No matter which aspect of digital marketing you specialise in, search engine optimisation (SEO) is always something that needs to be considered when creating content. SEO is such a huge aspect of digital marketing, and it’s not something that marketing students really come across until they’re already in the industry – so why exactly are students not taught in detail about SEO when so many other aspects of digital marketing are offered as modules and courses?

Well, think back to your days of education (a long time ago for some of you…) – how much of what you learned is still relevant? If you did history, then you’re fine, history facts don’t really change that much. Same with subjects like maths, English, and psychology. Now imagine you studied SEO at university – can you see the problem here?

Why it can’t be taught

The fundamental reason why SEO isn’t, and perhaps can’t be, taught at university is because the rules of SEO change almost on a daily basis. Think back to the days when SEO was all about getting as many links as you could, think about the Panda and Penguin updates, and it just makes perfect sense that teaching students what the current SEO tactics are would actually have a negative effect on the industry.

So what’s the solution?

How can the industry prepare students for a career in the digital marketing/SEO world when it can’t realistically be taught in advance?

One possible solution is to generate enthusiasm and intrigue about SEO among students studying online marketing degrees. For example, the newest member of the Podium team (who also studied a marketing-based degree) tells us that, although SEO was briefly mentioned as an online marketing strategy in one university lecture, even the basics of SEO weren’t really touched upon. This clearly didn’t do the students, or the industry, any favours – no-one walked away from that lecture wondering what SEO was or how it works.

Teach them the beauty of SEO

Business and marketing students need to be taught what SEO is, how the rules are constantly changing, how the Panda and Penguin updates completely shook the world of online marketing, and how the difference between a business with an amazing SEO strategy and a business who hasn’t even considered SEO is arguably the same difference between a business that succeeds and a business that fails. These fundamental aspects of SEO would definitely get the SEO-enthusiasm ball rolling among students, and encourage budding marketers to do their own research and reading into the current world of SEO – and that, after all, is what SEO is all about.

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