Can I Learn SEO For Free?

Yes, you can learn SEO for free online. Especially in today’s online world, there are endless resources available right at your fingertips. With the right resources and mindset, you can master the basics of SEO on your own, but it’s recommended that you use free resources as a way of exploring the fundamentals of SEO or as a supplemental resource to more in-depth learning. This article will explore what free resources are available to you and how best to use them to your advantage. 

What Free Resources are Available for Learning SEO?

The internet is an ever-expanding vault of information, providing various free resources that can help you explore and master SEO. Below are a few examples of the most common free resources you’ll find and how they can be leveraged to help you become an expert in SEO.

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 don’t have the ability to receive feedback or advice when you’re struggling to master a subject.

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.

SemRush Academy

SemRush Academy offers courses, lessons, and webinars on all things digital marketing. SemRush 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 hot to best utilize 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.

Blogs, Articles, and Discussion Forums

You’ll also find free resources like blogs, articles, and discussion forums. These are typically created by passionate industry professionals that want to share their knowledge with other marketing experts. Discussion forums offer a community space where you can bounce ideas off of your peers and can be a great space for networking as well. If you learn better from reading, rather than watching videos, these resources can be valuable. They are also easy to reference again and can be especially useful when you’re looking for a step-by-step process or explanation. 

How to Make Use of Free SEO Resources

Free resources like The HubSpot blog and YouTube can be helpful supplemental resources while you’re enrolled in a course. HubSpot Academy offers free courses in SEO that are ideal for beginners. Udemy also has 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. 

Attending a structured course, whether that’s on-demand, live online, or in-person, will provide you with a robust foundation of knowledge. Free resources like those listed above can then be used as complementary learning materials, helping you further explore any challenging subjects or walk through various ways to implement strategies. When combined with a more immersive course, free resources can help you master SEO easily and quickly. 

Limitations of Free Resources

While great as bonus learning materials, free resources aren’t recommended as your primary source of education, as they’ll lack the immersive experience that a structured course offers. Plus, using this method as your sole source of education can take the most time. You’ll be responsible for sourcing all your learning materials and ensuring that you’ve covered all the important subjects of SEO, and this process can take a substantial amount of time.You also won’t be able to ask questions and receive feedback in real time, like you would in a live class. Additionally, like on-demand courses, it’s easy to lose motivation and fall behind with free resources, so they’re best for independent, self-motivated learners. 

What to Do After Utilizing Free SEO Resources

If you started your SEO journey with live resources and are now looking for your next step, consider a live online or in-person course. From the accountability of scheduled class times and due dates to real-time interactions with expert instructors to access to mentoring and networking, online or in-person live classes provide you with top-notch curriculum and personal support to help you confidently master SEO. Below are a few of the top courses you can take that offer these benefits.

Noble Desktop offers a variety of 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.

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. 

Google Analytics Bootcamp 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.) 

While not specifically focused on SEO, Web Development with HTML & CSS is a valuable course for any SEO professional, as they’ll often have a hand in website development. This class offers hands-on experience coding websites from scratch, all the way through uploading to make the site live. You’ll learn best practices for structuring and tagging the content of your webpages with HTML, and styling the content with CSS. Using HTML, you’ll learn how to create webpages with text, images, and more. With CSS, you’ll style the content, create centered page layouts, add background images, style navigation, and make the page responsive. Optimizing HTML and CSS is paramount to ensuring not only an attractive design but also excellent SEO performance.