Search Engine Marketing & AI Search Specialist 2026

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About Course

Become a Search Engine Marketing and AI Search Specialist

Search is no longer limited to ten blue links. Customers discover businesses through organic results, paid ads, maps, shopping listings, AI Overviews, AI Mode, Microsoft Bing and other answer-driven experiences.

This practical professional program teaches learners how to connect search intent to measurable business outcomes. Students will plan organic and paid search strategies, improve websites and local visibility, configure advertising campaigns, implement tracking, optimize performance and prepare reports that business owners and clients can understand.

What This Program Covers

  • Search intent, customer journeys, keyword research and competitor analysis.
  • Technical SEO, on-page optimization, content systems and authority building.
  • Google Business Profile, local listings, reviews and multi-location visibility.
  • Google Ads Search campaigns, conversion tracking, bidding and optimization.
  • Merchant Center, Shopping campaigns and Performance Max.
  • Microsoft Advertising, Bing and alternative search platforms.
  • AI search, answer-engine optimization, entities and structured data.
  • A portfolio-ready integrated search marketing capstone.

How You Will Learn

Each module contains four applied lessons, a practical assignment and a five-question knowledge check. Setup lessons use dated, annotated screenshots and learners complete their work using safe test accounts or redacted business information.

Current Platform Guidance

Google confirms that foundational SEO best practices remain relevant for AI Overviews and AI Mode. Google Ads continues to support keyword-led Search campaigns alongside goal-based Performance Max campaigns, while Google Business Profile remains central to visibility in Search and Maps.

Reference sources: Google Search Central: AI features, Google Ads campaign types, and Google Business Profile local ranking guidance.

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What Will You Learn?

  • Build integrated SEO, paid search, local and AI-search strategies
  • Research search intent, keywords, topics and competitors
  • Improve website, landing-page and technical SEO readiness
  • Optimize helpful content, internal linking and authority signals
  • Manage Google Business Profile, listings and reviews
  • Build and optimize Google Ads Search campaigns
  • Configure measurement with GA4, Tag Manager and conversion actions
  • Plan Shopping, Performance Max, Microsoft Advertising and AI-search activity
  • Complete a portfolio-ready integrated search marketing capstone

Course Content

Module 1: The Search Landscape in 2026
Understand organic, paid, local, shopping and AI-driven search, and connect each channel to business objectives.

  • Search Marketing in 2026: Organic, Paid, Local and AI
  • How Search Engines Discover, Understand and Rank Content
  • Search Channels, Business Objectives and Budget Allocation
  • Search Policies, Ethics and Professional Responsibilities
  • Search Visibility and Budget Allocation Audit
  • Module 1 Knowledge Check

Module 2: Search Intent and Customer Journeys
Map informational, commercial, transactional and local intent across the customer journey.

Module 3: Keyword, Topic and Competitor Research
Build evidence-based keyword, topic and competitor research systems for organic and paid search.

Module 4: Website and Landing-Page Readiness
Prepare websites and landing pages for mobile usability, trust, conversion and measurable campaign performance.

Module 5: Technical SEO Foundations
Manage crawling, indexing, sitemaps, canonicals, redirects, performance and Search Console diagnostics.

Module 6: On-Page SEO and Content Systems
Create helpful, well-structured pages using titles, headings, internal links, media and responsible AI workflows.

Module 7: Authority, Links and Digital PR
Build sustainable authority through quality links, citations, partnerships, brand mentions and digital PR.

Module 8: Google Business Profile and Local SEO
Improve visibility in Google Search and Maps through accurate profiles, categories, reviews and local relevance.

Module 9: Listings, Reviews and Reputation Management
Manage directory consistency, review programs, reputation workflows and multi-location operations.

Module 10: Google Ads Search Campaigns
Build search campaigns with clear objectives, account structure, keywords, responsive ads, assets, budgets and bidding.

Module 11: Conversion Tracking and Paid-Search Optimization
Configure measurement, analyze search terms and optimize bidding, CPA, ROAS and conversion quality.

Module 12: Shopping, Merchant Center and Performance Max
Manage product feeds, Shopping campaigns, Performance Max assets, signals, controls and reporting.

Module 13: Microsoft Advertising and Alternative Search Engines
Extend search visibility through Microsoft Advertising, Bing, partner networks and alternative discovery platforms.

Module 14: AI Search, AEO and Professional Capstone
Optimize for AI-assisted discovery, structured data, entities and citation-worthy content, then present an integrated capstone.

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