Search Marketing School: SEO

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Designed for marketers like you who need an insider's guide to the ins and outs of SEO, Search Marketing School: SEO will show you how to navigate the waters of search engine strategy.

You'll learn how to mine your best keywords, serve search engines the content they crave, use off-site SEO sources like Web directories and online pressrooms, even manage online social activity to boost your ranking.

MarketingProfs University's Search Marketing School: SEO is a 10-class course designed to give you an understanding of SEO that lets you create winning SEO strategies for your business.

Unlike many other online courses, MarketingProfs University is taught by companies that are tops in the SEO marketing arena, like Google Analytics, Distilled, TMG Custom Media, WordStsream, Marketing Land, Ketchum Public Relations, and High Rankings. Together they'll provide invaluable instruction as well as answer your questions and network with you in our exclusive Search Marketing School: SEO Facebook group. Check out the class descriptions below and register now to discover how to successfully manage your SEO efforts in a matter of weeks, guaranteed.

Each class can be viewed on demand, so you can watch (and re-watch) at your convenience. For each class, you'll have access to the class lecture and Q&A (streaming media), as well as several support materials: the slide deck (PDF), the audio track (MP3) (so you can listen to the lectures on other devices), a transcript (PDF), and a "cheat sheet" (PDF). Once you view all of the classes, you can download a Certificate of Completion (PDF). As part of the course, you'll also get access to our course-exclusive Facebook group to network and share your questions and insights with fellow MPU students, staff, and instructors.

Search Marketing School: SEO includes these 10 classes (most are 60 minutes):

1. STRATEGY: Why Your Online Strategy Really Is Your Business Strategy
2. CONTENT: Think Like a Robot, Act Like a Human
3. KEYWORDS: Killer Keywords: Finding Them and Putting Them to Work for YOU
4. REFERRALS: Link Branding: How Giving Away Content Will Build Your Business
5. SOCIAL: How Social Media Is Changing Your SEO Strategy
6. LINKS: Post-Penguin Link Building: Building Authority for the Next Ice Age
7. METRICS: Continuous Measurement of Your SEO Effort
8. TACTICS: So You Have an SEO Strategy ... Now What?
9. OUTSOURCING: Hiring an SEO: What to Look (Out) For
10. Q&A WRAP-UP: Ask and Ye Shall Receive

Plus, you'll get these four bonus classes from previous courses:

1. SEARCH: SEO, Search Analytics, and Pulling It All Together
2. SEO: Optimizing Your Site for Search
3. ETHICS: SEO Ethics—The Morality of Great Marketing
4. IN-HOUSE: SEO Trials and Tribulations—How to Avoid Them as You Start In-House SEO

Why Your Online Strategy Really Is Your Business Strategy

Speaker:
Vanessa Fox—Founder and CEO, Nine By Blue

Americans typed queries into a search box 17.5 billion times in May 2012. We use search as the primary navigation for the Web and, increasingly, our lives. No matter your business—a local retailer, a large ecommerce site, a nonprofit, a media publisher—your audience is online. Understanding SEO enables you to better engage with your audience as well as understand their needs. SEO should be built into every aspect of the organization: from site infrastructure to product strategy.

You will learn:

• Why SEO is so important in today's climate
• How to break through departmental silos and integrate SEO into all aspects of the organization
• How to use searcher personas to evaluate the customer workflow from query to conversion and improve traffic, usability, and revenue

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Think Like a Robot, Act Like a Human

Speaker:
Andrew Hanelly—Director of Digital Strategy, TMG Custom Media

The art (or is it a science?) of SEO can be a difficult one to wrap your head around, let alone master. But it doesn't have to be complicated (think more Paint-By-Numbers, less Michelangelo). In this class, we'll demystify the role that content plays in SEO. We'll also share practical tips for optimizing content for search engines by focusing on better serving your human readers.

You will learn:

• How a spider crawls your site
• Why a search engine bot thinks your competitor's page may be more important than yours (Hint: It's the content!)
• Ground rules for creating content that ranks and guaranteeing it gets shared
• A handful of tools that you (or your Web team) can use to manage and monitor your SEO initiatives

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Killer Keywords: Finding Them and Putting Them to Work for YOU

Speakers:
Elisa Gabbert—Content Marketing Manager, WordStream

Getting found online today is usually a matter of words for one simple reason: people type keywords into search engines to find what they're looking for. To rise to the top of the results, you need to anticipate what terms your ideal visitors will use and leverage them in your online content. In this class, we'll discuss ways to find the most relevant keywords for you and use them as springboards to produce Web copy, blog posts, e-books, and more.

You will learn:

• Which tools and processes to use to help you find the right keywords
• How to develop an SEO content strategy using those keywords
• Creative ways to make the most of your keywords

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Link Branding: How Giving Away Content Will Build Your Business

Speaker:
John Doherty—SEO Consultant, Distilled

In this class, we'll talk about ways to provide as much value as possible to other websites—yes, sites you don't actually own!—with the goal of building backlinks and generating referral traffic to your site. The results of these efforts will be an increase in search engine authority and a perpetually full marketing funnel. The approach we will explore is called "link branding."

You will learn:

• How to find relevant places (websites, blogs, social sites, and so on) to earn valuable backlinks
• How to earn links and funnel traffic to your site and your content based on thoughtful online engagement
• About leveraging and measuring social media for leads and conversions

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How Social Media Is Changing Your SEO Strategy

Speaker:
Sarah Lokitis—Social Media Manager, Search Mojo

Google continues to update and integrate aspects of social media into search results. With the recent Knowledge Graph and Google+ Local pages, it's tough to stay current on how best to manage and measure your social media efforts. This class will discuss the implications of Google's search updates and how you can take advantage of these ongoing changes.

