REVIEW OF STUPID SIMPLE SEO
Do you depend on Pinterest to get traffic to your site?
Are you having trouble figuring out how to grow your blog, increase revenue, and diversify your traffic?
Pinterest is a great way to get fast traffic to your site, but if you want a targeted audience, people more likely to convert into buyers and make you money, you need organic traffic.
These people are looking for answers to their problems and Google tells them who has those answers–> YOU.
One of the regrets I and many more experienced bloggers have is not focusing on search engine optimization (SEO) from the beginning.
It’s about properly creating and writing posts so that you rank on Google. This means getting your posts to page 1 in the search engines because let’s be honest, how many people read posts on pages 4 and beyond? Not as many as you might like.
Hint: It takes more than just writing epic content. I’m talking keyword research, proper heading formatting, scoring backlinks, increased user experience, and things you probably never even thought of. I sure as hell didn’t.
{This post may contain affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission if you make a purchase using these links. Full disclosure policy.}
After significant research, contemplation, and getting over my frugalness, I took the dive into Mike Pearson’s Stupid Simple SEO course and haven’t looked back.
WHAT IS STUPID SIMPLE SEO?
Stupid Simple SEO is created by blogger, finance writer, and SEO guru, Mike Pearson.
He failed for many years at SEO, but once he mastered it he was able to make over $200,000 in Amazon affiliate sales using the power of SEO. Now he teaches other bloggers how to do the same (thank you sweet baby Jesus!).
His video based course has over 65 videos and counting because he’s always adding new content based on the challenges and questions asked in the private Facebook group associated with his course.
Mike takes a seemingly complicated topic and literally dumbs it down so anyone (ANYONE) can follow along and get results.
Sign up for Mike’s Free 5-Day SEO Bootcamp and you’ll see what I mean.
WHAT WILL I LEARN IN STUPID SIMPLE SEO?
I’m not going to list every single topic covered in the course because it’s that extensive.
Here are the major categories covered.
LAYING THE SEO GROUNDWORK
SEARCH INTENT, USER SATISFACTION, & RELEVANCE
SITE STRUCTURE & DESIGN
KEYWORD RESEARCH
RESEARCHING, CREATING & OPTIMIZING EPIC CONTENT
SEO FOR AFFILIATE MARKETING
LINK BUILDING 101
HOW TO GET LINKS YOUR COMPETITION HAS
HOW TO BUILD LINKS AND RELATIONSHIPS WITH GUEST POSTING
HOW TO BUILD LINKS WITH THE GUESTROUNDUP TECHNIQUE
HOW TO BUILD LINKS WITH BLOGGER OUTREACH
HOW TO DO RESOURCE PAGE LINK BUILDING
HOW TO BUILD LINKS WITH HARO
TRACKING YOUR SEO PROGRESS
BONUS: BEHIND THE SCENES OF CREDIT TAKEOFF
As you can see, Stupid Simple SEO covers everything from the ground up. It provides you a solid framework to grow your blog exponentially.
STUPID SIMPLE SEO BONUSES
ACCESS TO PRIVATE FACEBOOK SUPPORT GROUP
This is a members-only group where you can ask questions and share SEO strategies and tips.
EMAIL OUTREACH TEMPLATES
Get guest posting email templates, guest roundup email templates, linkable assets and blogger outreach email templates, and resource page link building email templates.
CHECKLISTS
MIKE’S SUGGESTED PLUG-INS AND TOOLS
HOW MUCH DOES STUPID SIMPLE SEO COST?
$297 (or 3 monthly payments of $117).
If you’re like me, you might have flinched just a bit seeing that number.
As you know I am a frugalista and when it comes to blogging courses it’s no exception.
One of my first blogging courses cost me a pretty penny and I didn’t feel the value was there so I really waited a long time to buy this course despite the rave reviews, reading all the helpful tips Mike offered in multiple groups, and seeing proof that his course works.
ADDITIONAL COST
Mike is very transparent.
