Yes, you can absolutely learn SEO on your own without needing a course, boot camp, or mentorship program. To get experience, you can start up a blog, or eCommerce business to practice. You can also use YouTube and Google itself to find articles to help you out along the way.
While you’re learning, here are three tips to help you be successful at learning SEO on your own:
Set realistic learning goals
Would LeBron James be the basketball player he was today without setting some type of goal every time he goes in the gym? Probably not, while this is not basketball, it is still important to set some type of expectation for how you’re going to go about learning the material.
So for instance, maybe create a calendar or some type of outline of the things that you want to learn. In my SEO specialist beginner guide, I go over what are the five main components of SEO that you want to learn. I would totally read that post if you’re interested in getting a job as a specialist, but here are the parts of SEO I would learn:
- On-site SEO
- Off-site SEO ( Link building)
- Technical SEO
- SEO copywriting
- how search engines work
- how to analyze SEO data
This is not a hard list, but something to get you started. So like I said, I would set up a calendar, and set aside some time on each day to learn and practice. This is not a sprint, it is more like a marathon, so it is wise to treat it as such.
Read as much as you watch videos
It was reported that the average human attention span is now about eight seconds, much lower than it has ever been. And the reason is because we as people consume way more visual content than we used to, but that doesn’t mean there’s not still a place for written, tangible content like blog posts, listicles, or even books.
So in my opinion, to be good at SEO you should be a good reader as much as you are a good watcher. In the end this makes sense because as an SEO you honestly are going to spend more time researching, and analyzing data than anything else. So why not just be in the habit of reading and digesting content.
There are a number of great online blogs that I would recommend reading, Bounce Rank for 1 is a great blog because I offer training and mentorship for becoming an SEO Specialist, great for if you have no experience. But here are some other ones:
- BacklinkO
- Ahrefs
- Moz
- Search Engine Land
- Search Engine Journal
So even if you just read one blog post a day, I honestly believe you’ll see yourself become a much better reader and comprehender.
Practice, Practice, Practice
In the words of Allen Iverson, we’re talking about practice! Yes, in order to be really good at SEO you have to constantly practice your skills. So as I mentioned earlier, starting an online blog is a great way to practice your skills. Here are some of the things you can learn from just starting a blog:
- how to write title tags and meta descriptions
- how to perform keyword research
- how to write SEO content
- how to audit a website for technical SEO errors
- how to read Google Search Console data
These are just a few of the things you can learn for starting an online blog, but it doesn’t stop there. What you’re really doing is creating a portfolio to show to potential clients and companies you may be interested in working for.
All of these go a long way with impressing recruiters or potential clients. Honestly, if you’re looking to get started in SEO you are better off working for a company, because you will be getting paid to essentially learn SEO.
Get Your SEO Career Starter Pack
To help you out on your learning Journey, I created a career starter pack that includes an SEO audit that you can edit and customize for your blog or if you’re working with a client.
Again, this is another great project to showcase to clients or potential recruiters when you are applying for jobs. If you would like access to the prefilled audit, you can put your name and Email in the form below and I will send it to you directly.
Until next time, kept working towards your dreams!