How Long Does It Take To Learn SEO on Your Own?

In a previous article, I was sharing how I learned SEO. But how long did it take me to get a “good understanding”? I sat down and went through my Toggl time recordings.

The answer: It took me 2.5 weeks (94 hours) to get a hang on basic SEO.

And ever since I spend 4 hours weekly in order to keep up to date with recent changes.

Let’s derivate how much time I spent at each step:

StepWhat actions did I take?Hours spent initiallyHours spent per week
Step 1: SEO for beginners guidesRead two beginners guides.
MOZ guide: 7 hours
Google starter guide: 5 hours
 12 hours  
Step 2: Understand Content MarketingTake the Hubspot Content class and prepare for exam40 hours
Step 3: Understand the basics of website analyticsTook the free Google Analytics for Beginners class and creating trial reports8 hours
Step 4: Learn some HTML and CSSTook the HTML and CSS class at Cibernarium. Each 2 hours of class and 3 hours of self training per course10 hours
Step 5: Get your hands dirty – do a basic SEO auditConducted a SEO audit for a friend. It took me 3 working days.24 hours
Step 6: Keep up to dateListen to SEO Podcast: ~ 1.5 hours per week
Read Newsletters and blogs: 2 hours per week
Attend Meet-ups: 2 hours per month (equals 0.5 hours per week)
6 hours
Step 7: The advanced stuffI haven’t done that yet! I plan to attend the Intro to data science with Python on Datacamp and to grab a copy of the book Javascript for Kids.?
Total hours spent94 hours initially4 hours weekly
Hours spent on my journey into SEO

The grid above doesn’t include all the detours I took when attending classes that didn’t add value to my learning path.

Alright, that’s it. Stay persistent and curious. And send all recommendations to learn SEO my way.

Corina Burri

Corina is a SEO Freelancer from Zürich. Since 2016 she's in SEO and has contributed to publications such as SEOFOMO, Forbes, or iPullRank. When not grinding, she enjoys exploring Switzerland with her little family.

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