He tells you upfront that in addition to the $297, you will have to spend an additional $7 for a 1 week trial of AHREFS, which you will use to build an excel spreadsheet full of thousands of keyword ideas for future posts and check out your competitors top posts and backlinks.
WHY I FINALLY BOUGHT STUPID SIMPLE SEO?
I was sick of depending on Pinterest to bring me traffic and was feeling like I had plateaued.
My competitors were growing around me without having to consistently post and I wanted to know why.
The answer: they invested in themselves.
I don’t like spending money if I don’t have to.
Someone very smart told me that when it comes to blogging you should keep investing in yourself until you consistently make $1,000 a month. Those who have are now making several thousand dollars a month while I’m stuck at $500.
PROS OF STUPID SIMPLE SEO
If you’re a visual learner, this is the course for you.
Mike shows you exactly what he’s doing in each of his videos (hosted on teachable) and has links to relevant posts and examples.
You learn how to outrank your competitors even if you have a low Domain Authority.
Since taking Mike’s course I moved from the 6th spot on Google for one of my posts to the #1 spot in 1 month.
Mike takes the guesswork out of SEO. All those years he spent figuring it all out, gone!
The videos are long because there is just so much information. I learned this tip from a fellow course member: there’s a fast forward button so you can speed up Mike’s talking speed when you want to get more done faster lol 😉
You don’t need to go through the whole course to start seeing results. I’m only 1/3 of the way through the course and have seen significant results.
CONS OF STUPID SIMPLE SEO
Video Format
With the amount of content Mike covers and the nature of the topic, the course is taught through video.
It would be extremely difficult to do it in another format unless it had a million screenshots.
Price
After going through the course myself I can honestly say that all the reviews were right in saying that Stupid Simple SEO is worth its weight in gold. Mike spends a lot of time creating new content and in the group answering everyone’s questions.
Don’t go broke buying the course. Save up and get it, you won’t regret it.
You don’t want your competitors to find out about the course.
If you put the time and energy into what is being taught in SSS, it works. This gives you a HUGE edge over your competitors who have been blogging longer or have a bigger social media following.
Time it takes to see results.
If your blog is fairly new, it can take longer to see results.
SEO is a long-term game changer. Mike mentions it can take many months to see growth. I had several posts move to page 1 on Google in a few weeks.
Changing old posts.
If you’re like me and took a little longer to focus on SEO, you’ll end up spending time updating and revising your old posts.
If you have hundreds of posts this can be quite tedious.
HOW LONG DO I HAVE ACCESS TO THE COURSE?
Foreverrrrr.
WHO SHOULD TAKE STUPID SIMPLE SEO?
Anyone who is serious about growing their site and want to stop depending on Pinterest for traffic.
Mike not only teaches you how to grow your organic traffic, but he also teaches you how to do SEO as it relates to affiliate marketing.
If you’re sick of seeing your competitors outrank you even though you’re writing epic content, this is your Excalibur.
WHO SHOULDN’T TAKE STUPID SIMPLE SEO?
If taking this course is going to make you go broke don’t take it. Do some extra side hustles to make more money and buy it later.
It’s important to implement SEO as soon as possible because it will save you time later.
If blogging is just a hobby of yours and you’re not interested in making a lot of money then this course isn’t for you either.
DOES STUPID SIMPLE SEO WORK?
Ummm.. yes I think it’s safe to say it does.
MY STUPID SIMPLE SEO COURSE RESULTS
Let me be clear, I’ve only had SSO for 2 months and implemented just a fraction of what is taught and this is what I’ve accomplished in that time.
* Organic traffic to my blog has increased.
* Session time increased.
* I now have an excel spreadsheet of 8,475 keyword ideas and 1,819 top posts ideas.
* I was featured on 3 different sites with high DAs using HARO.
* I was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal! Nothing has been posted yet, but it was an exciting experience.
7/19: My Domain Authority is 18 and my DR is 5.
Even though the majority of my competitors have significantly higher DA’s than me I have been able to outrank them on several posts. What what!!
