Enroll Today

Become a more confident and effective
SEO professional

Learn the communication & business skills you need to level up your career.

Join over 500 SEOs enrolled in the course

“Tom Critchlow's SEO MBA course is one of the very few SEO courses that are worth 10x the cost. If you're interested in stepping out of the weeds to get buy-in with decision-makers at the executive level, this is a must-take course.

Tom's vast experience, impactful examples, and data-driven lessons ensure your SEO career gets leveled up.”

Greg Bernhardt - Senior SEO Strategist, Shopify

The biggest challenge for SEO professionals is not knowing what to do, it's knowing how to get it done

Recognize any of these?

- Difficulty getting buy-in and budget from executives
- Challenges demonstrating the value of SEO
- Lacking confidence presenting SEO to the C-suite
- Not getting the resources you need to get things done

The #1 challenge for SEO professionals is not technical know-how, but knowing how to get buy-in and budget. Industry surveys consistently rate it as the biggest challenge:

“The top 5 challenges are all SEO resource and execution challenges” - source

“The average SEO at a big company has been waiting over six months for their highest priority technical change and doesn’t anticipate seeing it deployed for at least another six months” - source

“43% of people cite lack of buy-in or resources as the biggest risk to SEO success.” - source

SEO fundamentally requires other teams to invest their resources in our projects, whether it's the product, marketing or editorial team.

This course isn't about technical audits or keyword research. This course focuses on the business, leadership and consulting skills that you need to be more effective in your job and operate at more senior levels of business.

For SEOs who want to be more effective

In-house SEO Professionals

You don't have the resources you need and it's a challenge to persuade your company to invest in SEO.

After 5 weeks you'll:

  • Be able to tie SEO to business value
  • Feel more confident advocating for resources
  • Have a full strategy presentation to invest in SEO

Agency SEO Consultants

You're trying to convince clients to invest in SEO, and you want more buy-in with senior stakeholders.

After 5 weeks you'll:

  • Level up your strategy presentations
  • Be able to get clients to invest in SEO
  • Feel confident pitching bigger projects to bigger clients

What you'll learn

How to create buy-in and secure resources for strategic SEO initiatives
How to create a business case for SEO initiatives and a full financial model
How to create effective, compelling presentations for senior executives and the C-suite
How to work cross functionally to get things done inside large organizations

5 Weeks of Intensive Learning with Weekly Assignments

Follow the weekly program or learn at your own pace

Week 1: Good SEO Strategy

Learn how to create an effective SEO strategy that's more than just a list of things you want to get done. Learn how to create compelling strategies that are credible and aligned with stakeholders.

Week 2: The Value of SEO

Learn how to connect SEO to business value and revenue, including hard to measure projects like link building. Deepen your appreciation for business models and how they dictate what gets funded.

Week 3: Investment Models

Learn how to create a financial investment plan and business model for large initiatives. Understand how to manage stakeholders to get buy-in and get key information to create compelling financial models.

Week 4: Effective Business Presentations

Learn how to structure clear communication, from writing emails to full strategy presentations. Get comfortable at managing upwards and put together a strategy presentation the same way McKinsey does.

Week 5: Getting Things Done

Learn how to find alignment with other teams, manage resource asks and navigate organizational politics. Improve your communication with senior stakeholders and find out why pre-agreeing is essential to getting buy-in and budget.

Each week contains videos, resources and homework assignments

Bonus!

In addition to lifetime access you get:

Essential Templates

Three SEO investment model spreadsheets and a full SEO strategy presentation template.

3 Practice Scenarios

Full simulated examples with problems and answers to apply the knowledge from the course. Brain teasers to test your skills or prepare for an interview.

Weekly Office Hours

These are informal group discussions where we can discuss course content or challenges in your role.
(Only available on the Professional tier)

Join over 500 SEOs enrolled in the course.

Tom really understands the nuances of speaking to executives.

He's created a course that will help any strategy minded marketer communicate their ideas and get buy-in from their clients or leadership.

Benjamin Collins
President, Boldist

I was part of the SEO MBA beta cohort and I highly recommend this course to SEOs who are looking to level up their strategic skills.

Tom shares processes and examples that are applicable to those client-side, agency-side and solo consultants. It’s extremely actionable and includes lots of learnings that I embedded in my day to day work.

Most importantly, I now feel much more confident presenting my SEO vision to leadership and executive teams.

Areej AbuAli
Head of SEO, Papier

This course is perfect for a seasoned SEO that knows what needs to get done and how to do it, but needs help with the soft skills: getting executive buy in, internal politics, budgeting, presentations, and more things no one ever talks about on Twitter.

If you are trying to take your career to the next level, and be able to clearly communicate to both your peers and senior, this course is for you.

John-Henry Scherck
Principal Consultant, Growth Plays

If you want to learn exactly how to present ideas and get executive buy-in for SEO projects, SEO MBA is easily the most important and unique course you can invest your time in. Unlike any other SEO training or course, SEO MBA teaches you how to build a presentation and strategy to get executive buy-in upfront.

Tom’s one simple tip on how to write a slide headline (and exactly what not to do) has radically transformed our client presentation and pitch decks. The course ended last week and it has already helped our entire agency communicate better and close 2 high quality six-figure deals.

