Heard all the hype about Stupid Simple SEO – but wondering if it’s legit?

The short answer is YES, but I guess that’s not your only question.

SEO can lead organic traffic to your website, and traffic can turn into sales $$$.

However, it is one of the hardest things to implement, not to mention it takes time, which is why SEO companies charge around $5000-$30,000 per project.

So if there’s a course that will teach you how to master SEO skills for your own website, then that could be worth the investment and save money long term, right?

Enter Mike’s Stupid Simple SEO, a premium course that will teach you everything you need to master SEO skills and get organic traffic for your website. After seeing the results and raving from my blogging Facebook Groups, I decided to take the plunge and find out for myself.

In this Stupid Simple SEO review, I will deep dive into the course and my personal experience so that you can decide if Stupid Simple SEO is worth it and suitable for you. I will also be updating my progress and results over time.

But before I dive into the course itself, I want to cover a few SEO basics if you are already well equipped with WHAT and WHY, feel free to skip ahead.

This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission at no cost to you if you make a purchase. Please read the disclosure for more information.

What Is SEO – Search Engine Optimization?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization.

It is a long-term strategy to improve a website’s visibility and organic search results within internet search engines, mainly Google, which is 80% of searches.

Having your content appear on the first page of a Google search or any search engine is not as simple as clicking that “publish” button after writing a post.

Many factors go into SEO, and it can seem daunting and overwhelming to try and tackle it all on your own.

Why Is SEO Important?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization.

It is a long-term strategy to improve a website’s visibility and organic search results within internet search engines, mainly Google, which is 80% of searches.

Having your content appear on the first page of a Google search or any search engine is not as simple as clicking that “publish” button after writing a post.

Many factors go into SEO, and it can seem daunting and overwhelming to try and tackle it all on your own.

Why Is SEO Important?

Your website’s traffic is one of the most valuable assets. More people coming to your website means more opportunities for you to convert them into leads, customers, or subscribers. Traffic can turn into money.

A key measure for premium ad networks is traffic, another way to monetize your website.

Starting in blogging, I focussed on social media campaigns to bring traffic, primarily Instagram; after all, this is what’s visible, so you can see how this might work. I found that my blog traffic was unpredictable and not helping me rank.

Social media is one of many essential strategies to bring traffic to your site, but through my journey, I have found that using SEO is one of the most robust and sustainable ways to get FREE/organic traffic. Something I wish I would have known more about and invested in sooner.

Well-SEO’ed content appears on the first page of Google searches in response to multiple related keywords attracting people to click through it. As people will often find what they are looking for on the first page of results, getting click-through when you sit on the 2nd or 3rd page is pretty tricky.

The graph below from BackLinko shows traffic from being on the 1st page (left of the dotted line, position 1-10) vs. the rest of the pages. Now you know why they say, “The best place to hide a dead body is the 2nd page of a Google search result”.

Even on the 1st page of Google, the top 3 ranked pages get over 70% of the traffic.

Can You Do SEO on Your Own?

Yes, if you know what you are doing.

I have always known the importance of SEO, but I tried to do it cheaply for the first two years of my blogging.

Why wouldn’t I? I have a blog about being frugal and had no cash flow to invest at the start.

I would spend days working on high-quality posts, and the second I hit “publish,” it would disappear into the dark hole of Google and never see the light of day again. And this would continue post after post.

Yes, I was doing my keyword research with a relatively cheap tool (that didn’t give me accurate information or help me with new keyword ideas). I also spent hours researching lots of free information to learn about SEO. But there is SO much conflicting information out there. I was feeling very lost and overwhelmed in the big world of blogging.

But I wasn’t alone. A study by Ahrefs showed that 90% of 1 billion webpages they analyzed got NO organic traffic from Google. ?

After two long years of doing SEO on my own CHEAPLY, I finally invested in a premium SEO course and an SEO tool that’s the best on the market, and I now know the exact process to get my post to rank at the top of page 1 Google searches.

So you can do SEO on your own but learn from my experience… If there’s one thing you need to invest in as a new blogger, it’s SEO.

Scrimping on that will only lead you to waste time and money (like I did).

How Long Does It Take To See Results From Google SEO?

It varies.

The thing with SEO is that it is a long-term strategy and the results you see are not immediate.

There are many Google ranking factors, and it can take weeks or months to see positive changes in your website’s visibility and organic search results.

However, if you have an existing website and you’re starting to do SEO for it, you should see results sooner rather than later.

