Week 1 Wednesday - Lesson 1
History of Search Engines and Directories
SESR, SERP, PPC . . . do you know these terms? In Lesson 1, you'll learn important search engine terminology. We'll discuss the history of search engines and directories, and you'll learn about the differences between the two. Finally, you'll find out about current major players in the search industry.
Week 1 Friday - Lesson 2
Understanding How Search Engines Work
How do search engines decide which websites to include in search listings? In Lesson 2, you'll learn how search engines analyze websites and create results pages. You'll also learn how to search for sites that have linked to your website, and we'll discuss some super-savvy search secrets!
Week 2 Wednesday - Lesson 3
Creating Killer Keyword Lists
You want your website to appear at the top of the SERPs . . . but which keywords will people search for to find your site? In Lesson 3, we'll discuss ways to find potential keywords. You'll begin your research with offline methods, and then you'll use online methods to expand your list. And you'll learn how misspellings can actually help you!
Week 2 Friday - Lesson 4
Presubmission Analysis: Figuring Out Which Keywords Are the Right Ones
You've created a site-wide list of potential keywords, but which ones should you optimize for? In Lesson 4, you'll learn about the all-important presubmission analysis. You'll determine how often people have searched for certain keywords, and you'll figure out how many other websites are optimized for each of those words. Then, using one simple formula, you'll be able to optimize your site the way the pros do.
Week 3 Wednesday - Lesson 5
Important HTML Tags to Master
It's time to optimize your site! In Lesson 5, you'll learn about HTML tags that you must be intimately familiar with. We'll discuss why page titles and meta tags are important and how you can properly place and construct them. You'll also learn to include keywords in your header, paragraph text, and alt text.
Week 3 Friday - Lesson 6
Content Layout and Keyword Usage
We've talked about attracting people to your site, but how do you keep them interested? In Lesson 6, you'll learn the secrets of creating quality content . . . legally and for free. Also, you'll find out where to place a primary keyword within a Web page, and you'll use keyword density analyzers to determine how often your primary keyword should appear.
Week 4 Wednesday - Lesson 7
Web Hosting, URLs, and Mobile Optimization
Filenames and the technical details of how your website is hosted play a big part in successful search engine optimization. In Lesson 7, you'll learn how to register domain names that lend themselves to top search engine positions. Similarly, we'll discuss filenames and how they can help you. You'll discover the importance of mobile optimization and page speeds. Finally, you'll learn how to responsibly create optimized landing pages.
Week 4 Friday - Lesson 8
Spamming Tricks to Avoid
People often use deceptive techniques to get search engines to list their sites. In this lesson, we'll examine many of these techniques and discuss why you shouldn't use them. You'll learn about keyword overuse, invisible text, and improper comment tag use. We'll also discuss Web page cloaking.
Week 5 Wednesday - Lesson 9
Submitting Your Site
You've optimized your Web pages for top search engine placement, so now it's time to let the crawlers know that they exist. In this lesson, you'll learn how to submit your website to search engines! We'll discuss manually submitting your site to individual engines. We'll also explore multiple submission services, and you'll learn to create and submit XML sitemaps.
Week 5 Friday - Lesson 10
Track Your Progress With a Post-Submission Analysis
It's time to track your progress by completing a post-submission analysis. In Lesson 10, you'll examine the six steps of the SEO cycle. We'll discuss how to find your search engine rankings, and you'll delve into Web server log files and referrer logs. We'll also introduce you to Google Analytics, which can give you vital data—for free—about visitors to your site.
Week 6 Wednesday - Lesson 11
Powerful Online Promotion Techniques
In Lesson 11, we discuss powerful online promotion techniques. You'll learn how quality inbound links can help you. And we'll talk about lots of other ways to promote your site, including newsgroups, question-and-answer sites, email signatures, online advertising, and social media.
Week 6 Friday - Lesson 12
Effective Offline and Online Promotion Techniques
Believe it or not, promoting your website offline can make a huge difference in your search engine rankings. In this lesson, you'll learn the importance of affiliate programs and word-of-mouth visits. We'll discuss ways of monitoring your offline promotions, plus we'll talk about "link baiting" techniques that are ethical and that work.