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:
| Step | What actions did I take? | Hours spent initially | Hours spent per week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Step 1: SEO for beginners guides | Read two beginners guides. MOZ guide: 7 hours Google starter guide: 5 hours | 12 hours | |
| Step 2: Understand Content Marketing | Take the Hubspot Content class and prepare for exam | 40 hours | |
| Step 3: Understand the basics of website analytics | Took the free Google Analytics for Beginners class and creating trial reports | 8 hours | |
| Step 4: Learn some HTML and CSS | Took the HTML and CSS class at Cibernarium. Each 2 hours of class and 3 hours of self training per course | 10 hours | |
| Step 5: Get your hands dirty – do a basic SEO audit | Conducted a SEO audit for a friend. It took me 3 working days. | 24 hours | |
| Step 6: Keep up to date | Listen 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 stuff | I 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 spent | 94 hours initially | 4 hours weekly |
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.
