Earning a Certification in SEO

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• Why Would Anyone Want to Get Certified in SEO?
• What Are Some of the Best SEO Courses Out There?
• What Do Critics of SEO Certification Say?

When learning search engine optimization, commonly known as SEO, there is a lot to understand. Although there are many tools you can use online to teach yourself, sometimes it’s best to learn under the guidance of a professional. Along with a more in-depth knowledge of SEO, earning your SEO certification can make you a more hirable candidate. Let’s learn more about SEO certificates.

Why Would Anyone Want to Get Certified in SEO?

There are many reasons someone would benefit from getting certified in SEO, such as:

Get a Better Understanding of SEO Concepts

Learning SEO can be a daunting task on your own, which is why taking a formal course can help you feel confident about the key concepts and strategies you need to know. Throughout your courses, you’ll gain hands-on experience in SEO, which is important because SEO is much more than simply knowing concepts. You need to know how to actually apply the information you learn when building webpages.

Become a More Hirable Candidate

Getting certified in SEO also proves that you have the skills and knowledge to build a better brand presence. Any time you can add another relevant certification to your resume, you are making yourself a more valuable candidate. When an employer is looking for someone with SEO experience, your certification proves that you know the concepts of SEO and can effectively apply them.

Save Valuable Time

Although completing an SEO certification program is time-consuming, it may actually save you time in the long run. If you work with SEO often, having this solid foundation can help you get your tasks done more efficiently. Likewise, you don’t have to waste time searching SEO questions on Google or scouring YouTube to learn how to format a webpage.

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What Are Some of the Best SEO Courses Out There?

These are some of the best SEO courses to check out if you’re interested in developing your SEO knowledge and skills:

• Google Digital Garage — Considering that the purpose of SEO is to rank highly on search engines like Google, it’s wise to learn your SEO knowledge straight from the source. This free course from Google is designed for those who need flexibility since you can learn at your own pace. Along with learning about SEO, you can develop important digital skills, such as UX, content marketing, and web design. You can even complete a few modules about PPC ads.
• HubSpot SEO Academy — This free course covers a wide variety of SEO topics, like link building, search authority, topic clusters, and the importance of blogging. Within the course, you’ll find three lessons, 15 videos, and two quizzes. It only takes about an hour to complete, making it a good overview of the basics of SEO.
• Moz SEO Essentials Certificate — Although free SEO certifications are a great way to get started, if you want to get serious about your SEO training, this may come with a price tag. This $595 certification covers everything you need to know to implement SEO quickly and efficiently. It consists of an intensive six-part course that takes about eight hours to complete. Each section is followed by an exam to test your true knowledge of SEO. You’ll start off with learning the fundaments while gradually diving into more complicated topics, like keywords, link building, and other SEO strategies.
• ClickMinded SEO Course — If you want expert-level instruction, then this $497 SEO course may be a good fit for you. Founder of ClickMinded, Tommy Griffith, leads the course. Considering that he was the SEO Manager of Airbnb and Paypal, you can trust that you are getting good instruction. This company claims that by completing this course, you can boost your current web traffic to 10 times higher. The lessons focus on the fundamentals of SEO and cover only the stuff you truly need.
• Yoast Academy — Yoast is the company that developed one of the most widely used SEO plugins for WordPress. It offers different tiers of SEO training, including its free all-around SEO training and a more extensive Yoast training subscription that costs $499 per year. In the paid version, you get access to nine courses that teach you how to improve your website’s SEO to gain more web traffic. As they add classes, you also get access to them at no extra charge. You can also download PDF files that include Yoast’s best SEO tips for reference.

What Do Critics of SEO Certification Say?

Although there are many benefits to enrolling in SEO courses, there is some criticism about SEO certifications that you may come across. Here are a few reasons some people prefer to be self-taught in SEO:

• Few are accredited — Some employers may find your SEO certification meaningless if they never heard of the company or institution that you earned it from. That’s why you want to make sure you’re enrolling in well-known programs from reputable SEO experts.
• Certification doesn’t equal real-world skills — If your program doesn’t have hands-on components, like assignments or worksheets, it can be challenging to actually develop SEO skills. Employers don’t always equate a certification to real-world experience. They may want to see that you used SEO in a previous role too.
• It’s often not required — Some critics point out that most employers don’t require an SEO certification. However, it can be argued that having these skills under your belt and the certification on your resume certainly can’t hurt.

When first getting started, SEO can be quite a challenging topic to grasp. By finding the right resources that fit your learning style, you can become an SEO pro.

Knowledge Base: SEO