SEO Study Guide: Turn Pro in 5 days.
Learning SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) can be daunting if you are new to the subject. To help you overcome the steep learning curve, I’ve curated the best (and free) resources and organised them into a 5-day SEO study guide.
This guide will benefit
1. Students/Fresh Grads looking to pick up SEO to enhance their profile
2. Digital Marketing Practitioners (with little to no knowledge in SEO) looking to value add to their existing clients with SEO services.
3. In-house marketers looking to take up SEO and subsequently optimise their website for better search presence
Note: The study guide is structured in a way which you’ll only need to spend 2 hours or less/day.
Day 1: Understand how Google Works
Before jumping into SEO proper, I would recommend understanding how Google works first, and the most qualified party would be Google themselves.
How Google Search Works by Google
Day 2: Study a “Beginner’s Guide”
Now that you know how Google works, you can proceed to explore a beginner’s guide which will give you an overview of what SEO entails. There are many excellent beginner’s guides out there, but these are the two that stood out for me.
Beginner’s Guide to SEO By MOZ
SEO Basics By ahrefs
Day 3: Keyword Research
Keyword research involves knowing what keywords your users are searching for and ultimately understanding their search intent. This would greatly impact how you’ll do your on-page and off-page SEO.
The Definitive Guide to Keyword Research by Backlinko
How to do Keyword Research for SEO by Hubspot
Day 4: On-Page SEO
On-page SEO looks at optimising your website for better search rankings and increased organic web-traffic.
The Definitive Guide to on-page SEO by Backlinko
On-Page SEO: An Actionable Guide by ahrefs
Day 5: Off-page SEO
Off-page SEO refers to activities such as backlinking, these activities happen outside of your website and it influences search rankings.
Ultimate Guide to Off-page SEO by Neil Patel
Off-page SEO: what and why it’s Important by ahrefs
Staying on top of your SEO game
SEO is a practice that is always evolving (Google makes changes to its algorithm 500-600 times a year!). So beyond just gaining that initial knowledge, it is important that you also evolve and keep updated constantly. Here are some things you can do stay on top of your game.
Follow Top SEO Practitioners on Twitter
I use Twitter to keep myself updated on the latest SEO trends. You can follow my curated list of the industry’s top practitioners.
Join SEO Groups on Facebook and Reddit
Twitter might be a great way to receive updates, but if you want more in-depth learning, you can consider joining a community and start engaging in community discussions. Within SEO communities, not only would you be able to receive the latest news, you’ll also have visibility to different SEO challenges that others face as well as solutions to these challenges.
15 Facebook Group Every SEO should join
Reddit’s SEO community
Connect with Seasoned Professionals
Nothing beats personal connections, go on LinkedIn and connect with seasoned SEO professionals, many of whom are more than happy to help.
