Best ways to learn search engine marketing on a budget
On paper, SEO tactics may look the same regardless of whether you’re a profitable business or a charity organisation. But there’s no denying the unique challenges that charities & nonprofits face — from budget constraints, to never-ending to-do lists, to staffing issues.
That’s why I’ve pulled together a list of resources that I believe will help you get up and running with basic SEO and Google Ads without needing a big budget or countless hours.
1. Read the Beginner’s Guide to SEO by Moz
This guide is designed to describe all major aspects of SEO, from finding the terms and phrases (keywords) that can generate qualified traffic to your website, to making your site friendly to search engines, to building links and marketing the unique value of your site.
This was actually my go-to resource back in the day when I first started getting into SEO and it’s a great starting place for any novice. Check out the beginner’s guide now.
2. Subscribe to AHREFs blog
Your inbox is no doubt overflowing, but one of the best ways to get to grips with industry best practice SEO basics is to subscribe to newsletters – my favourite at the moment is the AHREFs blog.
When the weekly email drops into your inbox, it might feel hard to pause what you’re doing at that moment and read it. But trust me, what you’re reading is likely to save you a lot of time in the long run. So when you hear that ping, be intentional about taking that time out of your day to upskill and invest in yourself and your website.
3. Follow Blue Array on LinkedIn
Blue Array is one of the top SEO agencies in the UK and they’ve put a lot of time and effort into building up their resources pool so that other organisations can benefit from their in-house team’s knowledge and expertise.
LinkedIn is one of their most-used channels at the moment, when it comes to spreading industry news and SEO top tips, so I’d recommend following their page on LinkedIn and keeping up with the latest.
I also strongly recommend their online SEO Managers training course. It is great for anyone who already has the basics down, and wants to get a little more stuck into the nitty gritty. It’s affordable and you get lifetime access to the course, which means that you can keep going back to the content as and when you need.
4. Ads training on Udemy
If you haven’t come across Udemy yet, it’s an online learning platform that offers courses on literally anything – including SEO and Google Ads. One of my favourites for paid search marketing is this ‘From Beginner to Expert’ course where you can learn to become a Google Ads expert by learning how to set up, optimise & scale Google Ads campaigns. So if you’re looking for an alternative to Google’s own training course, this could be a good place to start.
5. Google Business training qualification
Google offers free training on a lot of its products, including Analytics, Tag Manager and Ads. But one of the best places to start off for SEO training through Google is completing their Google Business training course.
Local SEO is a very underrated tactic, particularly for organisations that have a physical presence like a charity shop or a visitor centre. So I’d encourage you to check out this free training course and bag yourself a qualification at the same time, (I love a certificate).
6. YouTube SEO course for beginners
YouTube is literally flooded with content – you don’t need me to tell you that. But this can mean it’s hard to find trustworthy tutorials to get to grips with the basics of SEO. That’s why I’d recommend completing this Complete SEO Course for Beginners.
There are 14 videos supplied by AHREFs, which might feel like a lot, but if you’re anything like me – visual learning helps it sink in better and ultimately, getting to grips with the basics of SEO is always going to take more than a 20 minute video from some random person on the internet.
This is a great next step for someone who has read the Moz beginners guide and wants to ramp things up a level, without completing a full training qualification like Blue Array’s SEO Manager course.
7. Podcasts
Now I have to admit, podcasts haven’t traditionally been my thing. But recently, I’ve been seeking out podcasts that focus on specific areas of search engine marketing, to keep topping up my learning and stay updated.
Some of my favourite’s at the moment are:
8. Wild SEO Agency
I’d be a pretty rubbish founder if I didn’t mention Wild SEO Agency as a reliable and trustworthy resource for all things search engine marketing. It’s been my mission since day one to upskill the non-profit sector in the area of SEO and PPC, so we’ve been working really hard to bring you useful, practical and easy-to-understand content specifically tailored to charities, public sector and religious organisations. So why not subscribe to our blog and receive it weekly, straight to your inbox?