Learning how to be a search engine optimiser is not a particularly straightforward process. There’s no college education you can follow to become a SEO. There are precious few SEO training courses you can follow, and most of these aren’t worth the money.
So what is the best way to learn SEO and become a specialist in the field? Well, you could buy some books and dig in to them. A recently published tome called The Art of SEO is pretty solid, as is the SEO an Hour a Day book.
But these books will only give you the basics. Since many SEO problems and challenges are specific to certain (types of) websites, these books will give you a starting point but no more than that.
Reading blogs, articles, and white papers about SEO is also encouraged, though with one caveat: don’t get carried away by reports on the latest hypes and “must-do’s” in SEO. These are nearly always blown out of proportion and when chasing the latest hypes its easy to lose track of the core essence of SEO.
SEO can of course be learned by simply doing it. Learn what works for other websites, then unleash it on your own sites. The problem with this is that sometimes this can backfire and you end up harming your sites more than helping them. Still, learning through experience is absolutely essential.
So, what else is there to help you learn SEO and become a true specialist? Well, in my opinion there is no substitute for a good community. A community where you can ask questions about your specific SEO challenges and get helpful, straightforward answers. A community that shares its specialised knowledge freely and widely and isn’t afraid to spill the occasional ‘secret’ that can really prove to be the difference between a good site and a great site.
Such a community exists, and I happen to be a member of it: the SEO Training Dojo.
The Dojo boasts an impressive range of tools and resources that are useful for everyone, from newbie SEOs coming to grips with the complexities of the craft to experienced SEO gurus that have seen and done it all.
Some examples of what the SEO Dojo contains: – Knowledge Exchange forums – Free SEO tools – Discounts for paid SEO tools – Weekly chat sessions – SEO Beginners guide – Ranking Factors guide – Link Builders handbook – and much much more…
I’m very pleased to be able to offer a discount for my readers who want to join the SEO Training Dojo – use the “barryrocks” discount code when you sign up and you get 25% off any subscription plan!
This discount code is only valid for the first 25 who make use of it, so it pays to act quick! I promise you it will be worth it – the very first chat session I attended earned my whole annual subscription fee back with the incredible amount of insight and tips that I gained from it.
So if you’re serious about becoming a true search engine optimisation specialist, the SEO Training Dojo is the place to hang out.