Tag: Yoast Academy

Brand-new free online training: Block editor training

Marieke van de Rakt

At Yoast, we are huge fans of the block editor. Admittedly -not right from the start-, but we’re now block-editor fanboys and fangirls. That’s why we created an awesome free block editor course! We hope it will help everybody to use the block editor to the fullest!

In this course, you’ll learn how to create awesome content with the new WordPress block editor! It adds thousands of new possibilities for creating posts and pages and it makes editing a lot easier. In the new Block editor training, we take you by the hand and guide you through the process of creating and publishing content with the new block editor. What’s more, we also show you some cool examples and explain how you can make the switch from the classic editor to the block editor. Ready to start learning?

Yes, I want access to the new & free Block editor training »

What will you learn in the Block editor training?

In this online course, we teach you everything you need to know about creating well-designed, perfectly structured content with the new WordPress block editor. You’ll learn:

  • what the block editor is, why it was created and why you should be using it;
  • how to use the block editor: how to add, move, transform, group, reuse and edit blocks;
  • how to publish a post using the block editor;
  • how to add more blocks – and thus: functionalities – to the block editor;
  • how to switch from the classic editor to the new block editor and what you should pay attention to when transitioning;
  • everything about the future of the block editor – or project Gutenberg, like the goal of the project and the plans that have been announced.

We’ll take you by the hand and guide you through the process of creating a post with the block editor through practical screencasts, PDFs and assignments. To illustrate the endless possibilities of the block editor, we’ll also show you some awesome examples of content created with the new editor. 

How is the course set up?

The Block editor training is a hands-on and practical training that consists of three modules:

  1. What is the block editor?
  2. Using the block editor
  3. Extras

These modules are divided into several lessons. Each lesson contains interesting videos, in which our WordPress experts – like Marieke van de Rakt and Jono Alderson – explain everything you should know. The practical lessons in module 2 also contain screencasts, so you can see exactly what you should do. We’ve also created reading materials, in which we explore topics more broadly. To complete a lesson, you take a quiz or do a practical assignment. In this way, you’ll know for sure whether you fully understand the theory and whether you’re able to put your knowledge to practice. Once you’ve finished the course, you’ll receive a Yoast certificate and a badge you can display on your website.

Online & on-demand

The block editor training is an online and on-demand training, like every other Yoast SEO academy training course. This means you can learn whenever you want and wherever you want! And did we already mention it’s completely free of charge?

Start creating block-tastic content now!

After the Block editor training, blocks will no longer hold any secrets for you and you’ll be ready to outshine your competition with visually stunning blog posts and pages! Are you ready? Check your Yoast SEO academy courses overview or click the button below to start the course!

I'm ready to learn all about the block editor! »

Want to take a deeper dive?

Yoast SEO academy offers more in-depth courses about SEO and WordPress too. Want to learn how to write texts that are a breeze to read for readers and search engines alike? We offer classes on SEO copywriting! Or do you want to find out what keywords are most effective for your site? Our keyword research classes will tell you how. With a Yoast SEO academy Premium subscription, you’ll have access to 11 specialist courses created by SEO experts. Check it out now!

Yes, I want the Yoast SEO academy Premium subscription!

The post Brand-new free online training: Block editor training appeared first on Yoast.

How to learn SEO: 7 tips for effective learning

Dijana Muzhdeka

SEO: they say it’s the key ingredient to online success. But if you’re a beginner, two questions might pop up in your mind: 1) Can you learn SEO (hint: you can) and 2) how do you learn it? Like most skills, you learn SEO by finding the right resources, setting goals, planning, using learning strategies, practicing and evaluating. Does that sound like a lot? Don’t worry! Here, we’ll give you some tips for a flying start in SEO.

Firstly, we’d like you to meet Maya. We’ll use her case to guide you through an effective learning journey!

Meet Maya

Maya is a culinary enthusiast who enjoys discovering restaurants and discussing the food with friends. Recently, her friend Nick suggested she should start a website and write restaurant reviews. Such a fun idea, Maya thought.

Nick makes websites for a living, and Maya’s heard him talk over and over about the importance of SEO. She figures it is quite important and decides to go online and learn more. A quick search is enough to flood her with information. So many sources, so much to read and go through. And on top of that, she’s beginning to realize that SEO is quite a layered topic. Where should she even begin? Should she order a book, read posts, or get a course? 

SEO courses: a great starting resource

When you’re starting with SEO, and you set out to search for knowledge, you may get overwhelmed. As a beginner, it is difficult to make sense of it on your own. To spare yourself the hardship, you could follow an online course. An online SEO course is a good beginner’s resource because: 

  • An online course typically contains bite-sized lessons that move from basic to more complex. That ensures you understand each concept before you move on to the next one. 
  • Ideally, a course is created by instructors whose goal is to make sure the material sticks in your memory. 
  • Following and completing a course is not only educational, but it can also bring satisfaction and increase motivation.