Who is Mike Pearson?

Mike Pearson is the creator of Stupid Simple SEO (SSSEO). Before you invest your hard-earned money on a course, let’s find out if the person you are paying money to is legitimate, has a proven record of what he teaches, and can communicate to help you learn.

Here is a quick rundown of Mike’s credentials:

• Mike started an affiliate site in the hiking and camping niche in 2016. The site got 1 million page views in 12 months, predominantly from organic Google SEO traffic, earning $95,000 through affiliate income. He then sold it for over 6+figures.
• In 2019, he launched a 2nd site called CreditTakeoff.com using the same process. One year later, the site was able to make over $10,000+/month. He uses this site as an example in Stupid Simple SEO to demonstrate the process, tips, and tricks.
• Now he runs multiple successful niche sites allowing him to walk away from his full-time corporate job.
• With the success of his websites, Mike created the Stupid Simple SEO course, a process that turns one of the most complex roadblocks to blogging success into simple and repeatable actions.
• Over 3000 bloggers accelerated their traffic using the same process that Mike teaches.

I love Mike’s straightforward step-by-step teaching style. He breaks down the complicated process into small chunks, making it easy to digest. I appreciate that he always explains everything, making it easy for beginners.

As long as you follow the steps, implementing your SEO strategy can be STUPIDLY SIMPLE.

Mike’s free SEO masterclass is a great taster course to try.

Who is Mike Futia?

A random fact about Mike Pearson is that it is not his real name. Instead, his real name is Mike Futia. In 2018, Mike created the pseudo name – Mike Pearson for his online side hustles while still working in a corporate 9 to 5. He did it to protect his privacy online and avoid being “caught trying to run an online business while being on the clock at his real job.”

With the Stupid Simple SEO course’s success and multiple niche sites, Mike runs a 7+ figure online business full-time. The name Mike Pearson became the brand name for the course, so that has stuck.

Mike shared his story in his private Facebook group. I appreciated him being open and honest and could certainly understand some of the fear/concerns he had at the early stage of creating his own business.

Now that you know the person behind the course let’s jump into the Stupid Simple SEO review.

What Is Stupid Simple SEO Course?

Mike Pearson’s “Stupid Simple SEO” is a comprehensive online course that teaches you everything you need to know to rank on top of Google searches using SEO.

The course covers the following critical aspects of SEO:

• How to research keyword ideas using his proprietary method
• How to analyze keyword data
• The formula for on-page SEO
• How to build domain authority with off-page SEO (Backlinks)
• The importance site-speed
• Indexing
• How to structure your site
• Use Google search console/analytics to improve your traffic
• Identify pages losing traffic and what to do about them

You will also get cheat sheets, trackers, and templates throughout the course to make implementing SEO strategies easier.

Stupid Simple SEO Course Overview

The Stupid Simple SEO course consists of 55 over-the-shoulder video lessons (~9 hours worth), broken into 9 Modules:

Mike starts with a short introduction and overview of the course, then jumps to his unique method of finding keywords that rank, covered by Modules 1 & 2.

Module 3, 4, 5 & 6 focus on-page SEO. From Mike’s years of experience, he shares the rules that Google uses to rank the post and translate it into an actionable formula.

You will learn how to create epic SEO-friendly content, optimize and update your old posts to increase their ranking, and delete content that’s not working or relevant.

The last three modules (7, 8 & 9) are on off-page SEO, i.e., Backlink building expectations and how to organize & analyze backlink data from competitors. In these modules, you will learn ways to build quality backlinks and get templates & trackers for guest posting opportunities and email outreach.

Stupid Simple SEO Bonuses

The course also includes additional Bonuses that will aid your SEO strategy:

• Site Speed for Bloggers, taught by an industrial expert Greyson Bell.
• Site Structure Mini-Class
• Six-figure affiliate marketing formula
• Mastering Mediavine ads
• Scale with sponsored posts
• How to use Google Search Console
• Ahrefs advanced
• SEO Tools on a budget using a cheaper alternative tool – Keysearch
• Niche Site Explosion
• How to make money selling your site

Course Support and Community

In addition to lifetime access to the Stupid Simple SEO course and bonuses, you also get access to the private Facebook community for ongoing SEO-related support. While Mike actively oversees the private Facebook group, it also has a dedicated coach to answer any course-specific questions.

Every month, there is a LIVE Q&A session to discuss the latest SEO strategies.

How Much dDes Stupid Simple SEO Cost?

