Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of those special enigmas of digital marketing. Everyone wants to get their site ranked in a decent position, but not many people know the right moves to make to achieve certain organic SEO success.
Fortunately, there is plenty of information out there to help you understand the process, including many different training programs. These certification courses are designed to help students understand the reasoning behind most SEO practices and learn how to implement them effectively.
Let’s look at a few of the most popular programs and why you might want to take part in such a course.
If we had to list a gold standard program, it would be the Google Analytics Certification. This training comes directly from the search engine giant itself—making it the most popular and recommended SEO training course out there. Not only will you learn the basics about organic SEO optimizations, but you’ll also learn how to understand reporting and the different elements that go into Google’s ranking algorithms. Best of all, there is no cost to take the certification test.
For a company that is actively working with a Digital Marketing firm, the benefit of this training is that it allows your team to understand what is coming through on your monthly marketing reports. Once you understand the basics of the data we’re looking at, you can understand where your money is going and determine the best course of action moving forward.
If you want to dig deeper into the topic of search engine optimization, another great source for training is Moz Academy. As one of the foremost experts on digital marketing and advertising, Moz’s program features many levels based on the topics you want to learn. Examples of various courses include:
The biggest downside to Moz’s programs is the expense. A simple class costs right around $49, while a more intensive program can set you back nearly $600. If you’re looking for a casual peek into what SEO has to offer, this intensive training probably isn’t the best for you.
The SEMRush Academy is actually quite comparable to the Moz Academy, but there’s one big glaring difference—the price. SEMRush offers nearly identical courses for free, while still offering a great in-depth view into search engine optimization.
And, like Moz, there’s the ability to pick and choose the classes you want to learn about the most. From backlink fundamentals to content marketing, there are a variety of different topics to explore. As a bonus, there are even programs for pay-per-click (PPC) advertising and social media marketing (SMM).
Finally, there’s Yoast SEO Training. What makes this SEO program great is that it fully integrates with the Yoast WordPress plugin, and there’s a monthly billing option. While it certainly isn’t as in-depth as Moz or SEMRush, the courses provide a higher-level view on various aspects of digital marketing and how they can help your overall search ranking.
Now that you know of a few of the most common search engine optimization training programs out there, it is important to decide whether you actually need to learn the process on your own. If you’re working with a digital marketing agency that you trust, and that offers quality results, there might not be a need to know all the facets of organic SEO. Likewise, if you want to scale back your marketing efforts and make certain parts in-house with your current staff to save money, it might be a good idea to learn the process. There are pros and cons to both, but even a minimal amount of training is an ideal way to boost your digital marketing efforts.
If you aren’t entirely sure you want to invest time and money training your team or learning the process of search engine optimization yourself, there’s an additional option. Our team at Zero Gravity Marketing makes it our responsibility to know and understand all facets of the latest best practices. We would love to work with you! Contact us today for details.