So, Maya could begin by following a course such as SEO for beginners. Wait a minute! Did you read through all of this just so that we can promote a (free) course to you? No! Although, we do think that, for a beginner, a course is the most logical choice. Still, it is up to you to choose your path. If you decide to use online resources, make sure they are trustworthy. Don’t forget to take a closer look at the source, what they say about it online, and perhaps check some ratings and reviews.

Whether you are using an online course, a book, or online posts, there are some strategies you can use to direct your learning.

Tips on how to learn SEO

1. Set goals

A successful learning journey begins with goals. Goals, especially challenging ones, are most likely to motivate you to persevere and reach the finish line. When setting goals, you should ask yourself a crucial question: What do I want to accomplish, and what goal will help me get there?

Maya wants to learn SEO, so she can apply it to her website and ensure good rankings. SEO is complex, and to master it, she will need to dive into all of these topics: 

Let’s assume that Maya decided to take the SEO for beginners’ course. Then, her main goal can be – Finish the SEO for beginners course. But, if she has very little time, perhaps this goal is too general. To make it more concrete and manageable, she can make a separate goal for each lesson. Ideally, her goals should be specific, meaningful, and attainable. For example, this can be her goal for the first lesson: 

I will complete the lesson on Search engines in the last week of March to understand how search engines work, which can help me make my site findable. 

Or,  for the Keyword research lesson, her goal can be:

I will complete the lesson on Keyword research in the first week of April, to be able to analyze my audience and my competition because that will help me decide which keywords to use in my first post. 

Knowing precisely what, when, and why she wants to accomplish something can keep her motivated. And, specific goals are easier to evaluate compared to more general ones. 

Now, you try it, use the same formula: I will [insert how and what you will do] in/by [insert time], because [insert reason].

2. Make a plan 

Goals are even more powerful when you make a plan on how to accomplish them. A helpful planning strategy is implementation intentions, which uses a simple If…then formula. Its purpose is to get you to think about the best time and the conditions that allow you to learn. In that way, you can set a realistic and concrete plan that should be easy to follow. 

Maya, for example, has a full-time job. Learning SEO will be something she will need to do in her free time. Lately, she has been doing yoga after coming home from work, and that energizes her. So, her implementation intention can look like this: If I am done with my yoga practice, I will dedicate two hours to SEO. 

What is your situation? Can you evaluate your schedule and decide when the best time for you to learn is? 

3. Don’t binge-learn

Most of us binge series. Streaming services have enabled us to. It can be tempting to also binge (or cram) learning. Get as much information as possible, as fast as possible. It’s fast, so it must work, right? Well, no. Learning needs to be slow and spaced. By spacing learning, you allow the material to get etched in your long-term memory. Later, when you encounter a problem or a new situation, you can summon the knowledge from your memory to come up with solutions. 

Let’s check back in with Maya and see what her spaced learning schedule for the SEO for beginners course looks like: 

Week 1 of the SEO for beginners course

Day 1: How search engines work (watch the videos and read the text)
Day 3: How search engines work (re-read the text and do the quizzes)
Day 5: Holistic SEO (watch the videos and read the text)
Day 7: Holistic SEO (re-read the text and do the quizzes) 

Week 2 of the SEO for beginners course

Day 1: Re-do the quizzes for the How search engines work and Holistic SEO lesson. Start the Yoast SEO plugin lesson. 
Day 3: Keyword research (watch the videos)
Day 5: Keyword research (read the texts and do the quizzes) 
Day 7: Keyword research (read the texts and try to apply the tips in practice) 

Could this approach work for you? Try it and find out!  

4. Actively ask yourself questions 

Self-explanation means pausing while learning and thinking about the topic. You can do that by simply asking yourself questions such as  “Why does this work this way?”. Then, instead of looking up the answer, try to answer it to yourself from memory. It may sound crazy, but it works!

Maya tried this strategy too. For example, when learning about keyword research, she asked herself – Why is keyword research necessary? And When should I do keyword research? By asking the questions, she prompted her mind to start organizing the information. That allowed her to make sense of it and made sure she understood the material. With that knowledge, she was able to apply keyword research in a breeze.

5. Use what you learn

Speaking of application, you probably know that no matter how much theory you learn, it will not mean a lot unless you start using it. So, as soon as you feel you’ve understood a concept, put it to the test. With SEO, there are many opportunities to get working straight away.

