This is the ultimate guide for finding the best programs to learn SEO.
Our carefully crafted list includes the top free and paid SEO courses, guides, videos, and classes to go from SEO novice to SEO Pro!
The list was created by our team of SEO experts and trainers who reviewed tens of learning resources to find the highest quality SEO training programs that are worth spending your time, money, and effort.
To help you find the most appropriate training resource for your needs, the list is broken down into the following sections:
1. SEO Courses
SEO courses are the most popular method to train for SEO. A good SEO course will teach you both basic and advanced SEO concepts in a structural way.
SEO courses are usually prepared by experienced SEOs who share tricks and techniques you won’t find published online.
There is a plethora of SEO courses worth considering. There are free and paid options costing less than $100 to a few hundred.
Duration is also a differentiating factor. Some courses can be completed in a few hours, while others may take a few weeks.
You can find below some great options to consider. All courses are on-demand and delivered 100% online, i.e., you don’t have to attend any classes or show up at specific times.
The Complete SEO Course (Reliablesoft)
The course was crafted by Digital Marketing and SEO expert Alex Chris, and it’s a step-by-step guide to SEO.
It is designed for beginners but is also beneficial for more advanced SEO practitioners who want to refresh their skills or stay updated on current best practices.
The course covers a wide range of topics, including:
- SEO basics
- How search engines work
- Keyword research
- On-Page SEO
- Technical SEO
- Off-Page SEO
- Local SEO
- Mobile SEO
- SEO for WordPress
It is presented in an easy-to-follow format with video and written lessons. It also provides downloadable resources for offline study.
Reviews for the course have been positive, with students praising its clear and thorough approach to SEO.
The course costs $89 and has an SEO certification and a 60-day money-back guarantee.
A good free course to learn SEO is the SEO Training: SEO For Beginners course by Yoast Academy.
Yoast is the company behind Yoast SEO, the most popular SEO plugin for WordPress. The team at Yoast created the SEO course to help users understand what SEO is and how it works.
You can register for the course for free and get access to two hours of content covering the following:
- SEO Basics
- Technical SEO
- Content SEO
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Specialization (Coursera)
One of the highly rated SEO courses offered by Coursera is SEO Specialization.
The material is broken down into 4 courses and a capstone project. The lessons include both basic and advanced SEO concepts.
- Introduction to Google SEO
- Google SEO Fundamentals
- Optimizing a Website for Google Search
- Advanced Content and Social Tactics to Optimize SEO
The course is offered in collaboration with UC Davis University and delivered by two highly experienced SEO experts.
The course lasts five months, and the total cost is $245.
For more SEO training options (free and paid), read the guide below.
2. SEO Certifications
A more formal way to learn SEO is to register for an SEO Certification.
Usually, to obtain an SEO certification, you must complete all courses and lessons of a training program and pass an exam.
Before we go deeper into the best SEO certifications you can pursue this year, you should understand the difference between an SEO Certification and a certificate of completion.
A certificate of completion is issued by training academies to all students that followed a course and completed the lessons.
You can get it without doing any extra work (like passing an exam or submitting a project).
An SEO Certification, on the other hand, is awarded to students who have successfully completed a course and passed a graded exam or a graded assignment.
SEO certifications can be used as credentials to prove that you know SEO, while certificates of completion are used to confirm that you followed a course.
So, to have value for your resume, you should follow courses that offer a formal SEO certification.
Some great options are:
The Clickminded SEO Course includes 8 lessons covering the most important aspects of search engine optimization.
Tommy Griffith, an experienced SEO marketer and trainer, delivers the lessons. You must complete all lessons and pass a final exam to get your SEO Certification.
The cost is $999, and it takes, on average, 40 hours to finish all lessons and get certified.
For more details on ClickMinded Certifications, read our review of the ClickMinded Digital Marketing Course.
Advanced SEO Certification Training (MarketMotive)
The SEO certification course by Market Motive is an advanced SEO course. It's a good learning resource for both newcomers and experienced marketers.
The 30+ hours of self-paced videos provide a comprehensive overview of SEO principles.
This is supplemented by 15+ hours of live instructor-led online classes. Completing 85% of the course, three projects and a simulation test with a minimum score of 60% are requisites for certification, ensuring that only those with a solid grasp of SEO can get certified.
The course also includes around 20 real-life, industry-based projects. This hands-on experience sets learners up for success in the real world, effectively bridging the gap between SEO theory and practice.
SEO Training Course (Simplilearn)
Simplilearn SEO course includes 30+ hours of videos, and besides SEO, it also covers topics like content marketing, keyword research, and web analytics.
To enroll in this course, you must have an undergraduate degree or a high school diploma. No prior experience with SEO is required.
To obtain your SEO Certification, you need to complete 85% of the course, complete five projects, and pass an exam with a score of 75% or above.
To get an idea of the learning environment and quality of the lessons, read our review of the SimpliLearn Digital Marketing Course.
Read our comprehensive review of the top SEO certifications to become certified by accredited institutions.
3. Google SEO Courses
Google does not offer a dedicated SEO course or SEO certification. It does offer SEO advice through its two digital marketing programs, the Google Digital Marketing and eCommerce certificate and the Fundamentals of Digital Marketing Certification.
There is also SEO information published on Google's Search Essentials Website. The best Google SEO training resources are summarized below.
Attract and Engage Customers (Google)
The Attract and Engage Customers is part of the Google Digital Marketing & eCommerce professional certificate. The course is prepared by Google employees and delivered through Coursera.