The Stupid Simple SEO cost is a one-time investment of $497 or 4 payments of $147. Undoubtedly a significant investment, especially for someone who is just starting, but compared with the earning potential from SEO, it is a fraction of what you can make in a month!

With the help of this course, I made over $2,000 in affiliate income alone in February from just one blog post that ranked #2 on Google.

Not every blogger makes thousands every month, and as I am only at the start of harvesting what I learned from the course, you can find more examples from other bloggers who are further down the road in the Testimonial section below.

What Additional SEO Tools Do You Need?

Stupid Simple SEO uses one of the best SEO tools out there – Ahrefs.

Ahrefs is SEO software loaded with innovative statistics to help you optimize SEO for your site. The software will help you build links, do competitor analysis, do keyword research, do site audits, and do domain tracking. You will store your results in google sheets, free to use and cloud-based, so they are accessible from anywhere, with easy sharing options if you use writers or have partners.

You can utilize its 7-day trial for $7 to do all the keyword research you need during the course training.

Mike is very conscious of the Ahrefs trial window and provides specific instructions regarding at which point of the course you can start the trial without needing a more costly monthly fee.

When I did the 7-day trial with Ahrefs during the course, it was plenty of time for me to end up with over 100 keywords, more than a years worth of content, and additional keywords for my other niche site ideas.

In the course bonus, you will also be learning budget-friendly alternatives, which you can use on an ongoing basis.

In addition to Ahref, I installed a free tool, the WordPress SEO Yoast plugin, which helps you with the on-page SEO.

What Would You Learn From Stupid Simple SEO?

Stupid Simple SEO says it will teach you everything you need to know about growing your traffic and revenue with SEO, which is quite a broad statement. What it boils down to and what you get out of this course to help your blog traffic is:

• A long list of high value, low competition keywords so you will never run out of post ideas.
• Build a site structure that is SEO friendly
• Identify your competition and how you can compete
• A step-by-step guide on outlining, writing, and optimizing a new post that ranks
• Exactly what to do with your old posts to improve the ranking
• How to find guest posting opportunities
• How to pitch for your first guest post with a plug-and-play template
• Develop a guest post campaign
• Ways to start building backlinks

How to Sign Up for the Stupid Simple SEO?

Stupid Simple Simple SEO used only to open twice a year for enrollment, but with the increase in demand, you can sign up all year round now.

Mike wants you to try it before you buy Stupid Simple. To sign up for Stupid Simple SEO, you can register for Mike’s SEO FREE Masterclass Bootcamp video, where you gain an access link to sign up for the SSSEO course.

In Mike’s Free Masterclass / Bootcamp, you will learn:

• The two things you must check before choosing a keyword
• The secret to niching down
• Write better content
• How to improve your old posts to rank
• Build your domain authority

The course also offers a 30-day Conditional Money-back Guarantee to reassure you if you don’t see any results after implementing everything you’ve learned from the system.

Stupid Simple SEO 2.0, What’s New?

The version that I took was Mike’s Stupid Simple SEO 2.0. The main improvement from this version is that Mike re-structured the course content.

With the Stupid Simple SEO 2.0, he jumps straight into what is the most impactful activities for SEO, keyword research, on-page SEO, etc. He makes other elements that are supporting activities as bonuses.

Mike continues to improve the Stupid Simple SEO based on feedback and the latest SEO information. The good news is, as a course student, you will get lifetime access; whenever there’s an update, you will get access to the latest version.

How Long Does It Take To Go Through the Course?

In my experience, it took me a week to get through all the videos by spending 1 hour per day. I also sped up the videos to get through a little faster.

Then I started my 7-day Ahrefs free trial. I did all the keyword research for the current site in 3 days while re-watching Mike’s video instructions and using his templates.

So a total of 10 days to complete the videos and use the keyword research tool.

How Long Does It Take Before I Can See the Results?

On average, it takes between 3-18 months for Google to rank your content. The reason it’s so widespread is that many contributing factors impact how quickly your post gets to rank on the first page:

• Age of your site
• Your site DA – Domain authority
• The quality of the particular post
• How competitive are the keywords you are trying to rank
• Is your site secure
• Site speed

In my personal experience implementing what I learned from the course, I was able to repeatedly get my new posts on the 1st page of Google within three months after publishing.

What Results Will You See From Taking Stupid Simple SEO?

