In this article, we’ll answer the question, “how long does it take to learn SEO?”
But we’ll also go much deeper than just explaining how much time does it take to learn SEO.
Below, you’ll learn other important things that can help you figure out if you should continue down the path of learning search engine optimization for your own websites or as a career in digital marketing. We’ll cover related topics like how difficult is SEO to understand, is it a good job field, as well as provide tips to speed up the learning process.
Delivering the Best SEO Tips...
Table of Contents
How Long Does It Take To Learn SEO?
It takes 1-3 months to learn SEO at a basic level and as long as 6-18 months to learn SEO at an advanced level. How much time it takes to learn SEO depends on the number of hours each day you can study search engine optimization.
How Quickly Can I Learn SEO?
You can learn SEO as quickly as 2-4 weeks if you study search engine optimization for several hours per day. The speed at which you can learn the fundamentals of SEO is not bound by time, but by how quickly you understand the concepts that apply to SEO campaigns.
If you want to learn SEO as quickly as possible, then you should commit to studying SEO on a full-time basis. If you do that, then you can master the basics of search engine optimization in under two weeks and start applying that knowledge to your own websites.
After you’ve gotten comfortable testing the concepts you’ve learned about SEO, you can learn what areas of on-site and off-site SEO make the most impact on your website’s keyword rankings and traffic from search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing.
Can I Learn SEO In a Month?
You can learn SEO month if you spend enough time learning the foundations of search engine optimization. This includes on-page SEO, off-page SEO, and technical aspects of search engine optimization.
But you need to remember that during the first month of learning SEO, you’ll be doing just that: learning. There’s a fundamental difference between understanding the processes of SEO and applying those strategies to a website.
Therefore, you should spend at least one month acquiring the knowledge about SEO so that you can start implementing the methods you’ve learned in month two and beyond. As with any discipline, a good foundation of basic SEO knowledge is required so you can understand the reasoning why a particular strategy works for an SEO campaign.
Is SEO Difficult to Learn?
SEO is not difficult to learn. Anyone can learn SEO if they work hard enough at it, but becoming a master at search engine optimization will require a lot of practice and patience.
As mentioned in this other guide on how to learn SEO at home, you can easily figure out SEO on your own. You do not need to earn a bachelor’s or master’s degree from a university to learn basic or advanced search engine optimization methods. In fact, the easiest and most effective way to learn SEO on your own is to enroll in a good SEO course, read blogs, and practice SEO on your own website.
Here are some resources to help you get started:
- SEO Books List
- What Is On-Page SEO?
- What Is Off-Page SEO?
- What Is Local SEO?
- What Is Technical SEO?
- Why Is Keyword Research Important for SEO?
- How Many Keywords Per Page for SEO Should You Focus On
- How to Add Keywords to a Website for SEO
- How to optimize H1 Tag for SEO
- How Many Backlinks Do I Need to Rank?
- How to Get High Quality Backlinks
- How to Know If Your SEO Is Working
Tips On Learning SEO Faster
- Read Google’s Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide.
- Read about SEO on expert blogs.
- Follow daily SEO news.
- Listen to SEO podcasts.
- Subscribe to SEO YouTube Channels.
- Talk with SEO experts on Twitter.
- Attend SEO conferences and webinars.
- Experiment with SEO on your own websites.
- Hire an SEO coach.
- Invest in good SEO courses and training.
Is SEO a Good Career?
SEO is a good career because it is one of the most sought-after careers in digital marketing. The best part of having an SEO career is that it gives you diverse work opportunities like working at an agency, taking on clients, and starting your own websites.
There are also many facets of SEO you can work on to narrow your career options down even further. Examples include:
- SEO strategy building
- Search engine marketing consultant
- SEO project manager
- Link building specialist
- Client acquisition specialist
- SEO content writer
- Technical SEO specialist
- Local SEO specialist
- Paid search advertising manager
- SEO audit manager
As with any career, each job opportunity will require a different level of experience. However, there are many entry jobs available you can apply for that do not require any previous work experience in SEO. As long as you have a strong passion for the industry, are willing to be trained, and exhibit good problem-solving skills, you can get accepted to a digital marketing agency.
Is Learning SEO Worth It?
Learning SEO is worth it because SEO is very effective at bringing organic search traffic to your website which can turn into leads, customers, and sales. SEO is a highly practical discipline with a set of rules that are easy to follow in a strictly controlled way.
