How it works
About Search Syllabus
Search Syllabus gathers useful YouTube videos on SEO and how search works, from the people who build search engines to consultants, publishers and university lecturers. Each video is picked on its own, and its page says what it is about and why it is worth a look.
Videos are picked from what their makers say about them, so treat each note as a pointer, not a review. This is a trial version: the name, the list and the wording may all change.
Who made it
Every video carries a label saying what kind of source it is.
- Official source: the organisation the subject is about, speaking for itself.
- Independent practitioner: someone working in the field, who may sell their own services.
- Trade press or conference: a publication covering the field.
- Teaching or conference talk: a university, a teacher or a conference.
- Sells in this field: a business selling products or services in this field. Useful, but it also promotes what it sells.
Dates
Lists run newest first. Newer is not always better, so check the date and the source. Search advice changes fast, so anything older than 2.5 years carries a reminder to check it against current guidance.
Videos and creators
Every video plays in YouTube's own embedded player, with YouTube's own controls and any ads the creator has chosen. Nothing is downloaded, rehosted or altered. Titles and thumbnails are shown as YouTube provides them and are refreshed monthly. If you are a creator and want a video removed from this list, use the contact details on the privacy page.
Money and the list
The site may one day earn a small commission from links on its tool pages, and those pages will say so where it applies. That never changes which videos are listed, the order they appear in, or what their pages say. Video pages never carry an affiliate link. Videos from businesses that sell SEO tools or services carry the label "Sells in this field".
No promises
Nothing here promises rankings, traffic or sales. The videos explain how search works and how people in the field approach it; what happens to any one site depends on far more than a video can cover.