How do Beginners Learn SEO?

As a beginner, learning SEO may seem overwhelming. Instead of trying to learn everything all at once, it’s best to start with the essential fundamental skills and keywords. SEO is generally divided into three types: on-page, off-page, and technical. A beginner will want to learn the differences between the three as well as their individual importance. 

There are multiple ways to learn SEO as a novice. The foundational principles can be explored through free resources like YouTube videos or free tutorials. Basic skills can be gained through on-demand, live online, or in-person classes, and a deeper level of knowledge can be reached through a certification or degree program. Each of these methods will have pros and cons for beginners, so keep reading to learn more about making the best choice for you.

Getting Started with SEO

The good news about SEO is that you don’t need much to get started. It would be helpful to be familiar with web layout and design, WordPress, or other website creation tools prior to starting your class, but it isn’t required. Depending on the class you attend, you may need to purchase certain software subscriptions or trials before the course starts. SEMRush,Google Analytics, and even the Adobe Suite are often used by SEO experts, so you may need to purchase these (or sign up for a free trial) in order to complete your coursework. 

The First Steps when Learning SEO

Beginner SEO novices will want to start with learning foundational SEO vocabulary (and their importance) like those terms listed below:

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): The tactics you use to optimize your website to ensure you provide the high-quality information searchers look for and rank higher in search results for specific keywords so people can find your content.
• On-page SEO: Any optimizations you’d make within your website to improve search rankings, like the keywords used in your content or back-end elements like site structure.
• Off-page SEO: Any actions you take to improve your search engine rankings outside your website, like backlinks from other websites or guest blogging.
• Link building: Getting links to your website from other high-quality websites to build authority and credibility.
• Keyword research: The process of finding keywords people enter into search results related to your business to help you inform the words to use in your website pages and content.
• Organic/Organic results: Any results in SERP that are unpaid and that appear because of a page’s relevance to the search query.

From there, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with the basic concepts like research and troubleshooting, critical thinking, data collecting and analyzing, and strategic content creation. Once you feel confident with the terminology and fundamental principles, you’ll be able to accomplish beginner-friendly tasks in SEO.

Free SEO Tools for Beginners

There are a lot of educational resources out there to read and watch that will help you build your understanding of SEO. From free trainings, courses, and webinars to video tutorials and books, knowledge is truly at your fingertips. Some of the most common self-teaching tools are outlined below, including their individual pros and cons, to help you decide which options are best for your particular circumstances.

HubSpot, Udemy, and Coursera

You could take advantage of The HubSpot blog and YouTube channel, making the most of their free insights, tools, and short classes. HubSpot Academy also offers free courses in SEO that are ideal for beginners. Udemy also offers various free courses and tutorials that can be completed in one to three hours, and even has short little instructional videos on specific topics like SEO for commerce, Google Keyword Planner, and the basics of conversion tracking. Coursera is another option, with various training sessions and videos lasting from just a few minutes to a few days. These courses can provide a familiar structure to typical classes but won’t have the accountability of scheduled class times and assigned due dates, so self-motivation will be key. 

Google Analytics Academy

Google Analytics Academy helps you learn about how Google's measurement tools can help grow your business through intelligent data collection and analysis. Completely free, there are paths for both beginners and advanced learners. Google Analytics helps you identify content and pages on your website that are ranking well or getting shared a lot. It can also help you pinpoint which pages keep people on your site longer or achieve more conversions than others. By providing metrics like page views, bounce rate, and conversion rate, Google Analytics can help SEO experts identify areas for improvement. It’s a commonly used tool among SEO professionals, so mastering it will be essential to your success. Remember though, there’s so much more to SEO than just Google Analytics, and GA’s academy won’t be able to provide the robust well-rounded curriculum of a SEO class or bootcamp.

SemRush Academy

SemRush Academy offers courses, lessons, and webinars on all things digital marketing. It is one of the most popular tools used by SEO experts thanks to features like the Keyword Magic Tool that can find and develop a master list of keywords, semantically related long-tail keywords, and the top questions being asked. SemRush Academy can teach you how to best use all of SemRush’s tools, streamlining your strategies, implementation, and results. Much like Google Analytics Academy, SemRush is just one important subject in SEO and you’ll have to explore other free learning resources for anything outside of this tool’s reach.