***I published this post on July 24th and it started off on page 3 of Google. July 26th I’m already ranking 5th on page 1! Results don’t get any better than that.
8/25 Update: After coming back from vacation I saw that I was ranking in the #1 spot on Google for this post. I thought it was a mistake so I checked on my desktop too. No mistake. I currently outrank two big name bloggers with Domain Authority’s of 49 and 60.
11/10 Update: I’ve outranked my competitors for this post for several months, but have slipped down the page. I’m confident that once I make a few changes I will get back up even though my DA is still significantly lower than my competition.
4/2020: Even though I’ve taken an extensive break from my blog my Domain Authority has gone up 22. My organic traffic continues to climb even without posting regularly.
WHEN CAN I ENROLL?
Stupid Simple SEO opens just a few times a year.
This will likely be the last time the course will cost under $300. This isn’t to scare you into rushing into buying the course. I actually bought the course after the price had gone up and I can tell you with certainty that this course is worth well over $500. Mike is currently re-filming a lot of his videos and adding more content.
Don’t make the same mistake I did by waiting over a year.
Join the Stupid Simple SEO mailing list to get notifications about enrollment times.
ARE YOU READY TO TAKE YOUR BLOG TO THE NEXT LEVEL?
If you want to make money, you need to stop treating it like a hobby and start treating it like a business.
I no longer have to worry about Pinterest updates or traffic lulls. I get more organic page views every day.
If you’re ready to diversify your traffic and outrank your competitors join Mike’s mailing list to get an alert when Stupid Simple SEO opens up!
If you’re just starting out on SEO and can’t afford Mike’s course at this time, this is the course you need to take. It will teach you how to properly format each of your posts for SEO and more, plus it compliments Mike’s course.
I was burned in the past buying a course that was overpriced and undervalued and it sucks. I would never want another blogger to feel that way, which is why I can say with certainty, this is the course every successful blogger should buy.
I’ll update my results later this year for those curious to see what kind of growth Stupid Simple SEO can promise.
If you’re ready to diversify your traffic and outrank your competitors join Mike’s mailing list and free 5 day SEO bootcamp to get an alert when the course opens up.
If you’re still not sure or have any other questions ask below and I’ll do my best to answer your questions!
Don’t forget to pin for later
I just bookmarked this post! SEO is one thing I’m lacking on both of my websites! The thought of coming up with so many keywords seems a little daunting to me though. I keep thinking of having someone else do it for me. I might give this a try though!
It was surprisingly a lot easier than I thought it would be and honestly much cheaper than hiring someone do it too. Now that I have it done I have enough keywords for a long long time lol
I work in digital marketing and run two websites so i’m definitely going to look into this and pin it! Thank you!
Yes getting traffic to your site without having to worry about Pinterest update or changes is such a relief.
This is great! I joined the bootcamp! This sounds like a really good SEO training!
I researched other SEO courses and this is the one that came up the most. I actually didn’t find any negative reviews and trust me I looked!
Omg this is so helpful to those of us who really need help in this area! Thanks for taking the time to go in depth with it!
thank you 🙂 I know $300 isn’t cheap so if I’m spending that kind of money I want a course that is updated and gives results. Stupid Simple SEO has already delivered that for me in a short amount of time.
Absolutely fascinating, I need to consider this very seriously.
I stumbled across Stupid Simple SEO in several blogging groups. I read the blog income reports of several big name bloggers in my niche (I’m talking $15k-$100k a month!) and they’ve all taken and sworn by Mike’s course. I figured if it didn’t work I’d lose $300 (which would suck), but if it worked I could seriously increase my traffic and revenue. My organic traffic for June and July are at all time highs and I had several posts move up in Google after updating them.
Wah, a lot of information. Thank you.
Lol SEO encompasses so much more than keyword research. You’re very welcome 🙂
I cant wait to take this course! Thank you so much!
You’re very welcome. It’s one of the few I think all bloggers should take because everyone who takes it and implements what Mike teaches sees results. Pinterest is a lot more finicky. Plus Mike is re-filming a bunch of the video right now.
