An Honest Review of the Stupid Simple SEO Course

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Silas & Grace

An Honest Review Of The Stupid Simple SEO Course

While being honest and objective, this review does contain affiliate links to the Stupid Simple SEO course. This just means that if you click through our link and make a purchase, we’ll get a commission at no extra cost to you.

Our Story

Start A Blog Like Chasing Foxes
Me & Silas

We’d done pretty well with traffic from Pinterest since starting our blog in 2016. Our income reports showed that. But the problem was that we literally felt chained to Pinterest.

If our Pinterest account got suspended for a short while (it happens every now and then to many legit accounts for some reason), or our pins just weren’t picking up, our traffic went down. When our pins picked up, our traffic went up.

That was ok for a time, but after a number of years, I found myself longing not to feel so dependent on how much love Pinterest felt like giving us. It felt like everything depended on it…and that wasn’t just a feeling; despite having a large email list, it was pretty much the truth.

And this is not a complaint at Pinterest—seriously, we love this social media platform for what they have (and continue) to provide for websites like ours, but we needed to diversify our traffic.

Diversifying Our Traffic

“You need to diversify your traffic” that’s what we knew and kept hearing. But how was that possible?

Facebook seemed impossible for a website like ours, Instagram felt more like a way to gain social proof than actual site visits (people liking photos without ever visiting the site and following/unfollowing you all the time). And although we knew YouTube worked for many bloggers, there were only so many hours in the day and making video wasn’t at the top of our priority list.

Sure, I know some have made Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube work really for them, and that’s great! But there remained one promising yet elusive frontier left unexplored…SEO.

What’s SEO?

Doing SEO With Google

By “SEO” I’m talking, of course, about Search Engine Optimization. (Yuck, even the term itself sounded complicated and techy.)

But I realized that it’s basically just about helping Google rank your articles higher in the search engine results. And, the higher our articles ranked on Google, the more people clicked on them, which meant more site visits. Pretty simple really!

But how would we even go about doing that? We’d been blogging for 3 years and had TONS of articles already published. We were a multi-niche site and had been told we’d never perform well with SEO because of that. We felt kinda overwhelmed and stuck.

That’s until we heard from a blogging friend of ours about Mike Pearson’s Stupid Simple SEO course.

A Bit About Mike Pearson

I’d never heard of Mike beforehand, but a quick look on his About page revealed that he was “obsessed with teaching bloggers how to grow their audience, traffic, and income with SEO” and that he had “earned over $200,000 with the Amazon Affiliate program with various niche sites” that he’d grown through SEO.

He came recommended to us from trusted sources (Making Sense of Cents, Start A Mom Blog, and Mommy On Purpose), his claims were impressive, the success stories of others were encouraging, and his experience of helping over 1,800 bloggers like us through his course was reassuring.

I also discovered that Mike, alongside other people taking the course, was very accessible to reach on the Facebook support group you are invited to once entering the course. Again, this was reassuring!

We needed to grow in SEO, so we took the plunge.

An Overview of the Stupid Simple SEO Course

My first impression of the course was a sense of relief in seeing that it hadn’t oversold itself by pushing buzzwords and hype. The course had a TON of videos waiting for me to work through.

Here’s a super quick video showing a brief overview of all the content packed inside the course. (Mike adds new content quite frequently but this is how the course looked in March 2020.)

Trust me, that’s a LOT of valuable information!

In fact, the course contains, as of now, roughly 740 minutes (just over 12 hours) of video, not to mention the other resources contained within the course, and the hours you’ll spend working through it outside of just watching the videos.

You’ll have lots to do and learn!

One extreme example was in the Keyword Research module where I spent about 2 days working through all the tasks he mentions in that module even though the module’s video length itself is just over 2 hours (123.98 minutes to be precise.)

Mike’s teaching style is laid back, even a little bit plain if I’m honest, but I actually appreciated this! Why? Because I’ve seen courses before that flood you with hype and excitement and where it takes you a while to realize you’re not actually learned that much of value. Mike just doesn’t do all that fluff.


“If you feel chained to Pinterest and want to gain traffic elsewhere, Google SEO is where you want to be, and this course will get you there.” — Carly Campbell from Mommy On Purpose (Source)


If you’re passionate about improving your SEO, this is the course for you. Enough said. You won’t be fed hype, false promises and over-excitement. You’ll just be set to work learning and applying all the info presented to you.

