5 Content SEO Courses to Dominate SERP Features for Digital Writers

You enjoy writing and want to make a living out of it. Take these content SEO courses from the best to improve on- and off-page skills or attract long-term clients with a search-engine-optimised content strategy. 

SEO courses come in many forms. As a complete beginner, you will learn the fundamentals and some tools. That’s important to get started.

But what after that?

You are also a writer. 

As you dig deep into the gig economy or plan to apply to a company with a high-paying content writer designation, the demand is for conversion-level content that ranks and helps build authoritative link juice - combining content and SEO best practices. 

The learning curve has to be adaptable and continuous. That’s precisely the point of this listing, which contains free and paid options from the most well-known training platforms. 

So, in what ways will the content SEO courses below help you?

Learn and apply proven frameworks on 

• What types of content work at different purchase funnel stages
• Which SEO tactics fit in the overall content marketing strategy
• How to gain quality backlinks with winning content and organic growth
• How to maintain high editorial standards
• Crafting a detailed SEO strategy using different industry-standard tools

If these are the areas you believe will help, find out more about picking one that suits you. 

1. Content Writing Master Course | IIM Skills

This is one of the top content SEO courses taught by a global faculty of experts in media, publishing, and Fortune 500 companies. The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) has also approved this course. 

It covers various writing styles, SEO tools worth $$$ for free, case studies, and placement support (assistance and guarantee options for extra fees). 

Course Name	Content Writing Master Course
Duration of topics and assignments	140+ hours
Provider	IIM Skills
Cost	INR 9900 to INR 24990 (+ 18% GST)
Skills Gained	On-page and off-page SEO, keyword research, copywriting, SOP, legal, whitepaper writing, brand building, etc.
Course Mode	Self-paced and 1:1 live-instructor mentorship options with weekday evening classes in batches

What You’ll Learn

• Case-study and project-based learning on major types of digital content - blogs, emails, and socials. 
• Learn what makes content SEO-friendly through practice on critical search engine theories. 
• Be able to develop a brand tonality with effective press releases and testimonials.
• Conduct effective keyword research using the standard SEO tools. 
• Create a website from scratch and learn to gain organic traffic. 
• Learn copywriting best practices for creating FOMO and writing effective CTAs, developing narrative style for creative writing purposes, etc.  

Course Outcomes 

Receive a Master Certification from IIM SKILLS, along with preparation for HubSpot Content Marketing Certification and TOLES (Test of Legal English).

Placement opportunities with 500+ hiring partners are also available. 

When Does it Start?

The new batch starts on 1st October 2024. 

2. SEO Essentials Certification | Moz Academy 

Moz Academy has a range of resources for everything related to SEO. This six-part (five modules and one exam) course covers from fundamentals to reporting. This certification course will be a serious addition to your resume. 

How is it related to content, you ask? 

Well, the on-page optimisation chapter covers essential details on what makes content convert, what makes keywords valuable for a specific page, and what elements of the page you must prioritise.  

Course Name	SEO Essentials Certification
Duration of topics and assignments	6+ hours
Provider	Moz Academy
Cost	USD 595
Skills Gained	SEO theories and framework, using the MozPro tool, complete on-page SEO, backlinking strategies, etc.
Course Mode	On-demand instructor-led

What You’ll Learn

• Keyword research, page optimisation, link building, and effective reporting strategies using GA4 with downloadable worksheets. 
• Develop and implement a competitive SEO strategy effectively with a strong background in SEO theories, irrespective of tools.
• Perform on-page tactics and fit those perfectly in the buying funnel. 
• Be able to perform link outreach for clients in different industries. 

Course Outcome

Professional certificate after passing the exam with 80% marks. 

When Does it Start?

Check for seat availability on the official website. 

3. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Specialization | Coursera w/ UC Davis

This course features a capstone project to help you build a better client base by providing them with an effective content SEO strategy. You will get to build this by having a solid foundation on how Google’s SEO works – its algorithm changes, EEAT guidelines for content creation, etc. 

It’s also one of the most enrolled courses on Coursera, with 223,605 learners and a high rating of 4.7/5.00 from 11,149 reviews. 

Course Name	Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Specialization
Duration of topics and assignments	3 months
Provider	Coursera
Cost	USD 49 per month for three months
Skills Gained	Sitemap creation, site error management, SEO tools, content data analysis, etc.
Course Mode	Self-paced

What You’ll Learn

• Analyse data of different types of content to see which performs best and how you can leverage them in your strategy.
• Learn the mechanism of Google algorithms to fix traffic loss on certain kinds of pages. 
• Plan content with SEO research and competition analysis. 

Course Outcome

• Certificate from UC Davis and Coursera.

• Build up your freelance career in content and SEO. 

When Does it Start?

Enrol now or anytime. 

4. Semrush SEO Crash Course with Brian Dean | SEMrush Academy

Brian Dean’s short course on SEMrush Academy provides a brush-up on the SEO and content essentials that intermediates will also find useful. 

Course Name	Semrush SEO Crash Course with Brian Dean
Duration	1 hour
Provider	SEMrush Academy
Cost	Free
Skills Gained	Keywords for SEO campaign, building backlinks, content creation
Course Mode	Self-paced

What You’ll Learn

• The course dives straight into the essentials of effective keyword research to build a well-performing SEO campaign. 
• For content, Brian Dean provides crucial pointers that help in ranking, given the knowledge you gain in SEO from this course itself. 

Course Outcome

• Get a certificate upon completion.
• It is ideal to pair this learning with other free SEMrush Academy offerings, specifically the Content-Led SEO with Brian Dean course. 

When Does it Start?

Enrol now or anytime. 

5. SEO Training Course: Building Sustainable Traffic for Business Growth | HubSpot Academy 

Comprising 20 videos and three quizzes, this course helps you learn and improve your backlinking strategy. It also helps you understand what makes a website worthy for search engine crawlers. 

Course Name	SEO Training Course: Building Sustainable Traffic for Business Growth
Duration	1+ hours
Provider	HubSpot Academy
Cost	Free
Skills Gained	Identify SEO strategy, use Moz Link Explorer to identify backlinks, grow website traffic, rank on target topics, etc.
Course Mode	Self-paced

What You’ll Learn

• Discover the ways to identify what’s wrong in the current SEO practices on the website and fix them. 
• Calculate the number of backlinks the website requires to rank on Google SERP. 
• Create high quality content that correlates with building your website’s authority. 

Course Outcome

Get a certificate upon exam assessment to showcase on your professional network. 

When Does it Start?

Enrol now or anytime. 

Which Content SEO Course is Best?

Here, each course on content SEO covers similar topics but the focus and syllabi differ. Also, offerings, including ones from IIM Skills, Moz Academy, and Coursera are longer and may take months to complete. If you do not have that kind of learning schedule, choosing HubSpot Academy or SEMrush Academy would be more viable.