Although search engine algorithms evolve over time, the fundamentals of SEO have remained constant for decades. And once you learn these strategies, you can create an effective SEO campaign for your website that only requires small adjustments to maintain your rankings in search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing.
The fact is, the SEO skills you learn are well worth it because you can apply that knowledge to your own websites in addition to getting a job at an SEO company. This means you can earn money from your knowledge in two ways: from an employer and on the side.
Best of all, good SEO practices can keep your websites ranking high in the search engines for many months, and even several years, without much effort involved on your part to keep those keyword positions. Unless something major happens, or a huge flood of new competitors with expert SEO knowledge enter your niche, those keyword rankings can remain to drive organic search traffic to your website, which can lead to more leads, customers, and sales.
How Much Time Does It Take to Learn SEO Summary
I hope you enjoyed this guide on how long does it take to learn SEO.
As you discovered, the answer for how much time does it take to learn SEO depends on the number of hours you can commit to learning the fundamentals of search engine optimization. If you’re dedicated to figuring out SEO as fast as possible, then you’ll want to spend several hours per day studying the concepts of the discipline. To get started, you can use the linked resources provided in this guide.
Stephen Hockman
Stephen Hockman is an entrepreneur and founder of SEO Chatter. He specializes in search engine optimization and digital marketing and has been fascinated with SEO since 2005. His goal is to share the best tips and news about search engine marketing to help you get more website traffic.
FAQs
How Long Does It Take To Learn SEO? (+ Tips to Speed It Up)? ›
Experts say it usually takes one to three months to learn the foundations of SEO and a year or more to master the practice fully. The length of time it takes to learn the basics of SEO depends upon several factors.
Can I learn SEO in 2 months? ›Yes, you can learn SEO in two months. However, how much you learn during that time depends on how much time you devote to learning SEO every day.
Can I learn SEO in one month? ›While it's a career-long journey, you can indeed learn SEO in about a month — enough to make a huge impact on your website and thus your business as a whole.
How hard is it to learn SEO? ›SEO is not that hard to learn, but it can be confusing and overwhelming to get started. Learning SEO means learning about a long list of individual digital marketing strategies, which can feel a bit like adding new weapons to your arsenal as you learn how to wield them.
Can I learn SEO by myself? ›If you've wondered, “Can I do SEO myself?” the answer is definitely. You don't need to hire an outside agency to improve your SEO, and this guide gives you some basic SEO tips to get started.
How can I become a SEO specialist fast? ›- Learn the basics of how search engines work.
- Understand SEO strategies and concepts.
- Participate in SEO training.
- Keep up with industry trends and news.
- Get familiar with SEO tools.
- Experiment with SEO tactics on your website or blog.
- Show employers your efforts and results.
With an SEO business, there's no limit to how much your agency can earn. You're limited by the number of clients you have and the size of your team. In general, monthly retainer rates for SEO services are around $5,000.
Can I make a living doing SEO? ›SEO can be extremely lucrative—but it does take time, effort, and a bucketload of determination to make the big bucks. It's worth remembering that the people making the most money in SEO are not always the most well-versed technical SEOs. Crucially, however, they know how to leverage their skills to make money.
How much money do SEO people make? ›| Annual Salary | Hourly Wage | |
|---|---|---|
| Top Earners | $98,500 | $47 |
| 75th Percentile | $85,500 | $41 |
| Average | $63,781 | $31 |
| 25th Percentile | $41,500 | $20 |
The short answer is: no, SEO typically doesn't require much (or any) hands-on coding. You can absolutely do a fine job of SEO without touching code. But the longer answer is that yes, a good sense of how programming works, or even an ability to do a bit of coding yourself, is always a useful skill to have.
Is SEO a stressful job? ›
Any job can be stressful based on the type of performance required by your company. It is the same with SEO-related jobs.
What is the most difficult part of SEO? ›- Finding Trusted Information. ...
- Taking a Comprehensive Approach. ...
- Convincing Others that SEO Matters. ...
- Paving the SEO Road. ...
- The Importance of a Great SEO Strategy.
SEO Executive salary in India ranges between ₹ 1.0 Lakhs to ₹ 3.8 Lakhs with an average annual salary of ₹ 2.0 Lakhs.
How long is SEO training? ›It takes most people one to three months to learn SEO tools and techniques and six months to a year to perfect them through practice. Of course, this depends on several factors like how much time you can devote to studying, how quickly you pick up new information, and whether or not you can take a class.
