For many businesses, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is perhaps a little like a motor car – easy to understand in theory but almost impossible in practice.
The idea that connecting the ‘keywords’ that your customer searches for to your website is obvious; but implementing that is another matter and one perhaps left to ‘the experts’ or forgotten about altogether. It’s a shame that when so many of the elements of a website are becoming easier for non-experts to access, that the belief that SEO is a specialist area still persists. We can download free website templates, upload free CMS systems and tweet and blog away to our hearts content, but still see SEO as off limits. Of course, SEO is a specialist area and there are probably hundreds of companies nationally offering SEO services. Additionally SEO is an ongoing process, not a fixed set of rules that once learned never change. But none of that means people and companies who run websites, or who want a website cannot do some SEO DIY. Unsurprisingly, the Web and search engines is a very good place to start. SEO experts love to write about what they do and offer guidance to anyone who wants to manage their own website and carry out some DIY SEO. Naturally, there is a lot of jargon and quite often smoke and mirrors, but there are also lots of clear, concise and, importantly, up to date information.
SEO training courses
Increasingly SEO courses will also cover the basics of SEO and offer practical help no matter what your level of expertise. When looking around for SEO courses, some basic areas that you will want to cover will include :
- Creating and submitting sitemaps
- Creating webmaster accounts
- Using site analytics
- Finding the best keywords for your website
- Optimising your website copy
- Understanding meta tags
- Link building
When choosing your training course, consider some of the following:
- Can you tailor your training to maximise its effectiveness for you/your business?
- Is it one-to-one or can you train up several people within your company?
- Can you speak to the trainer before you book? You will need to get on with them to make the most of the training.
- Where does the training take place?
- What are the trainer’s experience and expertise – in training as well as SEO?
- What is included in the cost? Are there any ‘extras’?
For many, SEO training courses are a great way to learn SEO skills – they cut through the often conflicting information that can be found online and give you the chance to interact with the trainer so that you have a clear understanding before you move on. You can use the training to concentrate on the specific needs of your website, and use the skills learned to get your website – and your business – noticed.
Image credit – Aray Chen
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