Is there a course you can go on to learn SEO?

[England-Villages]

Just wondering out loud here - Is there a course you can go on at college or adult education classes to learn this SEO malarkey?

I'm wondering how some of the more experienced guys here fell into the business of offering SEO services?

Would you mind sharing your stories with the community please?

We don't mind if you want to share with us your trade secrets.:D

Seriously though, if you wanted to start from scratch and learn this subject yourself, how do you get started?

I've explained before about one of my businesses, the SkyHighPhotographs website of mine. There I was, had hardly even heard of SEO before (just a few months ago), but applying what I thought was common sense, managed to get the website onto page one of google for all my search terms, in fact for two of the most obvious search words for my business, I achieved number one position on page one of google out of a possible 47.5 million results. I'm still not quite sure how I did it. Does this make me an SEO genius, only I just don't know it yet?:eek: :D

However, being on page one of google and the number one position at that, isn't all it is cracked up to be, as the site is still only receiving between 5-10 website views per day, bloomin big deal, just my bloomin luck.

I can't think what other search terms, keywords people might choose to find out about my business either, I think I've exhausted them all. Too, I'm loathe to making any major adjustments, hence losing that position and hells teeth only then getting 2 website views per day. How the dickens can I improve my traffic flow for the website whilst maintaining that number one position?

Sorcerers and magicians the lot of ya!!:D

Any advice on any of these questions would be appreciated.

Btw will someone run past me what SERPS is again, what does it stand for and what does it do exactly and how can I use it?

Earl!! Behave!!:D

Best regards!!

Mark
http://www.england-villages.co.uk
http://www.skyhighphotographs.co.uk
You Call The Shots! 0845 430 1945

[An Oasis]

Course in the traditional sense? No! Edu moves very slowly SEO is a constantly evolving practice, therefore if you enrolled on a course, everything that you learned would be out-of-date by the time you came to apply it.

If you are in a competitive field pay someone, if you are in a niche field you might choose to DIY.

[England-Villages]

I just had a look at your website, what a great idea!!

If ever you need a palm tree or two, just let me know!! lol

Mark
Cornwall

[An Oasis]

...If ever you need a palm tree or two, just let me know!!

LOL always in the market to buy quality mature plants Mark!

BTW SERP's Search Engine Results Position(ing) i.e. where you appear in the results.

[England-Villages]

How about Mother In Laws Tongue mate? You can have that for free, I'll even arrange a carrier!!:D

[An Oasis]

Ah a specimen plant, let's have a look... no sorry already have one, which I am trying to get rid of.:p

[Chris Jones]

Hi Mark,
there is a tutorial which will cover the basics and give you a general understanding on www.seocertification.org
It will also tell you what SERP's means! Ha!

[RedEvo]

SEOMoz (http://www.seomoz.org)

SEOBook
(http://www.seobook.com)
Web CEO (http://www.webceo.com/training.htm) - online training course

d

[WebPageOne-Solutions]

Hi Mark

I dont think you will find any courses at college or adult education teaching SEO.

The subject or SEO Methods are continuously changing due to the algorithm changes.

Best advise would be to keep your Content relevant and targeted to people not just search engines.

Good SEO will enable conversions, high visibility is pointless without it.



What your offering looks quite niche, you may have to look at other options for marketing like the rest of Us.

Trade Mags, Photography forums etc.

I hold top positions for many competitive keyword phrases relating to search marketing, yet i still get more enquiries through more traditional methods. http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=search+marketing+services&meta= been top for a good while now.

Finding those good long tail phrases can sometimes get the conversions coming in.

Keyword research is very important, use as many sources as possible, including talking to real people, clients, friends.

Good Luck ;-)

[I, Brian]

The only part anyone can teach you in SEO is the basics of on-page search engine optimisation. But that's only the first step in the battle.

The big arena is link building, and absolutely no one can teach you that at a competitive level. It's something you've got to learn to try out yourself IMO.

[England-Villages]

Thank you everyone, that helped and I appreciate it, some great links up there too, spent a while last night poring through the information on those sites - excellent work, again, thank you.