YouTube 

YouTube is perhaps the most widely accessible and used free resource and is full of informative videos and tutorials that can introduce you to the basic principles, techniques, and tools of SEO. There are seemingly endless content creators focused solely on teaching SEO to beginners (or advanced techniques to those with some experience). These resources can be a great way to ignite your interest or passion with SEO, but are generally not advised as your primary source of education when you’re starting out. While you do have the benefit of learning at your own pace, you can not receive feedback or advice when you’re struggling to master a subject.

Books

SEO is now an established field, meaning there are also endless educational text resources at your disposal. Books running in topics from the art of SEO to the foundations of digital marketing are all available for purchase or can be borrowed from your local library. The caveat with printed resources is that you’ll need to be mindful that they are up to date. SEO is a constantly changing field so you’ll want your educational texts and resources to contain fresh techniques and current tools that are a part of the current SEO landscape. 

Live SEO Training for Beginners

Live SEO courses are an ideal learning method for those entirely new to the field. Live online classes are great for those who prefer a solitary learning environment with minimal distractions. They allow you to learn from the comfort of your own home (or wherever you choose), providing more flexibility. Additionally, if you live in an area with limited (or no) in-person options, online classes open up more opportunities for you. 

If you thrive in a collaborative classroom environment, look into in-person classes. You’ll be able to work with other students, make new friends, and receive feedback and input from your instructor in the moment. These classes also provide a higher level of accountability and are a superb choice for those who struggle to keep themselves motivated or on task. They are, of course, less flexible than an online class, but often their advantages outweigh this one disadvantage. 

Live classes, whether attended virtually or on location, offer the structure, accountability, and discourse that can help you master SEO (from basics to advanced skills) as efficiently as possible. 

Noble Desktop offers a variety of beginner-friendly classes, both live online and in-person in New York City. Their SEO Bootcamp covers the fundamentals of SEO with hands-on lessons in search engine optimization and competitive keyword analysis Led by an expert instructor, this class offers small class sizes, setup assistance, and a free retake should you wish to revisit any of the material. The course also includes a seven-day free trial of SemRush, the top keyword research tool.

Google Analytics Bootcamp from Noble Desktop will teach you how to use Google Analytics and its applications for marketing, including tracking data, interpreting reports, and optimizing performance. Google Analytics is often used by SEO experts to help identify content and pages on a website that is ranking well or getting shared a lot. This course will cover setting up an account and understanding what you should be tracking. You’ll also discover the exciting features of GA4, including its data model and advanced methods for tracking events that matter to you. (This course is part of the Digital Marketing Certificate, but can be taken as a standalone course.) 

The Next Step

If you’ve already mastered the basics and are interested in trying your hand at more challenging techniques, check out an intermediate or advanced course. Held live online, on-demand, or in-person, these courses offer all the same benefits you’ll find in entry-level courses but will focus on topics like using dynamic parameters for pagination, embedding original images in your content, and getting backlinks from unlinked brand mentions. Advanced techniques will focus more on off-page and technical SEO techniques, and the overlap of SEO with other marketing principles and strategies. 

If you’re looking for something more robust, Noble also offers a UX & UI Design Certificate that covers design concepts, industry tools like Figma, and research methodologies for creating successful user experiences. UX (User Experience) focuses on designing apps, websites, and other products that are easy and pleasant for people to use. UI (User Interface) focuses on the appearance of apps, websites, and other products, so they are beautiful and visually effective. UX/UI and SEO are complementary fields; having a better understanding of the user’s experience can help guide your SEO strategy. 

Additionally, their Digital Marketing Certificate will provide you with a holistic understanding of all parts of marketing, including SEO. You’ll develop an actionable, multi-tiered campaign and optimize it through search engine optimization (SEO), social media, paid search, content marketing, and email marketing. You’ll also learn to increase your return on investment by using technology to determine key performance indicators, monitor web analytics, track conversions, and create reports with Google Analytics. Tracking your successes and failures will be hugely important as an SEO professional.