Search engine optimization (SEO) refers to collective actions by a company or marketing agency to ensure that online content ranks among the top results of a query and is easily found by prospective customers. Good SEO is vital since most people do not look beyond the front page of the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) for the information they need.
SEO is so important to online success in eCommerce and brand awareness that it has become a component of many marketing roles including Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists. Being able to demonstrate an understanding of search marketing and SEO can help candidates stand out in any number of industries. One way to do this can be to take an SEO Professional Development Course. University of Phoenix offers an Introduction to Search Engine Optimization course to help working professionals learn advanced SEO skills or underscore their commitment to their existing marketing career.
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Key Takeaways on a Career Involving SEO
SEO specialists can take several steps to help them stand out from the competition. This starts with being honest and realistic about the services and results they can provide. As much as a client or employer may push for promises, SEO professionals should never guarantee that they can achieve a top SERP ranking. Improving the website’s performance is realistic, while pledging a certain result will only result in frustration and potential legal issues.
SEO is a dynamic discipline where rankings between competing changes are often in flux as content and the algorithms used to calculate the search order change. Not only does it require tempered expectations, the SEO game also calls for patience. No one likes content that feels like spam, so the SEO specialist must avoid dumping a large amount of new content all at once that is stuffed full of keywords without substance.
Professionals can also benefit by taking on only the number of projects that they can truly handle simultaneously. Also important to keep in mind, everyone involved stands to be disappointed if work gets underway without the chance to clarify expectations. If instructions are open to interpretation, what could have been straightforward to a client may come across vague or differently to the SEO professional. Here, exactness is best for all involved.
How SEO Differs from Paid Advertising
Anyone can pay for online advertising to get exposure to potential customers. However, a more successful combination includes both paid and organic methods to attract more traffic to a website. Organic marketing occurs when a website appears naturally and toward the top of the SERP without paying to influence a ranking.
Here a just a few popular ways that businesses with an online presence can improve SERP results through SEO:
- Publish regular blog posts with relevant, helpful information for website visitors that includes keywords people frequently use in online searches. The content must be informative and authoritative to gain attention from search engine crawlers.
- Optimize other pages of the website with popular keywords and phrases.
- Use metadata to write titles for the website and descriptions of its various pages and items. Although metadata fields offer a limited number of characters, it is essential to use concise, descriptive terms that include at least a few keywords.
Best practices for these and other SEO tactics can continue to evolve as standards and technologies change. University of Phoenix students learn how to complete these tasks and more while earning a SEO Certification.
Understanding the Primary Duties of an SEO Specialist
Every client or employer has unique expectations when they decide to hire an SEO specialist. Even so, all have the same goal of improving their ranking on SERPs. For example, pet sitters in Fargo would want to rank among the top several results when people type that exact phrase into their search engine.
Some ways that an SEO specialist might accomplish SERP rankings in this example include:
- Research relevant keywords in the pet care and veterinary industries by using a tool like Google AdWords. A good SEO research tool provides the average number of monthly searches for each keyword or phrase.
- Make editing recommendations on the client or employer’s website and initiate those changes after receiving approval.
- Create fresh content for the website that may require the SEO Specialist to hire other professionals such as content marketing writers.
- Work with website designers to help the client or employer build a new website or make significant changes to an existing one.
- Provide the client or employer with ongoing SEO recommendations and training materials for other staff members.
What Can University of Phoenix Students Expect to Learn From an SEO Professional Development Course?
An SEO course can help professionals prepare for a career path in SEO or add to an existing skill set. The SEO course offered by University of Phoenix is entry-level, online, and 100 percent self guided. Students do not earn credits toward a degree when completing this course. Instead, it is designed to provide participants with immediate, practical skills rather than building on other course content in a typical degree program.
The following are some common topics covered in the SEO course from University of Phoenix:
- Backlinks
- Content Marketing
- General SEO Strategy
- Google Ads and Google Analytics
- Mobile Friendly SEO
- Keyword Research
- Link Building
- On-Page and Off-Page Optimization
- SERP
With access to course materials 24 hours a day, students are free to review content and complete work on their own timetable. They have one year to complete approximately 30 hours of coursework at their convenience.
About University of Phoenix
SEO course is just one of several self-led, non-credit Professional Development Courses available through University of Phoenix. The University also offers enrollment for degree programs ranging from associate to doctoral levels that include the same flexible delivery methods. People interested in earning a degree take one course at a time with a typical duration of five to six weeks.University of Phoenix has offered flexible higher education options to adult learners for over 45 years. Geared strongly toward adult and non-traditional learners, the University’s certificate and degree programs often resonate with students who have work experience and seek flexible online learning to help enhance their careers. Learn more about the Introduction to Search Engine Optimization certificate and other professional development courses, visit www.phoenix.edu.
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