We go back to Maya, who has just learned the basics of copywriting and she went ahead and wrote a text. Then, she used Yoast SEO to check the quality of her writing. She immediately got feedback on readability, the use of voice, length of sentences, and subheading distribution, among other things. Such feedback helped her learn and improve immediately!

6. Don’t be afraid to ask for help

Feedback is a good way to learn. So ask for it! You can easily send your site to a friend or a colleague and ask them to give you their impression. Let them go through it and be the judges of your texts or your site structure. If you dare, you could even post the site on forums or social media to ask feedback from a more general audience.

7. Evaluate

When you feel that you have completed all your goals, it will be good to evaluate what went well and what could have gone better. Did you stick to your goals? Was your planning too ambitious? Could you apply what you learned? Did you need help, and did you ask for it? Learning about your learning in this way can help you improve and be even more effective next time! 

How did Maya do? By setting goals, planning, using learning strategies, and evaluating, she successfully finished the SEO for beginners course. She was also busy practicing while learning, so she is almost ready to launch her site. How exciting! 

Are you ready to get learning? If you are up for an adventure and you feel like you can do more, check out our Yoast academy training subscriptions and learn away! 

Read more: How to start with SEO »

The post How to learn SEO: 7 tips for effective learning appeared first on Yoast.

Looking back at (almost) a decade of Yoast

Marieke van de Rakt

It’s almost 2020 and a brand-new decade is right around the corner! A decade ago, Yoast didn’t even exist yet. A lot has changed in the past 10 years. In this blog post, I would like to look back at (almost) 10 years of Yoast. And, I’ll look at our plans for next year! 2020 is going to be a great year!

The very beginning

Yoast was founded by Joost de Valk. Until 2010, Joost had been working as an SEO consultant. He was doing consultancy at major companies like eBay and KLM. In 2010, Joost decided to give up his job as an SEO consultant. He took a leap of faith and began a company. Back then, he was pretty sure he would never hire any employees. So, he named his one-man-company after himself and his blog: Yoast.

Joost was mainly doing consultancy and website reviews at the very beginning of Yoast. In his free time and basically as a hobby, he was developing lots of little WordPress-plugins that improved the SEO of a site. He never thought he could make money with these plugins though. In October 2010, Joost finally made one plugin of all these little ones: WordPress SEO (now Yoast SEO) was born.

The evolving logo's of Yoast SEO over time.

The evolving logo of Yoast SEO over time.

If you want to read more about the growth of Yoast, please check out our history of Yoast page!

Premium plugins

Up until 2012, Yoast did not make any money with WordPress-plugins. But, WordPress SEO had over a million active installs. In the early days, Joost did all of the support on these plugins himself. That became a bit too much. In September 2012, Yoast launched Video SEO, the first premium add-on.

In the mean-time, Joost had hired some people. It became clear that this wasn’t going to remain a one-man-company after all. In 2012, Michiel became the first Yoast employee. That year, Erwin (our illustrator) and Mijke (our designer) also joined our team. Branding and design have been at the heart of the company throughout our entire journey. 

After Video SEO, Yoast released more premium add-ons: News SEO, Local SEO.  In 2014, we released a premium variant of the free version of our plugin. Nowadays, this is the most popular of all our plugins. By that time, Yoast was still doing site reviews as well. 

Growth, changes & failed projects 

Since Yoast started, a lot of things have changed. Nowadays, we’re not doing site reviews anymore, while that was our main source of income in the very early years. The growth of our company was mainly driven by our plugins. At one point, it makes sense to focus all your energy on that, which made us decide to stop doing site reviews.  And of course, we have tried some projects that just did not work as we planned. Did you know we have once tried to build and sell WordPress themes? Let’s just say that that wasn’t the success we hoped it to be :-). 

After 5 years of Yoast: Major rebranding

In 2015 – after 5 years of Yoast – the company underwent a major redesign. Up until then, our design team made a lot of avatars of Joost de Valk. His face featured on every page on our site. Our design team replaced the many avatars featuring Joost with new colorful illustrations. The logo was no longer orange but became green and purple. The change in design reflected the shift in the business. Yoast was no longer a synonym for Joost de Valk. 

Joost's avatars as they were on the site before the redesign.

Joost’s avatars as they were on the site before the redesign.

Yoast SEO academy

Also in 2015, we launched Yoast SEO academy. In the years before that, I (Marieke) was getting more and more involved in the company. Yoast SEO academy was my personal Yoast-baby (FYI: I also have four real babies with the person Joost).  We had written some eBooks before that helped people to do SEO themselves. The next step was the development of an online course. The first online SEO course – Basic SEO – appeared in 2015. Since then, we have made many online courses about SEO. Yoast SEO academy grew to be an online course platform with courses on every aspect of SEO. This year, we also released a free course about WordPress. 

