Whether you are a business selling a product online or a writer trying to attract an audience to your blog, it has never been harder to get people to visit your website. After all, there are many millions of websites out there that you have to compete with, and at least a few hundred who are selling or writing about the same things that you are.
There are some technical tricks you can employ when it comes to internet marketing, and the most effective use search engine optimization, or SEO, to ensure that your business or blog appears higher in search engine results. Behind the scenes this is achieved through a very complicated algorithm; luckily you don’t need to understand the science in order to take advantage of SEO and promote your website to more potential customers or viewers.
Get Trained in SEO Basics
However, it is worthwhile getting some training in how to use SEO and how best to employ it in order to achieve your goals. Which company you use for this training, and how much you spend, will depend on a lot of factors — not least whether you are in it to try and make money or just for the fun of creating your own blog.
There are groups like OMG Machines which charge thousands of dollars for their intensive and comprehensive SEO training, probably way beyond the means of most college or high school students blogging about their favorite music band or fashion label. Yet if you are a small or medium-sized business, you might consider this an investment in the future of your business.
Shop Around for the Right Course
It is always worth checking out some of the other companies and organizations which offer training in SEO. Courses aren’t just run by commercial organizations; colleges also offer qualifications in SEO and internet marketing, ideal if you are considering this line of work as a potential career.
Check out the testimonials from previous “students” of these courses too, checking first to see that they are from legitimate businesses themselves. Read an OMG Machines review 2017 and you will probably find a lot of people satisfied with the scale and content of the course, but a little disappointed with the costs, whereas college courses are often reviewed as better value but perhaps not able to focus as much on business internet marketing as budding entrepreneurs would like.
Free SEO — What’s the Catch?
There are some individuals and groups who claim to offer free SEO advice, either generally or for a specific website. Some of these deals are simply as good as they seem, others are a hook to pull you in before they start asking for money for more advanced courses and instruction. In other cases, you may find that the free advice you are being given isn’t actually very helpful.
However, if you are a bedroom blogger, a few pieces of free SEO wisdom might be all you need to get started and to start to get your website noticed. As and when your site becomes more successful, you can always come back and take some more advanced, paid-for tuition.
Benefits of College Courses
While commercial organizations like OMG Machines might appeal to business owners over academic courses at colleges, there is one major advantage in signing up to an educational institution for your SEO and internet marketing course: taxes. If you own or run a business, the cost of work-related education and training can be offset against taxes come at the end of the financial year, but only if the courses are provided by a recognized educational institution. Courses taken with the organizations such as OMG Machines may be perfect for your business needs, but there will be no tax relief come April.
Courses at a reputable establishment also remove any of the doubts or concerns you may have about signing up with an internet training company online. After all, there are no guarantees about the standard of training you or your staff will receive, whereas if a college course is not up to scratch, you can make a complaint to the institution itself.
Whatever option you decide to go for — free SEO hints and tips, expensive specialist training online or courses at a recognized college — the lessons you learn will only work if you, and members of staff or blog contributors, employ the SEO and internet marketing skills you have learned. Follow what you have been taught and your website or blog should soon start to see an impressive increase in the number of visitors.