Become proficient at managing key SEO components internally

Enroll in First Rank Academy's In-Person 8 Week SEO Course taught by Jacob Kettner

Training for Marketing Managers who want to bring SEO in-house

By the end of this course, if you do the homework and follow along, you will see real-world increases in traffic and conversions from your website.

SEO that makes sense

Why is SEO always overcomplicated by people? It’s misunderstood even by web designers and marketing professionals. But is it really that complex? At First Rank Academy, you’ll learn everything you need to know to take your website’s rankings and local search visibility to the next level.

The truth is that SEO as a concept is dead simple. As a company, Google’s objective is to produce high-quality and relevant search results for its users. This ensures people are satisfied with their search experience and continue to use the platform.

SEO is just about understanding what factors Google looks at to evaluate the quality and relevance of websites and web pages. It’s about making websites that are high quality and the most relevant in the eyes of Google.

Here’s the catch: Google’s algorithms are not public. Trying to understand what Google wants requires a lot of testing, reverse engineering, patent reading, and correlating.

At First Rank, we’ve spent the last 9 years building and perfecting our strategies into simple and repeatable processes that get results every time. These systems have taken us thousands of hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars to build and perfect.

At First Rank Academy, we’re giving you the keys to the castle.

Now you might be thinking: Hold on a second Jacob… isn’t SEO highly technical? Do I need to be a developer to take this course?

Actually, the majority of SEO is about content structure and digital PR. Of course, there are technical components that you will need a developer to implement for you, but this course is geared toward a non-technical audience.

You will need to be able to update content and images on your website. If your website is on a platform like WordPress, Squarespace, or Wix, this will be no problem at all. If your website is on a custom platform, you may need to provide a developer with instructions and have them implement the changes.

If you can operate a computer, use spreadsheets, and navigate a web browser, then you have all of the prerequisites needed for this course.

Below is an outline of what will be covered in each class. Classes will be every two weeks, and there will be a few hours of homework to complete between classes. At each class, we’ll review the previous week’s homework. By the end of the course, if you follow along and do all of the assignments, you will see substantial improvement in your website’s search visibility.

Course Outline

Getting the right buyers to the right place at the right time using SEO/SEM

Understanding the buying cycle
When to use SEM vs SEO
Categorizing keywords by user intent
Building logical conversion goals
Tracking conversions

SEO Basics + Keyword Research

Authority and Relevance and Trust
Tracking results

CRO, Social Proof, Lead Magnets and Tripwires (GHL)

Above the fold essentials
How to get visitors to do what you want
High threshold and low threshold offers
Understanding website objectives
Managing leads and building automations

On Page SEO part 1

Mapping Keywords
Building a Site Silo
Content Optimization
Internal Linking
Image Optimization
Schema
Google Search Console + Google Analytics

On Page SEO part 2

Review homework from previous week
Core web vitals
Noindex tags and Canonical Links
Keyword Cannibalization

Off Page SEO part 1

Authority vs Relevance
Trust building links
Contextual Links
Social Engagement and Automation
Citations and Competitor Citations

Off Page SEO part 2

Disavow Files
Identifying link intersections
Anchor Text

Google My Business + Review Generation

In addition to the course

You’ll be getting all of the internal worksheets and SOPs that we use to train our staff and implement processes for client accounts.

Meet your Instructor

Hi, I’m Jacob Kettner, the founder and principal of First Rank SEO in Winnipeg. I’ve spoken at SEO conferences around the world and helped SEO agencies develop strategies, systems, and processes to build successful businesses.

This is the first time that I’m offering a training program for non-SEO professionals. I’ve spent 9 years working on client campaigns, and in that time, I’ve noticed that the SEO competency within businesses is generally very low. Whether you intend to handle all aspects of SEO internally, or you plan to work with an agency but want to keep control of the strategy and understand the deliverables involved, this is the course for you.

In each session, we will be learning core concepts, working collaboratively to build strategies for your businesses, and reviewing work from the previous two weeks to get feedback. I’ll make sure that every participant gets tangible results by the end of the course.

Learning Objectives

By the completion of the course participants should be able to:

· Identify the best keywords to go after based on search volume and intent.

· Build an internal linking structure that allows Google to identify and crawl all pages.

· Optimize on page elements to be within a target ranges determined based on competitor research.

· Craft an effective link building and off page SEO strategy.

· Understand how to use Google Search Console.

· Build an automated appointment booking and follow-up funnel.