Ever wonder how major search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo rank your website within their searches? Or how content such as videos or local listings are shown and ranked based on what the search engine considers most relevant to users? Welcome to the world of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This course is the first within the SEO Specialization and it is intended to give you a taste of SEO with some fun practices to get seen in Google.
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You will be introduced to the foundational elements of how the most popular search engine, Google, works, how the SEO landscape is constantly changing and what you can expect in the future. You discuss core SEO strategies and tactics used to drive more organic search results to a specific website or set of websites, as well as tactics to avoid to prevent penalization from Google. We hope this taste of SEO, will entice you to continue through the Specialization!
What You Will Learn
- Critique the role of advertisements and corporate funding in the development of search
- Compare and contrast the functionality of search engine algorithms updates
- Write your own content for a website that will improve search results
- Develop an optimization strategy following best practices for a client to implement to help increase their ranking
Course 1 of 5 in the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Specialization.
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Introduction to Google SEO
Welcome to the first week of the course! In this module, you will be able to define Search Engine Optimization and explain the basics of SEO as a business (as well as how SEO shapes the Internet itself). You'll learn about the differences between the main SEO job types and discover career options as an SEO. You will also identify the role of search technologies and list out search engine parts. You'll then review the evolution of SEO and the timeline of search engine development. Let's get started!
WEEK 2
Current SEO Best Practices
In this module, we'll be discussing items that SEOs spend a great deal of time dealing with: SEO best practices, the algorithm updates that look for them and potential penalties for not adhering to them. By the end of this module, you'll be able to illustrate the concept of relevancy as it applies to search results, compare and contrast the functionality of search engine algorithm updates, and critically examine the ways in which webmasters attempt to circumvent these algorithms. You'll also be able to define important ranking factors used by modern search engines, and learn the necessary steps to avoid (or correct) any penalties applied by search engine algorithms. Let's get started!
WEEK 3
SEO of Today, Tomorrow and Beyond
In this module, you will be able to explain how concepts like topic association and semantic analysis relate to the relevancy and trustworthiness of search results. You will be able to demonstrate the impact of brands and branding on search results, and critically analyze the role of social media and other emerging technologies on the landscape of SEO. In this module, you will gain an understanding of where SEO fits into the broader digital marketing landscape. You'll also be well prepared to write and optimize your own content for a website that will improve search results, as well as develop an optimization strategy for a client to implement that would help to increase their ranking while following best practices. Let's get started!
WEEK 4
Your Audience and Building Personas
You've made it to Module 4! In this module, you’ll learn about and understand common behaviors of web searchers that can help you market to different types of consumers. We will close out this course by using a variety of SEO tools to conduct an audience and use this data to develop personas of your ideal buyer. Let's get started!
