How Long Would It Take To Learn And Become Really Skilled at SEO?

Learning and being good at SEO is something that will depend a lot on how you are learning. Are you watching videos on YouTube? Are you reading guides? Do you attend conferences? Whatever the case, how you consume the information will determine how long it will take you to learn and become good at SEO.

How Long Does it Take to Learn SEO?

It takes 1 to 3 months to learn the basics of SEO. The fundamentals of search engine optimization can be understood and learned in 3 months, however, the more advanced concepts can take between 6 and 18 months.

This is as long as you consume knowledge on a daily basis and learn from the experts. An important factor in this is that SEO is always changing, which means that certain techniques or strategies change as well. When Google changes its algorithm, SEO ultimately changes.

How Long Does it Take to Get Good at SEO?

To become good or proficient in SEO, it can take 6 to 12 months. Again, escaping from the point mentioned above, it all depends on how you are learning. The best way to learn is to do an internship and talk to an expert every day. This is by far the fastest and quickest learning method as it provides a real-world experience.

Another factor is competition. Someone who has been doing SEO for 3 months could rank a website on page 1 of Google and generate organic traffic; however, this could be for a keyword that is not as competitive. Once someone can start ranking competitive terms (using white hat methods) and generate a significant amount of organic traffic, that is when the product can be labeled “good.”

How to Start Learning SEO Fast

To start learning SEO quickly, the best way to start learning is to intern with an expert and sit down with them every day working on real websites. Be sure to check the background of the company and the expert you will learn from.

If that’s not possible, YouTube can help you start learning the basics. Rand Fishkin’s Whiteboard Friday series is ideal for beginners. I would also recommend Neil Patel’s blog. Other blogs include: