Vertical Measures founders have been involved in technical training and education for the past 15 years. So we set out to find the top college level curriculum for both search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO). Unfortunately, it wasn’t as easy as we had hoped.
First, we conducted searches on both Google and Yahoo! to find all options available using .edu links and search terms. After all, we assumed a good course on the subject should be found via the search engines, which is probably how students interested in the subject would try to find it too. We scoured the web with various search terms such as:
We checked the first 100 search results for every phrase looking for colleges and universities offering something substantial and current on SEO or SEM.
We then went through each result, over 1000 in all, to develop a list of colleges and universities that offered significant SEO or SEM educational material. We further narrowed down the results until we came up with the top schools that offered a solid, contemporary curriculum covering SEM and SEO. Even though we found dozens of colleges, universities and other organizations offering SEO and SEM information, very few made our list by providing a quality SEO or SEM curriculum.
We have gathered the information, but it is up to you to determine which program fits your needs. Both accredited and non-accredited schools are available. Some offer online training, while others will offer local courses.
Internet marketing is offered as a part of CSU's
Marketing Curriculumn in the College of Business Administration. The course includes analysis of consumer behavior (domestic and international) on the Internet; business models; advertising and promotions; website design; SEO, pricing; and marketing research using the Internet. Frequent guest speakers.
DePaul University of Continuing and Professional Education
This six-week course is a Practical Internet Marketing Certificate Program and is designed to provide individuals with necessary tools for the online marketing world. It has two focuses: what the best practices in internet marketing are, and how to use internet tools that are low cost and easy to execute. The course offers a hands on experience with the latest information in the curriculum. This
DePaul University course is one that works best for those with a working knowledge of the search industry.
In addition, DePaul University offers a second program, called its
Paid Search Marketing Certificate Program. This allows entrepreneurs and marketing professionals the necessary tools to work in the paid search field. This is a six-week course that will teach best practices that the top companies are using. You will learn how to advance your skills in the tactics, strategies and best practices of leading companies, how to get good search engine ranking and how to take advantage of targeted customers.
The European Graduate School
To gain the necessary skills you need, consider the
European Graduate School. Courses such as Online Marketing, Search Engine Optimization and Information Architecture teach skills in marketing and advertising online, improving search engine rankings and maximizing website traffic. This includes crawling, indexing and searching and how these effect your website.
George Mason University
Attending
George Mason University allows you access to some of the best educational opportunities out there. Their Search Engine Marketing program provides a high level of coverage including in depth courses in Search Engine Optimization, Pay Per Click Marketing and Web Site Copywriting. The program offers step-by-step, hands on training.
Harvard Extension
The Harvard Extension School offers
Information Systems Management, which provides students with a full course of study and the ability to earn degree and certificate programs in information technology and management. Classes include Information Systems Management, Interactive Online Marketing and Desktop Applications for Managers.
*Indiana University (SLIS)
Indiana University has one of the top 10
SLIS departments in the nation. We are happy to see they have an introductory SEM course as a part of their curriculumn. They cover SEO, PPC, social media, and analytics, among other topics. You can get a good feel for the course by looking at the
syllabus.
James Madison University, College Of Business
The James Madison University College of Business offers an
Online Marketing Practices, which teaches specific tools in regards to building traffic to your website, attracting visitors and using necessary technologies and practices. The goal is to teach students digital marketing from a beginning level to an advanced one.
New York University, School of Continuing And Professional Studies
The school offers a number of beginning, intermediate and advanced applications in digital media marketing. This includes advanced search engine marketing strategies, multi-channel marketing and internet copyrighting. A full program is offered to the student here. It includes marketing, advertising, public relations and sales topics. Visit
NYU to learn more.
Rasmussen College
Rasmussen College is offering an
Internet Marketing course with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management. The course teaches the latest in e-strategies and web based skills including internet consumer behavior, wed media marketing, advanced accounting principles and development, plus much more.
Rice University, Glasscock School of Continuing Studies
The
Glasscock School of Continuing Studies provides a non-credit, continuing education course in search engine optimization. Topics that are included in the course include link building strategies, indexing, search engine placement, and optimizing web pages, just to start. The latest strategies and resources are presented in the class.
Rutgers University
Rutgers offers a
Search Engine Marketing course that should be considered as one of the best. This nationally recognized SEM online based course will teach search engine optimization, pay per click marketing, and website copywriting. Learn at all skill levels.
University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH)
The
Search Engine Optimization course offered by UAH is one that helps teach SEO. Students learn to set up and maintain search engine optimization campaigns, search engine compatibility, and how to start your own SEM or SEO based business. Students have six months to complete this hands-on course.
A second course,
Search Engine Marketing, is also offered by UAH and should be considered. This course offers education in both SEO and in pay per click campaigns, making websites compatible to search engines, how to start your own SEO business, or to become a PPC marketer and much more.
University of Georgia
Earn a
Master of Internet Technology through the University of Georgia. Here, there are 32 hours of coursework required over a five-semester timeframe. You will learn, database management, internet programming, electronic commerce and website design and usability as well as much more.
University of Nevada at Las Vegas (UNLV)
University of Texas at Austin, School of Information
The School of Information at the University of Texas at Austin has put together a course on
Web Information Retrieval, Evaluation and Design. It encompasses a full learning set for the web marketer including advanced studies such as developing search sidebar utilities for web browsers, working with web spiders, and various web technologies. A more technical approach to learning web design and SEO/SEM is offered.
University of Utah
The
Search Engine Optimization course offered by the University of Utah offers a variety of strategies and techniques to be successful online including basics for the novice and advanced topics for the professional. This includes accessibility, "black hat" optimization, search friendly website design and much more.
University of Virginia, Darden School of Business
The Darden School of Business out of the University of Virginia offers an
Online Marketing Update course at their facility. This is one of the best programs available for those that need to build business models and strategies for their online marketplace. You will learn search engine marketing, email marketing, leading and cutting edge concepts as well as Web 2.0. The course provides team exercises, in depth, live case studies and a variety of guest speakers.
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, School of Continuing Education
UWM's Information Technology program in
Search Engine Optimization is an ideal choice for many. It provides basic as well as advanced techniques in one course including developing content and maximizing search engine results. You will learn how search engines work, how to submit to search engines, how to measure results and techniques and methodologies that work in the online marketing world.
Valdosta State University
As an online course,
Valdosta State University offers a range of topics that can be taken by students interested in internet marketing. This includes a course on achieving top search engine positions, designing effective websites and a variety of web applications that you will need to learn to be successful.
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If you know of a school that should be on our list of top SEM and SEO courses, please
let us know. We are happy to add your school to our list once we know that it provides the excellence in SEO and SEM that students need. Thank you!
* = added after the initial study.