SEO is a nightmare for me, thanks for pointing me in the direction of being able to understand this. 🙂
SEO is something a lot of new bloggers don’t realize they need to be focusing on early on. I was too busy writing new posts and creating pins I had no clue what SEO really was. I love that these changes I’m making now will bring significant traffic as the months go by and I don’t have to worry about Pinterest mood swings.
My husband and I were just talking about this and this sounds like it would be perfect.
Stupid Simple SEO was the one that kept coming up in all my FB groups and no one had anything negative to say other than that it had a lot of information lol
Good info! I’m new to all of this and still trying to figure out SEO
I’ve been eyeing this course for a while. You might have just pushed me over the edge 😉
In a good way right? LOL. You’ll love the FB group and sharing all your backlink wins 😉
This sounds like a really good course, my SEO is slacking so i will have to check this out!
I haven’t found too many SEO courses with many great reviews and as in-depth as this one. $297 seemed like a lot of money, but it’s been so worth it.
Thank you! Bookmarked!
SEO is so important. Thanks for this thorough review! Bookmarking this page for later!
Thank you Monica for sharing this. I’ve signed up for the free 5 day course and already have learned a bit to make keyword searches etc a bit more focused. I may invest in myself in the next few months 🙂
You’re welcome! With so many blogging courses out there it’s hard to figure out which one to focus on. I like SEO because I no longer have to worry about Pinterest highs and lows.
This course sounds cool! I’m always looking for ways to improve SEO, and the price is about right for a good blog course. I’m about to get crazy busy as this teacher heads back to school, but maybe this is something I could look forward to doing on a break. Thanks for the info!
It definitely takes time to go through, but I’m slowly getting there. I love that it can be implemented in stages though I can only imagine the results once I finally finish 🙂
Okay—I am pinning this and bookmarking it so when my time and money comes, I will go for it. I have slowly but surely already updating old posts with Yoast SEO help and my most popular post already shows up on page 1 Google Search! However, I have many many more that do NOT as I just did a little research after reading your post. Thank you for all of the information!
You’re very welcome. Yoast is a great starting point, but don’t go crazy trying to get that green light lol
Thanks! Signed up for the free course!
I could sure benefit from more courses! Good to know this is out there.
Thank you for sharing! signed up for free overview – quite interesting
This sounds like a great course that I could definitely use. Thanks for the great review!
You’re very welcome. $297 isn’t cheap, but it has been so worth it with the results I’ve seen already and ranking on page 1 on Google 🙂
I have never heard of this course before, so I appreciate your review of it. I have never specifically taken a course on SEO, but know that I need to up my game.
Before Mike’s course I only took Pinterest and general blogging courses, but I was sick of my traffic just staying the same.
Whoa. It looks like that course really does include a lot. Actually, it looks overwhelming. I would be curious to know how it does for you over time.
I didn’t realize there was so much to do to make Google happy. Blogging in general is overwhelming in the beginning, but now all my new posts are SEO optimized and I’ve been ranking in Google a lot faster. The videos really make it a lot easier to follow along, plus Mike is redoing a lot of them now to be even better!
SEO is like another language to me – I really am going to have to check this out!
This is what I need to focus on! It is so informative.Thank you for sharing this.
SEO is sooo important. I do need to work on this some more, so your information and suggestions are very helpful!
Wonderful information! SEO is a topic I need to learn more about and give more attention. I will be visiting this page again to help me move forward with SEO!
Sounds like a great course! Glad it has worked for you!
Great to meet you! I’ve been struggling with SEO too so I look forward to checking this blog post out! Thank you!
Hey Kris! Great meeting you too. Sign up to Mike’s free seo bootcamp and mailing list. I know the course is pricey and being a frugalista myself I know it won’t be in everyone’s budget, but it has been worth every penny to me.
I plan to continue traveling (on a budget) so I will definitely be reading your blog for new travel hack tips. Stay in touch.