Growth of Yoast – the company

Yoast SEO started out as a hobby. Although we still love it, It is not a hobby anymore. When software is running on 10 million sites, you need a professional company. And we’ve grown into a professional company (albeit a bit crazy).

In 2011, Yoast was Joost. At the end of 2012, Yoast consisted of Joost and another four employees. At the end of 2013, Yoast consisted of ten employees. And at the end of 2015, Yoast employed a total of 25 people. At the end of 2017, there were more than 50 people and now, at the end of 2019, there are more than 90 people working in the Wijchen offices. Also, more than a dozen people are working for Yoast in countries around the world.

  • Team Yoast in 2012
  • Team Yoast in 2016
  • Team Yoast in 2019

Nowadays, product ideas still mainly come from Joost de Valk. Next to Joost, we have a big team of developers and a kick-ass testing team. Our software has to work on so many sites, with so many different configurations of plugins. That’s a lot of work and needs extensive testing. 

Besides that, we keep close relationships with both Google and Bing. At the same time, WordPress and open-source remain very important to us. Giving back to the community that got Yoast to where it is today is crucial to the company.

Features in Yoast SEO (Premium)

Since the birth of Yoast SEO, we’ve added and improved upon many features. Most of our features are available for both our free and premium users. Some features were only rolled out in premium though. 

We’ve added a redirect manager with which people can easily manage their redirects. In 2016,  we added our readability analysis, which helps people to write texts that are understandable for both their audience and Google. We’ve also created an internal linking tool, which helps people to manage their site’s structure. In 2018, we did a recalibration of our SEO analysis, which also lead to the introduction of Word forms. Our Premium SEO analysis is now able to recognize plurals, past tense and synonyms. 

In 2019: Schema! 

In 2019, with Yoast SEO 11.0, we released a major Schema update. Yoast SEO 11.0 featured a completely rewritten Schema.org implementation — one that is destined to give search engines all your connections on a silver platter. This is a great development, not only for you and for search engines, but, more importantly, for the web in general. 

Also in 2019, I (Marieke) took over the role of CEO from Joost, which was kind of a big deal for me personally. Joost now is our Chief Product Officer. We both enjoy our new roles!

What to expect from Yoast SEO in 2020?

You can expect great things for Yoast SEO in 2020! We have a lot of awesome features that’ll be rolled out in 2020. We’re very excited about our ‘indexables’ update. Indexables is a pretty awesome rebuild of how we store and generate our metadata. Instead of re-generating robots, canonical and other tags on every page load, we’ll store them in our own table. This makes loads of our processes much much faster.

On top of that data, we’ll add an enhancement to our premium internal linking suggestions functionality, which we’re dramatically improving the quality of. Some real nice applied computer science stuff there in how we’ve applied information retrieval algorithms within WordPress without external storage.

We’re finishing up a brand new update for our internal linking tool. Also, you can expect some cool new schema-blocks! And that’s only half of it! We’re very excited: we decided that 2020 is going to be the ‘new features in Yoast SEO-year’. 

YoastCon 2020

In 2020, Yoast will celebrate its 10th birthday! And we’re going to host a huge birthday party: YoastCon 2020 It’s going to be a very special edition. YoastCon 2020 will take place on 24 April 2020 and tickets are completely free. If you want to find out more about YoastCon (and how to apply for tickets) check out the YoastCon page. 

The post Looking back at (almost) a decade of Yoast appeared first on Yoast.

Oh yes, Cyber Monday deals at Yoast!

Michiel Heijmans

Wow! You’ve probably been shopping since Friday and FedEx and UPS have been scheduling your deliveries all weekend. Busy times. But I’m sure you saved an additional 301 US dollars just in case. If you’d buy the Apple AirPods Pro for the regular $249, that would leave you enough bucks for a Yoast SEO Premium license today!

We’re going back to regular prices tomorrow, so this really is the last day to profit from our biggest discount in the history of Yoast. We’re not kidding. With 30% off all products, we’re inviting you to:

  • Get your SEO game to the next level
  • Try that plugin you always wanted
  • Ditch your SEO company by learning yourself
  • Rank better and pave the way for the future growth of your company

So what did others buy over the last couple of days? 

During our Black Friday sale, we noticed you really, really liked a number of our products:

Yoast SEO for WordPress

Our flagship product will be installed on thousands of websites over the next weeks. It helps you to get more visitors from Google and Bing, attract more visitors from social media and it will guide you in writing better text and optimize internal linking!

Get Yoast SEO Premium today at 30% OFF!

All Yoast SEO plugins and courses at once!

