SEO can be a little overwhelming since the subject of search engine optimization keeps on evolving with new developments and algorithmic changes which are rolled out from time to time by search engines. There is just too much information on the web and getting lost in the sea of information and finding your way back is even difficult.

When I started out to learn seo, this was my first reaction

My god, there is so much to read, understand and implement and it feels overwhelming to do all this in a week or so. I don’t think I can ever finish learning this since one question on SEO gives birth to a thousand more questions. These questions never ends and it seems no matter how much I learn, I always find myself asking more questions and looking for answers here and there

If you find yourself in the same situation, there is nothing to worry about. I agree there is already too much information out there and it is overwhelming when you are just starting out. It will be all right when you get the basic concepts and do it on your website or blog.

To learn SEO, you will need to do the following

  • Learn the key concepts of SEO through blogs, videos and other study material available on the internet.
  • Implement the concepts which you learn in your blog or website and see the changes yourself.
  • Repeat the above two steps rigorously.

Learning SEO is not enough, you will need to implement the learning in your website or blog and see if that brings a positive change in acquiring more traffic. That said, I have tried to curate a comprehensive list of websites, blogs, YouTube video channels and other sources which you can consult to for learning and developing your SEO skills.

  1. Official Google Webmaster central blog – This is the official Google webmaster blog or Google search console blog, where you can keep yourself updated on the latest changes that Google rolls out towards its index, algorithms. This is the best place to learn how Google sees your website, what factors it considers for ranking, and what are the things you should be doing to keep your site “Google friendly”.
  2. Google search engine optimization starter guide [PDF] – If you are just starting out learning SEO, this PDF is for you. This is a guide from Google on how you should do the seo of your site and this guide is updated regularly, as Google rolls out changes to its search algorithms. You should bookmark that link and re-visit it time to time to see what has changed and implement the changes in your website for positive results.
  3. Google webmasters help YouTube Channel – This is another great resource to learn seo on your own where Google engineers and other staff employees explain user questions in the form of video content. If you watch all the videos in this channel, you will have a good understanding of how seo works, what are the things you should do and not do for legitimate seo of your site and what are the areas you should focus to ensure your site gets the maximum visibility in search engines.
  4. Google search console help center – This is my favorite resource which answers commonly asked questions on SEO in a Q and A format. This is written by Google staff, is accurate and to the point. There is also a webmaster forum where you can ask questions to other webmasters and get answers on your query.
  5. Moz – Previously SEOmoz, Moz is by far one of the best places to keep yourself updated with emerging SEO and marketing concepts. Moz has quite a range of products related to marketing but you can also keep an eye on the blog to learn new seo concepts. Their whiteboard friday’s are also very informative, do checkout the beginners guide to seo if you are just starting out to learn seo and need a step by step approach.
  6. Search Engine Land: This is one of the oldest resources on the web regarding SEO and I follow this blog even to this day. It has been around for a while and published news about SEO, SEM regularly. You will also learn key seo findings from reputed bloggers and webmasters who guest post their findings on this site.
  7. Search Engine Watch – Another great resource, follow this website for SEO news, marketing, content marketing, content development and other things.
  8. Search Engine Roundtable: Another great resource on search engine optimization, search marketing.
  9. Webmaster World: This is actually a forum where webmasters post questions and the questions are answered by other webmasters and seo experts. It’s been there for quite a long time now and I remember using it very actively when I was new to blogging. I don’t use it anymore but it has some excellent forum threads written by real users on specific use cases. Worth exploring.
  10. Search engine Journal: This blog is your go to resource for all things related to seo news, Barry Schwartz writes this blog and he has been actively covering all the news around seo, algorithmic changes, announcements and so on.
  11. Kiss Metrics: This is another great resource from Neil Patel and his team which focuses on user acquisition, seo, content marketing, analytics and more.
  12. SeoBook: This is another old resource but nonetheless useful to this day. Aaron wall has created a good resource on seo which contains tutorial videos, training modules and has a good community of users discussing various things related to seo. Check out the YouTube channel for explanatory videos around seo.

There are many other resources and websites where you can learn key seo concepts but I will not include them in this list since it will again become overwhelming for you to go through each site and absorb the content. If you follow these sites religiously, you should be able to acquaint yourself with all the things hapening in the seo world. Remember, more does not mean better and you should follow only authentic sources and information to improve and hone your skills.

The best teacher, if you ask me, is time and experience.

You will learn a lot from these resources but you will learn better when you learn a concept, implement it in your website, see the changes and derive inferences. Merely reading about SEO will not sharpen your concept, you will need to read, learn, understand and DO it in your website – that is the best way to sharpen your knowledge.

Do let me know if you have faced any challenges while learning or doing SEO for your website or blog, I will help to see your case.