Although Google does not name the course 'SEO', the content covers several aspects of search engine optimization, like search engine algorithms, serps, keyword research, on-page SEO, technical SEO, and more.
The total time of this course is 21 hours and has no prerequisites.
Get Started With Search (Google)
The Get Started with Search is part of the Fundamentals of Digital Marketing certification, delivered through Google Digital Garage.
The course includes six lessons, which take around 45 minutes to complete.
It’s a basic SEO course covering the fundamentals of SEO. The material is easy to digest, and the videos are pleasant to watch.
It does provide value to beginners in SEO, but this is not a complete SEO course.
Get Discovered With Search (Google)
The Get Discovered with Search is part of the Fundamentals of Digital Marketing Certification. It's a short course with five lessons and a total duration of 35 minutes.
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.
Read the guide below to discover all available Google SEO Courses (including free and paid options).
4. Online SEO Guides & eBooks
Another great option to learn SEO is free guides and eBooks. Many companies, including Google, have released easy-to-digest guides to help beginners perform basic SEO tasks.
These guides will not make you an SEO expert, but they will help you avoid mistakes that may hinder your SEO efforts.
The Beginner’s Guide to SEO (Reliablesoft)
The Reliablesoft SEO guide is perfect for beginners. It starts from the beginning explaining what SEO is, why it's important, and how SEO works.
It includes step-by-step instructions that guide you through the most important SEO factors. The guide is written in an easy-to-understand language, a factor very important for those that have no prior experience with SEO.
Search Engine Starter Guide (Google)
The Search Engine Optimization Guide by Google was initially published 7+ years ago as a PDF, and over the years, it has been refined to include modern SEO practices and techniques.
As stated by Google, "If you own, manage, monetize, or promote online content via Google Search, this guide is meant for you. You might be the owner of a growing and thriving business, the website owner of a dozen sites, the SEO specialist in a web agency or a DIY SEO expert passionate about the mechanics of Search: this guide is meant for you."
The guide can be accessed online, and it's free.
One of the most popular online SEO guides is the Beginners Guide to SEO by Moz. Initially published a few years ago, the Moz guide is a gentle introduction to SEO for beginners and those who want to refresh their basic SEO knowledge.
For downloadable SEO resources, check out the guide below.
5. SEO Training (YouTube)
Another option to learn SEO is YouTube. There are many great video courses that teach SEO from reputable training academies.
The problem with YouTube SEO Courses is that they are difficult to update so before watching, make sure that the video was released recently.
Some good training options are presented below.
Complete SEO Course for Beginners: Learn to Rank #1 in Google (Ahrefs)
The Complete SEO Course by Ahrefs is two hours long and includes the most common SEO topics like keyword research, on-page SEO, off-page SEO, and technical SEO.
The video is enriched with nice visuals and animations, making it a pleasure to watch. You can watch the whole video or make use of chapters to study a specific concept.
SEO Unlocked is delivered by the world-famous marketer Neil Patel. The course consists of 26 videos, published on YouTube for free.
This is the first video in the series, which is 10 minutes long. In this video, Neil introduces learners to SEO and sets a lesson plan for approaching SEO learning.
The SEO Full Course by SimpliLearn is a comprehensive training resource that is 12 hours long!
As expected, it covers SEO in detail but also touches on Google Analytics 4, Google Tag Manager, Google Algorithmic changes, and preparing for an SEO job interview.
If you want more YouTube SEO Courses, click the link below.
6. SEO Training FAQ
These are some popular questions regarding SEO training.
Can I Learn SEO Myself?
Yes, you can definitely learn SEO yourself. You should start by understanding the basics of SEO and how search engines rank pages.
The essential topics to cover are keyword research, on-page SEO, link building, and technical SEO.
You can build the necessary skills through free and paid online SEO resources, such as the ones presented in this article.
Remember, SEO is a continuous learning process due to the ever-evolving nature of search engine algorithms, and
For a step-by-step SEO learning plan, read the following post.
How Long Does It Take to Learn Google SEO?
On average, it takes beginners 3-4 months to learn SEO from scratch. This assumes that you know nothing about SEO and spend a couple of hours per day going through a course or reading other resources.
After the four months period, you won’t become an SEO expert, but you’ll know the theory of SEO and what you can do about it.
To become prominent in SEO, you need to do a lot of practice, and the best way to do this is to:
- Start your own website
- Do your keyword research
- Publish SEO-optimized content
- Monitor your progress
For more details, read the guide below, which includes more tips on learning SEO.
Are SEO Courses Worth It?
Yes, SEO courses are worth it. They provide structured learning and expert insights, which can accelerate your understanding of SEO principles and practices.
They're especially valuable for beginners, but even experienced professionals can benefit from updated courses due to the dynamic nature of SEO.
When choosing an SEO course, it is important to check the last-updated date to ensure that it teaches the latest techniques and practices.
Does SEO Require Coding?
SEO does not require coding. Most modern CMS allows you to change your HTML headings, titles, and other settings without writing any code manually.
You can become a great SEO professional without knowing to code. It is not a requirement for learning SEO. In addition, most SEO teams have dedicated programmers to handle the coding tasks.
Does Google Offer a Free SEO Course?
Google does not offer a dedicated SEO course but provides SEO lessons through the Fundamentals of Digital Marketing course and the Digital Marketing & eCommerce certificate.
For more options, look at the Google SEO Courses section.
