Quality training sets the foundation for a successful SEO strategy with meaningful results. As companies continue to invest more and more in their online strategies, SEO trainings are beginning to pop up everywhere, filling an institutional gap and professionalizing a skill that is usually learned on the job. But how do you weed out the good SEO trainings from the bad? What are the characteristics that identify quality SEO training? Here are 5 to look out for.

Search engine optimization is a natural response to the significant needs of internet users. These needs are expressed in the following manner: how can I maximize the height of my page in search engine results pages? How can I optimize my site so that it is compatible with the rules set by these search engines? And how can I use targeted words and expressions to respond to search engine requests?

These questions illustrate the general idea of search engine optimization. But not every business has the same needs or objectives – some may dive into SEO for the purpose of increasing site traffic; others may be interested in using SEO to make their site a showcase for services.

Regardless of the specific need, whether you're looking for a very general introduction to SEO (a site is not an end to itself, after all), or enter the depths of SEO with HTML tags, net linking strategies and semantic issues, there are many good reasons to educate yourself on the online practice.

This brings us to the second key: personalization. The personalization aspect of quality training is twofold: the number of participants receiving the training, and the relevance of the training to the needs of the candidates.

In an ideal world, SEO training should take place in small groups of no more than ten people so that each trainee can be individually monitored by the trainer. This not only facilitates communication (which is essential for a subject as complex as SEO), but also permits each participant to develop his or her only SEO strategy that can be applied once the training is complete.

Choose the training that best suits you or your business. The best formations are divided into different levels and sections that allow you to either focus your interests on specific questions, or the steps in the development of your strategy. The best trainers are experts in the art of SEO and have spent their careers improving and perfecting their practices. Contact them before your training, ask they about their journey, and ask them how their work has helped other clients succeed.

This may seem obvious, but the best trainers are good optimizers who are able to come up with different SEO strategies depending on the client’s needs. With that said, there is no point in following an SEO training with the best "players" if the training is done in a jargon that is difficult to understand.

A good training should be accessible and understandable. It should also be progressive: start with the bases and slowly progress to the more complex details and technicalities. When it comes to learning a new subject, it’s always better to have a general understanding of what you're getting into before you dive in. There’s no need to become a self-taught expert – visit some sites and blogs on the subject to get a handle on the basics.

This approach allows you to better understand the vocabulary employed by the trainers and the SEO universe. A good foundation will allow you to ask better questions about your website or your specific SEO needs.

These five keys for finding a quality SEO training program should help you to target a serious organization. While conducting your search, be sure to take a look at what other businesses have said about the organization and how they helped (or didn't help) their position in a search engine. What should we think, after all, of an SEO agency who is positioned in the 35th page of Google results under key words "SEO training"?

Original article published by Eric Nuevo on the Journal du Net, sister site of CCM.