Want to learn SEO but don’t have the budget to pay for a course?

There are lots of free online SEO courses that will help you perfect your skills.

Let’s look at some of the best free SEO training courses around.

Why Learn SEO in 2024?

With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and the increasing complexity of search algorithms, some people claim SEO is dying.

Our answer? 

SEO isn’t dead, but it is evolving. 

And as long as search engines like Google remain a primary way people access information online, SEO will be around for a long time.

Learning SEO can help you keep up to date with all the latest changes in the digital marketing industry and how to use them to your advantage. 

Whether you’re looking to change careers, get a better-paid role, or upskill to help your business, SEO training isn’t just nice to have. It’s essential.

Is a Free SEO Course Actually Worth It?

A free SEO course can be a fantastic way to learn the basics when you’re just starting out or to see if SEO is the right career choice. 

And since most SEO courses are online, you can learn at your own pace and fit your studying around your work and home life.

Plus, many free online SEO courses are comprehensive and kept up to date. Meaning you don’t have to choose between cost and accuracy. Some even provide you with a certificate of learning, which you can add to your resume or LinkedIn profile.

We’ve put together a list of our favorite free online SEO courses to get you started.

The 16 Best Free Online SEO Courses by Category

We’ve divided these SEO courses into categories so you can easily find the training that’s right for your needs. Let’s dive in and get started.

SEO for Beginners

1. Semrush SEO Crash Course with Brian Dean

Course provider: Semrush

Skill level: Beginner

Course length: 50 minutes

Ideal for: Digital marketers that want practical SEO advice they can use straight away.

Link: Semrush SEO Crash Course with Brian Dean

What it covers: 

• How to find sources for keywords
• How to develop content that users and search engines love
• How to track your SEO results

What we love about it: The best SEO courses are actionable. Meaning you can put them into practice straight away. 

This crash course introduces you to the basics of SEO in less than an hour, showing you not just how to carry out keyword research but optimize your content with those keywords in mind.

2. SEO for Beginners

Course provider: Great Learning

Skill level: Beginner

Course length: 1 hour

Ideal for: Beginners who want to understand the various types of SEO and how to factor them into their marketing strategies.

Link: SEO for beginners

What it covers: 

• The benefits of SEO
• The different types of SEO
• The SEO terminology you need to know

What we love about it: Most of the SEO courses we’ve looked at are for people who have some understanding of SEO, but this course targets people completely new to search engine optimization. 

It’s a great stepping stone before enrolling in any other of the courses on this list.

Keyword Research

3. Keyword Research Course with Greg Gifford

Course provider: Semrush

Skill level: Beginner/Intermediate

Course length: 50 minutes

Ideal for: Beginners looking to get started with keyword research and digital marketers looking for tricks of the trade.

Link: Keyword Research Course with Greg Gifford

What it covers: 

• How to understand search intent
• How to carry out competitor research
• How to optimize your content with your chosen keywords

What we love about it: Solid keyword research is the cornerstone of an effective SEO strategy and is something all digital marketers should know how to do. 

This easy-to-digest course takes you through the entire keyword research process from start to finish. including the best keyword research tools to use.

Plus, we love Greg—he’s great at explaining complex concepts in really simple ways.

4. Keyword Research for SEO

Course provider: HubSpot

Skill level: Beginner

Course length: 30 minutes

Ideal for: Marketers who want a quick and easy intro to the world of keyword research.

Link: Keyword Research for SEO

What it covers: 

• How to carry out simple keyword research
• How to be aware of changes in Google’s algorithm
• How to create topic clusters

What we love about it: SEO courses that are online don’t have to be long, dull, and dry. This engaging whistlestop introduction to SEO covers all the basics in half an hour—meaning you can learn on your lunch break or commute to work.

Content Marketing and SEO

5. Content-Led SEO with Brian Dean

Course provider: Semrush

Skill level: Intermediate

Course length: 7 hours

Ideal for: Marketing specialists looking for a deep dive into how they can use content to boost their search engine rankings.

Link: Content-Led SEO with Brian Dean

What it covers: 

• How to identify your target audience
• How to increase the odds of people sharing your content
• How to get backlinks

What we love about it: Brian Dean knows his stuff when it comes to building backlinks. And we’re pleased to offer this in-depth free SEO course about creating content that people want to link back to. 

This free SEO training course focuses on content frameworks—easy-to-understand guides you can follow to fit your business needs.

6. Content Marketing Certification Course

Course provider: HubSpot

Skill level: Beginner/Intermediate

Course length: 8 hours

Ideal for: Marketers who want to take their blogging skills to the next level.

Link: Content Marketing Certification Course

What it covers: 

• How to generate content ideas
• How to use blogs to rank in the search results
• How to guest blog for other websites

What we love about it: While the previous course looked at many different types of content marketing, this SEO course focuses on blogging SEO. 

This course calls on a range of digital marketing experts. So you get a fresh approach in every lesson.

Local SEO

7. Local SEO Course with Greg Gifford

Course provider: Semrush

Skill level: Beginner/Intermediate

Course length: 1 hour 20 minutes

Ideal for: Businesses that serve customers in a specific area and want to improve their search engine presence.

Link: Local SEO Course with Greg Gifford

What it covers: 

• How to optimize your Google Business Profile
• How to get positive reviews and ratings
• What local ranking factors search engines look for

What we love about it: When you run a brick-and-mortar store or operate in a specific locality, local SEO can help ensure you stand out when people search for local products and services. This free online SEO course talks about using the algorithm to your advantage and getting valuable backlinks and citations on relevant websites.

8. Google My Business (Google Business Profile)

Course provider: Google (through Skillshop)

Skill level: Beginner

Course length: 40 minutes

Ideal for: Businesses that want a comprehensive introduction to how Google Business Profile works.

