Ever wonder how major search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo rank your website within their searches? Or how content such as videos or local listings are shown and ranked based on what the search engine considers most relevant to users? Welcome to the world of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This course is the first within the SEO Specialization and it is intended to give you a taste of SEO with some fun practices to get seen in Google.
About this Course
Learner Career Outcomes
41%
41%
19%
At least 2 years of business experience.
What you will learn
Critique the role of advertisements and corporate funding in the development of search
Compare and contrast the functionality of search engine algorithms updates
Write your own content for a website that will improve search results
Develop an optimization strategy following best practices for a client to implement to help increase their ranking
Skills you will gain
Learner Career Outcomes
41%
41%
19%
At least 2 years of business experience.
Offered by

University of California, Davis
UC Davis, one of the nation’s top-ranked research universities, is a global leader in agriculture, veterinary medicine, sustainability, environmental and biological sciences, and technology. With four colleges and six professional schools, UC Davis and its students and alumni are known for their academic excellence, meaningful public service and profound international impact.
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Getting Started & Introduction to SEO
Welcome to the first week of the course! In the lessons that follow, you will discuss and define the foundational overview of SEO and explore types of careers and salary expectations within SEO industry. By the end of this module, you should be able to define Search Engine Optimization and explain the basics of SEO as a business (as well as how SEO shapes the Internet itself.) You'll also be able to explain the differences between three main SEO job types, and be prepared to choose a career that best suits your current goals.
Evolution of SEO
Welcome to Module 2! We hope you're enjoying the course so far, and are ready to learn more about the evolution of SEO! By the end of this module, you should be able to at least summarize the timeline of search engine development, as well as demonstrate an understanding of key time periods and individuals who changed the way search worked and the way humans interact with the Web. Later on in the module, you'll gain the ability to critique the role of advertisements and corporate funding in the development of search, and explain the process by which the Web became monetized. This high-level look at the history of SEO will give you a solid foundation for understanding the material we'll be covering later in the course.
Current SEO Best Practices
In Module 3, we'll be discussing items that SEOs spend a great deal of time dealing with: SEO best practices, the algorithm updates that look for them and potential penalties for not adhering to them. By the end of this module, you'll be able to illustrate the concept of relevancy as it applies to search results, compare and contrast the functionality of search engine algorithm updates, and critically examine the ways in which webmasters attempt to circumvent these algorithms. You'll also be able to define important ranking factors used by modern search engines, and learn the necessary steps to avoid (or correct) any penalties applied by search engine algorithms.
SEO of Today, Tomorrow and Beyond & Course Wrap-Up
You've made it to Module 4! In this module, you will gain an understanding of where SEO fits into the broader digital marketing landscape. By the end of this module, you will be able to explain how concepts like topic association and semantic analysis relate to the relevancy and trustworthiness of search results. You'll also be well prepared to write and optimize your own content for a website that will improve search results, as well as develop an optimization strategy for a client to implement that would help to increase their ranking while following best practices. Finally, by the end of this module you will be able to demonstrate the impact of brands and branding on search results, and critically analyze the role of social media and other emerging technologies on the landscape of SEO today, tomorrow, and beyond!
Reviews
TOP REVIEWS FROM INTRODUCTION TO SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
Great course, very informative!! I can tell the classes are starting to be structured differently though. Not too much meat to this first course... reserving my opinion, until I go through a few more.
The way of explaining the terms is excellent and content is very good . I leant many new things from this course. Going to do all the courses of this specialization. Thanks for the wonderful content.
For a beginner, this course helps you to understand what SEO is and how a search engine works. The course also helps you to find out what basic strategies you can apply to your own site or business.
I found this intro course to be more intense and simultaneously more valuable than I expected it to be. I've already gained new insight and learned techniques I can put into practice now. Brilliant.
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