Search Engine Academy of South Carolina

In my weekly reads the other day I came across an interesting post from Ash Nallawalla’s Blog that caught my eye and I just had to read it.  SEO Certification - What Is Your View? 

There has been a long debate on just how valuable SEO Certification is throughout the industry and many varying opinions have been voiced on the topic for years. 

Many don’t realize it yet but the value of SEO Certification will become more valuable in the years to come.  Companies are starting to realize that it takes more then putting up a pretty Web site to be successful online.  Those that are counting on on-line sales or on-line visibility are learning fast that the Internet is a big marketing venue that has to be taken seriously.

Companies are now looking to hire in-house SEO’s to address the immediate need to market on-line.  Ash made an interesting point in his blog post; “I don’t think employers are silly enough to look only at a certification. Last place I worked in (hiring SEOs) placed no significance on the presence or absence of a degree. It all went on the way they answered the questions and their experience. And there will be some employers - perhaps government agencies who will look for the piece of paper before making a shortlist.” 

In interviews much of the time a degree does not always hold all the value but it is that degree that gives them the information needed to answer the questions properly during the hiring process.

Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing changes landscape everyday.  Most companies that offer SEO Certification Workshops spend countless hours in research and testing before adding anything to their curriculum.  These companies most times have educators that are Industry leaders and have been offering SEO Services to their clients for years.

Being a true SEO is more than a 3 or 5 day certification workshop it comes from many years of experience dealing with the search engine and building a portfolio to fully understand what it takes to be successful online.  However SEO Certification is a good beginning baseline. SEO Workshops sort out the good information from the bad and provides the student a better understanding of the Industry.

For anyone that is thinking about becoming SEO Certified here are 5 tips to finding value in Certification.

1. Education – Laying the foundation to a career as a Professional SEO is the same as any other job skill.  Finding an institution or training facility that holds true credibility in the industry is half the battle. There are many different organizations that offer training in search engine optimization and the job is to find a program that is backed by a good solid reputation of industry standards.

a. Is the program backed by any education institutions?
b. Are the instructors experts themselves?
c. Is the material updated consistently with industry changes?

2. Job Opportunities – At the time of this article there where over 12 pages of companies looking to hire SEO Consultants and Internet Marketers on CareerBuilder.com. Most of these companies where looking for individuals who understood search engine optimization and marketing and could implement the latest techniques and strategies into an existing web site.

3. Understand the Art & Science of SEO – There is definitely a difference between the art and science of SEO.  Anyone can logically teach the science (title tags, body text, link text etc.)  but very few SEO  Workshops are teaching the art.  Find a SEO Class that is addressing both sides and become well versed in all aspects of Internet Marketing.

4. Results over Certification – Even though a certificate that hangs on a wall will give someone the knowledge and confidence they need to perform internet marketing services it is in no comparison to the actual result they can share with someone. Customers like to see proof. They want to see true ranking results. Build a solid portfolio.

5. Re-Certification – The Internet world changes on a daily bases. What may have worked this year may not be the same techniques that will work next year. There are strategies that some SEO’s may have put in place that are now considered spam so it is vital that a certificate be kept current. Check training providers and be certain that they keep advised on any changes that may take place during the year. Ask if they offer re-certification or additional training modules to keep skills up to date. Nothing looks worse and is detrimental to an image then advertising an out of date certificate.

In conclusion only the student can find the true value of a SEO Certification. It all depends on how much time and energy one would want to put into becoming a successful SEO or how much time they give to gaining confidence in their skills as an optimizer.

The Industry is changing and there will come a point where the value of a SEO Certification will mean something.   In the mean time it is imperative that those seeking a professional standard for search engine optimization and internet marketing do their research first. 

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