If you are serious about SEO, you certainly want the whole Yoast package. The leading SEO plugin for WordPress, all addons for your specific websites like WooCommerce and Local SEO, and all the courses to keep learning about SEO. At a whopping 30% discount!

Yes, I definitely want that full SEO package NOW

Tomorrow, we’re back to business as usual, with normal prices and without all the annoying ads and newsletters. But for the next 24 hours, our biggest sale ever is still on! 

Get these deals while they’re hot!

Happy Cyber Monday.

The post Oh yes, Cyber Monday deals at Yoast! appeared first on Yoast.

Black Friday: Biggest discount ever!

Michiel Heijmans

We’re not kidding. It’s time for Black Friday, the one time a year we clean up the attic at Yoast. With our whopping 30% discount on everything, we top every sale we ever had.

Get your SEO package TODAY

Yes, when we say everything, we mean everything. Our subscriptions are cheaper than ever. With 30% extra on our already low prices we live up to our mission SEO for everyone. This is your chance to get all Yoast products, plugins and courses, for under $35 (first month, annual plan). That’s basically below cost price. Period. So get your package now, because this just isn’t sustainable.

Yes, I want all Yoast products with an extra 30% off!

Don’t miss out: Yoast SEO Premium for just over $60 a year

You can get a year of our premium flagship product Yoast SEO Premium for only 89 US dollars $62… That means you get all the great extra features:

  • Word forms, synonyms and related keywords
  • Redirect manager
  • Internal link optimization
  • Social previews and more

For less than you’d typically pay for a Shawn Mendes ticket, our plugin can help you rank better & get more traffic so you can go to as many concerts you’d like. A no-brainer? We think so.

Get your Yoast SEO Premium upgrade NOW

Raise your SEO game

Cover your own SEO bases today with our Yoast SEO academy courses. Don’t just use our plugin and write your content, but get a deeper understanding of why you should write that text for your audience and why & how you should use that feature in our plugin. Our recommendation: Don’t just focus on the content side of things, or frustrate over technical SEO, but get a better understanding of everything:

Get all our Premium Yoast SEO academy courses!

So yes, if you ever wondered if you should buy our products, or have been postponing real optimization and better rankings for your website, now would be the time to fire things up with our Black Friday deals!

Happy Black Friday.

The post Black Friday: Biggest discount ever! appeared first on Yoast.

New & free online training: WordPress for beginners

Jesse van de Hulsbeek

Whoa, big news! As of today, a new online Yoast Academy course is available to you: the WordPress for beginners training. And best of all: it’s completely free! Do you have great ideas or products to share with the world? But you’re afraid you’re not technical enough to build a website? Or you don’t know where to start? Or worse, been struggling for a while? That’s all in the past now! Our new WordPress for beginners training takes you by the hand and guides you through every step of creating a WordPress-based website. Simply click the button below, sign up and start your journey! Want to learn more about the course first? Just continue reading!

I want to start right now! »

What will you learn in the WordPress for beginners training?

In this course, we’ll teach you everything you need to know about setting up a website with WordPress, step-by-step. You’ll learn:

  • what WordPress is and what it can do for you;
  • how to get your own WordPress site up and running;
  • how to customize your site with plugins, themes, and widgets;
  • the ins and outs about all the settings in WordPress, so you can really build a website that helps you achieve your goals;
  • how to liven up your site with amazing content, like posts, pages, images, videos, and embeds;
  • how to make sure people can find what they need on your site, by organizing your content with categories and tags;
  • how to manage your WordPress site once it’s up and running, with user roles, updates, and backups;
  • how to make sure your site is secure and protected against hackers;
  • everything about WordPress SEO, so people can actually find your site in the search engines;
  • all about the story behind WordPress, like its history and its open source community!

How is the course set up?

The WordPress for beginners training consists of seven modules, divided into several lessons. Each lesson contains interesting videos, in which our WordPress experts – like Joost de Valk, Jono Alderson, and Remkus de Vries  – explain everything you should know. Most lessons also contain screencasts, so you can see exactly what you need to do. We’ve also created reading materials, in which we explore topics more broadly. To complete a lesson, you take a quiz. These quizzes test whether you understand the theory and if you’re able to apply this knowledge to realistic example cases. Once you’ve finished the course, you’ll get a Yoast certificate and a badge you can display on your website.

Example of a video lesson by Joost de Valk in the WordPress for beginners training

Learn whenever you want, wherever you want

Like every other Yoast Academy training course, the WordPress for beginners training is online and on-demand. On top of that, it’s completely free of charge. This means you can do this course whenever you want, wherever you want. It’s all up to you!

Are you ready to create your own WordPress website?

