Is there a Step by Step Online Tutorial for SEOing?
-
Hi People
I know this sounds like a real dumb question, but hey! I thought I would ask.
I am a newbie, and after continuously spending $165.00/day for my PPC adwords campaign for the last 5 years, I MUST get my site naturally ranked higher.
So as a newbie; yet understanding the basic principles about SEOing, I searched High and Low for an accredited course, an educational programme or anything that looked structured, and had a distinct step by step structure, and to my amazement I couldn't find much.
I did find Dan Thiess' online guide, the SEOMOZ guide, and a few other bits n pieces.
It appears that SEO learning is all over the place.
I couldn't find any courses at the local universities either!
So I thought...well what does it take to become an SEO consultant if there's no real formal qualification as such?
And my answer was...Experience and proof of experience!
That is, a consultant of who has been around for quite a few years and can prove to potential customers that ... hey you see this website www.????.com notice how it's ranked #1 ? That's because of me!
So I thought, I would post this question to the forum and
1. See if there is some formidable training course with a valued and recognised qualification upon completion?
2. If I am able to work for a consultant at no charge to them at all in exchange for their knowledge.
I have a wealth of experience in business and people management, and Yes I do have some Web Development and IT experience.
But I know to some consultants this is a big ask, so I thought I would put it out there! (you never know until you ask.)
In the meantime if anyone could possibly guide for a step by step program...that would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
George
-
Hi Phil
Sincere thanks for your post/reply.
I apologise for not getting back to you earlier.
"Better late than never!"
-
I'll add a little bit to the excellent answers already given in this thread.
SEOMoz is a treasure trove of information on SEO without a doubt so you are in the right place.
I just wanted to comment on the criteria of an SEO being able to show a website in the #1 position.
While that is good, you need to dig a little deeper because some bad SEO's utilize nothing but churn and burn strategies that might get them a #1 spot for a few days/weeks/months, and during that time they might be doing a product launch or going for new clients, only to eventually have their #1 site(s) tank because it was built on sand using black hat and other nefarious methods.
When looking for and judging an SEO, look a little deeper and check for longer term results.
Hope that helps.
-
Thanks Jeremy, I will def check out distilled u.
Just to make sure I get the right co., do you have their web url?
Thanks
George
-
Thanks Sylvana. I never thought of Lynda.com and I will def look it up!
I see you are in the Bridal industry (like me) which country?
George
-
Hi John
I really appreciate your detailed and honest answer.
As you can imagine I have hunted high and low over the internet, and thankfully I cam across SEOMOZ.
All of the people in the community have been so helpful, and like you John, have been willing to share their knowledge.
Thanks again, and I do hope that we maybe able to exchange ideas in the future.
Like you, I have many hats for my business
-
Thanks so much for your reply Dan and more importantly the link..
-
SEOmoz is a great resource, for further learning i would advise you to look at distilled u. Distilled are an amazing seo company, and great provider of education
-
They have really comprehensive video tutorials on www.lynda.com and they are well explained and make me understand the whole SEO thing a lot better. There is no accredited diploma upon finishing the tutorials, but the things you learn are usable right away.
They also do other tutorials on other subjects like Google Analytics, Adwords, webdesign and a lot more, so I think it is worth to have a look there by using the free 7 day trial.
-
Hi George,
Firstly, I am not sure you will find a better resource for materials ,seminars, tutorials, and most importantly people than you will at SEO Moz (and no, I am not paid to say that)
The wealth of information here, not only in documented material, but in the community's know how is staggering.
At the top of the page is a tab dedicated for learning the basic SEO techniques ... and let me tell you once you master those, they kind of give you a great base for going forward.
There are tons, and I mean tons of websites offering advanced training SEO courses out there, do they offer an official accreditation at the end, I would be very skeptical.
I am sure though, where are you live, there must be some colleges offering qualification in SEO, most of these courses will offer a lot more like below, and usually don't come under the title "Diploma in SEO", most usually because they cover so much might be advertised as "Diploma in Digital Marketing"
Digital Marketing, SEO, PPC, Email Marketing, DDA, Mobile, Analytics, Social Marketing.
I live in Ireland, I do know of at least official accreditation in above that can be done online, to be frank and honest, I am not sure you would learn much doing the course that you couldn't learn from studying the content is SEO Moz
A brief synopsis of the catergrised SEO section of the course is listed below
- Keyword Research
- How Google Works
- Search Engine Factors
- OnPage & OffPage Optimisation
- Meta Tags, Images, Content, Video
- Links and how to get them
Not exactly mind blowing new techniques covered above, yes its the base for everything, but nothing you cant teach yourself with the resources available here. (maybe the academics will disagree with me).