How long is SEO learning? ›SEO Course Duration and Fees
The course lasts approximately 25 hours, and Apponix Technologies provides a flexible timetable for their students, allowing them to choose any batch that best suits their needs.
- Step 1: Find keywords.
- Step 2: Put keywords in the page title.
- Step 3: Put keywords in the page URL.
- Step 4: Put keywords in your meta description.
- Step 5: Put keywords in your H1 text.
- Step 6: Use keywords in the page's content.
- Step 7: Build links to your website.
- Step 8: Monitor your rank.
Highest salary that a SEO can earn is ₹7.3 Lakhs per year (₹60.8k per month).
How many hours do you need for SEO? ›It can take as little as two hours for a single blog post to rank; two weeks for a competitive landing page to rank; six months for a series of pages to rank, or over a year for a brand new site to see SEO traction. The generic '4-6 months' answer is exactly that, generic.
Is SEO a full time job? ›In fact, when it comes to paid advertising, managing Google Ads, Bing Ads and Facebook ads is, just by themselves, a full-time job for someone. Once the time is spent setting up the accounts properly, someone doing paid advertising should be working to optimize the SEO campaigns on a daily basis.
Can SEO be a side hustle? ›It's no secret that SEO is a lucrative career path. But what if you're looking for a side hustle? Can you still make good money with SEO? The answer is YES — you can easily earn up to $1,000 per month through this technique involving Search Engine Optimization.
Is SEO passive income? ›
Yes, with SEO you can earn a quality passive income.
How many hours does a SEO specialist work? ›The majority of experts (59.7%) agree that SEO takes between 4-15 hours of work per week on average. Depending on its currents state and desired results, in some cases, SEO can take over 15 hours of work per week. It is also common for SEO to take more upfront work at the start of the project.
How much does a freelance SEO make? ›Average Freelancer.com SEO Analyst salary in India is ₹ 2.9 Lakhs for experience between 1 years to 6 years. SEO Analyst salary at Freelancer.com India ranges between ₹ 2.0 Lakhs to ₹ 4.0 Lakhs.
Are SEO courses worth it? ›The short answer is: Pay for what you learn, not for the certificate. With the number of free resources out there, from SEO beginner guides to advanced SEO strategy guides, I don't advise paying a lot of money for basic certification. The certificate itself probably isn't what's going to move the needle for you.
Can SEO make you millionaire? ›Yes, SEO can make you rich if you earn, save, and invest. But at the end of the day: Wealth is more than money.
Can you become a millionaire from SEO? ›Can SEO make you a millionaire? That depends entirely on your skills and ability to scale. The simple answer is that SEO can be a great way to make a decent living, and provided you have the skills to scale an SEO practice, the sky's the limit.
How much does SEO cost per hour? ›Hiring an experienced SEO freelancer or agency by the hour typically costs anywhere between $50-$150 per hour. Of course, you can find people that charge significantly less or more than this hourly rate. For example, this SEO hourly rate breakdown found that 6% of SEO providers charge over $200/hour.
Can I do SEO without a degree? ›But while a degree is not typically necessary, many SEO job postings do require familiarity with one or more specific SEO tools. A search engine like Google never rests – they're always updating the techniques they use to bring the most relevant results to searchers.
Can I become SEO expert without degree? ›Yes, it's possible to become an SEO specialist without a degree. Many SEO professionals enter the field through on-the-job experience or by taking online SEO training courses and learning through experience.
Why is SEO so difficult? ›One of the things about learning SEO that can be challenging is the amount of information you need to read and process. You need to become familiar with powerful tools like Google Analytics, SEMRush, and Moz, which involves a lot of reading and practice.
Is SEO a hard or soft skill? ›
Hard skill: Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Why do people fail at SEO? ›One of the many reasons startups fail at SEO is the use of the wrong keywords. Choosing the best keywords can be an exhausting job especially if you don't know that much about SEO or you are in a highly popular niche. Use a keyword research tool for suggestions. Be careful whether you chose short or long tail keywords.
What are the weaknesses of SEO? ›SEO results take time:
The main drawback is that SEO takes time to generate real results, Unlike PPC advertisement. SEO process involves getting your content indexed by search engines which may take a long time. So, if you are looking for instant results SEO is not for you.
SEO Analyst salary in India ranges between ₹ 1.2 Lakhs to ₹ 5.0 Lakhs with an average annual salary of ₹ 2.5 Lakhs.
