To rank your website higher on Google it is essential to learn how Google SEO works and enrolling in a good SEO course is the fastest path to success.
In this post, we’ll review the 10 most popular Google SEO training courses. Our list includes official Google SEO courses and training classes offered by accredited SEO academies.
Let’s take it from the beginning.
Does Google offer an SEO course? Google offers five SEO courses prepared by Google professionals and delivered by Google training academies and third-party providers. Most of the courses are free and they include SEO advice coming directly from Google.
How do I get Google SEO certification? Google does not offer an official Google SEO certification. You can follow any of the official Google SEO courses to learn SEO but there is no way to become Google SEO Certified.
Google offers several professional certifications including a Google Digital Marketing Certification and a Google Digital Marketing and eCommerce professional certificate but not an SEO certification.
If you want to become certified in SEO, you can pursue a third-party SEO Certification.
10 Top Google SEO Courses
- Attract and Engage Customers (Google)
- Get Started With Search (Google)
- Get Discovered With Search (Google)
- Make Search Work For You (Google)
- Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide (Google)
- The Complete SEO Course (Reliablesoft)
- Google SEO Fundamentals (UCDavis)
- Introduction to Google SEO (Coursera)
- Google SEO Training Masterclass (Udemy)
- Rank in Google With SEO (Udemy)
1. Attract and Engage Customers (Google)
- Cost: $49
- Duration: 21 hours
- Certificate: Yes
The Attract and Engage Customers is the second course in the Google Digital Marketing & eCommerce professional certificate, offered by Google through Coursera.
Despite the confusing name, this course is all about Google SEO. Taught by Google professionals, the course has two lessons about SEO: Understand search engine optimization (SEO) and Apply search engine optimization (SEO).
In a total of 21 hours, you’ll learn how Google approaches SEO. In particular, it covers the following topics:
- Fundamentals of SEO
- How does the Google search engine work?
- How does Google rank websites?
- Anatomy of Google search results (SERPs)
- Search algorithms
- How to do keyword research for SEO
- Website structure and navigation
- SEO Glossary
- Optimizing a website’s content
- Optimize images for SEO
- Structured Data Markup and SEO
- Introduction to Google Search Console
- Mobile-friendly websites
- How to use tools and reports of Google Search Console
- Bing Webmaster tools
What about certification?
You can register for this course, finish all lessons and graded assignments to get a certificate of completion (that’s not an SEO certification) or enroll in the Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce certificate (that includes 6 more courses) and get the Google Digital Marketing & eCommerce professional certificate.
Cost and Duration
The cost to enroll in the individual Google SEO Course is $49/month through a Coursera Plus Subscription. The total time required to complete the course is just 21 hours so you can finish it within a month.
The cost to enroll in the professional Google certificate is again $49/month but it will take you 6 months to complete all 7 courses so the total certification cost will be around $234.
Coursera offers a 7-day trial to review the course material before committing to a paid plan.
We’ve taken this course the first week it was released. As mentioned in our review, it’s a good course for beginners in Google SEO. It does not share any secrets or strategies that are not already known but it gives SEO advice you would expect from Google.
The cost is reasonable and it is recommended that anyone should take this course either for refreshing their basic SEO skills or just out of curiosity if you want to learn how Google approaches SEO.
2. Get Started With Search (Google)
- Cost: Free
- Duration: 45 minutes
- Certificate: Yes
The Get Started with Search is another Google SEO course you can consider. It is offered as part of the Fundamentals of Digital Marketing certification through Google Digital Garage (now part of Google Skillshop).
The course is free and it consists of 6 lessons with a total duration of 45 minutes.
It covers the following topics:
- Search engine basics
- How search engines work
- How search engines see the web
- Organic search explained
- Paid search explained
- Google search console
This course is also taught by Google trainers, and the content is similar to the SEO Courses explained above.
This is also suitable for beginners to SEO as it only scratches the surface of how to properly optimize your website for the best possible exposure in Google search results.
What about certification?
This course does not offer a certificate of competition. To get certified, you need to complete all 26 modules that make up the Fundamentals of Digital Marketing certification. The certification is accredited by Interactive Advertising Bureau Europe and The Open University.
It’s a basic SEO course covering the fundamentals of SEO. The lessons are short (5 minutes max), and the videos are nice to watch. It does provide value to beginners, but this is not a full-blown SEO course. Since it’s free and only takes 45 minutes to complete, you can enroll in the course and check it out yourself.
3. Get Discovered With Search (Google)
- Cost: Free
- Duration: 35 minutes
- Certificate: Yes
The Get Discovered with Search is also part of the Fundamentals of Digital Marketing Certification. It’s free, it includes 5 lessons and a total duration of just 35 minutes.
In this course, you’ll learn:
- What search engine optimization is
- How search engines understand a website
- What are the most important SEO factors
- How to create an SEO plan for your website
- How to find the right keywords to optimize your website
- The difference between short-tail and long-tail keywords
What about certification?
