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 helpful 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. That said, simple strategies are often the most effective and sustainable—core best practices have remained consistent for years and will endure.
How to Learn SEO: Start with the Basics
When building a small business website, you need to understand the fundamental concepts of SEO marketing, including:
SEO Basics: Learn what SEO is, how search engines work, and why SEO is important.
Keywords: Understand how to research and use keywords to improve content visibility.
On-Page SEO: Optimize content, title tags, and internal linking.
Technical SEO: Ensure your site is structured in a way that search engines can crawl and index effectively. Understand the importance site speed, mobile-friendliness, and a secure connection (HTTPS).
User Experience: Grasp how SEO and UX work together holistically.
Off-Page SEO: Understand activities that happen away from your website but still impact its search engine ranking.
SEO Tools: See our recommendations for practical SEO tools for small businesses.
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. You’ll also want to familiarize yourself with Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines that provide insight into how Google assesses the quality of web pages.
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. Note that a lengthy course isn’t necessary, especially for anyone seeking just an overview, but it may be preferred by those who want a more structured approach.
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. And a one-size-fits-all approach can distract you from what truly matters.
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 brand or product.
Ahrefs offers beginner videos, but be careful on YouTube, as it is saturated with promotional “marketers” pushing outdated and bad SEO practices.
Keep in mind, 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.
Practice Real-World SEO
There is no substitute for hands-on experience. As you progress through the resources above, you’ll want to practice applying the concepts you’re learning to your own website.
Optimization is both a science and an art. Mastering SEO requires a trial-by-fire approach with continuous testing, learning, and adaptation over time. It’s not something that can be fully learned in a few months or even a year. That said, for many small business websites, focusing on the basics is often enough to achieve solid results.
Remember, small business SEO success depends on a wide range of variables, including the industry, the competition, the size of your market, and the current state of your website. After making changes to your site, evaluate their effectiveness by monitoring key digital marketing performance indicators (KPIs).
Explore Generative AI
High-level SEO definitions or concepts can also be explored 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.
But keep in mind, AI has been trained on years of incorrect SEO information, so the deeper you go with a subject the less you can trust AI conversations and the more you’ll want to cross-reference AI answers with credible up-to-date resources.
For now, SEO implementation and strategy requires human expertise. See our Artificial Intelligence Primer for an overview of generative AI and AI-powered search.
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 gives 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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