This week's Ask An SEO question comes from Nicolò.
“What are the best resources to learn about SEO and who are the best people to follow online for good advice?”
This is a great question that gets to the heart of something that many people struggle with when learning SEO. There's a ton of information online.
There are plenty of SEO “experts”.
There's often a lot of conflicting advice out there.
So how do we distinguish between truth and fiction, between subjectivity and experience?
People to follow
The problem in the SEO industry is that we are often left in the dark. Google and other search engines give us only fragmented information, leaving us to guess.
Unfortunately, this may become a fact.
Rumors spread, and soon you'll hear them being discussed in agency pitches and incorporated into brand strategies — all without ever being properly questioned.
Finding the truth in all this noise can be difficult. Essentially, you are asking me: “Who and what can I trust?”
Actually, the answer is to find an SEO pro who is constantly testing their hypotheses and learn from them.
I’m not going to name names here because I don’t want to risk discouraging people from following SEOs on social media just because I don’t have their name on the list.
There are a lot of very talented SEO professionals out there that I don’t know about.
Instead, we’ll suggest some ways to identify those who are digging into SEO and drawing conclusions from the data.
Conferences and Publications
Start by attending SEO conferences and paying attention to speakers who are bringing something new to the table.
These are people who conduct experiments or back up their claims with original case studies.
Similarly, look for authors who write for reputable SEO publications like Search Engine Journal, read their articles, and follow people who are constantly questioning conventional wisdom and trying to prove or disprove it with data.
Conference organizers and publication owners do a level of due diligence, which means it's a bit safer to follow the people they choose to feature you than following strangers on the internet.
Follow people who follow you
The next step in expanding your list is to see who the people you identified above are following.
If you see the same names appearing on the social media profiles of speakers and article writers from these conferences, you can be sure they are bringing valuable insights to the platform.
Identify who is discussing SEO on social media. Sneak into those conversations to see if the people on your list of trusted people to follow are the ones having informed discussions.
It's okay if the SEO experts you follow don't necessarily agree with what others say, as long as they're giving rational, data-backed opinions. Sometimes you learn best by hearing both sides of an argument.
Ask for recommendations
It's also perfectly fine to ask for recommendations on who you should follow online, like this Reddit user did.
To avoid getting the same list of well-known SEO experts returned every time, consider contacting the “trusted” SEO experts on the list above and asking them who they would recommend for your particular area of ​​SEO.
For example, do you want to learn more about local SEO or ecommerce SEO?
Ask them for recommendations on who to consult if they have questions in that area.
Join the discussion
SEO is constantly evolving, and no one is an SEO expert. all We learn the answers from each other and by discussing ideas and opinions.
It's never too early in your career to get involved in these discussions.
Join the conversation
Find conversations on SEO topics and join the discussions, such as #SEOChat with @MordyOberstein on X or the Google Search Central Help Community.
Try some of the SEO-related Reddit subreddits (such as r/TechSEO or r/bigseo) – there are lots of discussions (debates, really) happening, and you can quickly get a sense of how practicing SEO pros view certain ideas and approaches.
You can just read the questions and answers or you can participate. Express your thoughts and ask for criticism and opinions. Participating in discussions and learning from others will help you improve your knowledge.
Start a conversation
If you're feeling brave, you can even start your own conversations in these forums.
There's always the risk of encountering an answer from someone who doesn't practice SEO much, but the great/horrible thing about the internet is that there will always be someone waiting to debate and claim that your opinion is invalid.
Ask specific questions and crowdsource answers. Wait for arguments to be presented and refuted, and use it as an opportunity to learn how to validate other people's SEO opinions.
Conferences and meetings
As we already mentioned above, looking at who is speaking at an event can give you an idea of ​​reputable people to follow, but let's look at it a little more closely.
Learn something new
My recommendation to experienced SEO professionals and beginners alike is to attend an SEO talk that you're not interested in. It may seem counterintuitive, but it can actually be very eye-opening.
If there’s something about SEO that you find interesting, there’s a good chance that you’ll be proactive and want to learn more.
If you’re interested in the technical side of SEO, you’ll be looking for talks on cutting-edge experiments, advancements in loading speed and rendering, and case studies on complex transitions.
But you may already know a lot about it because you're already interested in it. Try to attend the talks that interest you the least sometimes.
If you’re in digital PR at heart, attend a tech talk or two, if you’re an in-house SEO, attend a talk on client management.
This way, you’re more likely to learn something entirely new that enhances or complements your existing skillset – for example, an in-house SEO might be able to apply the skills they discussed in a discussion with an agency to their own company’s stakeholder management problems.
Some good conferences to start off with include BrightonSEO (Brighton, UK, San Diego), WTSFest (Philadelphia, London, Berlin) and MnSearch Summit.
