In a time when many people are wondering if SEO is still effective, I have started learning a new SEO course called The SEO System.

This course is by Connor Gillivan, who has been in business for over 10 years and knows a lot about SEO. He has worked on SEO for his own companies and helped others too. One big achievement he had with his partner Nathan Hirsch was creating a company called FreeUp, a freelance marketplace. They sold this company to The Hoth in 2019.

I started learning this course on May 20, 2024. There are more than 4 hours of videos in the course. It took me some time to finish because I got busy with other things for a few days. Finally, I completed the course on May 31, 2024. If I had spent just 1 hour each day, I could have finished it in only 4 days.

Today, I’m going to write a review of the course. Let’s begin!

Facts Sheet

  • Site: The SEO System
  • Vendor: Connor Gillivan (10+ years experience in SEO)
  • Launched Date: January 2024
  • Category: SEO Course
  • Price: $150 one-time
  • Upsells: SEO Agency Service (Price depends and not mentioned)

What is the SEO System?

As I mentioned earlier, “The SEO System” is a new course on Search Engine Optimization. It teaches SEO in a structured way, helping people do SEO confidently for their own website and for clients. The course is short and easy to follow, and its goal is not just to get traffic from Google but also to generate leads and sales and track analytics. That’s why the course is different from other SEO courses. For instance, it includes Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) and User Experience (UX) as core pillars, so that your traffic converts into leads and sales. I have seen people struggle with this, like a friend of mine who recently said the following:

People may struggle to convert traffic

So, there are 4 pillars as described in the course, which builds the system, they are:

The SEO System Pillars

  • Content
  • Backlinks
  • CRO/UX
  • Analytics

In the first part of the course, Connor gave us a Google Sheet that contains The SEO System. This sheet has everything you need to apply the System. As you go through the course, you will learn how to use the sheet. The sheet is designed so that you can use it for your own website. You can also use it to help other companies with SEO and manage your team. I liked how Connor explained every tab in the sheet during the course. He explained it in a natural way, which shows that he actually uses the System himself. At first, it seemed like a lot to take in. But after finishing the course, I felt confident to use the Google sheet for my own website’s SEO.

Pillar # 1: Content

The course teaches how to write high-quality content that is better than you competitors. It shows you how to create content that matches the needs of the customers you want to serve and are grE-E-A-T to the eyes of Google. The SEO System course went in depth in Content pillar. It explained things from scracth i.e. designing your Ideal Customer Profile, creating hub and spokes and content cluters, content outline and writing the contents, upgrading the contents etc.

Pillar # 2: Backlinks

Backlinks are the most important SEO factor for Google when ranking a website. But how can you get backlinks? In the SEO System course, Connor shared several ways to get backlinks. Some are easy methods like leveraging review sites, creating social media profiles, and submitting to directories. Others require some work like creating linkable content or using outreach strategies like forming content partnerships and appearing on podcasts. He also shared some paid but authentic ways to get high-quality backlinks for your site.

Pillar # 3: CRO/UX

When you know how to write high-quality content, your content will rank. And backlinks will help push your website even higher in the rankings. And when done correctly, you will get a lot of traffic from Google. But what’s next? Is that the end? Not necessarily. There are other factors to consider as well. One of the key factors is converting traffic into leads. This is what is taught in detail in Pillar 3 – Conversion Rate Optimization and User Experience. Connor shows from his own websites how he optimized his sites to give visitors multiple opportunities to engage with his lead magnets and increase the conversion rate. For example, the following two: Conversion Rate Optimization Techniques

Pillar #4: Analytics

What gets measured can be improved. To improve your site’s SEO metrics, you need to look at the analytics. In the SEO System course, Connor Gillivan shares how to use Google Search Console, Google Analytics, and some paid tools to track your site’s analytics and make the most of it.

Here’s a Diagram that Illustrates All the Pillars

The SEO System Illustrated

How You Can Win in this SEO Game?

SEO is not easy, and it takes time to grow a website through SEO. I’ve been following 3-4 SEO YouTube channels for the past few months. They all have different approaches to SEO. One focuses more on topical authority, while another focuses on backlinks. Connor Gillivan’s The SEO System highlighted a few key areas to work on to win at SEO. But at the beginning of the course, he summed up SEO in simple terms: SEO is all about writing content that answers people’s questions.

SEO is all about writing contents that answers people’s questions.

However, that’s not enough in today’s competitive markets. You need to create content that answers people’s questions and also meets Google’s criteria to rank on the first page.

You Need to Write Highest Quality Contents

One of the most important lessons I learned from the course was a surprising revelation. To succeed with your SEO strategy, your blog posts need to rank on the first page of Google. Anything less, and you’re out of luck. This might seem obvious, but it was something I never thought about deeply before. The course taught me how to analyze my competitors’ posts that are ranking on the first page for my target keywords and how I can create a better post than theirs. It might seem overwhelming, but Connor explains it in simple terms. After completing the first pillar of the course, it became easy for me to understand.

What’s the most underrated SEO technique?

Someone asked this question in Google SEO Mastermind facebook group: What is the Most Underrated SEO Technique

As you can see, there are many answers. In The SEO System course, Connor also shared his thoughts on this by saying:

Content upgrades are most underrated strategy in SEO.

What I like about The SEO System

I like several things about The SEO System:

  • It is beginner-friendly, so you can start with no knowledge of SEO and still understand the course without much effort.
  • Connor shares examples from his own companies’ SEO. He owns four online businesses and does SEO for those sites. When he gives examples, they are not random but come from real-life contexts of his websites.
  • He provides the complete system in a Google Sheet for us to use as we progress through the course.
  • I have found Connor very responsive in Course Membership Portal. Several people asked questions below the course modules and Connor answered each of them.
  • You can use the course for yourself and also use it to manage an SEO agency, potentially hiring content writers.
  • The course is relatively new, launched in early 2024, with course videos recorded in December 2023.
  • Overall, the course is well-structured and easy to follow.
  • Price of the course is reasonably fixed. I also found it “cool” to get a Purchasing Power Parity discount coupon for accessing the sales page from a developing country.

Purchasing Power Parity Discount

What I don’t like about The SEO System

Overall, I have no complaints about the course. However, I did notice that the sound levels weren’t consistent across all the modules. The volume was a bit low for most of the videos, but not uniform. But Connor mentioned at the beginning that we shouldn’t expect high-quality video production, but rather great content, so it’s understandable.

My Recommendations

Based on my experience with the course, I highly recommend it for beginners in Search Engine Optimization. It will definitely provide a solid foundation, allowing you to start implementing techniques quickly. Plus, it won’t cost a fortune, so you can get started without breaking the bank. If you want to get off to a good start in SEO, I suggest you grab The SEO System.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question 1: Is SEO dead in 2024?

Answer: No, SEO is not dead. It is changing, so you need to adapt to the changes in the industry.

Question 2: How knowledgeable is Connor Gillivan as an SEO?

Answer: Connor Gillivan is not just an SEO expert, but also an entrepreneur with over 10 years of experience. I researched him and found that he has exceptional skills in breaking down complex things into simple terms. So, he is definitely a trusted expert in Search Engine Optimization.

Question 3: Can I learn everything about SEO from the course?

Answer: This course will give you a good foundation in SEO. As Connor says, you need to keep learning SEO as it is evolving rapidly. So you’ll get a well-rounded understanding of SEO from the course, but it’s recommended that you keep learning.

Question 4: Can I apply The SEO System without paying for tools?

Answer: You can use the knowledge from the course without paying for any tools. Connor recommends tools like Ahrefs or Semrush, which can speed up the process, but they are not mandatory purchases.