In the Welcome & Getting Started module, he sets out realistic expectations straight away so you know what to expect. In particular, the video “How Long Does It Take To Rank?” left me feeling hopeful yet confident about what to actually expect.

I also liked his advice in the Site Structure module that showed us how to optimize our multi-niche site the best we could using category pages. Some seriously great info there which we’re using to draw up plans to optimize our site design for SEO! (Watch this space.)

The Link Building module will teach you everything you need to know about backlinks and how to get the rights ones for your site. You’ll also learn how to optimize and make epic content likely to rank in Google in The Secret To Creating Epic Content That Google Loves module.

But the aforementioned Keyword Research module is Mike’s favorite module in the whole course (he calls it “the most valuable” and I’d probably agree.) He gives some awesome tools on targeting and finding the best keywords for your site.

There is SO much valuable information in this course. And, even if a specific question isn’t directly answered in a video, you have the Facebook support group available to ask your question and get answers from Mike and other people with actual SEO experience. That alone is so valuable.

But you know what’s even more valuable? The spreadsheets on all your competitor’s backlinks and keywords that Mike walks you through creating using your Ahrefs trial. Seriously, these spreadsheets are super valuable! They’ll keep me going for months…if not even years with valuable info to make informed SEO-related decisions.


The Overall Structure of the Course

Here’s a complete overview of the structure of the course so you can see exactly what you’re paying for. (The number in brackets indicates how long the video lesson is.)