Similar to the previous course, there is no certificate of completion. It’s part of the Google Digital Marketing Certification.
It’s a short course that is worth spending 35 minutes going through the five lessons. Besides understanding how SEO works, you can also get some ideas on how to set realistic SEO goals. Setting goals that are possible to achieve with SEO is important for the success of your overall SEO strategy.
4. Make Search Work For You (Google)
- Cost: Free
- Duration: 25 minutes
- Certificate: Yes
The Make Search Work For You is the third SEO-related course in the Google Digital Marketing Fundamentals certification.
The total time required to complete this course is 25 minutes and it includes 3 lessons covering the following topics:
- Title and description meta tags optimization
- The importance of heading elements
- Optimizing page copy
- Off-site SEO concepts
- How to encourage other people to link to your website
- Importance of promoting your site with social media
- Introduction to Internal SEO and localization
What about certification?
Similar to the other two courses, there is no certificate of completion. It’s part of the Google Digital Marketing Certification.
What is the most interesting part about this course is how Google explains off-site SEO optimization. They do stress the importance of getting good quality backlinks for higher rankings but when it goes to “How to get those links?”, they stick to the traditional SEO advice “Build high-quality content”.
You wouldn’t expect something different from Google itself but just saying “Build good content and links will come”, doesn't really help anyone trying to figure out how off-site SEO works.
5. Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide (Google)
- Cost: Free
- Duration: Self-Paced
- Certificate: No
The fifth and final official Google SEO training is not actually a course but an online resource you can access for free.
The SEO Starter Guide has been around for a decade, and it’s one of the first SEO resources ever released by Google. It was updated recently and it’s now part of the Google Search Central website.
There are no training videos in this guide, but the content is comprehensive, covering all areas of SEO. It includes several examples and tips on what you should do and not do to keep your website in good SEO shape.
In the “Promote your Website” section, it does mention the importance of reaching out to other similar websites and opening up a communication channel with them,
What about certification?
This is an online guide that offers no certification.
Everyone should read the SEO starter guide at least once. It won’t take you more than 1 hour, but it is a good reminder of what Google SEO is all about.
6. The Complete SEO Course (Reliablesoft)
- Cost: $89
- Duration: Self-Paced
- Certificate: Yes
The first non-official Google SEO Course on our list is the Complete SEO Course by Reliablesoft Academy.
It’s a comprehensive course that covers basic, intermediate, and advanced SEO concepts. The course was originally released 3 years ago, but it’s updated several times per year to stay current with the latest changes in the Google search algorithm.
The lessons are prepared and delivered by an SEO expert with almost two decades of experience in the SEO industry.
The main difference between this course and the official Google SEO Courses is that you’ll learn not only the theory but techniques you can use to get real measurable results with SEO.
In the course, you’ll learn tips and techniques that Google does not want to tell you, and it’s packed with blueprints and step-by-step instructions you can follow to get your website in the top positions of the search results.
In particular, you’ll learn:
- How to perform a technical SEO audit of your website and fix any errors
- How to optimize the content of your web pages (on-page SEO)
- How to run off-page SEO campaigns and get results (you’ll learn techniques besides the traditional SEO advice - build good content and links will come).
- How to perform keyword research and find the right keywords to target with content
- How to do SEO for eCommerce Websites
- How to measure the results of your SEO campaigns with Google Analytics
What about certification?
You can get an SEO Certification upon completing the course lessons and passing an exam. On average, it takes students a week to finish the lessons and get certified.
This course costs $89 (once-off payment) and is offered as part of the SEO Course Bundle, which includes four courses covering SEO, eCommerce SEO, Keyword Research, and Google Analytics.
To avoid being biased, you can read hundreds of student reviews submitted by the 9200+ students who already registered for the course and got their SEO certification.
To prove our confidence in our training classes, your purchase is covered by a 60-day money-back guarantee.
7. Google SEO Fundamentals (UCDavis)
- Cost: $49
- Duration: 29 hours
- Certificate: Yes
Another third-party course worth considering is the Google SEO Fundamentals course offered by UC Davis University via Coursera.
You can take this as a standalone course or register for the Coursera Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Specialization, which includes four more courses.
The course is taught by Rebekah May (an industry-recognized SEO expert) and includes four lessons. The total time investment required to finish this course is around 29 hours.
During the course lessons, you’ll learn:
- Introduction to On-page SEO
- Introduction to Off-page SEO
- Introduction to Technical SEO
- Keyword Theory & Research
This is a paid course that costs $49 per month. Before committing to a paid monthly subscription, you can use the 7-Day Trial period offered by Coursera to check out the course material.
What about certification?
You can complete the course and get a certification of completion or enroll in the SEO specialization, complete all courses, and get an SEO certification from Coursera and UCDavis.
To finish the SEO certification, you’ll have to allocate around 5 months, and the total cost will be around $245.