Although the results may vary, after taking the Stupid Simple SEO, you should expect to be able to:

• Learn the exact method to find high-value, low-competition keywords to create content that ranks.
• Produce a long list of relevant keywords on your content calendar.
• Repeat the process and use the tools in the future.
• Write a post that is SEO optimized with confidence.
• Start implementing ways to build backlinks to increase your site’s domain authority and ranking.
• Improve the ranking of your old posts
• Implement strategies to improve your overall ranking by improving site speed, structure, and understanding of Google Analytics.

Does Stupid Simple SEO Work?

Stupid Simple SEO worked for me. Even within a short three months after taking Stupid Simple SEO, I ended up with a long list of keywords that will keep me busy for the next 12 months, and I also started to improve my old posts and move them up the Google ranking. My traffic, as a result, has begun to increase, and so has my affiliate income.

Here are results from other students taking Stupid Simple SEO:

What Do I Love About the Course?

Undoubtedly one of THE BEST courses I’ve taken, especially in terms of value for money.

There were so many “ah-ha” moments as I went through the course that I never learned from any FREE or cheaper SEO course alternatives.

The secret sauce of Mike’s SSSEO course is keyword research. You will learn a unique way to come up with a list of high-value keywords from reverse engineering competitors. No longer throwing darts in the dark, hoping one hits the mark.

I wish I had taken this course earlier!

In addition to learning how to come up with a list of keywords you can confidently rank in Google, there are a few things that make this course stand out:

• Bite-size – The course splits into nine modules with small digestible bite-size videos, most of which are under 15min. Perfect for someone who doesn’t have hours at a time and can squeeze in a few lessons throughout the day.
• Templates – Mike has done much of the admin work upfront for you, providing innovative templates, including formulas and algorithms along the way that make it super easy to create, store, and edit the outputs from the work you will do throughout the course.
• Video speed feature to save time – I love learning through training videos as it feels like I have a tutor. I also like that I can speed up the videos to save time, which means a 10-minute video turns into a 7-minute video.
• Actionable and Concise – Mike’s way of teaching is super actionable and concise. The course focuses on “this is what you need to do, and here are the steps and tools.”
• Easy to understand – I took this lesson with my husband, who had ZERO knowledge about blogging (yes, he finally took an interest in what I do). He was able to follow along without any issues.
• Support for questions – There is a private FB group with a dedicated coach answering any course-related questions. I had a few throughout the training; they were all answered within a few hours of posting. Pretty good considering we are in the UK timezone.

What Can Be Improved?

Overall, I’m delighted with what I’ve learned and the investment that I made in this course, but there are a few things to improve:

• High price tag. It’s a premium course with a high price tag. I had to think twice (maybe three times) before I pulled the trigger to purchase Stupid Simple.
• All video-based training material. Although I like this type of training method, I can see this might not be for everyone, especially for someone who prefers learning through reading and writing. Perhaps having course notes available would be good.
• Backlinks building is still slow and painful. Although the course helps you understand the importance of backlink building, and you will welcome getting started with ways to do that, the backlink building process is still prolonged and painful. I don’t expect this course (or any course) to be the “silver bullet” to get me lots of high-quality backlinks all of a sudden. The truth is, speeding up your backlink building is very difficult to do alone. Instead, you need to be part of a community with secured deals with big authority sites.

My Results From Stupid Simple SEO Course

What I missed previously was not doing my competitor research properly, which meant spending days writing fantastic post after post, but they could never compete with the big sites with the same keywords.

If you want faster results, it’s much better to find those easier keywords in Google ranking before jumping on the hard ones at the start.

And Mike’s Stupid Simple SEO teaches you EXACTLY how to do that, step-by-step.

My site currently ranks on top of Google with 20+ keywords.

Who Is Stupid Simple SEO For?

• The Stupid Simple SEO is for bloggers and online business owners who understand the value of Google SEO.
• Someone who is willing to invest in learning SEO skills him/herself instead of relying on paying others to do it.
• The course is for someone tired of piecing together free (and sometimes contradicting) information and getting organic traffic as early as possible.
• The SSSEO course is perfect for bloggers looking to start their blogging journey and SEO the right way. (I wish I did!) If you are COMPLETELY new, I suggest you start with Mike’s Niche Site Academy instead.
• Someone who has been blogging for a while but wanting to level up their SEO skills.

Who Is Stupid Simple SEO Not For?

The Stupid Simple SEO is not for everyone.

