The only thing that can prove you know your SEO stuff is a current list of successful competitive listings.

Passing a course doesn't teach you the same skills you would have acquired by passing a competitors site in search engine result listings. There is no standard list of an SEO's required skill sets. It is something you uniquely acquire.

A fun test is the seoquiz, but passing it doesn't prove you could optimize a site to top list, it really only proves you read that site's posts a lot and are familiar with SEO strategies and basics.

Links:

• http://www.seomoz.org/seo-expert-quiz

posted July 22, 2008

When I ran my SEO training business full-time (http://www.trainsem.in and http://www.trainsem.com) I trained dozens of students but only two were certified. I didn't believe in giving a certificate for attendance and calling it certification. I gave a practical exercise relevant to the student's website and judged it after six months. This deterred all but two students, who were well qualified before they did my course, anyway.

posted July 22, 2008

Being an "adWords Certified Professional", which is quite similar, I can say that it means nothing to others in the industry, but it does carry some weight with clients. The reality is that a potential client is going to hear from a half of dozen firms before selecting one. Whether it is SEO, SEM, or any other form of marketing, clients will hear several pitches that all sound rather similar. These certifications can, in some cases, be tie-breakers.

That said, I harbor no illusions that the certifications are hard to get or that they imply significant ability. When I am hiring new SEO or PPC marketing candidates, I certainly do not expect them to be certified.

posted July 22, 2008

I am quite satisfied with Khem Raj. It is really informative site http://www.kneoteric.com/knowledge-base/html/seo-certification.html

Go Ahead.

Thanks
Paras Maheshwari

posted July 23, 2008

Hi Khem,

I agree with Kathryn. Being "certified" means you can put a badge on your website as a credibility indicator and to build trust with potential clients.

Frankly, that's really the only point to it -- assuming that you know your stuff. And the best way to prove that is to show the work you've done for your clients (ie. results).

Cheers,
John

posted July 24, 2008

In the world of SEO it comes down to whether your reputation speaks for itself. Nothing matters more than results. But, a certification can't hurt you in any way. So think about that perspective.

posted September 17, 2008

I passed both the AdWords Pro and Yahoo Ambassador tests. As someone correctly noted, your peers probably won't think much of it.

With Google, you can have the entire AdWords learning center open while you take the test. Yahoo's was definitely trickier, but I believe they discontinued the program.

posted September 17, 2008

It really depends on the kind of jobs you are seeking. I have been working with computers in various aspect for over 20 years, yet I do not care one iota about certs. My thinking is that certs prove you know something that you do not have the experience to back it up. But in the end experience always trumps a cert. So a cert can prove you know something if you don't have experience. If you have experience than the cert does nothing but help make them believe it. In interviews my experience has always been more important than what certs I have. Which right now is none.

My other experience with certs are that they rarely if ever reflect reality.

posted September 17, 2008

I think taking a SEO Online Course is worth it - from a Learning standpoint. Although everything is available on the web - it takes a lot of time to experiment and learn. It is difficult to connect the dots from start to finish. For e.x if you want information on Keyword Research Process- What, Why, How and When -it is not easily available in one source in completeness.

We are in the final stages of creating a Visual Online SEO course. You can view some of the Interactive Flash presentations.
http://telezent.com/telezent/Optimizing-your-website.aspx
http://telezent.com/telezent/search-engine-ranking.aspx
http://telezent.com/telezent/keyword-research-process.aspx
http://telezent.com/telezent/google-indexing-flash.aspx

Here is a case study of how a one can benefit
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_66/s0806026852445.htm

Thanks

posted September 18, 2008

I deal with a lot of SMB's that have given 'Search Experts' piles of money with nothing to show for it.

It's folks that over-promise and under-deliver that make it challenging for the rest of us. And it turns some companies off from trying it again.

I have Google/Yahoo certifications. It does give me a little more credibility when dealing with some that have been burned before. I have certainly encountered other 'pros' that do know their stuff but don't have any official designation to show for it.

I think it would be a great resource to come up with questions for small businesses to ask of their Internet Marketing pros before hiring them. It'd help give some legitimacy to us as well as help educating the business owners about being a savvy consumer.

posted September 22, 2008