Many people want to gain an SEO advantage to make their site, online store, or blog more popular while others want to take on the other websites that are leading in SEO within their niche. Some people may simply want to know more about SEO so they can work as freelancer or join a web company for extra income. A lot of people that manage their own website or market other websites treat SEO as a major concern when it comes to the overall performance of a site.

SEO or search engine optimisation is an interesting topic in the world of Internet marketing. No matter what path you take, you will have to learn some SEO first. If you are still grasping the concepts of SEO, you can expect a bumpy ride when it comes to learning the terms and getting up to speed with what SEO professionals do these days. On the upside, you can learn SEO from start to finish if you are very determined and resourceful. All you need is an online connection and spare time to get started.

Reading Free Articles for the Basics

You might run into trouble if you try to learn SEO by reading SEO tutorials and guides without getting properly introduced to the subject. Search engine optimisation is one of those topics where you really need to know how it works and what the current trends are so you won't be relying on obsolete information. Fortunately, there are tons of SEO professionals and other Internet marketers that submit articles related to SEO basics in free article directories. Sites like Ezine Articles or major search engines like Google are excellent places to find out more information on SEO so you can learn SEO techniques more smoothly. Most of these articles have dates so find any articles that were posted this year to get the best possible overview. You can also search for as many free resources that you like.

Many free articles also contain some basic tips that you need to keep in mind when optimising a website. On an average article you can expect at least 3 good tips that will help you learn SEO. These tips can be related to keyword research, site structuring, content writing, or possibly some SEO secrets that keep leading sites ahead.

Looking at Leading Sites to See What Others are Doing

Once you learn SEO basic concepts, you should get an idea on what keywords to target. Even if you do not have a site to work with, you can get a better feel of SEO if you practice. Try typing a keyword phrase that you want to compete with and look at the top results. Visit these sites and observe why these sites are on the top page. Some pages may have been around for a long time while others are simply well-optimized and the content is very interesting.

Paying your Way to a Professional Level

Combining free resources with a lot of practice is actually a good enough path to take in order to learn SEO and become really good at it. But this can take more time than it should and you can greatly speed up that process if you are willing to spend some money. You have the choice to purchase eBooks that talk about SEO or take professional coaching services. Given the large amount of free articles available, it is better to take an SEO training course if you really want to join the big boys in SEO.