

• SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization.
• SEO is a way to drive traffic to your website, get more customers, and increase sales.
• There are three types of SEO: technical, on-page, and off-page.
• Here are some things you can do to get started on your journey to learn SEO:

• Watching free video tutorials
• Listening to podcasts
• Reading books

• After you have worked your way through some free resources, you might try a paid class. Courses are the most effective and efficient way to learn digital marketing for switching to a new career.