Ever wonder where us SEO’s learned our trade and what sites we use to stay up to speed?

This post is going to cover the top places where anyone can get up to speed on SEO, please note it does not happen over night or in a month. Most of the top SEO professionals of today weren’t born with the expertise they currently possess of course and they certainly did not learn it in school. It’s hard earned work, as well as persistent investments on training courses for SEO. Quite frankly, they started from the bottom with aspirations and ambition, until they were able to develop the skills they needed to soar higher above the rest.

As aforementioned, it won’t happen overnight, but participating in training courses and self-studying can propel you towards the ultimate goal of having the right set of skills to carry out various SEO techniques and perhaps even start your own SEO consulting gig. Becoming a SEO guru or consultant is really more of a marathon than a sprint as it’s a continuous learning journey. (Side note- as some of you know, I am an avid marathoner, so I guess it was my destiny).

A very important part of being a valued and trusted SEO partner for your clients is staying up to date with all of Google’s various algorithm changes (eg. Panda, Penguin, Hummingbird) and knowing where to look for this knowledge online. Keeping your SEO skills sharp is a very important part of being a great SEO which will help you stand out from the pack. So here is a list of some of the top online destinations, that have helped me tremendously over the years as well as many of my SEO colleagues.

 

Search Engine Land
Search Engine Land is the go-to publication for digital marketing news updates, upcoming events, and advice. They do not directly provide training courses but they do announce SEM conferences which provide training courses on Google Adwords and the like. The articles published on their official site revolved around the following topics: Google, SEO, SEM, Bing, local, social, retail, mobile, and so on.

You can subscribe to their daily newsletter or check out the variety of resources linked on their website. Through these things, you’ll have access to further information on the different channels provided by digital marketing. For added reference, Marketing Land—a sister publication of Search Engine Land—is also a good source of search marketing updates. They have more channels and they host a conference called SocialPro.

 

Seach Engine Land

 

Moz
Moz was established in 2004 as an SEO consulting company. Their early contributions in the industry include launching PRO app in 2007, which is comprised of assistive tools for SEO work. They recently celebrated their 10th year anniversary last 2014, and by then they were able to launch programs of their own, namely PRO, Mozscape, web app, Moz Analytics, and Moz Local. Their social media content is brimming with links which will redirect you to informative articles on their website.

To put it simply, clicking on their links will give you a dose of SEO education in list format. They provide tips, guides, and further information on a variety of SEO topics which is a plus for people who are only beginning to learn about the digital marketing approach, as well as people who are stimulating their brain through self-studying. You can simply read through their published guides or avail of digital marketing training courses for a more hands-on experience.

 

MOZ
Search Engine Journal
In 2003, Search Engine Journal was launched as an online source of wide-ranging search marketing content. Their contributors are comprised of digital marketing experts and, over the years, have established their content as a reputable source of news, tips, and guides on content marketing, paid search, social media, and SEO. Moreover, they also announce upcoming events such as conferences, forums, summits, and expos. This SEO blog also hosts their own event called SEJ Summit and they travel through various areas within the United States to spread advanced SEO knowledge. Their key speakers are founders of today’s SEO companies, innovators, and other highly-regarded professionals of the industry.

 

Search Engine Journal

 

SEO By The Sea
If you’re looking for information about the latest search engine patents, SEO By The Sea by Bill Slawski is the place to go. Bill researches every single search engine patent he can have access on and translates it for all of us. Why are patented search tech important to study? Knowing about the latest news about them helps us internet marketers determine what search engines are now capable of. As well as determine what they might be capable of in the near future.

SEO By The Sea

 

 

SEO Book
Founded way back in 2003 by Aaron Wall, SEO Book is a website that shares actionable insights on SEO and highlights important issues that link SEO to other aspects of the online world. This is all thanks to Aaron Wall’s writing. Letting us, the readers, the students of SEO, see the big picture is indeed very crucial for us to have a fighting chance online.


SEO Book

 

 

Webmaster World
Speaking of really old and immensely credible sources of SEO Trainings, Webmaster World is one of the oldest most trusted forums on topics connected to marketing online as a whole. This also includes a few lessons and information about web development. In this website, the best webmasters share their own thoughts and issues. Threads here often involve specific issues related to SEO with lessons coming from different people who are masters of their craft. By the way though, you would have to register on the site first to be able to join in with the discussions on the forum threads.

Webmaster World

 

 

The Anatomy Of A Large-Scale Hypertextual Search Engine
Submitted by Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin during their Ph D work in Stanford, this is in some sense, a blueprint of the original working model for Google. Though Google is now already bigger that what they started with years ago, understanding how it works will take you to the core of the processes of search engines. Plus, this is literally coming from Larry Page and Sergey Brin. It doesn’t get more credible than that.

The Anatomy Of A Large-Scale Hypertextual Search Engine
The Anatomy Of A Large-Scale Hypertextual Search Engine
Submitted by Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin during their Ph D work in Stanford, this is in some sense, a blueprint of the original working model for Google. Though Google is now already bigger that what they started with years ago, understanding how it works will take you to the core of the processes of search engines. Plus, this is literally coming from Larry Page and Sergey Brin. It doesn’t get more credible than that.

Googles SEO Guidelines

 

Google’s SEO Guidelines
Lastly, knowing what Google’s public position is on a myriad of tactics website owners might want to employ is and always will be one of the most important things to do.

And so, there you go. These are but a few of the best SEO blogs so far. They’ll certainly provide you with beginner essentials but, as you go along, you’ll recognise intermediate and more advanced concepts which will be useful for your training and self-study. These websites will keep you updated with the latest news, guides, tips, and events where training courses are mostly being offered.