Link: Google My Business (Google Business Profile)

What it covers: 

• How to claim, verify, and optimize your Google Business Profile

What we love about it: All the local SEO training courses we’ve looked at so far touch on Google Business Profile (previously known as Google My Business).

However, this course is dedicated to the platform and how to make the most of it. As with all of Google’s online courses, the course is easy to understand, with plenty of real-life examples and visual prompts.

Plus, successfully complete the quiz at the end and get a badge to show off on your social media profiles.

Link Building

9. Backlink Management Course with Greg Gifford

Course provider: Semrush

Skill level: Beginner

Course length: 50 minutes

Ideal for: Digital marketers who want to get started with a backlink strategy.

Link: Backlink Management Course with Greg Gifford

What it covers: 

• The different types of backlinks
• How to implement a link-building campaign
• What to do if Google penalizes you

What we love about it: Backlink building can sound daunting. But it’s a fantastic way to improve your search engine rankings. 

This free SEO course is the perfect introduction to developing a solid link-building strategy.

10. Mastering Digital PR with Brian Dean 

Course provider: Semrush

Skill level: Intermediate

Course length: 3 hours 10 minutes

Ideal for: People who understand the basics of backlinking and want to take things to the next level.

Link: Mastering Digital PR with Brian Dean

What it covers: 

• How to find the best topics
• How to create a press release
• How to scale your PR efforts

What we love about it: Getting coverage in the major media outlets is an effective way to get high-quality backlinks and drive traffic to your website. 

This detailed course looks at the foolproof strategies you can use to get press coverage (and backlinks) from authoritative websites like Forbes, TechCrunch, and Fast Company.

On Page SEO

11. On-Page and Technical SEO Course

Course provider: Semrush

Skill level: Intermediate

Course length: 40 minutes

Ideal for: Marketers who want a quick and straightforward introduction to on-page and technical SEO.

Link: On-Page and Technical SEO Course

What it covers: 

• How to conduct an SEO audit
• How to create SEO-optimized content
• How to troubleshoot errors

What we love about it: Technical and on-page SEO often go together, with several overlapping concepts. 

We designed this short guide to show you how to optimize your content for both web visitors and search engines.

12. Learn What Website Optimization Is

Course provider: HubSpot

Skill level: Intermediate

Course length: 1 hour 30 minutes

Ideal for: Businesses and marketers who want to know how to improve a sluggish, poorly performing website.

Link: Learn What Website Optimization Is

What it covers: 

• How to optimize a website for mobile
• How to ensure your website is secure
• How to implement website personalization

What we love about it: This free SEO course talks about lots of interesting on-page SEO concepts that other courses on this list don’t—for example, the advantages of website personalization. 

This course is worth bookmarking if you want brand new ideas to apply to your site.

Technical SEO

13. Technical SEO Course with Bastian Grimm

Course provider: Semrush

Skill level: Intermediate/Advanced

Course length: 2 hours 50 minutes

Ideal for: Marketers who want to increase their knowledge of technical SEO.

Link: Technical SEO Course with Bastian Grimm

What it covers: 

• The different types of page redirects
• How to improve page speed
• How to optimize for mobile SEO

What we love about it: Some marketers are scared of technical SEO because they worry they won’t grasp the concepts. 

This course from Semrush friend Bastian Grimm covers all the different terminology in quick, easy-to-understand five-minute chunks.

14. Improving Your Technical SEO

Course provider: HubSpot

Skill level: Intermediate/Advanced

Course length: 40 minutes

Ideal for: Marketers who want a quick introduction to technical SEO.

Link: Improving Your Technical SEO

What it covers: 

• How to carry out a technical SEO audit
• How to optimize page load speed
• How to maximize page caching

What we love about it: While shorter than the previous technical SEO course, this course still has lots of useful information. Primarily targeted at marketers who want to conduct a technical website audit, this online SEO course will get you up and running.

Advanced SEO

15. Advanced Content Marketing with Brian Dean

Course provider: Semrush

Skill level: Intermediate/Advanced

Course length: 2 hours 10 minutes

Ideal for: Digital marketers who want to enhance their content marketing knowledge.

Link: Advanced Content Marketing with Brian Dean

What it covers: 

• How to gain a competitive edge with different content formats
• How to get lots of traffic to your blog
• How to increase your conversion rate

What we love about it: This free SEO course provides lots of eye-opening strategies you can use to supercharge your content and get ahead of the competition. 

We recommend coming to this course with a few samples of content you want to optimize so you can put what you learn into practice.

16. Advanced Search Engine Optimization Strategies 

Course provider: Coursera (University of California, Davis)

Skill level: Intermediate/Advanced

Course length: 24 hours (this includes videos and reading materials)

Ideal for: SEO specialists who want to enhance their knowledge.

Link: Advanced Search Engine Optimization Strategies

What it covers: 

• How to implement global SEO
• How to use mobile and app SEO
• How to track and monitor your performance

What we love about it: This course is a little different to the others on the list. While you can watch all the videos and read all the materials for free, you need to pay if you want a certificate of completion. 

However, it’s incredibly comprehensive and covers many concepts not mentioned by other courses on this list, like international SEO and optimizing your mobile apps.

Start Your Journey with a Free SEO Course

There are so many fantastic resources available online if you want to enhance your SEO skillset. We recommend putting aside time every day to learn. 

Semrush offers a comprehensive range of free digital marketing courses covering a variety of digital marketing topics—from lead generation techniques to developing the perfect marketing strategy.

Taught by in-class industry experts, these snackable lessons mean you can become a marketing or SEO expert in no time at all.