How much does an off page SEO specialist make? ›According to Glassdoor, the average salary of an off-page SEO specialist in India is around ₹4,00,000 per year. However, the salary can go up to ₹10,00,000 per year for experienced professionals working with top digital marketing agencies or companies.
What is the highest salary in digital marketing? ›...
These are the top skills of a Digital Marketer based on 7415 jobs posted by employers.
- Digital Marketing.
- SEO.
- Social Media.
- Social Media Marketing.
- Consulting.
| Certification | Vendor | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced SEO Certification Training | Market Motive | $770 |
| Complete SEO Training Experience | Bruce Clary | $1495 |
| Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Specialization | Coursera | $245 |
| SEO 2023: Complete SEO Training | Udemy | $99 |
Will SEO exist in 5 years? Yes, SEO will exist for the foreseeable future. Businesses rely on SEO to ensure their content appears in SERPs, even as algorithms and features adapt to users' needs. This won't change within the next handful of years.
How long does it take to become a SEO manager? ›Organic SEO Expert | Driving Organic…
It's not as long as you might think to become an SEO expert; in most cases, it will take around 18 months to become an expert.
It doesn't matter how good you are at keyword research, ranking sites & building backlinks, if you can't get the clients in the first place. SEO isn't the easiest thing to sell, either. There's often misconceptions about how SEO works, the results it should yield, and how much it should cost.
What are the 4 types of SEO? ›
- On-page SEO. Our Beginners Guide to SEO outlines the basics of search engine optimization, and on-page SEO is one of the easiest and most common ways to boost site visibility. ...
- Off-page SEO. ...
- Local SEO. ...
- Technical SEO.
Unlike other popular marketing channels, SEO does not work instantly. Most professionals expect to see results in as low as 2 months, but SEO can take as much as 12 months to work. While every company's SEO strategy differs, most businesses can expect to see considerable results in 6 to 12 months.
How long does it take to do SEO? ›It typically takes between 3–6 months for SEO to show results. That's according to the ~4,300 people who responded to our polls on LinkedIn and Twitter.
How long does it take to get certified for Google SEO? ›The course takes approximately 5 months to complete and the total cost is $245. This program is offered as part of the Coursera Plus subscription, which costs $49 per month. After completing all five courses (including the Google SEO Capstone Project), you'll be awarded an SEO certification.
How long does it take to get SEO ranking? ›According to seo.co, it can take anywhere from three to six months to rank on the first page of Google, assuming that you're writing good content and optimizing your website for search engines. If there's high competition or you haven't optimized your website, it may take six to 12 months to see results.
Is it hard to sell SEO? ›It doesn't matter how good you are at keyword research, ranking sites & building backlinks, if you can't get the clients in the first place. SEO isn't the easiest thing to sell, either. There's often misconceptions about how SEO works, the results it should yield, and how much it should cost.
Is it hard to become an SEO expert? ›Becoming an SEO Expert is not easy, but it's not difficult. The process includes a lot of reading, practicing, and testing. If you are starting out now, the best way is to take a good SEO course to have all the information in one place, use the right SEO tools, and above all, start practicing SEO.
What is the success rate of SEO? ›SEO Statistics 2023 (Editor's Picks)
93% of web experiences start on a search engine (mainly Google searches, images and maps). SEO-generated leads have a 15% closing rate. 88.28% of SEOs charge $150/hour or less for their services. Google has 85.55% of the global search engine market.
The average SEO campaign generates 1000 percent more traffic than the average social media campaign. In other words, you can't afford to let your SEO strategy fall by the wayside.
What is the fastest you can complete a Google certification? ›Google employees and consultation from other experts in various industries design and teach each course. While users can set their own pace, Google certification classes typically take about three to six months to complete with a final exam at the end.
How long does it take to master SEO? ›
Average Time it Takes to Learn SEO
Experts say it usually takes one to three months to learn the foundations of SEO and a year or more to master the practice fully. The length of time it takes to learn the basics of SEO depends upon several factors.
SEO is not something that you can do once at the set up of your website and forgotten about. To stay relevant and useful in terms of Google and other search engines, it needs to be carried out once a month to ensure that the right keywords and phrases are still used on your website and its pages.
Is a 100% SEO score good? ›A good SEO scoring range falls between 80 and 100. This indicates that your site meets the highest quality standards for technical SEO, content, UX, and mobile usability. Some SEO experts will tell you to shoot for a score of 85 or higher. Others say that a score within the 70s is passable.