Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the top skills needed by marketing professionals and business owners. But every day it becomes more and more challenging to understand the details of this art form, which is a key part of the success of any brand with an online presence.
This article deals with SEO courses and certifications that can increase your knowledge and advance your career.
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The Importance of SEO
Almost 30% of global web traffic comes from search engines, and according to a Statistic report, since Google introduced its search engine in 1997, it has dominated the search engine market, retaining a 92.47% market share since June 2021. Google’s biggest competitor, Bing, has only 7 % of the market, and Yahoo took 2.85%.
Clearly, when brands want to optimize their search websites, they optimize for Google.
Over the years, Google has made thousands of updates to its search engine algorithm, and SEO techniques that were effective one year may no longer be useful the next. For website developers and marketing professionals, keeping up with the latest changes in SEO is a mandatory part of the job. Fortunately, there are many different SEO courses and certifications to help you stay informed.
A 2021 HubSpot report found that approximately 64% of marketers and 63% of brands are actively investing time in SEO. With the difficulties and challenges of having a website appear on the main search engine results pages (SERP), there is a lot of pressure to learn as much as possible about SEO tactics and strategies.
Jessica Zhao, CMO of Spacewhite, a supplier of non-toxic low-waste cleaning products, told CMSWire that SEO is something many small business owners don’t think about, but can make a big difference in how fast their business grows.
“When you’re new to the scene, you have a lot of momentum – encourage it by having the right SEO support from the start,” she said. “For people thinking about a career in SEO, a free trial course is the perfect way to judge if you’re really interested and excited about the opportunity to learn more.”
Related article: Click-free search results: The debate about SEO continues
Google Garage/Coursera
Google Garage, along with Courser and the University of California, Davis, is offering a four-week course on the basics of SEO, beginning with an introduction to SEO on page (11 videos), SEO off site (four videos), technical SEO (seven videos) and finally theory and keyword research (six videos).
Unlike many Google Garage courses, which are free, Coursera SEO course requires membership in Coursera. The platform offers a 7-day free trial and then costs $ 59 per month.
28 other SEO courses are included in the Courser subscription, including:
Greg Rose, chief experience officer at Intellum, a customer education platform provider, told CMSWire that Intellum is collaborating with industry leaders, including Google, Facebook, Amazon and Twitter, to provide customer education and world-class certification initiatives.
Rose said each of these programs must include:
HubSpot Academy
HubSpot, which offers courses on a variety of topics, including marketing, sales, services and more, has partnered with more than 500 colleges and universities to align its curricula with industry expectations.
“HubSpot SEO Certification is a great choice for content creators, marketers and anyone looking to hone their SEO skills on a small budget,” said Jon Buchan, CEO of Charm Offensive. various niches. “
HubSpot’s SEO certification course is comprehensive, includes 24 videos and provides marketing professionals with everything they need to become an expert in SEO. It is broken down into specific topics, starting with an overview and introduction to the course, continuing through the basics, and then on more specific aspects of SEO. The course lasts about three hours.
Each of the lessons includes several videos, and most have a resource section that contains video slides, transcripts, links to the aforementioned SEO tools and websites, and links to related articles and blogs. After the student watches the videos in each lesson, a short quiz follows to see if they have kept the information, followed by an opportunity to work through an SEO worksheet.
The exam includes 60 questions that were randomly drawn from a total of 73 questions, and all the answers can be found in videos and transcripts. The exam takes about an hour, although students have three hours to complete it. Students must answer at least 45 questions (75%) correctly in order to pass the exam and must wait 12 hours before taking it again if they do not pass.
After taking the exam, students receive a digital certificate and can display it on their LinkedIn profile or on their website. The HubSpot SEO certificate is valid for one year.
Related article: What you need to know about HubSpot’s SEO certification
LinkedIn Learning
Although LinkedIn Learning, prior to Lynda.com, is not free, it is affordable enough that any SEO or marketing student should consider it. It offers over 800 SEO courses, learning paths and videos on search engine optimization.
The learning platform offers a one-month free trial. After that, a monthly subscription costs $ 39.99, or you can opt for an annual subscription priced at $ 26.99 per month.
LinkedIn Learning subscriptions also include LinkedIn Premium, and those who are already LinkedIn Premium subscribers get full access to LinkedIn Learning at no extra cost.
LinkedIn Learning’s Become an SEO Expert program contains 10 individual courses, including:
Each individual course includes videos and exercise files. When students successfully complete each course, they will receive a certificate that can be displayed on their LinkedIn profile.
“Certificates can be a great addition to any educational program because customers who know your organization’s tools are likely to get much more out of them, leading to increased retention, loyalty and advocacy,” Rose said.
Yoast Academy
The Yoast SEO WordPress plugin uses nearly 10 million websites, more than any other SEO plugin for WordPress. Yoast Academy comes from the same people who brought you the add-on and offers free membership with several courses, including two SEO courses:
The first Yoast membership, which costs $ 99 a year, also includes courses on local SEO, e-commerce SEO, SEO copyright protection, website structure, keyword research, versatile SEO, technical SEO. in and much more.
Related article: How to use keyword density in modern SEO strategy
Alison Courses
Alison offers over 4,000 courses, all of which are free, and cover business, sales and marketing, healthcare, language and construction. Alison offers several SEO courses with certifications, including:
Each course includes several modules with multiple topics. The basics of YouTube marketing and search engine optimization, for example, include four modules:
After each course is completed, students will have the opportunity to purchase a digital (or printed) certificate that they can share on social media, LinkedIn, etc.
Final Thoughts
Search engine optimization is a skill that has become an art in the last two decades. As SEO evolved, professionals sought SEO courses and certifications to keep their skills up to date as well as to provide value to current and future employers.
With free and premium courses available for all skill levels, both SEO students and professionals can learn at their own pace.
