Beginner SEO with Semrush

via Semrush Academy

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If anyone knows search engine optimization, it's Semrush. So why not kickstart your SEO journey with this free course, designed with Semrush tools in mind? If you're looking to get started with keyword research, or building backlinks with Semrush, this is the course for you!

Syllabus

Welcome to SEO with Semrush

Welcome to SEO Essentials with Semrush! Meet our Head of Academy, Rita, who will be going over what you can expect to be covered in this course.

Housekeeping

Make sure to download our worksheet and have a Semrush account (and Project) ready to go to get the most out of this course!

Walkthrough: Access Your Semrush Account and Complete Setup Tasks

This tutorial walks you through account creation and essential setup tasks to customize your experience. Complete your profile, set preferences, and connect analytics tools to unlock the full power of your Semrush account.

Strategy: What is SEO?

In this video, Kyle Byers, Head of Organic Search at Semrush, will explain exactly what search engine optimization means, the different forms it may appear in, and why it's so important, even if you don't work with it directly.

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Strategy: The 3 Components of SEO

In this video, Kyle explains the 3 key components of SEO: On-page, Off-page, and Technical, as well as a brief intro to how keywords work.

Walkthrough: Measure Your Visibility

The first step in any SEO process is competitive research. This quick tutorial walks you through the essential Semrush tools for revealing your rivals' traffic sources, backlink profiles, and keyword performance. Perfect for anyone looking to gain a competitive advantage in organic search!

Strategy: Intro to Keyword Research

Learn how to identify the best keywords for your website using Semrush. This video covers search volume, keyword difficulty, relevance, and search intent—helping you choose keywords that drive traffic and conversions. Whether you're targeting head, medium-tail, or long-tail keywords, you'll get actionable insights to improve your SEO strategy.

Walkthrough: Identify Your Target Keywords

Discover how to unlock SEO success with the Semrush keyword research suite. This video guides you through some of our most popular tools like Keyword Overview, Keyword Magic Tool, and Keyword Gap, that can help you boost traffic and outsmart competitors.

Walkthrough: Set up Position Tracking

Learn how to quickly set up Position Tracking wuth Semrush to monitor your keyword rankings, track competitors, and measure visibility across specific locations and devices.

Strategy: On-Page SEO

In this video, Kyle dives into on-page SEO, including SERPs, where it's appropriate to add your keywords, and what makes a great title tag and meta description.

Strategy: Technical SEO

In this video, Kyle discusses technical SEO, why it's arguably the most important of the 3 SEO components, and touches on how search engines work to understand crawlability.

Walkthrough: Identify Technical Errors with Your Website

Explore how Semrush's Site Audit tool can reveal hidden website issues impacting your search performance! This walkthrough shows what the tool can tell you about your site and which fixes deliver the biggest SEO impact.

Strategy: Off-Page SEO

In this video, Kyle explains off-page SEO, also known as off-site SEO. You'll learn about backlinks, how they work, and why they're fundamental to succeeding in SEO, as well as the Semrush tool that can help you find where to target them.

Strategy: How to Find Backlink Opportunities

In this video, you'll learn some practical ways to build backlinks, from guest blogging to finding unlinked brand mentions.

Walkthrough: Identify Backlink Opportunities

Learn how to use Semrush's backlink analysis tools to get a picture of your website's link profile and the competitive landscape. This walkthrough explains what these tools actually track, how to interpret link quality metrics, and ways to identify valuable link-building opportunities.

BONUS: Local SEO Strategy and Walkthrough

A quick mention of Local SEO, and why if you're a brick-and-mortar store who wants to get their name out there on Google Maps and other platforms, you should register a Google Business Profile!

Inside the Transformation of Morningside Acupuncture

From struggling with local visibility to dominating NYC's competitive acupuncture market - watch how Teddy Levarda, Owner of Morningside Acupuncture & Licensed Acupuncturist used Semrush to quadruple his revenue and grow organic traffic by 2,900%. No paid ads, just smart local SEO tools that turned Morningside Acupuncture into a 5-star success story.

Congratulations and Next Steps

Congratulations on completing your course! In this video, Rita walks you through the next steps after earning your certificate. Discover three exciting ways to continue your SEO journey: explore recommended Semrush Academy courses, visit the onboarding page, and sign up for the online workshops (available only for Semrush paid subscribers).

Would You Recommend this Course?

One last thing! If you enjoyed this course (or even if you didn't, we won't take it personally), please give us some feedback so we can keep making even better free content in the future!