With the WordPress for beginners training, you’ll have all the tools and knowledge you need to craft your own WordPress site. A blog, an online shop, a business website? Everything’s possible. Simply start the course by clicking the button below!

I'm ready to go! »

More exciting news…

We’ve got even more exciting news for you: as of today, our Yoast SEO for WordPress plugin training is also free of charge! Our mission is SEO for everyone, so we want to share as much knowledge as we can. Since our platform has grown over the years, we’re now seeing the opportunity to make this course accessible for everyone as well! So go ahead, and start learning about all the features our Yoast SEO plugin offers!

Give me access: Yoast SEO for WordPress plugin training! »

The post New & free online training: WordPress for beginners appeared first on Yoast.

Get ready for our free WordPress for beginners course!

Fleur Heesen

Yoast Academy is branching out! You’re probably familiar with our collection of SEO courses. But without a functional website, good luck trying to get it ranked! The better you set up your site, the easier it is to make sure it gets found and enjoyed by your audience. That’s why we’ve decided to help you take your first steps towards a great WordPress website. Or fix some of the mistakes you’ve made in the past, of course. Next week, we’re releasing a new and free Yoast Academy course: WordPress for beginners!

Sounds interesting, what can I expect?

Whether you’re new to WordPress or looking to improve your setup, the course shows what a well-maintained WordPress site looks like. From what WordPress is and does, to managing your site with user roles and security: we cover it all. And everything in-between, like:

  • getting your site up and running;
  • using plugins, themes, and widgets to get your site exactly how you want it;
  • getting your settings right for your specific purpose;
  • writing captivating content and building a site structure that helps visitors find what they’re looking for;
  • updating and backing up your site, so you don’t run into trouble when something goes wrong;
  • of course: getting found in the search engines;
  • and as a bonus, you can also learn all about the history of WordPress and the open source WordPress community!

It’s all there for you to enjoy and learn from!

Aren’t there a million free WordPress tutorials out there already?

Yup, there are. But this one’s different, we promise. It’s not just a collection of videos, it’s an actual training course. All the information is broken up into carefully crafted and bite-size videos and screencasts, for an over-the-shoulder look into the details. Then, there are additional reading materials to help you really get to grips with the information. Of course, you can easily download and consult those when you’re working on your site yourself. And if that wasn’t enough, we have quizzes and exercises to really help you get the information permanently stored in your brain.

In this course, we don’t just throw information at you, then tell you “GOOD LUCK” and run away. We help you really understand and store everything there is to know long-term. Moreover, we have a treasure trove of experts who have been directly involved with WordPress for years, like Joost de Valk, Remkus de Vries, and Jono Alderson. They themselves have shaped what WordPress looks like and how it works. Sounds like people you could learn from, right?

Example of a video lesson by Joost de Valk in the WordPress for beginners course

Learn whenever you want, wherever you want

Like every other Yoast Academy training course, the WordPress for beginners training is online and on-demand. On top of that, it’s completely free of charge. This means you can do this course whenever you want, wherever you want. It’s all up to you!

How do I get this course?

Sounds great, doesn’t it? With this WordPress for beginners course, you’ll be able to create and maintain a WordPress site that does exactly what you and your visitors expect it to do. So, how does signing up for the course work? Next week, we’ll release the course. Of course, we’ll link to it in our newsletters and the release post. If you have a MyYoast account, the course will automatically show up in your Academy courses overview.

Read more: Create a MyYoast account now! »

The post Get ready for our free WordPress for beginners course! appeared first on Yoast.

All-new and improved: the SEO copywriting training!

Jesse van de Hulsbeek

As of today, you can get your hands on a completely overhauled version of the SEO copywriting training. We’re very proud to present a much more hands-on training, which will really take you by the hand, and guide you through every step of writing an SEO-friendly blog post. It’s chock-full of real-life examples and practical exercises, so you can get the skills and confidence to write excellent content yourself!

You can get the course for $129, but only in the first week, so don’t wait too long!

Get the SEO copywriting training now »Only $149 $129 (ex VAT)

Why should I be excited about the new SEO copywriting training?

Good writing is essential for SEO. If your site is full of copy that your visitors want to read, they’ll enjoy your site and they’ll want to come back. And helping search engines understand your text is crucial for your rankings as well. That’s why, in this course, we’ll introduce you to the wonderful world of SEO copywriting. We’ve created a new course that takes you by the hand, and walks you through the process of writing a blog post that is optimized for ranking in the search engines.

In each module, experienced copywriters provide you with theory, best practices, and tips. All of this is accompanied by lots of practical learning aids: examples, exercises, screencasts, and assignments. After doing the assignments, you’ll have your own, ready-to-publish blog post. If you follow this hands-on course, you’ll master the art of copywriting before you know it!