Leigh Wasson
Chief Marketing Officer, Supreme Optimization

8 years into my career as a professional SEO, Tom's SEO MBA has helped me discover new ways to pitch projects, present forecasts and slide decks, drive change in large organizations and think more strategically.

There are a lot of SEO courses that will tell you how to write a title tag or conduct keyword research. This is not one of them. Tom operates on another level, and you should consider yourself lucky if you ever get the chance to pick his brain about any SEO- and strategy related topic.

Marco Schlauri
Founder, Digital Leverage

The course was enlightening and I have already found actionable ways to improve my executive communication skills, optimize reporting, and "think bigger" with SEO strategy.

I now have the knowledge and tools to format more compelling requests for resources and support.

My team and direct manager have noted the positive change (and my boost in confidence) over the past few weeks, and I will continue to apply these learnings to take my performance to new heights.

Madeline Enos
Marketing Manager and Off-Page SEO Lead

See 30+ testimonials here

Hi, I'm Tom Critchlow and I've worn many hats in my career

I've spent the last 15 years working in agencies, in-house and now as an independent consultant for companies you've heard of like The New York Times, Google, Dotdash, Etsy and Gartner.

In my consulting work, I've helped companies structure large scale SEO investments and led hiring for senior SEO roles. What I've seen is that there's a big skills gap in the market for technically competent SEOs to gain crucial business skills in order to operate at the most senior levels of business.

This course is a distillation of my entire career and brings to bear all of the skills and advice I wish I'd had in my career along the way.

“Tom brings a unique mix of SEO, business strategy and executive presence. Working together we have successfully secured investment to build modern SEO programs, driven valuable revenue growth and transformed SEO into a strategic business lever with executive leadership at various enterprises.”
Robert Bellovin
VP Product, Angi
“Tom is a 'CEO Whisperer'. He is truly a world-class listener and mentor who knows how to knock down walls inside companies to get strategic projects delivered."
Jeremy Cabral
Co-founder & COO, Finder

Enroll Today

Instant access, lifetime updates

Essentials

The full course on executive presence to become more confident and accelerate your career.

$695

Enroll Today

What's included:

  • Over 5 hours of video
  • Lifetime access
  • 3 practice scenarios
  • SEO investment spreadsheet template
  • Full SEO strategy presentation template

Professional

Everything in Essentials, plus email feedback on your assignments and access to the weekly office hours.

$975

Enroll Today

What's included:

  • Over 5 hours of video
  • Lifetime access
  • 3 practice scenarios
  • SEO investment spreadsheet template
  • Full SEO strategy presentation template
  • 1:1 Email feedback on assignments
  • Weekly office hours on zoom

Custom Pricing

Bulk pricing, private cohorts and custom training for larger agency and in-house teams

Contact

Custom offers:

  • Bulk pricing for 3+ seats
  • Unlimited license for larger teams
  • Private cohorts
  • Custom training programs
Get in touch: [email protected]

“The SEO MBA course is very good. I got more than my money's worth (a lot more) from yesterday's session on opportunity modeling, It's already changing how I work with customers. Money well spent.”

John-Henry Scherck - Principal Consultant, Growth Plays

FAQ

How long will the weekly office hours continue?
Office hours are held weekly and will continue at least through the end of 2024.
What if I can't make the office hours?
I can't guarantee to cover every single time zone but I'll do my best to vary the time of day and day of the week so that everyone can get a chance to attend these sessions. Most commonly they'll be Thursday morning, Eastern Time
Do I have to follow the 5 week schedule?
No, you don't have to. You get lifetime access to all of the materials on day 1 and can study at your own pace. That said there's a lot of materials so I suggest pacing yourself with the weekly emails!
Do you have a 1-pager PDF I can show my boss?
Sure! Take a look at this PDF or the Google Docs version
I work on small business SEO. Is this course for me?
While the course content should be useful and applicable to everyone, it's geared towards SEOs working with medium and large organizations where business skills, investment models and presentations are most impactful.
Will this course share any advanced technical SEO?
No. In fact, there's very little "SEO advice" in the whole course. The focus is specifically on developing the business, leadership and consulting skills that you need to become a more senior SEO professional, not tips and tricks.
Can I get my company to pay for this?
I hope so! Many organizations have L&D, training and professional development budgets that you can use to help pay for the course. Feel free to put your manager in touch with me!
Can I pay by invoice?
Sure thing. Send me an email: [email protected] and I'll get you set up.
Is there a discount for buying multiple seats?
Sure thing. Send me an email: [email protected] and I'll get you set up.
Do I get a certificate when I complete the course?
Yes! You'll receive a digital certificate when you complete the course materials.
How can I afford the course outside the US?
Parity pricing is available for countries where the price makes it prohibitive. Email me and I'll sort you out!
Can I book a private 1:1 if I did not purchase the Executive tier?
Sure! If you decide once you've done the course that you wish you had booked another tier for more personal feedback, you can purchase a 45 minute 1:1 chat separately. Just email me: [email protected]
Can I get a refund?
If you've watched the videos and still aren't getting value then send me an email within 60 days and I'll refund you the course: [email protected]
I have more questions...
Ok! Shoot me an email: [email protected]

The SEO MBA contributes 1% of revenue to carbon removal. See more info here.