Search Engine Optimization is a branch of marketing. Together with PPC and SMM, it is regarded as the backbone of web advertising. Needless to say, if you’re serious about your business, you will put lots of effort into developing your internet marketing team and with it, your SEO department as well.

Learning SEO isn’t as easy as it seems. There is much more to it than building links or creating actionable content. The industry is very dynamic due to constant algorithmic changes which is why a person has to be fully dedicated. It is a job that should only be handled by an SEO expert.

But there’s a catch: expertise costs a lot of money!

As a result, it is usually much better to take one of the top SEO courses online instead of investing in SEO experts.

However, let’s not get ahead of ourselves and see why SEO is important in the first place.

Why do you need Search Engine Optimization?

As previously mentioned, web marketing is based on three separate pillars: SEO, SMM, and PPC.

Each one of them has a different purpose. SEO is focused on search engine optimization and Google in particular. It is meant to help you reach top positions in the search engine so whenever someone browses for a particular product or service, your company will pop-up first. By optimizing your pages, you are creating a long-term future for the company.

SMM or social media marketing is used to promote your brand on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Lastly, PPC stands for pay-per-click and it is a short-term strategy that requires continuous investment.

In a perfect world, you will invest in all three methods. But, this takes a lot of money; money that most small and medium companies do not have. As a result, you will have to opt for one of the approaches.

So, why would SEO have an advantage over the other 2 strategies? In fact, is SEO even better than the traditional promotional activities?

Let’s check it out!

1. Business is on the internet

Traditional forms of advertising will not cut it anymore. Billboards, radio, TV; they are all things of the past. When people want to find a solution to their problems, they turn to Google and other search engines for a solution - digital marketing. By focusing on SEO, not only are you looking into the future and positioning your company to succeed but you’re also cutting the unnecessary costs.

2. Optimization stays

Unlike traditional advertising or methods such as PPC, SEO provides a more permanent solution. Once the search engine perceives you as an elite, reputable company, your optimization efforts will remain in place. There isn’t much fluctuation as long as you properly optimize your pages and site as a whole. Other types of online advertising are based on the “pay to play” principle. In other words, as soon as you stop playing, you lose all your visibility.

3. SEO makes your site better

Websites are digital business cards. Some of them have existed for decades and will continue to exist for years to come. Search Engine Optimization revolves around a simple principle: making sites better for internet users. Even if you don’t succeed in your marketing efforts, you have to consider the fact that your site will remain optimized, it will be quick, mobile-friendly, etc. So, by just working on your website, you’re making a difference that will remain for years to come.

4. Cumulative effect

SEO has the best cumulative effect in the digital marketing world. If you manage to get some of your pages to top spots in Google, you will get much more exposure. As a result, your other pages will get more views while products and services will start selling at a higher pace.

This will help with all other marketing efforts. Due to the fact that Google loves optimized sites that provide value to users, this will make it harder for other companies to overthrow you. The advantage will continue piling up and something that looked like a minor investment at the beginning will help you create a long-lasting brand.

What makes SEO courses so compelling?

By now, you’ve realized there are lots of advantages to search engine optimization. But let’s talk more about these SEO training courses. What are their main advantages?

Ability to do SEO in-house
One of the biggest issues most website owners have with SEO is the fact that you cannot control the process. You pay an outsider for the service and within several months, your whole web traffic may be jeopardized. Allowing access to private information is no better. This is why most owners prefer doing it in-house. Whether you buy a course for yourself or for one of your marketing experts, it is something that will stay within the company giving you more control.
Exclusive knowledge
Every good lesson in life costs money. Bad lessons cost even more. Most site owners try to learn SEO by reading numerous web articles. While they do provide some good tricks and tips, they are not enough if you want to get a competitive edge.
You have to be at the top of your game as other companies are optimizing their sites as well. Your best bet is to learn from the top optimization experts. In these courses, you can learn things that are not available online. That can be the difference between the first and the second position, between page one and page two in Google.
Cheapest option
Some of these courses tend to be expensive. However, if you compare them to hiring an SEO expert, it is clear that the SEO courses have a big advantage. While you might pay a bit extra at the beginning, the cost of hiring a professional piles up after some time. Furthermore, the knowledge itself has value and is something that can be used over and over again.
Applicable on any CMS (Content Management System) Platforms
Website development is important, you stick to where you are most comfortable. Regardless of the CMS platform you are using whether it’s WordPress, Squarespace, Duda, Wix, and more - all these now have access to search engine optimization. It can be a plugin like Yoast or a built-in feature. As you learn more about search engine optimization through training and free content you’ll gain more information about digital marketing as a whole, analytics, content, social media, traffic and more about SEO.

7 Best SEO Courses You Need To Consider Purchasing

Without further ado, let’s check the best search engine optimization training and certification courses you can find interesting and see which among these courses online you can enroll in to start learning more about digital marketing and SEO.

