The Best SEO Courses and Guides on the Internet

By now, marketers are business owners all over the world have recognized the importance of SEO. It’s no secret that your website needs to improve its search engine ranking.

What is SEO?

The acronym stands for “search engine optimization.” Essentially, it’s the practice of driving organic search traffic to a website. The keyword here is organic, meaning you’re not paying for a top position through PPC campaigns.

More traffic, more conversions, more dollars. That’s why SEO is a crucial component of every website on the planet.

In my experience, so many marketers and entrepreneurs out there have this false sense of belief that they understand the ins and outs of SEO and how it works. In reality, this is usually not the case.

SEO is like anything else. Unless you’ve gone through practice, training, or some type of education, it’s going to be difficult to master.

Fortunately, the digital era has made it possible for you to learn SEO on your own with the help of online courses and guides. But which ones are the best? I’ve narrowed it down for you.

Who needs SEO certification?

SEO courses and guides are great for anyone, regardless of their experience with the subject.

It doesn’t matter if you’re an SEO beginner, have years of experience dabbling with SEO, or fall somewhere in-between; SEO certifications are for everyone.

SEO courses are well worth the investment. In some cases, the only investment will be your time. There are plenty of free SEO courses out there, and I’ll cover some of the best ones in this guide.

Some courses you’ll need to pay for. But again, it’s still worth the investment. The cost is marginal compared to the benefits of watching your SERPs skyrocket toward the top position.

Plus, SEO is a high-demand skill. Even if you don’t have your own website, any marketer, entrepreneur, or freelancer can make money by charging websites for SEO services.

The Best SEO Courses

Now that you understand the importance of proper SEO training, it’s time to see where you can get it from. I’ve identified the best SEO courses on the Internet today.

As I mentioned before, there’s a mix of some free and some paid options. Some courses are made for beginners, while others focus on more complex SEO components.

Regardless of what you’re looking for, I know there’s an option for you on this list.

SEMrush Academy

SEMrush

SEMrush is a big player in the world of SEO. This SaaS company sells software for online visibility and digital marketing. SEO is a huge component of this.

SEMrush has been around since 2008, before the surge and popularity of SEO as we know it today. The company started as an SEO tool and browser extension before diving into the SaaS model.

With such a strong history in SEO, it’s no surprise that the SEMrush Academy offers some of the best SEO courses out there.

Right now, they have just under 20 courses specifically focusing on SEO. These courses cover things like:

SEO toolkits
Site audits
Keyword research
Competitive analysis
On-page and technical SEO
Link building
SEO fundamentals

The courses and exams range anywhere from 10 minutes to 5 hours. So there’s definitely plenty of variety here.

SEMrush Academy teaches SEO with a series of video tutorials and lessons.

In addition to the lessons, they also offer several different SEO certifications. You can take an exam, and get a certification if you pass. This is a great option for marketers, agencies, and aspiring SEOs. You can use these certifications to show prospective clients that you’re an expert in different areas of SEO.

SEMrush Academy also has courses and exams on social media marketing, content marketing, affiliate programs, and PPC. So check these out while you’re on the site as well.

The best part? All courses and exams offered by SEMrush are 100% free, including the certifications.

Udemy

udemy

With more than 100,000 online courses, Udemy is one of the most popular platforms for learning something new. Online training is their specialty.

One of the reasons why I like Udemy so much is the way that they present courses on their website. Each course has ratings and reviews, so you can see what others have to say about their experience. It also tells you exactly how many other people have enrolled to date.

Some of Udemy’s most popular SEO courses include:

SEO for WordPress
SEO for local businesses
Keyword research
Site audits
Link building

The more advanced courses will tell you if you need to have any prior experience with certain components of SEO before you get started. So make sure you’re taking courses that align with your skill level.

Courses start at $10.99 and can be accessed on your mobile device as well.

When you buy a course from Udemy, you have full lifetime access to it, and you’ll also receive a certificate of completion.

Udemy also specializes in courses for teams. If you want training for five or more people, check out Udemy for Business. This is a great choice for those of you who run an agency. You can get your entire team certified at the same time.

Yoast Academy

Yoast is a name that many of you may already be familiar with. If you’ve read my guide on the best WordPress plugins, you know that the Yoast SEO plugin was ranked as the best overall SEO plugin for WordPress.

Yoast Academy offers SEO training courses for beginners, content SEO, technical SEO, and bundles as well.

Here are some of their most popular SEO courses:

SEO copywriting
Keyword research
Site structure
Content SEO
Structured data
Multilingual SEO

The vast majority of the courses are paid, but they do offer a free beginner training course as well.

Prices range from $39 to $349. Most courses fall in the $150 – $250 range. So if you’re interested in taking multiple courses from the Yoast Academy, your best bet is the bundle deal.

For $41.58 per month (billed annually), you’ll have access to all of the SEO courses. If they come out with new SEO courses while you’re subscribed, you’ll have access to those as well.

HubSpot Academy

Hubspot Academy

HubSpot is another well-known name in the digital marketing industry. They offer marketing and sales CRM software to businesses.

In addition to their great products, services, reputation, and blogs, HubSpot also has an academy offering educational tools for various subjects.

While HubSpot doesn’t have a large variety of SEO courses like some of the other options on our list, they have one course that covers several components of SEO.

