Learning SEO 101

Learning SEO 101 in Order

Learning SEO 101 goes faster in this order, and each step uses what the last one taught.

• Learn how search works: crawling, indexing and serving. David G Quaid walks through Google's SEO Starter Guide in the first video above.
• Find what people search for. Keyword research comes before writing anything.
• Write the page. On-page basics are titles, headings and answering the search.
• Earn links. David's line is that link building means helping partners rank as well as yourself.
• Read the results in Search Console, then repeat with what it tells you.

Can a Beginner Learn SEO From Videos?

A beginner can learn SEO from videos, as long as the videos come with practice. Pick a small site of your own and try each step as you watch it. Can a beginner do SEO? has the longer answer, including how long results take, and a new site strategy shows the whole job in one sitting.

How Long Learning SEO Takes

How long learning SEO takes depends more on practice than on hours watched, and results take their own time. Google's Starter Guide says some changes show in hours and others take several months, and it suggests waiting a few weeks before you judge one. Keep a small site running while you learn, so each lesson has something to act on.

Free SEO Training Videos or a Paid Course?

Free SEO training videos cover the basics well, and everything in these rows costs nothing. A paid course buys you a set order and sometimes feedback. Many of the free channels here also sell one, so treat a video that ends in a pitch as an ad with good information in it.

How Often SEO Shows Teach the Basics

SEO shows teach the basics all the time. The SEO TV index holds 589 videos and episodes aimed at beginners from 31 shows, and 75 of them are from the past 12 months, so a tutorial from this year is easy to find.