Read more: Best SEO Conferences 2024-2025
Look beyond SEO
A great way to expand your SEO knowledge goes beyond just attending SEO conferences: attend events that talk about a more holistic approach to digital marketing.
Or, if you’re really interested, enroll in a course that covers related areas like PPC or email marketing, so you can learn more about the context of SEO in the digital environment and how to more effectively implement it within a complex marketing system.
There are several specialized conferences such as ADWorld Experience, Hero Conf, and Content Marketing World that cover marketing topics like paid media, social media, and content marketing.
There are also large multi-disciplinary conferences covering a wide range of digital marketing topics, such as Moz Con, State of Search, INBOUND, and Growth Marketing Summit.
Go to Panel
Talks at conferences are planned and very one-sided (heckling aside): speakers present the material however they like, and go into as much detail as they see fit.
Because of this, there is no opportunity to hear other people's opinions on the subject, or their counterarguments to the claims.
However, panels are more focused on collaboration and discussion. Many traditional workshop and presentation style events also feature the occasional panel or fireside chat.
These are opportunities to hear from multiple SEO professionals and, in some cases, there may be differences of opinion on a subject.
Hearing multiple opinions on a topic can help you determine what you agree and disagree with and ultimately form your own opinion. This is a good way to ensure you're not just agreeing with the person you recently spoke to on the topic.
Join the Webinar Q&A
A webinar question and answer session is another way for you to hear multiple SEO professionals give their opinions on a particular topic, and also allows you to ask attendees your own questions.
For example, Good Signals' “SEO Office Hours” webinar, hosted by Michael Chidzey and Jo Juliana Turnbull, is a weekly webinar where viewers can submit questions in advance or ask questions during the event.
A panel of SEO experts will then discuss their opinions on the questions.
Similarly, if you want to hear directly from a real person, you can attend Google's “SEO Office Hours” where you can ask questions directly to Googlers on the Search Quality team.
Read more: 17 Top SEO Podcasts for 2024
community
Many communities have been established to help people learn SEO, some of which are geographically or demographically specific to answer more nuanced questions or support people traditionally underserved in the industry.
These communities are designed to provide a safe space for others in the industry to ask questions and get answers.
This type of networking will not only help you increase your working knowledge of SEO but also help your job opportunities. There are many networking options available to you, here are a few:
Location-specific Meetups include:
Make it yourself
If there isn't a community that meets your specific needs, or if you prefer a smaller community, consider creating your own.
You could start by meeting up regularly at a local coffee shop to get to know other SEO professionals in your area.
Or you could hold an online call once a month where you can each bring questions to each other.
Perhaps you’ve come across other SEO pros who you think you could learn from, and you could invite them to join a Slack or WhatsApp group.
Create a forum
Another way to create a community that uses existing infrastructure is to use Reddit or other forums, which is much easier to create.
You can even set up a “subreddit” for a particular aspect of SEO and share it with other SEO subreddits, allowing you to reach a much wider range of people without having to know and invite everyone personally.
resource
Finally, let’s go back to the question I posed at the beginning: “Who and what can I trust?” There are already plenty of SEO resources online, but some are more useless than others.
Newsletter
Besides online blogs like Search Engine Journal, there are newsletters that round up the latest industry news and case studies.
For example, Aleyda Solis’ “SEOFOMO Newsletter” sends out interesting articles and webinar summaries from the SEO industry every week.
Nikki Halliwell's Tech SEO Tips Newsletter provides news and tips to help you advance your Tech SEO knowledge.
Tom Critchlow's “SEO MBA” newsletter focuses on the career and management aspects of SEO.
Women in Tech SEO also has a newsletter where anyone in the industry can learn about SEO, rounding up interesting articles recently published.
Training Courses
There is a lot There are plenty of SEO training courses available, both paid and free.
Some that have come highly recommended to me in the past include Hubspot Academy, Semrush Academy, BrightLocal Academy, Blue Array Academy, and BrightonSEO Short Courses.
But sometimes you want to learn more about a new area of ​​SEO, and you're not sure where your skill gaps are. If that's the case, I highly recommend checking out LearningSEO.io by Aleyda Solis.
It offers a free, comprehensive roadmap of SEO concepts, aimed at beginners to advanced users, each with free, trusted resources.
summary
There is a lot of information about SEO online, and as it is a constantly evolving subject, new content will always be produced.
With so much information available, it can be difficult to know who or what to trust.
Use the suggestions and resources above to start building your own list of trusted materials and learners so you can continue to expand your knowledge in a safe and helpful way.
Additional resources:
Featured Image: Paulo Bobita/Search Engine Journal