It’s a good course for beginners. It explains in detail how SEO works and the most important ranking factors. The only concern is that the course was initially released 5+ years ago, and there is no evidence that the lessons have been revised to include how Google SEO works this year.
8. Introduction to Google SEO (Coursera)
- Cost: $49
- Duration: 13 hours
- Certificate: Yes
The Introduction to Google SEO is the second course in the Coursera SEO certification worth exploring.
It’s another course for beginners prepared by UCDavis trainers and delivered by Coursera.
In the 13 hours of taught material, broken down into four lessons, you’ll learn:
- How Search Engines Work
- Evolution of SEO
- Current SEO Best Practices
- Introduction to Search Engine Algorithms
- SEO Best Practices and Ranking Factors
- Core Web Vitals
- EAT & YMYL
- Featured Snippets and Rich Snippets
- Evolution of Keyword Optimization
- Strengthening Your Keyword Strategy
- How Does Branding Influence Website Rank?
What about certification?
Upon completing the course and passing all graded assignments, you can get a course completion certificate from Coursera. To get an SEO certification, you need to enroll in the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Specialization.
If you’re looking for a course to understand how modern SEO works, this is a good course to consider. It’s one of the few courses that touch on topics related to SEO practices that emerged in the last few years, such as the concept of Core Web Vitals, EAT & YML, and branding.
9. Google SEO Training Masterclass (Udemy)
- Cost: $99
- Duration: 19 hours
- Certificate: Yes
An Udemy course that covers Google SEO in detail is the SEO Training Masterclass: Beginner SEO To Advanced SEO by Alex Genadinik. Alex is a successful trainer with many best-selling courses on Udemy.
In this course you’ll learn:
- How to do SEO for your own website or as a freelancer
- How to rank your pages higher on Google and other search engines
- How to create a solid SEO strategy for your business
- How search engines work (including Google and YouTube)
- How to work with SEO on WordPress, Shopify, and Wix
What about certification?
The course is 19 hours long and comes with a certificate of completion (not a Google SEO Certification).
This is one of the best SEO courses on Udemy, with thousands of students and 4.6 ratings. The course lessons are laid out in a logical manner and besides the theory you’ll learn how to work with tools like Semrush, to carry out important SEO tasks. Alex also gives advice on how to find clients, if you decide to start your own SEO business.
10. Rank in Google With SEO (Udemy)
- Cost: $99
- Duration: 9.5 hours
- Certificate: Yes
The last course for learning Google SEO from a third-party provider is the Rank in Google With SEO course offered by Udemy.
In 9.5 hours of on-demand video, you’ll learn practical steps on how to SEO your website to increase your visibility on Google. In particular, you’ll learn:
- How to pick a niche for your website
- How to find SEO keywords
- How to keep visitors to your website for more time
- How to get backlinks for your website
- How to run SEO audits
- How to improve your Googe EAT score
What about certification?
Once you finish the course, you’ll get a proof of completion certificate.
Although this is a good course and was included in our list because it contains useful information on SEO, we don’t “approve” the link-building advice offered in this course. Our approach to off-page SEO and link building is different, but apart from that, everything else that the course teaches is solid SEO advice.
Which Google Certification is Best For SEO?
There is no official Google certification for SEO. From the certifications provided by third-party training academies, the Reliablesoft SEO Certification and the Coursera SEO Specialization are two great choices.
Is a Google SEO Certification Worth It?
Yes, going through SEO training and getting a certification is certainly worth it. A course will help you learn SEO faster than any other method. Good courses, like the ones listed above, offer a structured way of learning so you have a clear learning path to follow without wondering what you should learn first and what to do next.
Obtaining an SEO certification will not make you an SEO expert, but it’s proof that you understand the basics and your commitment to continuous learning and improvement.
Methodology
If you search for “Google SEO courses” or “Google SEO Certification” in Google, you’ll notice that in the “People Also Ask” sections, users wonder if there is an official Google SEO Course and certification you can pursue.
From the results given by Google, it is confusing what the case is and that’s why we created this post. Our goal is to help users understand that Google offers SEO training courses and two digital marketing certifications but NOT an SEO Certification.
In the above list, we included 10 courses. The first five are ALL the Google official SEO Courses and the rest are courses from other institutions that are worth considering.
As part of our ongoing work as a digital marketing academy, we’ve registered for ALL courses (Google and third party) and gone through all the lessons, and what you can read above is our expert opinion.
Related Courses and Certifications
For more SEO and Digital Marketing training options, you can consider these posts:
- Best Digital Marketing Courses - a list of premium (and free courses) on digital marketing. Most of the courses have dedicated lessons on SEO.
- Digital Marketing Certifications - If you want more than SEO certification, going after a digital marketing certification is the best career choice you can make.
- SEO Courses - if you want to explore more SEO courses, you can check out this list of free courses.
- Is SEO Hard to Learn? - a learning plan on how to approach SEO learning, especially if you’re starting out now.
