Course Outline for SEO SPECIALIST CERTIFICATION

Course Duration: 8 weeks (2 months) 

Course Level: Beginner to Advanced | 100% Practical & Job-Oriented | With Live Projects

📅 Month 1 – Foundations, On-Page SEO & Keyword Strategy

      ⭐ Week 1: Introduction to SEO & Search Engines

       ---  Understanding how search engines work (Crawling, Indexing, Ranking)

       ---  Types of SEO: On-page, Off-page, Technical, Local

       ---  Google Search Essentials (formerly Webmaster Guidelines)

       ---  SEO vs SEM vs SMM – Role in digital marketing

       ---  Latest Google Algorithm Updates (Core, Helpful Content, Spam, etc.)

       Practical Activities

       ---  Setting up a demo website/WordPress blog

       ---  Installing essential SEO plugins: RankMath / Yoast

       ---  Website indexing check, robots.txt overview

       Assignment

       ---  Write a mini SEO audit of your chosen website.

      ⭐ Week 2: Keyword Research & Competitor Analysis

       ---  What is keyword intent? Navigational, Informational, Transactional

       ---  Long-tail vs short-tail keyword strategy

       ---  Keywords clustering & topic mapping

       ---  Competitor analysis models (SERP analysis, content gaps)

       ---  Trending keyword research methods (Google Trends, People Also Ask, Reddit & Quora research)

       ---  Tools Learned

               -- Google Keyword Planner

               -- Ahrefs / SEMrush

               -- Ubersuggest

               -- AnswerThePublic

               -- Google Trends

       Practical Activities

       ---  Creating a keyword master sheet

       ---  Mapping keywords to content silos

       Project 1

       ---  Prepare a complete keyword research report for a selected niche (e.g., travel, fitness, real estate).

      ⭐ Week 3: On-Page SEO Optimization (Advanced)

       ---  Meta tags optimization (title, description, OG tags)

       ---  Header hierarchy (H1–H6) & content structure

       ---  Keyword placement & density best practices

       ---  Image SEO (alt-text, compression, webp format)

       ---  Internal linking strategies (topic clusters, pillar pages)

       ---  Avoiding keyword cannibalization

       ---  E-E-A-T (Experience–Expertise–Authoritativeness–Trustworthiness)

       ---  Optimizing for Featured Snippets & Rich Results

       Practical Activities

       ---  Optimize 2–3 articles/pages

       ---  Writing SEO-optimized blog posts

       Assignment

       ---  Submit an On-page SEO Optimization Sheet for a real or demo website.

      ⭐ Week 4: Content SEO + SEO Copywriting

       ---  SEO content creation strategies

       ---  Writing search-intent focused articles

       ---  LSI keywords & NLP terms

       ---  Content optimization tools (SEO Writing Assistant, SurferSEO, Clearscope – overview)

       ---  Avoiding duplicate content, thin content

       ---  Creating content calendars based on keyword clusters

       Practical Activities

       ---  Writing a complete SEO-optimized blog post (1,000–1,500 words)

       ---  Creating a monthly SEO content plan

       Project 2

       ---  Create a Content SEO Strategy for a brand including keyword mapping, content clusters, and optimization guidelines.

📅 Month 2 – Technical SEO, Off-Page SEO & Analytics

      ⭐ Week 5: Technical SEO (Beginner to Advanced)

       ---  Understanding website architecture

       ---  XML sitemap optimization

       ---  Robots.txt configuration

       ---  Core Web Vitals (LCP, FID, CLS)

       ---  Mobile-first indexing

       ---  HTTPS, SSL, mixed-content issues

       ---  Site speed optimization (CDN, caching, minification)

       ---  Structured data (Schema Markup basics)

       ---  Canonical tags, redirects, broken links management

       Tools Learned

       ---  Google Search Console

       ---  PageSpeed Insights

       ---  GTmetrix

       ---  Screaming Frog SEO Spider

      Practical Activities

       ---  Running a full technical audit

       ---  Fixing basic site issues

       Assignment

       ---  Submit a Technical SEO Audit Report for a live or test website.

      ⭐ Week 6: Off-Page SEO & Link-Building Strategies

       ---  Backlinks & their importance

       ---  Types of backlinks (dofollow, nofollow, sponsored, UGC)

       ---  High-authority link building strategies:

       ---  Guest posting

       ---  Broken link building

       ---  Skyscraper technique

       ---  HARO (Help A Reporter Out)

       ---  Business citations

       ---  Avoiding black-hat SEO (PBNs, spammy links)

       ---  Social bookmarking, profile creation, directory submissions (modern relevance)

       Practical Activities

       ---  Creating outreach emails

       ---  Finding guest post opportunities

       ---  Submitting business citations

       Assignment

       ---  Prepare a Backlink Strategy Report for a selected domain.

      ⭐ Week 7: Local SEO + E-commerce SEO

       ---  Local SEO

       ---  Google Business Profile setup

       ---  Local citations & NAP consistency

       ---  Local ranking factors

       ---  Reviews & reputation management

       ---  E-Commerce SEO

       ---  Optimizing product pages

       ---  Category page SEO

       ---  Product schema

       ---  Handling duplicate product descriptions

       ---  Shopify/WooCommerce SEO essentials

       Practical Activities

       ---  Optimizing a Google Business Profile

       ---  Writing optimized product descriptions

       Project 3

       ---  Create a Local SEO Strategy + E-commerce SEO Optimization Report for a sample business.

      ⭐ Week 8: SEO Analytics, Reporting & Final Project

       ---  Google Analytics 4 (GA4) basics

       ---  Tracking conversions, events, user behavior

       ---  Search Console advanced analysis

       ---  Ranking trackers overview (SERPWatch, AccuRanker)

       ---  Creating SEO reports for clients

       ---  SEO strategy planning for new websites (0–6 month roadmap)

       Practical Activities

       ---  Building a professional SEO dashboard

       ---  Creating client-ready reports

      🎓 FINAL PROJECT (Capstone)

       ---  Learners will complete a full SEO Case Study including:

       ---  Website Audit (On-Page + Technical)

       ---  Full Keyword Research Report

       ---  Content Strategy Plan

       ---  Backlink Strategy Plan

       ---  Final SEO Performance Report

      This project will act as a portfolio piece for job applications or freelance work.