SEO – What It Takes to Win
In a constantly evolving marketing landscape, SEO is a crucial practice that is here to stay and more important than ever.
In this course, you learn:
- Foundational elements of SEO — from the history of Google’s algorithms to updates throughout time … and why not to be afraid of these algorithms.
- Technical SEO — how search engines crawl and index websites and how to make sure yours is built to make it easy for them.
- Content and on-page optimization — from ever-changing best practices to finding out what key words and topics a website should use and why.
More important than just exploring the tenets of SEO — you’ll put them into practice. Hands-on workshops in each session include tools that SEOs use every day. You will be rewarded with the ability to turn research into actionable steps that make a website win.
This course can be applied to the Business Administration Certificate.
Instructor

Tony Van Hart is the president and CEO of Momentic, a boutique Milwaukee agency that focuses solely on SEO and digital strategy. Tony started his career as a digital copywriter. He began his near career-long obsession with learning what makes ... read more
Who Should Attend
Digital marketers, web designers and developers, and anyone interested in learning about the latest SEO concepts to increase website traffic
Benefits and Learning Outcomes
- Identify the foundational elements of SEO, including the history of Google’s algorithms and updates over time.
- Explain the technical aspects of SEO, focusing on how search engines crawl and index websites, and articulate the significance of building a website that is easily accessible to search engines.
- Evaluate and analyze websites of competitors to gain insights about consumer behavior.
- Perform a content gap analysis to inform content strategy creation.
- Practice on-page optimization techniques using tools commonly employed by SEO professionals.
Course Outline/Topics
Introduction to SEO
- How Google Search Works
- Overview of Google’s Guidelines
- Google Algorithm Update History and Why Not to Be Scared
- Keeping Up With SEO News
Technical SEO: Best Practices and More
- Google’s Job: Crawling and Indexing
- How to Help Google Crawl Sites Faster and More Often
- Workshop: Crawl/Analyze/Identify
- Crawl a website, analyze the crawl data and identify issues that may be hindering indexation or leading to less organic visibility
- On-page optimization basics and best practices
- Developing an SEO Audit
Keyword Research
- Using Competitive Research
- SERP Analysis
- Free and Paid Tools
- Google Analytics and Google Search Console
Competitive Research
- Choosing Actual Competitors Over Real World
- Identifying Competitive Strategies
Content Gap Analysis/Content Strategy Creation
Bringing It All Together to Create an SEO Strategy Built to Win
Prerequisites
Basic understanding of websites and marketing concepts. If possible, please bring credentials for your organization’s Google Search Console account. This will allow you to use real data in course exercises.
Testimonials
"The course was great and really got me started in my SEO journey. I liked that it was live and that we could go through our own sites in class and learn from our classmates as well as Tony." — Katie Jovanovic, FläktGroup SEMCO, Spring 2024
"This is a must-take course if you manage a website and want to improve your search result page rankings, as well as identify keywords. The tools and tips shared in this course will be very useful in making some significant changes to our website." — Participant, Spring 2024
"Tony shared a lot of great information and helpful tips and resources. He made sure we understood the content by providing activities throughout the
course and answering any questions along the way." — Participant, Spring 2024
"Really excellent course – probably the best of the Digital Marketing program [which has] been really good so far." — Participant
"This course was exactly what I hoped it would be when I signed up. The opportunity to do the exercises during the class and then discuss was perfect for me (rather than trying to do them after work hours while juggling life). Thank you!" — Participant
"I really enjoyed this course! I felt that I came in with very little knowledge on SEO and came out with a lot of helpful information, [and] tips and tricks to use that will be very beneficial to bring back to my organization. The exercises were really useful and created a dialogue that also added to the learning experience. Tony was great!" — Anne Jones, Participant
Date: 4 Wed, Mar 5-26, 2025
Delivery Method: Live Online
Time: 8:30am-Noon CT
Platform: Zoom
Instructor: Tony Van Hart
Fee:
$649 by Feb 19, 2025
$699 after Feb 19, 2025
CEUs: 1.4
Enrollment Limit: 15
Program Number: 5026-16734
Note: Classes are held on March 5, 12, 19, and 26.
Participants will receive instructions for logging into Canvas to access course materials and Zoom links before the course start date.
Registration Deadline: Mar 5, 2025