In total, the course contains 21 videos, four lessons, and three quizzes. The total completion time is less than two hours. The lessons are broken down into the following categories:

Finding the SEO strategy that fits your business
Scaling your backlink strategy
SEO for blogging
Guest blogging

By completing the lessons, you’ll be able to evaluate and improve your website’s SEO with a new perspective from experts who know how to rank on Google.

Another reason why I love this HubSpot course is because they focus on how to build backlinks, which is something I’ve covered extensively here at QuickSprout.

Overall, it’s a free course from an industry leader that will take less than two hours of your time. I can’t find any reason why you wouldn’t want to take advantage of this.

The Blueprint Training

Blueprint Training

The Blueprint SEO Training has 13 SEO courses; four of which are free. These courses are designed for agencies, so the paid ones are a little bit pricier compared to some of the other sites we’ve seen.

Courses range anywhere from $99 to $999, with average price point right in the middle of those two numbers.

They offer SEO training for things like:

Agency sales
Content audit
On-page SEO
Competitive analysis
Link acquisition
Keyword research
Technical SEO

Since the course is made for agencies, it also includes helpful educational guides on agency staffing, client onboarding, and project management.

Rather than purchasing each one individually, you can save by buying in bulk. It’s $2,999 for full access to all of their courses.

The Best SEO Guides

If you don’t want to take a course on SEO, there are plenty of outstanding free guides on the Internet as well. While the courses are definitely better for actionable training and certifications, the guides are a great way to get your feet wet with SEO.

Check these out if you want to learn the SEO basics from different experts in the industry.

MOZ – The Beginner’s Guide to SEO

MOZ is one of the most well-known and reputable names in the SEO industry. They specialize in SEO software and data tools for websites of all shapes and sizes.

So it’s no surprise that their Beginner’s Guide to SEO is one of the best on the web.

The guide is broken down into eight chapters, making it easy for you to skip and scan based on what you’re looking for. It covers the following SEO components:

How search engines work
Keyword research
On-page SEO
Technical SEO
Link building
Measuring and Tracking SEO

MOZ also includes a helpful SEO glossary, which is a great way to get familiar with terms you’ll come across as you’re studying, learning, and applying SEO.

Google – Search Optimization Starter Guide

I’m sure you’re familiar with the term, “straight from the horse’s mouth.” Well, in the world of SEO, Google is the horse.

Your entire SEO strategy needs to revolve around Google’s algorithm. So reading the Search Optimization Starter Guide published by Google should be a top priority for everyone.

The guide details things like:

How to help Google find your content
Tell Google which pages should NOT be crawled
Help Google understand your content
Manage your SERPs
Website hierarchy
Optimize content
Mobile optimization
Analytics

It’s extensive, to say the least. The format of each section takes you through SEO best practices and things to avoid. So if Google is telling you to avoid it, then you better listen to them.

Shopify – The Beginner’s Guide to Ecommerce SEO

It’s tough to talk about ecommerce without mentioning Shopify. Their ecommerce platform is an industry leader. Shopify also does a great job of setting merchants up for success.

The Beginner’s Guide to Ecommerce SEO is worth the read.

As the name implies, it’s niche-specific. So if you’re running a blog, small business site, or something other than ecommerce, then you don’t need to read it unless you want to further your personal education on the subject.

The post outlines and explains how ecommerce sites can approach SEO differently. It’s a great angle and includes a free SEO checklist as well.

Search Engine Land – Guide to SEO

Search Engine Land is a popular blog on, you guessed it—search engines. They’re constantly posting updates about search engine news, and have detailed guides on Google algorithm updates.

As experts in this space, it’s no surprise that their Guide to SEO is nothing short of spectacular. The guide includes SEO success factors for:

Content
Site architecture
HTML code
Trust and authority
Link building
Penalties and violations
Social media

I like the guide because it falls somewhere between a beginner’s guide and an expert guide. It has some SEO basics but takes an easy approach to some more advanced SEO strategies as well.

Quick Sprout – Everything You Need to Know About SEO

I couldn’t write a post on the best SEO guides without including my own. I’m obviously biased, but Quick Sprout’s guide on Everything You Need to Know About SEO covers exactly what the title says.

The page is set up slightly different from the others we’ve seen so far. I have so much content published about SEO, that I use this guide to link to more specific and in-depth guides on certain subjects.

There are more than 70 different SEO guides on this page. It includes SEO topics like:

Site audits
SEO vs. PPC
Keywords
Content creation
Augmented reality SEO
Common SEO mistakes
WordPress SEO
Link building
Guest posts
Technical SEO

The list goes on and on, and I’m constantly updating it and adding more. So if you want a wide range of both beginner, intermediate, and advanced SEO strategies, this is a great place to look.

Conclusion

We live in a world where you can find nearly anything you want online. So why not take advantage of the SEO courses, guides, and learning tools at your disposal?

The problem is there is too much saturation in this space. Everyone seems to have an “expert guide” or “best course” on SEO. It can be overwhelming for you to find the best one.

So rather than spending hours searching on your own, just use this list instead. I’ve narrowed down the best SEO courses and guides on the Internet today.

Be sure to check back on this page soon. I’m always updating it with suggestions when I find something new or better.