Petter
Test what you come across one thing at a time. That way you will see what works and what doesn't work in the market you operate in. Ask for access to the company website to write blog posts o.s. if they don't have test-sites you can work with (and you can suggest that test-site(s) are set up so that the consultants have somewhere to test innovations, improvements etc. – best practices in SEO is a moving target so to stay ahead/on top it's always advisable to have such an asset at hand).

Holgate
The quickest way to learn in my opinion is to test and to reverse engineer…
… buy yourself a few domains in different niches, create websites for them and have a good look at those niches main competitors.
Then reverse engineer what the are doing, replicate them and improve upon them.
You can then test your theories or link providers and see which ones work best.
Maybe build some affiliate sites or lead generation sites so that you have financial incentives too for your testing.

Leon
Don't feel defeated homie. One of the answers is to consume is much info as possible so you can learn without going through the pain of learning everything yourself from scratch. The hard part is finding where the better learning material comes from, because a lot of sources out there like most gurus and SEO news sources are garbage. I can only give my biased opinion on this, but two Youtube shows "SEO this week" and "SEO fight club" are great. I know these SEO users personally and they're killers in the field. For something paid, I highly recommend Kyle onpage course. Not a fan of courses at all, but this is the best I've ever taken and it's effective. This is going to set you on a good path. The second answer is for you to learn how to test SEO so you can better understand how things work fundamentally for yourself. For that, there are videos on SEO fight club that can help teach you how to test or you can simply join IMG or SIA and learn there by talking with other testers like myself. I know this is a wall of text but the post seems really genuine and this monstrosity was a real reply lol
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Kennedy
You will learn more and faster by having your own website, pick some small niche and build a small website and see how well you can rank it, then make tests (on page, off page) and see how your site is affected, that's the best way to learn.

Nathan
So from my experience you either have it or you don't. Please don't mistake this as a discouraging comment because it's not intended for that. Anyone can learn SEO, but it will mutate, change, update and as things change you need to learn to adapt so honestly you must learn the fundamentals and then adapt as the system updates for the better or worse. When I say you either have it or you don't, most people don't have the drive to succeed due to you need to do your own case studies, have your own strategies, and test things on your own sites in order to say hey this works and nobody is talking about it. Also, it takes patience as Mike Blumenthal says go do the work then have a beer and wait 🙂 if you have patience and drive you can find literally all the answers to your questions online and the ones you can't aren't going to be found even in most paid training. This is where the testing your own strategies comes into play. After several years you will have adapted and you will start to see how Google operates to a degree and based on that you can anticipate the things they will update so you can be one step ahead of your competition. But the fundamentals are on page, links, content, and enhancements like site links (Schema) etc… obviously you can still accomplish site links without Schema but that's a whole different topic. Best of luck to you!

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Bhatia
I think SEO not complex at all. Whats overwhelming is the lack of direction for any particular site you work on. I love this phrase – Strategic Heaven or Tactical hell.( Do you have a clear strategy for a website before you get into the tactics). So once you have clear goals you tactics are more focused and refined.
What I mean is that you keep on studying but adopt a framework while working with your clients. In an agency life where you are beleaguered with so many issues (some important,some definitely not), a framework like PIE (Priority, Importance, Ease) can help you see how to get the maximum impact in a short period of time.
I believe such kind of approach will help you throughout your SEO journey as you read more and more, get experience and refine your tactics.
You should also take up an SEO course, Yes, that information is available for free. But what matters is how organized it is and how it is helping your learn more in less time. You may check this out https://cxl.com/institute/online-course/technical-SEO/
Technical SEO [Online Course] – CXL Institute
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Joana
well said! Lack of direction. exactly. and in turn, I freak out. Thanks for the recommendation 🙂
Cory
You can watch hours and hours of Youtube videos and instructional courses but learning and doing are two completely different things.
If you have the desire, I'd recommend building your own website (doesn't have to be fancy) and implementing some of what you have learned there. You'll quickly see how manipulating certain content and on-page elements affect your rankings, more SEO than working for a client.
Of course, everyone processes information differently. For you, a more hands on approach like this could be more beneficial than listening to someone else.
Meakin » Joana
Have you tried discussing this with your line manager at the agency? Most (decent) agencies will want to train and retain staff. Seeing that you are motivated to learn (and considering leaving) is (should be) a big plus for any agency.