1. Chase Reiner SEO Course

At the time of writing this piece, Chase Reiner is the highest rated SEO consultant in the world. Having more than 275 five star reviews, he is a reliable option for all those who want to improve their web optimization quickly. Besides the fact that his course is very good, it is also streamlined allowing both beginners and advanced users to quickly catch on.

Chase Reiner courses consist of 3 different phases: foundation audit and essential optimization, benchmarking and individual URL optimization, and keyword research to uncover opportunities. As you can see, there are no gimmicks to his approach. Chase teaches his students all the basics and even technical SEO training which can be applied for years and years to come.

Just last year, Chase built his own tool called Shine Ranker. Shine Ranker is one of the tools Chase actively uses for his SEO services as well as courses. Even though the tool is fairly new, it offers different features like website audit, keyword research, content editor, traffic checker, and even keyword dashboard sharing. It also offers 10-days free trial for new users so you can test it out before a monthly or annual subscription. Occasionally, Chase Reiner puts out a longer duration of free trial access or even an annual subscription to Shine Ranker together with his courses.

Latest Course: SEO Audit Masterclass

2. SEMRush Courses

When we talk about the most influential SEO companies, it is really hard not to mention SEMrush. This organization has been at the forefront of the industry for years; their podcasts, vlogs, tools, and articles are a constant source of knowledge and assistance for people doing this job. In order to round-up their offer, SEMrush has also started providing SEO optimization courses - SEMrush Academy. The best thing about these courses is that you have the option of choosing just the training you need and each one of them is for free! Clients can opt between lessons such as SEMrush Content Marketing Toolkit Course, SMM Fundamentals Exam, Technical SEO course with Bastian Grimm and so on. After you’ve finished these SEMrush training, you can also take exams in order to get a certification. The exams are also free!

3. Backlinko SEO Course

Brian Dean is one of the best known SEO experts in the world. His “SEO that works” course has helped thousands of businesses. But, there are also a lot of search engine optimization experts that have molded their strategies based on these lessons. The course mainly revolves around link building and creation of highly actionable posts.
Brian teaches his students how to create Ultimate Guides and profit off of them. Given that “content is king”, he helps you create pages that will then serve as a link-building platform. Each year, there is a limited number of students who can enroll so if you’re interested, make sure to reserve your spot as soon as possible!

4. Udemy SEO Course

Udemy is one of the most reputable SEO blogs in the world. Led by Peter Kent, the company offers a well-rounded course to people regardless of their background. It is primarily for those who want to optimize their own site but can also be used by SEO beginners who want to improve their knowledge.

Unlike most other SEO courses on the web, Udemy training is meant to prepare you for every situation imaginable. There are 800+ courses to choose from; students also get access to videos and different documents.

Even after you finish the training, you will be able to access all this information. No matter what issues you might encounter, there will probably be an answer among these files. There will also be a lot of emphasis on WordPress as one of the dominant CMS platforms.

5. Yoast SEO Academy

Yoast is a company that is primarily known for its SEO plugin. However, their blog also has a lot of great content that the visitors can profit from. You can also take Yoast courses. According to the site owners, the training can help you make quick and lasting improvements to your site.

While the course focuses on theoretical knowledge, the user will also have a chance of putting this knowledge in practice. Lastly, everything is developed by world-class SEOs and education experts trusted by the world’s biggest brands. Students can choose between various courses such as technical SEO training, structured data training, multilingual SEO training, content SEO training bundle and more. This is a great offer as it allows you to sharpen your skills in a specific area.

6. UC Davis

One of the most interesting things about search engine optimization is the fact that this knowledge cannot be learned in a school. It is a modern approach to marketing which is why institutions have still not caught up to it. This is precisely why the University of California Davis stands out. There are lots of things you can learn during the course.

For example, you will learn how to create successful content marketing campaigns, create meaningful relationships with influencers, analyze content in order to prioritize pages that are performing the best, etc. Unlike other content on this list, this course is more based on relationship-building and quality content. While it makes it unique, you might need a bit more than that.

7. Moz SEO Course

Moz is the alpha and omega of the SEO world. Their site offers lots of great resources including its own tools. They are also known for their “Whiteboard Fridays”, video sessions that teach you more about the internet marketing world.

In terms of their Moz SEO course, they are as good as you can expect them to be. Learn more about keyword research, site audits, on-page optimization, link building, reporting, etc. They have Moz SEO Certification courses like Moz SEO Essentials Certification. The training is tailor-made for your needs; there is no need to spend any more than you actually require. Besides the fact that Moz Academy provides some great resources and constantly updates its SEO training, you can also learn from some of the greatest SEO minds in the world.

Last thoughts

Each one of these SEO classes online is quite unique. Some of them can be customized giving you more flexibility in terms of payments and some has SEO classes free of charge.

Keep in mind that there isn’t a consensus pertaining to the ideal SEO approach. The only way to tell whether an course is good or not is based on the results that a teacher has as well as a company’s reputation.

Like with any other science, the best place to learn SEO is to go with instructors who have a proven track record as this is the only guarantee you will get proper knowledge.

Best SEO Courses Online