What will I learn?

We’ll start this course by explaining how Google understands text and what good SEO copy looks like. Then, we’ll cover the essential first step of SEO copywriting: picking the keyphrases your text should rank for in Google. In the last three modules, we’ll explore the three phases of a solid writing process:

1. Preparing your text

It’s important to prepare your text thoroughly. We’ll teach you how to consider your message, audience, angle, and purpose to tailor your copy to your audience.

2. Writing your text

The fun part: the actual writing! You’ll learn why readability is so important and how to write texts that are a breeze to read. Paragraphs, transition words, subheadings – these terms will no longer hold secrets for you.

3. Editing your text

A big part of the actual work lies in editing your text. In this module, we’ll teach you how to craft your text to capture the hearts of your visitors and the search engines. You’ll learn how to rewrite passive sentences and how to avoid spelling and grammar errors.

Get personal feedback on your blog post

The assignments in this course offer you a step-by-step template to write the optimal SEO blog post. When you’ve completed your blog post, you may want to confirm you’re on the right track. If so, you can look to our experts for advice. If you choose the feedback package, a Yoast expert will check your blog post and provide feedback on your copy. We’ll point out missed opportunities and give you ideas to improve your text!

Get the SEO copywriting training + assignment feedback now »Only $199 $169 (ex VAT)

Start writing copy that ranks before the offer expires!

The SEO copywriting training teaches you how to write awesome copy that ranks, so you’ll attract more visitors. And like every other Yoast Academy training course, the SEO copywriting training is online and on-demand. This means you can do this course whenever you want, wherever you want. It’s all up to you!

You can get the course by clicking the button below. But don’t wait too long: it’s temporarily discounted at $129, so get it before the offer expires! If you have a Yoast training subscription, the new course will automatically be added to your account.

Get the SEO copywriting training now »Only $149 $129 (ex VAT)

The post All-new and improved: the SEO copywriting training! appeared first on Yoast.

Yoast subscriptions: keep your SEO on track

Marieke van de Rakt

Yoast has been offering subscriptions to our plugins and courses since November of 2018. Lots of happy customers have already purchased a subscription plan! But why would you need a subscription? Isn’t it enough to thoroughly invest in SEO once? What’s the use of an ongoing subscription? I am so glad you asked ;-).

SEO needs commitment

To keep ranking in the search engines, you’ll have to make an ongoing effort. That’s the only way to stay ahead in the search game. So, you’ll have to make sure that your website is awesome. You need to create new, amazing, engaging content. You must structure your website in a way that Google understands it. On top of that, you’ll have to make sure that your site’s technical SEO is flawless and your site’s speed is top notch.

To really get your SEO on track, you need to make it part of your process. It just needs to be something you think about and focus your efforts on very regularly.

SEO courses that’ll keep you up to date

Yoast Academy offers you a wide range of SEO courses for both beginners and people with more experience. We have online training courses that teach you how to write SEO-friendly content and courses that help you set up a decent site structure, as well as courses that teach you everything about technical SEO. Of course, we also have a great course on our own Yoast SEO plugin. These courses are updated regularly.

To stay ahead in SEO, we do a lot of research at Yoast. We talk to people from Google and Bing directly and discuss matters with other SEO experts and companies. All the knowledge we gather is translated into the features of our plugin and into the lessons in our courses.

Subscribe to SEO commitment!

A Yoast subscription will keep you focused on your SEO. But different people have different needs. That’s why we’re offering three subscription plans:

1. Yoast plugin subscription

This plan gives you access to all our premium plugins. The Yoast plugin subscription is the complete toolbox for your site. It saves you a lot of time and effort, and helps you to boost your rankings!

2. Yoast training subscription

Get the Yoast training subscription and you’ll get access to every Yoast Academy training course, including every new course we’ll release. This is a great way to learn all about SEO, to keep ahead of your competition.

3. Yoast plugin + training subscription

The best of both worlds. This plan gives you access to all our premium plugins and every Yoast Academy training course. With this subscription plan, you’ll learn how to optimize every SEO aspect of your site, and you’ll be fully equipped to improve your site’s SEO.

And pay for the time you need!

You can choose to get an annual (best value!) or a monthly subscription. We want to offer people products that are tailored to their needs. That’s why you can choose to pay a small fee per month, rather than paying up front for the whole year.

However, if you already know that you want to:

  • stay on top of your SEO game all day every day,
  • have access to all new courses, and want to
  • save a lot of money in the process,

simply pick our annual subscription. Getting one of our annual subscription plans, will save you over 60%!

