As a business owner or enthusiast learning SEO in Nigeria (Search Engine Optimization) could sound at first like a tricky subject to learn.
When you’re just starting out it may feel like you need to buy a course to get started learning SEO, but let me tell you that there’s plenty of sites and YouTube Channels to learn SEO for free.
I personally started at learning SEO online for FREE before I saw the need to take up a course and get a certification and am going to share some of my favorite resources so you can do the same! 
Now, are you ready to rank #1 in Google? Cool. Let’s dive in!
Table of Contents
What Is SEO?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and is the process of creating content that is relevant to specific keywords and search queries. In turn, the content is then well optimized to rank higher in Google or other search engines.
Why SEO Is Important For Your Online Business
It’s important to point out why your business needs SEO and how SEO helps your business in the long-run.
With this in mind, let’s run through some of the benefits of SEO.
Here’s a few of the key benefits of SEO:
- Highly targeted traffic to offers
- Free, organic traffic
- Builds trust and brand credibility when shown in search results
- Target customers at any point in the buying cycle
Now that you’ve got a clear picture on why seo is important for building a business, it’s time to take a look at the best sites and YouTube channels to learn seo.
10 Best Sites To Learn SEO For Free
Here’s what I found to be the best sites to learn SEO for free so that you can start generating free organic traffic to your content and offers.
Site #1: NeilPatel.com
I have used Neil’s blog to learn both the basics and the fine details of SEO. I forget where I read/heard it, but I believe there are over 2,000 posts to choose from on his blog.
And he gets upwards of 3,000,000 visitors per month to his blog which is recognized as one of the tops in the SEO industry by Ahrefs, Moz, Forbes, and so many more.
So, you can be sure that you’ll be able to find tons of different articles on whatever topic that may come to mind.
Site #2: Backlinko.com
Brian started his blog around the 2014 timeframe and has written all of his blog posts.
What’s interesting about Backlinko is that there are only a hundred or so articles in total. This is because Brian Dean focuses on building long-form content (a.k.a. pillar posts) for every single one of his posts.
The majority of his posts are well over 3,000 words and some upwards of 10,000 words.
If you’re looking to model Backlinko to get ideas for your own site, then a great post to get started reading is the Sky Technique. It’s all about creating high-quality content that’s better than your competitor’s.
Also, I might be crazy for saying this but go sign up for his newsletter. This will ensure you get the latest posts when he publishes them on his blog and can stay up-to-date with the SEO industry and tactics.
Site #3: AuthorityHacker.com
However, you’re not here to learn about paid courses and neither did I want to invest in a course if I didn’t need to when I heard about Authority Hacker.
So, the main reason I wanted to include them on this list was that I found their blog to be top-notch after browsing through the posts.
At the very least, I highly recommend taking a look at their site and seeing if you want to pull ideas from it for your own blog. It’s always good to try out and test new things on the basis of what’s already working.
Site #4: Ahrefs.com
I will say though that their SEO software is honestly a bit pricey in my opinion which is why I recommend staying away from paying for it monthly until you’re already making enough profit.
Instead, I’d recommend getting it for only one month at a time and have a gameplan for getting your keyword research and link building done all in one go.
Now, back to the Ahrefs blog…
I found the content on their blog to be unique and definitely insightful to read. They have a publishing team that puts out content regularly and is a great place to stay up-to-date.
Site #5: RobbieRichards.com
Robbie focuses on creating super in-depth long-form articles that are made to attract backlinks.
Certainly, backlinks are one of the big ranking factors for your site in Google right alongside the relevancy of your content to the search intent. That’s why attracting backlinks is so important.
I’d recommend reading through a few of his blog posts and start to get a better feel for how you might want to strategize creating your own posts.
Site #6: MatthewWoodward.co.uk
Matthew shares a ton of “how-to” posts and tutorials with his audience.
He’s been in the SEO space for over a decade and has tons of experience to share from.
If you’re looking to primarily create tutorials for your own blog, then it might be a good idea to head over to Matthew Woodward’s blog and have a look around.
He focuses on SEO, blogging, and working online as his three main topics. So, definitely check it out if you’re interested in those.
Site #7: Semrush.com
However, they’ve also got a well-respected blog and all things SEO.
In particular, Semrush focuses on using SEO and content marketing for your online business or local business. I highly recommend seeing if there are tips you can find to help you with your own content marketing.
Site #8: Moz.com
Their SEO software is used by big names, such as Alaska Airlines and Trivago.
Moz has an entire content publishing team and consequently have thousands of posts on their site.
Site #9: SearchEngineLand.com
If you’re looking for the “current events” of the SEO world, then it’s probably one of the best websites to go back to.
They always have great info on Google algorithm updates and tons more.
Every little bit more you learn helps you to stay ahead of the curve and your own competition in the SERPs.
Site #10: SearchEngineJournal.com
It’s my go-to site for learning all the latest on SEO.
Not only does it have the latest news, but it also is an SEO site that has some great SEO tips to take with you and implement on your own site.
10 Best YouTube Channels To Learn SEO For Free
Sometimes you want a change of pace in your learning style.
So, I decided to include what I believe to be the best Youtube channels to learn SEO for free listed below.
YouTube Channel #1: Income School
It’s a channel created by Jim Harmer and Ricky Kesler. Their presentation style has a relaxed feel that feels like you’re having a conversation.
I always like to compare it to Neil Patel’s channel by saying that Income Schools are the exact opposite. 
Anyways, I’ve watched nearly every single one of their videos that they’ve put out and have learned a ton to be able to implement directly back into building my own blog.
If you’re interested, they’ve got a stellar course called Project 24. It walks you through step-by-step in a total of 60 steps towards creating a full-time income from your blog using SEO in 24 months.
YouTube Channel #2: Neil Patel
And the last time I checked he had well over 500 videos on his channel.
He creates tons of content and primarily it’s step-by-step content since that’s what he’s found to work well for him.
YouTube Channel #3: Brian Dean
He doesn’t publish videos that often. Only about once a month and on occasion will post more frequently.
However, you can always expect super high-quality videos that are well-edited.
He focuses solely on SEO for blogging and YouTube.
YouTube Channel #4: Google Webmasters
They have a set schedule and upload multiple times a week.
The content is centered around SEO and the dos and dont’s of ranking your site in Google’s search engine.
They also have “office hours” which is something you may want to explore more and look into.
YouTube Channel #5: Ahrefs
They publish videos consistently on a weekly basis.
I’ve found the videos to be super helpful in implementing new SEO strategies that are relevant for building backlinks and ranking #1 on Google.
YouTube Channel #6: Miles Beckler
He’s outpaced and has created more videos than Neil Patel.
Miles’ presentation and delivery for the videos he makes are very conversational.
He gets in front of the camera and provides actionable advice on SEO, content marketing, paid advertising, and building an online business in general.
He publishes 3 videos every week, and I highly recommend you follow him for actionable advice for building your own online business.
YouTube Channel #7: Doug Cunnington
He creates niche websites for a living that ultimately sells for upwards of six figures.
In particular, he teaches how to create amazon affiliate sites and using a 50% link building with a 50% content creation approach.
YouTube Channel #8: Chase Reiner SEO
His videos typically have very few graphics if any but are straightforward actionable tutorials that help you to rank higher in Google.
YouTube Channel #9: Nathan Gotch
He shares tools on specifically how to use certain SEO tools and also get more organic search traffic.
YouTube Channel #10: Moz
They mainly focus on promoting their own SEO tool when explaining certain topics which may be a drawback for some if they don’t like Moz’s software.
However, the SEO tips offered make it one of the best YouTube Channel for learning SEO.