• As it is a high investment if you cannot afford it, perhaps start with more budget-friendly SEO courses (see alternatives below). Although you won’t get all the value from SSSEO, at least you can start learning at a lower cost.
• If you expect the course to be the silver bullet to increase your site traffic, the SSSEO course is not for you. While it will show you the shortest route to being successful at SEO, it takes effort from you and time to see the results.
• Finally, if you can’t get on with learning via video, this may not be the best choice for you as all the lessons are via videos.

SSSEO Course Alternative?

Although no course is the same, a couple of SEO courses are considered Stupid Simple SEO alternatives.

Long Tail Deep Dive by John Dykstra

Before I purchased Mike’s Stupid Simple SEO, John Dykstra’s Long Tail Deep Dive (LTDD) was another raved SEO course with a high price tag.

Like SSSEO, the LTDD teaches you how to find high-value, low- competitive keywords to create content using Ahref. However, this course does not cover how to build backlinks and promote your posts.

Currently, the Long Tail Deep Dive is only available as part of the Fat Stack Bundle, which costs $497 with an annual renewal of $97/year. It’s also not an evergreen enrollment.

While I am sure John Dykstra’s Fat Stack helped many to improve their SEO, based on my research, I feel Mike’s Stupid Simple SEO is much better value for money, which is why I chose it.

Easy On-Page SEO + Easy Backlinks for SEO by Debbie Gartner

Debbie Gartner (the flooring girl) is well-known for her affordable SEO courses. She has 3 SEO courses in total:

• For On-Page SEO: Easy On-Page SEO ($47)
• Building backlinks: Easy Backlink SEO ($47)
• For old posts: Easy SEO Revamp ($127)

You can also save some money by purchasing the Easy On-Page SEO + Easy Backlink SEO as a Bundle for $94. The bundle is perfect for beginner and intermediate bloggers.

The Easy SEO Revamp is for more advanced bloggers. You will learn how to use Google Analytics to improve the rankings of your old posts.

I bought all 3 of Debbie’s SEO courses. I found the on-page strategies from the course to be very effective and the backlink-building tips that she recommended.

Remember, unlike the Stupid Simple SEO, Debbie’s courses do NOT teach you how to do keyword research. However, the courses still offer plenty of value for the price you are paying.

If you are on a budget, this may be a good alternative for you to start learning.

Other Frequent Questions:

What’s the difference between Pinterest SEO vs. Google SEO?

Like Google SEO, Pinterest SEO is a strategy to make your pin appear on top of Pinterest for targeted keywords.

Many new bloggers (including myself) use Pinterest as a platform to gain traffic at the start of the blogging journey.

While you will get eyeballs on your new website much faster than Google, I have noticed over the years that the traffic is not nearly as consistent. For example, one pin can do well for a few weeks, bringing a lot of traffic, and then it can suddenly disappear.

To be successful at Pinterest, you also need to create pins consistently at volume, which can total up to a large amount of effort. In contrast, you will get a much more consistent return with the same amount of effort you put into Google SEO once. To me, that’s a much better return on investment.

Also, depending on your blogging niche, certain ones can do well on Pinterest (like baby, interior design, crafts, etc.). Still, others are either too competitive or don’t have enough traffic.

Does Pinterest Help SEO?

Pinterest is an excellent strategy to grow your traffic, especially for new websites.

However, based on my experience, relying on Pinterest for your traffic alone won’t get you to the top of page 1 on Google. You need to gain traffic elsewhere.

When I started blogging, I invested a lot of time in using Pinterest as a platform to drive traffic to my site. While it gave me a kickstart in traffic, it wasn’t perfect, and I was shocked when my Pinterest account got suspended for a few days.

How was I going to get traffic?

I realized that I was putting all my eggs in one basket. I needed to learn about SEO.

Over time, my organic google search traffic through SEO has become more consistent than my Pinterest traffic. I see consistent feedback like this from many successful bloggers, which is why investing in an SEO strategy for your blog is so crucial.

Final Thoughts on Stupid Simple SEO Review [2022]

So here you have it – my honest review of Mike’s Stupid Simple SEO.

If you want to improve your SEO, creating epic content that drives more organic traffic for your website, Mike’s Stupid Simple SEO is the course worth the investment. It’s packed with valuable information, unique tools, and strategies that you won’t learn elsewhere. Not only has Mike proven they work for his websites, but also 3,000+ students (including myself) have benefited from his proprietary method.

I hope my Stupid Simple SEO review gave you a better idea of the course and if it is a suitable investment.

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