Learning SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a great way to improve your website’s visibility and ranking on search engines like Google or Bing—and it's important to learn the basics before hiring digital marketers. Here we offer our suggested common sense approach to studying website optimization for beginners.

It’s important to understand that due to the myriad variables and the diverse types of SEO, you won’t find a single online resource comprehensively addressing every scenario or challenge. What works well for one website or industry may not be effective for another.

Additionally, the future of SEO will be increasingly complex, with AI and machine learning playing a more significant role. This variability means that a one-size-fits-all, step-by-step SEO guide doesn’t exist. This said, simple, well-understood strategies are often the most effective and sustainable, and basic best practices will remain the same.

Start with the Basics of SEO

When building a small business website, you need to understand the fundamental concepts of SEO marketing, including:

SEO Basics: What SEO is, how search engines work, and why SEO is important.
Keywords: Understanding how to research and use keywords to improve content visibility.
On-Page SEO: Key techniques include optimizing content, title tags, and internal linking.
Technical SEO: Ensuring your site is structured in a way that search engines can crawl and index effectively. Understanding the importance of user experience (UX), site speed, mobile-friendliness, and a secure connection (HTTPS).
Off-Page SEO: Strategies that happen away from your website but still impact its search engine ranking.

Use Free SEO Tutorials

Each point listed above plays a role in your website’s visibility and user engagement. Everything you need for gaining this foundational knowledge is available as a free resource:

Google’s SEO Starter Guide: The official guide from Google on how to make your site friendly to search engines.
Moz’s Beginner’s Guide to SEO: Moz offers a well-regarded introduction to the fundamentals. When you have questions about SEO concepts, search for the topic on Moz. Their resources are more neutral and educational in nature, as opposed to the more overtly self-promotional content of other SaaS SEO tools.
Coursera: UC Davis offers a 3-month SEO program divided into 5 modules that can serve as a more in-depth roadmap through major concepts. To take courses for free, look for the “audit” option after clicking enroll.
Your Website Builder’s Knowledge Base: As you explore the resources above, search for your particular website builder’s support documentation for the various on-page tasks. Each CMS platform (Squarespace, Wix, Shopify, Webflow, etc.) will have different instructions for how to update title tags, URLs, redirects, etc.
Product Videos: Videos can be helpful for visual or auditory learners. One issue here is that beginners learn a platform’s “method” and assume it is “how to do SEO.” Take all approaches with a grain of salt—many resources send novices down unnecessary rabbit holes. If something seems overly complicated, it likely is.
If going this route, try the Coursera option listed above or stick to beginner content from larger platforms, such as HubSpot or Ahrefs. But keep in mind, SaaS platforms generate sales by teaching SEO through the lens of using their paid software (see our recommendations for practical SEO tools for small businesses).
- HubSpot offers their lessons as an “SEO certification course,” but the SEO industry does not recognize certifications. It is common for SaaS companies to offer “certifications” as a marketing gimmick to promote a product.
- Ahrefs offers beginner videos, but be careful on YouTube, as it is saturated with promotional “marketers” pushing outdated and bad SEO practices.

And remember, depending on your particular website builder, some tasks will not apply. For example, if your site is on Squarespace, you can ignore “building a sitemap” because the platform automatically creates one for you. However, you’ll still want to understand the function of a sitemap and know how to submit your sitemap to search engines.

Explore Generative AI

You can explore SEO concepts further with generative AI tools. For example, ask ChatGPT about keyword research to get a concise overview on the subject. Then to learn more about a particular subtopic, such as relevance and intent, simply ask for more information.

Think of generative AI as an interactive SEO study guide. That said, the deeper you go with a subject, the more you’ll want to cross-reference the AI answers with credible up-to-date resources. See our Artificial Intelligence Primer for an overview of generative AI and AI-powered search.

Practice Real-World SEO

There is no substitute for hands-on experience. Optimization is both a science and an art, it requires ongoing learning, testing, and adaptation to stay effective. The only way to really master SEO is by applying what you learn to your specific website.

Remember, the effectiveness of small business SEO strategies depends on a wide range of variables, including the industry, the competition, and the current state of a website. Once you have implemented SEO strategies on your site, evaluate their effectiveness by monitoring key digital marketing performance indicators (KPIs).

Fast-Track Your Learning

The sheer amount of information online—both good and bad—can be overwhelming for small businesses to muddle through. For targeted learning, book an SEO training session tailored to your specific business and website.

Training will give your SMB a quick start, clarity, and more advanced strategy. It is the fastest and surest route to success for any small business implementing “DIY SEO.”

Follow Industry Experts and Blogs

SEO success requires curiosity and a proactive, adaptable approach. Stay updated with the latest SEO trends by following key blogs, such as:

Note these are tailored for SEO professionals and beginners might prefer SEO blogs aimed at novices.

Avoid Misinformation

To avoid misinformation, you’ll want to cross-check SEO suggestions against multiple reputable sources.

The Illusory Truth Effect is a cognitive bias where repeated statements are perceived as more truthful, regardless of their accuracy. This effect means that frequent exposure to information increases the likelihood of believing it.

When learning SEO, beginners are especially vulnerable because the field is dynamic. Outdated approaches and SEO myths are frequently circulated in forums, articles, and videos which can mislead novices, particularly when endorsed by perceived authorities. And best practices and strategies can be contradictory or subject to change due to algorithm updates by search engines like Google.

To counteract this, critical thinking and verification of information are needed.

Continue Your Efforts

As you experiment with different SEO strategies on your website, adhere to Google’s guidelines. Implement white hat techniques, such as producing quality content, using relevant keywords, and earning natural online mentions. And avoid black hat tactics, such as buying backlinks or creating deceptive pages.

Starting with these easy steps, you’ll gradually build your expertise in SEO, adapting to its dynamic nature to improve and maintain your site’s search engine ranking.

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