Welcome & Getting Started
  • How To Go Through This Course (4:34)
  • The ABCs of SEO (2:51)
  • An Hour Per Day of SEO (5:23)
  • How Long Does It Take To Rank? (11:10)
  • Your 7-Day Ahrefs Trials (6:30)
  • How To Track Your SEO Progress (7:39)
  • Bonus: Elementor Pro & WP Rocket Plugins
  • Trello Course Roadmap (2:54)
  • Private Facebook Group
  • The 4-Step SEO Framework (3:29)
Module 1: Setting Up Your Blog To Be Fast & Mobile-Friendly
  • How to Make Your Blog Secure (SSL) (2:48)
  • How to Make Your Blog Mobile-Friendly (4:03)
  • An Introduction to Site Speed (5:57)
  • Tips for Improving Your Site Speed (9:44)
Module 2: Site Structure & An Optimal Homepage Design
  • An Introduction To Relevance (13:10)
  • How To Rank Even If Your Site Is Very Broad (9:39)
  • How To Make Your Navigation Google Friendly (12:48)
  • Re-Imagining Your Category Pages (13:34)
  • How To Set Up Custom Category (Silo) Pages In WordPress (6:41)
  • How To Create An Optimal Homepage Design (8:17)
Module 3: How to Do Keyword Research the Right Way
  • Your Ahrefs 7-Day Trials (Lessons to Complete)
  • An Intro To Keyword Research: What Makes A Good Keyword? (11:47)
  • Why Competitor Research Beats Traditional Keyword Research (6:00)
  • Brainstorming Your Initial Competitors (16:06)
  • How to Find Your Competitors With Ahrefs (11:01)
  • Filtering Out High-DR Sites (Batch Analysis) (9:19)
  • Finalizing Your List of Competitors (6:00)
  • How To Find Your Competitors’ Top Pages & Keywords (8:53)
  • [Merge CSV Tool]
  • How To Merge Your Keyword Spreadsheets (5:29)
  • How To Organize & Sort Your Spreadsheets (10:41)
  • How To Analyze Keyword Data & Develop A Content Strategy (10:53)
  • How To Determine Keyword Competitiveness (11:31)
  • How To Use Ahrefs Content Explorer For More Content Ideas (8:08)
  • How To Do Keyword Research For Existing Content (10:10)
Module 4: The Secret To Creating Epic Content That Google Loves
  • Satisfying User Intent (12:03)
  • Understanding User Satisfaction (3:23)
  • Pop-Ups, Aggressive Ads, And Bad User Experience (8:36)
  • Your Goal: Creating EPIC Content (5:22)
  • How To Research And Outline Your Content (10:12)
  • How To Find Long Tail & Related Keywords (4:37)
  • How To Create Epic Content That Ranks (8:03)
  • How To Set Up Your On-Page SEO (14:01)
  • How To Use The Yoast SEO Plugin (7:05)
  • An Introduction To Content Audits (5:36)
  • How To Do An SEO Content Audit (10:45)
Module 5: Getting Started With Link Building
  • What Are Links & Why Are They So Important? (3:23)
  • The 5 Characteristics Of A Great Link (6:59)
  • Link Building Expectations (3:30)
  • Getting Into The Outreach Mindset (2:19)
  • Links You Don’t Want Any Part Of (3:47)
Module 6: How To Swipe Your Competitors’ Best Links
  • Understanding Your Competitors’ Backlinks (4:29)
  • How To Spy On Your Competitors’ Backlinks (4:12)
  • How To Merge Your Backlink Spreadsheets
  • How To Organize & Analyze Backlink Data For Link Opportunities (12:36)
Module 7: How To Build Links With Guest Posting
  • An Introduction To Guest Posting (3:48)
  • Getting Organized For Your First Guest Post Campaign (2:51)
  • How To Find Guest Posting Opportunities (7:45)
  • Sending Your Guest Post Pitches (11:02)
  • Handling Replies & Writing Your Guest Post (7:19)
Module 8: How To Create Linkable Assets Other Websites Love Linking To
  • An Introduction To Blogger Outreach & Linkable Assets (3:59)
  • Three Types Of Linkable Assets: Infographics Guides, & Surveys (5:15)
  • How To Brainstorm Ideas For Your Linkable Asset (4:01)
  • How To Create Your Linkable Asset (7:45)
  • How To Outreach To Bloggers With Linkable Assets (10:11)
Bonus: How To Master Google’s E-A-T Algorithm
  • An Intro to the Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines (3:23)
  • Content Quality & The QRGs (4:50)
  • E-A-T and YMYL Pages (17:21)
  • Why Your “About” Page Matters (6:11)
  • How To Optimize Your Blog For E-A-T (3:36)
Bonus: SEO For Affiliate Marketing
  • How To Identify User Intent In The Sales Funnel (5:59)
  • How To Find Affiliate Keywords (7:14)
  • How To Create “Best [Product]” Type Content (4:54)
  • How To Create “Review” Type Content (10:24)
Bonus: How To Get Your Blog Featured On Huge Websites (HARO)
  • An Introduction To HARO (7:16)
  • Getting Set Up With HARO (4:33)
  • How To Respond To HARO Requests (10:41)
Bonus: Building Powerful “Resource Page” Links
  • An Introduction To Resource Page Link Building (2:34)
  • How To Find & Filter Resource Page Prospects (9:25)
  • How To Do Resource Page Outreach (7:08)
Bonus: The Secrets To A Successful Expert Roundup
  • An Introduction To The GuestoRoundup Technique (2:58)
  • Using Google Sheets To Get Organized (1:43)
  • Expert Roundup Overview & Choosing Your Question(s) (5:48)
  • How To Find Bloggers To Participate In Your Roundup (9:37)
  • How To Execute The Expert Roundup & Land Your Guest Posts (8:25)
Bonus: SEMRush Mini-Class
  • Finding More Competitors with SEMRush (12:09)
  • Swiping Your Competitors’ Top Pages & Keywords (6:41)
  • Spying on Your Competitors’ Backlinks (6:26)
Bonus: KeySearch Mini-Class
  • An Introduction to Keysearch (2:38)
  • How to Find Your Competitors With Keysearch (14:58)
  • How to Find Your Competitors’ Top Pages (6:26)
  • How To Use the Competitor Gap Feature (3:53)
  • How To Get Guest Post Links With Opportunity Finder (3:56)
  • How To Use Rank Tracker To Track Your Rankings (4:38)
Bonus: Google Search Console
  • How To Boost Rankings for Page 1 Keywords (11:29)
  • How To Find New Keyword Ideas Using GSC (9:49)
  • How To Identify Pages Losing Traffic (4:50)
  • How To Identify Internal Linking Opportunities (6:41)
Bonus: Behind The Scenes of Credit Takeoff
  • Niche Selection (16:20)
  • Setting Up The Site (20:03)
  • Monetization & Traffic Strategies (8:23)
  • Mapping Out a Content Strategy (11:02)
  • Hiring Freelance Writers (18:28)
  • Managing Freelance Writers (5:22)
How To Make Money Selling This Course
  • How To Become An Affiliate
  • Stupid Simple SEO Affiliate Image

Updates to the Course

Another encouraging sign for me was seeing that Mike plans to update the course and make it even better over time.

For example, here are some snapshots of some of his posts in the Facebook support group on how he’s making the course even better and relevant as time goes on.