Susan
If you have money take a training where you're learning one specific thing I did one for Google maps specifically (I'm still in and has weekly webinars) and from there I learned Search Engine Optimization (SEO) as part of what everyone else is saying which you have to build websites for and under a year I could build websites and get backlinks and citations and obtain clients but I am consistently learning and training my brain to learn new things especially with Google it's always changing anything that they say you can outsource I did it myself besides backlinks/citations cuz it's just too time consuming to me I'd rather pay someone who can get the best quality links That's very good at it. I've learned EVERYTHING by just starting to build a website and making errors and learning how to fix them. That's the ONLY way you can learn and once you learn that you come up with a new problem that you have to fix it's just like going to the gym you start off with 20 pounds until it becomes too easy then you work on something else like 40 pounds until it gets too easy you keep going till you build up your strength and that 20 pounds seems like it's nothing anymore the same thing with this except I always learn something from every group than I am in which is some thing I suggest people do is join as many GOOD QUALITY groups like this one or training that has a great fb group and community that you can you can always take something away with you that's new. I have learned tons just from peoples comments and questions I've asked.
Jeff
Training is ok, but really get hands on with things. Set up small experiments. Try to get the small details down first. Become a data hound. This will help you sort out what is real from what is a fable. Also know that what works can be very different from niche to niche. Focus on content first, since that is easier to do well in than building hundreds of links (easier but not easy). Eventually you will get the big picture and see how things fit together.
Joana
Thank you all for all your amazing help and comments. I have disappeared in all of the study materials you recommended and I already feel much more confident since when I wrote this post. You guys rock!!! 😄
Joana turned off commenting for this post.

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Hammad
How do I learn SEO?
Is still there a good future of Affiliate Marketing or Adsense?
( Please reply "Google it" or else the meme wouldn't be completed )

Chris M. Walker ^👑
Step #1 – Determine What Type Of SEO You Want To Do
SEO gives you numerous options for revenue streams. The one(s) you choose will affect how you go about doing Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Some of the major ways to monetize SEO are:
Affiliate SEO – Ranking a website and selling other people's products and services for a commission
Client SEO – Ranking websites in Google for brick and mortar businesses such as plumbers, and dentists
eCommerce SEO – Selling physical products through a website, and getting people to the website from search engines like Google
SEO Services – Selling low and medium priced SEO services on marketplaces like Legiit
Those are some of the major ways to monetize SEO and most people will choose one of those.
Step #2 – Start Learning From Free Resources
Now that you know how you want to go about making money from SEO you can start learning.
Before you invest any money into SEO you will want to learn some of the principles and foundations.
There are a lot of free resources available and you just have to find the right one for you.
Some places you can learn for free are:
Youtube – There are numerous channels and videos on Youtube that can teach you the basics of SEO. Just search "SEO 101 For Beginners" or something similar and find the video or teacher that best fits you.
Blogs – Some people prefer reading to video and absorb information better that way. Blogs are a great option for this type of person. Google search things like "SEO 101 Blogs" or "How to learn SEO" etc…
Facebook Groups and forums – Lurk around SEO themed Facebook groups and forums. Read responses to questions and take in as much as you can. Its ok to ask questions too, but try to be specific, don't just ask "How do I do SEO" that's too hard to answer in one comment and it will upset some "advanced" SEO users.
Step #3 – Start Applying What You Learn
Now that you know what you want to do and you have started learning how to do it, its time to take some action.
There isn't a lot to elaborate on here. Everyone learns differently but nearly everyone learns by doing.
And the great part is you have very little to lose. You should be able to get started for $40 or less.
So grab a domain, and hosting and get your first site setup. If you mess something up… who cares! Just wipe it out and start over.
Keep working on it until you have implemented everything you have learned and made some progress.
If you get stuck on something, revisit the groups and forums from step #2 and ask specific questions to get you passed what you are struggling with.
Keep doing this until you start making a little bit of money (assuming making money is your goal)
Step #4 – Invest In Paid Training
Now that you have some knowledge, some experience, and maybe a little bit of revenue its time to scale up because it is likely you will hit a wall that free training and questions won't get you passed.
That's where paid training comes in.
There are a plethora of paid SEO courses available today of varying price points, skill levels, quality and so on.
Do some research.
Ask in the groups and forums you are in or see who everyone there is already recommending
See if the people whose free training you've been following offers anything more in depth at a price you can afford
Look at some of the ads you are inevitably being retargeted with at this point and see if any are a good fit for you.
Step #5 – GoTo Step #2
Well not exactly. But I wanted to use a bit of old school computer programming there.
At this point you now have some better training and likely access to a coach or coaches that can help guide and motivate you further.
Keep going through their training, and implementing it. Asking questions along the way.
Once you do, you will be able to grow your revenue even further and faster.
Then invest in some higher level training, or even some private 1-on-1 coaching.
Keep repeating this cycle; learn, implement, scale, repeat until you are a site ranking, money making SEO machine.
I realize that is a VERY general outline on how to learn Search Engine Optimization (SEO)…, but that's what you asked for.
If you want some free applicable training this series should get you started: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSyZkIKmIcM&list=PLnfdiqFaBu3VLcpCHtyUQKqeoA0OeieyN
SEO 101 For Beginners | A Complete Over The Shoulder Walkthrough Part 1 #SEO101
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LaFauve
I learned by reading a lot of blogs and following SEO authorities in Facebook groups. And then by simply putting it into practice, to see how things turned out 🙂
It'll take a while before you feel like you learned enough. The basics stay the same but the world does evolve, so chances are you'll always be learning.
But start with just reading blogs and resources, and figure out which part of SEO connects with you. Perhaps it's writing, perhaps it's technical site optimization. Maybe it's linkbuilding. You might want to work at an agency, you might prefer working in-house.
Find your niche and get good. The money will follow, because if you get good you develop the skills that others don't have.

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