Yes, I want a Yoast subscription! ▸

Bonus: exclusive premium insights!

On top of all this, there’s something extra in it for you: premium content, exclusively available for subscription members. If you decide to get the Yoast training subscription or the Yoast plugin + training subscription, there’ll be extra premium content available for you in Yoast Academy.

This premium content consists of Q&A sessions, in which our experts answer your SEO questions. Moreover, you’ll get access to exclusive live talks and discussions on the latest SEO developments, with SEO experts like Joost de Valk and Jono Alderson. You don’t want to miss out on this!

Get a Yoast subscription!

Do you want to step up your SEO game? Whether you want to improve your SEO knowledge or to optimize your site with useful SEO tools, a Yoast subscription is what you need. And remember, it’s the only way to get access to exclusive premium content, such as Q&A sessions and live talks! So, don’t wait any longer, go get your Yoast subscription!

Check out the Yoast subscriptions Now ▸

The post Yoast subscriptions: keep your SEO on track appeared first on Yoast.

New, newer, newest: the All-around SEO training!

Jesse van de Hulsbeek

Yoast Academy has just released the All-around SEO training course! This course teaches you how to optimize every aspect of SEO. Content SEO, technical SEO, off-page SEO, image SEO… You name it, it’s included! And we’ll not only teach you the theory, but we’ll give you hands-on tips on how to tackle common real-life SEO problems as well. With this training, you’ll learn how to set up a proper, all-around SEO strategy!

You can get the course for $169, but only in the first week, so don’t wait too long!

Get the All-around SEO training now »Only $199 $169 (ex VAT)

What will I learn in the All-around SEO training?

A lot! The All-around SEO training really helps you cover all your SEO bases. Let’s take a look at the topics that are included in this training.

1. Content SEO

In this course, you’ll discover how to determine what keyphrases will drive traffic to your site. This training teaches you how to set up your own keyword research sheet, step-by-step. Moreover, we’ll walk you through all the steps of SEO copywriting. We’ll also show you how to set up or improve your own site structure, so your most important pages have the best chances of ranking. And you’ll learn how to optimize your images, both for your visitors and for search engines.

2. Technical SEO

The All-around SEO training teaches you how to improve your site speed, so your visitors don’t leave before they’ve even seen what you have to offer. Also, you’ll learn what structured data is, so you’ll know how to get those coveted rich results. In addition, you’ll learn how to make sure your site is secure, so your site won’t get hacked!

3. Off-page SEO

This course also teaches you to look beyond your own site. You’ll learn how to make sure other sites link to your pages, so search engines see you deserve a higher ranking. Furthermore, you’ll learn how to keep your audience engaged with email marketing. You’ll also discover how social media can get you even more traffic.

4. Beyond SEO

Finally, the All-around SEO training teaches you how to outsmart your competition by going beyond the usual SEO staples. We’ll teach you how to make sure you offer the best user experience, and how to get more customers or subscribers by conversion rate optimization. In addition, you’ll learn how to improve your site’s accessibility, so everyone is able to use your website, including people with a disability.

How is the course set up?

The All-around SEO training consists of eight modules, which are divided into several lessons. Each lesson contains interesting videos, in which our SEO experts – like Marieke van de Rakt and Joost de Valk – explain everything you should know. We’ve also created reading materials, in which we explore topics more broadly and use different examples from the ones we use in the videos. To complete a lesson, you take a quiz. These quizzes test whether you understand the theory and if you’re able to apply this knowledge to realistic example cases. Once you’ve finished the course, you’ll get a certificate and a badge you can display on your website.

Joost de Valk in the All-around SEO training

Why should I take the All-around SEO training?

If you want to get a head start in SEO, the All-around SEO training is for you. It teaches you about all SEO aspects – including topics that don’t get covered in the average SEO course, like email marketing, social media, UX and accessibility. The course even goes beyond the theory and teaches you useful and practical skills, so you can quickly improve the SEO of your site. It doesn’t matter whether you run a blog, online store, or another type of website – this course covers it all. If your goal is to make your site rank higher in the search results, the All-around SEO training is the right course for you.

Learn whenever you want, wherever you want

And just like every other Yoast Academy training course, the All-around SEO training is online and on-demand. This means you can do this course whenever you want, wherever you want. It’s all up to you!

Get it before the offer expires!

The All-around SEO training helps you improve all aspects of SEO on your site, so you can make your site rank higher in the search results. You can get the course by clicking the button below. It is temporarily discounted at $169 (that’s $30 off!), so get it before the offer expires!

Get the All-around SEO training now »Only $199 $169 (ex VAT)

The post New, newer, newest: the All-around SEO training! appeared first on Yoast.