Stupid Simple SEO Google Search Console
Stupid Simple SEO New Video
Stupid Simple SEO Site Audit

Does Stupid Simple SEO Actually Work?

Chasing Foxes Stupid Simple SEO Progress

We’re still implementing what we’re learning, but as you can see from the graph, our reach on Google Search has definitely increased. In fact, the number of impressions nearly doubled.

Before taking the course, our average daily site visits from search engines was about 350, as of writing it is now about 800, and just yesterday we hit over 1000!

Jetpack Search Engine Results for 2 June 2019
Of course, it is still early days but this is just the beginning and I don’t see any reason why it can’t continue since we’re not the only ones who have benefited so far.

Stupid Simple SEO Results
Stupid Simple SEO Results

Not to mention all the unsolicited testimonials Mike collected himself for his Stupid Simple SEO course. Stupid Simple SEO Testimonial

Stupid Simple SEO Testimonial

Stupid Simple SEO Testimonial
Stupid Simple SEO Testimonial
Stupid Simple SEO Testimonial
Stupid Simple SEO Testimonial
Stupid Simple SEO Testimonial
Stupid Simple SEO Testimonial
Stupid Simple SEO Testimonial
Stupid Simple SEO Testimonial

But Will It Work for Me?

We were told that because we were a multi-niche site that SEO was never going to work for us.

But luckily for us, Mike’s lesson “How To Rank Even If Your Site Is Very Broad” in the Site Structure module showed us how to make it work for ourselves.

If a super multi-niche site like ours can make it work, yours can too! If you put the work in and have patience, SEO really can work for you.

What Is the Price of Stupid Simple SEO?

Stupid Simple SEO’s price is $497 OR 4 monthly payments of $147.

Or you can first try out his FREE 6-day SEO bootcamp course here if you need more time to think about it.

When Is Stupid Simple SEO Next Open?

Stupid Simple SEO used to only open 4 times per year, but now it’s evergreen meaning that you can opt-in all year round!

If you haven’t already, you can opt-in here to join the 1,800+ bloggers who have benefitted from the course.

Cons of the Stupid Simple SEO Course

Maybe you’re wondering what’s the catch? (Other than the cost.)

I know this sounds like a cliché but honestly, the catch is the hard work you’ll still have to put in to make this successful. But this course gives you everything that you’ll need to achieve this.

But if you DON’T put the work in, then spend your money elsewhere—that’s simply too much money to throw down the drain if you’re not committed to getting great, long-term site traffic from Google.

Could the actual course be tweaked and improved a little bit here and there? Sure it could.

For example, I’d personally like to see a video on how to best use a tool called Surfer SEO. But, to be honest, Mike is improving the course so often and is so accessible that I could probably find all the answers I’d need just by asking in the Facebook support group.

If there is an improvement to be made, Mike will make it—I have no doubt of that.

Conclusion

I seriously have no regrets at all about buying this course. In fact, I’m super pleased that I did. It’s honestly a (long-term) game-changer.

It’s $497, and while that may feel like a bit of a stretch on your budget, if you know you need to implement Google more into your marketing strategy but don’t know how to do it, then this course will unlock a whole new level of opportunity for you.

Moreover, Mike does offer a 4-month payment plan of $147 if that better suits your budget in the short-term (but take note that $147 x 4 = $588.)

I have no shame or embarrassment in suggesting you click my affiliate link here (at no extra cost to you) and purchase it yourself if you believe its time to finally start winning at SEO.

SEO is a long-term game and this course is what you need if you want to play that game and if you’re fed up with depending on social media to bring in all your site traffic.

There’s no fluff, false promises or thin content here. Just well-presented information from someone with a proven track record and who actually knows what they’re talking about.

So, need to start winning at SEO? Then take this course. You’ll be glad you did several years from now (granted you actually put in the work!)

Chasing Foxes was started in 2016 as a way for Grace and her husband, Silas, to start traveling. However, they started to realize that they had a passion for improving themselves, and wanted to help others level up their lives as well. So whether it's with cooking, travel, or staying healthy, they want to help you better your life bit by bit, as they do the same.

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Silas & Grace

Chasing Foxes was started in 2016 as a way for Grace and her husband, Silas, to start traveling. However, they started to realize that they had a passion for improving themselves, and wanted to help others level up their lives as well. So whether it's with cooking, travel, or staying healthy, they want to help you better your life bit by bit, as they do the same.

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