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I agree with EGOL 100% on this. When I first started learning SEO I went to different forums and browsed the threads for hours. I joined SEOMOZ and read everything and watched everything I could get my hands on. Eventually when I felt I had a good base, I created a website about a hobby I was into at the time, something that I was passionate about so it would keep me interested. That’s where I really started to learn SEO. After starting that site, I could pinpoint sections I was lacking and ask specific questions to the SEO community and do more research on it. In my honest opinion, $3,500 is WAY too much since you can find anything and everything to need to know about SEO for free. Just need the motivation.

This response is GREAT! Thank you! I'm going to do those things right now.

When your terms of service require that you get written permission to link to them.. Steph, I'd suggest reading the SEOmoz Beginner's Guide to SEO to get a good background on SEO. It'll help you judge if people are feeding you a line or they know what they're talking about.