You will learn:

• Why social media needs to be integrated into your SEO strategy
• How to take advantage of Google+ for search
• Ways in which to measure your social media efforts

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Post-Penguin Link Building: Building Authority for the Next Ice Age

Speaker:
Ian Lurie—CEO, Portent Interactive

Google's "Penguin" update threw link building into a tizzy. Buying links isn't just questionable; now it can put your entire SEO strategy at risk. As it turns out, you need more than a sustainable strategy for link building—you need a sustainable strategy for authority building.

You will learn:

• Easy link building "wins" that don't violate Google's terms of service
• How to build a profile that makes authority building easier
• Sophisticated strategies for building link and social authority

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Continuous Measurement of Your SEO Effort

Speaker:
Justin Cutroni—Analytics Advocate, Google

Measurement is a critical component of any online marketing activity, especially so for SEO. Without measurement, you don't know what is and what is not working. In this class, we'll talk about the most effective ways to monitor and measure the progress of your SEO activities (and avoid drowning in data).

You will learn:

• Why it's imperative to create reasonable goals for measuring SEO
• How to measure common SEO tactics
• The best ways to report insights (not just data) to influential decision makers

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So You Have an SEO Strategy ... Now What?

Speaker:
Ruth Burr—Lead SEO, SEOmoz

Actually implementing the SEO steps you want to take is one of the most challenging parts of SEO—and failure to implement, test, and continue optimizing is a huge reason why many SEO campaigns fail. This class will highlight how to get the resources you need, create internal processes for ongoing SEO success, and, most important, show your boss it's all working.

You will learn:

• How to execute your plan
• To maintain momentum when other business priorities compete for resources
• How to create an "A-Team" of internal SEO evangelists throughout your organization

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Hiring an SEO: What to Look (Out) For

Speaker:
Jill Whalen—CEO, High Rankings

Although search engine optimization can sometimes be handled by a savvy business owner or webmaster, in many cases, you'd be smarter (and most likely, happier) hiring a professional SEO agency, consultant, or in-house person. However, what an outside SEO agency or consultant can do for you has its limits, and not all SEOs are created equal. In this class, you'll learn not only what to look for in an SEO consultant or agency but also—and more important—what to look out for.

You will learn:

• How to vet potential SEO providers
• Your responsibilities as a client
• Ways in which to find the best possible SEO to match your needs

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Ask and Ye Shall Receive

Panelists:
Ian Lurie, Andrew Hanelly, Elisa Gabbert, and Ruth Burr

Got a question that wasn't answered in class? Something that you found confusing? Just want to chat with our instructors? Now's the chance to pick the brains of some of the smartest SEO'ers out there. They'll spend an hour answering your questions, clarifying anything that might be causing you stress, and giving you even more of the great information you've come to expect from MarketingProfs University. No agenda—it's all up to you!

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SEO, Search Analytics, and Pulling It All Together

Speaker:
Ian Lurie—Chief Marketing Curmudgeon and CEO, Portent Interactive

Effective use of SEO tactics can ensure that your site will be found, but search analytics can sometimes be complicated. This class teaches you how to use SEO data to tie your tactics and analytics together for online marketing that works for your customers.

You will learn:

• How to optimize your website for Google's Panda algorithm
• Important "offsite" ranking factors—it's about more than just links
• How to use data to drive content strategy, keyword choices, and overall online marketing

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Optimizing Your Site for Search

Speaker:
Larry Becker—President, Larry Becker Web

You've put first things first and created compelling, relevant content for your website—but will anyone ever find it? Search engines need your content presented in a specific format in order to find it and deem it important. An effective search engine strategy requires an understanding of which elements of design and structure matter most and a tactical plan for implementing them on your own site. In this class you'll learn which aspects of on-site SEO deserve your attention, and how you can tweak them for better performance.

You will learn:

• Which site elements influence search rankings
• How to methodically adjust these elements on your own site
• How to integrate these techniques into a robust SEO and content strategy

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SEO Ethics: The Morality of Great Marketing

Speaker:
Rand Fishkin—CEO and Co-founder, SEOmoz

Tragically, the history of organic search is littered with stories of manipulation, malpractice, and spam. In this class, we will explore many of the ethical issues facing search marketers and provide recommendations for those wishing to remain wholly white hat while still producing remarkable, effective results.

You will learn:

• Where moral/ethical conflicts may arise in the practice of search marketing
• How to creatively solve tough issues without resorting to tactics that violate guidelines or ethical best practices
• Specific tactics that are remarkably effective yet wholly white hat and ethical

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SEO Trials and Tribulations—How to Avoid Them Both as You Start In-house SEO

Speaker:
Jessica Bowman—CEO, SEOinhouse.com

Whenever you are paying an agency to do something, you inevitably think, "Why don't I just do this in-house?" Of course, answering that question is harder than it seems, and it can be particularly tricky when you're talking about something as ever-changing and seemingly arcane as search engine optimization (SEO). In this class, we will discuss just what it takes to successfully do SEO in-house and everything you need to consider when making the move—whether you're leaving an agency or starting from scratch.

You will learn:

• When to do things in-house vs. hire a consultant
• How to hire the right in-house SEO for your organization (and vet for the right skillset)
• How much time you need to dedicate to SEO
• What needs to be included in a 12- to 18-month roadmap

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