My opinion for what its worth is, the better "SEO experts" are people with a great understanding of the basics with a talent for developing their own skillset through tweaking the fundamentals as they go, its not necessarily something they where thought, not something they read in a book, but usually something they learned through good old trial and error ....
Lastly, obviously I cant offer anything in relation to some top consultant taking you under their wings, but without doubt, I imagine those sort of people will teach you more than any SEO course, though finding someone to that that may be quite hard.
Lastly, you could look at the Google resources for training with them, they cover a lot of the basics, I know they do charge, and cover aspects in PPC and analytics and GWT ... they can be done by individuals as opposed to just agencies
http://www.google.com/intl/en/adwords/partnerprograms/index.html
Hope that helps, not sure it answered your question, and I am far from discouraging folk from educating themselves ... I am just saying be wary of the magnitude of so called SEO experts offering training courses online
Regards
John
-
There aren't really any SEO qualifications that are worth anything. However having a good understanding of Google Analytics will help you in your own SEO campaigns - and you can get a qualification for that: http://www.google.com/analytics/learn/
I know you've seen them already, but there is so much information from reputable sources (such as SEOMoz) that I would spend some time reading their guides. There are also a ton of books on the topic at Amazon - just look for something with good feedback.
Hope this helps,
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
What are your SEO resolutions for 2016?
So tell us: What are your SEO New Year's resolutions for 2016? What will you start, stop, or continue doing to make sure you continue to grow, learn, and meet your goals in the new year?
Industry News | | Martijn_Scheijbeler1 -
Is it reasonable to not give an SEO access to our CMS?
A client (we designed their website) recently employed an SEO who required FTP access or access to the CMS. We told the client they would need to take full responsibility for any updates the SEO carried out, otherwise, the SEO could send over the changes and we would put them in at no extra cost to the client. The client didn't want to take responsibility and denied the SEO access to the CMS, and told the SEO to send over the completed work for us to put into the site. The SEO was not happy with this arrangement, and didn't seem to understand that we needed to trust him before access was would be given at a future date. Other SEO's have never had a problem with this arrangement, but this SEO claimed what they do is secret and for no one else to see. SEO want's to proceed, client doesn't want to proceed, we are happy to update the website with the client's approval. This particular client has a reputation for backing out of things. Also from the initial client, SEO contact the SEO was ready to update the website within 24 hours. Are we being unreasonable?
Industry News | | ChristinaRadisic1 -
Seo audit tool recommendation and advice anyone?
Can anyone recommend a good SEO Audit tool for my site? I have 3 top level domains with duplicate content so am looking for some international advice as well... Thanks advice would be much appreciated.
Industry News | | edward-may0 -
Looking for an SEO consultant/agency specializing in ecommerce and data architecture? Any suggestions?
Looking for an SEO consultant/agency specializing in ecommerce and data architecture? Any suggestions?
Industry News | | EE-Tom1 -
Any good White-head SEO Company for Nederland?
Our company in Nederland is looking to outsouce our SEO. We would like to find a local white head seo company to help us to get the best ranking. Any suggestions?
Industry News | | ringochan0 -
What are some good organizations an SEO company can join that are strong trust signals?
We are working on a website redesign, and want to prominently include some trust signals that help people feel comfortable with us. We're including logos of a few places we've guest posted, and also the BBB and local chamber of commerce. Do you have any other ideas on logos we can include that are good trust signals? Any associations or organizations we could join? We are a trustworthy company, we just want a way to communicate that visually, and it seems organization seals and logos are the way to go. Thanks!
Industry News | | brianspatterson1 -
How do you determine the level of an SEO
I wanted to know how others classify an individual in the industry. i.e. What makes an SEO beginner, intermediate or advanced? What skill set separates a pro from a newbie?
Industry News | | MassivePrime0 -
New business acquisition for digital agencies from SEO and CRO
I have a nice simple question to ask all you mozzers out there, specifically if you work for a web design/digital agency. Does your agency get any new business clients through your SEO and CRO efforts? I'm asking this to try and build up a qualitative data set. I am responsible for all SEO and CRO at our agency for all clients along with our own website. Having increased traffic by over 200% in the last 12 months, and obtaining page one of Google for all our targeted keywords, we are still without any new business or ROI. We are fortunate enough to get a lot of great clients via word of mouth, a great sales team and client retention, I'd really like to know what the bigger picture is here? If I get enough data back, I'll make it into my first Youmoz post and share all the data with everyone :¬) I've now added a survey so you answer anonymously: There are only 5 questions in all, your time is greatly appreciated. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/New_business_acquisitions_for_digital_agencies Any feedback gladly welcomed. Regards Sean
Industry News | | Yozzer0