SEO Certification – The Pros & Cons of Certified SEO Training Courses

SEO Certification: Is it needed to learn SEO with an SEO Course?

So, you’re interested in SEO for digital marketing and sales purposes.

You want to learn the ropes of SEO, so to speak, so that you can make a professional impact and get websites ranked.

You also have a future plan in mind: you will become an SEO expert who is an ace at analyzing keywords and search terms that will drive tons of organic traffic to a website so that it can be monetized well.

What should be your next step?

Getting enrolled in an SEO training course

Now, when you search for SEO courses on search engines, possibly hundreds will come up. You will see that many offer SEO certificates after course completion and many believe that they need proof for their acquired SEO skills. They assume that an SEO certificate will give a LinkedIn profile a boost.

But does a certificate really reflect the knowledge gained in the course?

SEO training provides a structured plan to tackle the many nuances of SEO, but the quality of it highly depends on the instructor or course creator. That’s why you should consider that:

• It provides technical expertise that fills in the spaces that self-help methods on the Internet don’t.
• You don’t want to be wasting your time watching YouTube videos and reading blog posts created by non-experts. You want a thoroughness in the source material.
• If you learn from an unreliable SEO course creator, your future boss will look at you askance, as you rattle off dubious, half-formed ideas on SEO.

It is therefore important to understand that not every SEO training course offering an SEO certification at the end is automatically a high-quality one.

There are eLearning platforms that offer courses by trusted experts in the field with thorough guidelines and instructions.

We at SeekaHost University are one of those responsible eLearning providers. We provide an exhaustive SEO course syllabus courtesy to our ClickDo digital marketing experts, who have been in the SEO game for over 5 years.

The variety of SEO training courses that are on offer at SeekaHost University are all created and taught by the SEO experts at ClickDo who do SEO work every day for their own and their client’s websites. You can see how Fernando Raymond, the top SEO consultant in London, does it via his digital entrepreneur blog.

We, therefore, urge you to take certain extenuating factors into consideration before choosing your SEO training course:

1. You cannot actualize as an SEO expert without experiential learning

Through an SEO course, you could imbibe the tenets of keyword analysis, mobile optimization, and the whole gamut of SEO sub-processes. Most students learn a fair bit of theoretical information that can be used for their future benefit.

However, the downside is that if the coursework doesn’t include practical methodology, then a certificate is only partially worthy and should be questioned.

Recruiters need SEO experts to think on their feet.

Each company will have a different need from SEO, which cannot be taught in theory.  They also might need an SEO expert to undertake ancillary functions as well, such as link prospecting, outreach email management, and functions privy to that specific industry vertical.

These SEO ideas can only be understood through consistent SEO practice virtually or in a practical drill within the coursework. Some SEO training courses provide practical assignments, such as the one at SeekaHost University and the opportunity to get involved as a virtual intern.

You need to ensure that you opt for a partially practical SEO course because it will give you valuable hands-on SEO tasks to practice and improve the SEO skills learned in theory.

Would you rather have the experience of ranking a website on Page 1 of the Search Engine Page Rankings, or a certificate?

The former is self-evident in its usefulness.

2. Most recruiters and hiring agencies do not emphasize on SEO certificates

Don’t forget this.

Recruiters are aware of the above issues: the gulf between theoretical knowledge and practical application. They will not hone in on your LinkedIn profile just because it has an SEO certificate. They will look for SEO experience first and foremost.

An SEO certificate is just a bonus, not the main body of credibility.

Most SEO enthusiasts, after getting certified, won’t be able to undertake the complex SEO tasks required of them. Can you undertake keyword research for an interior design business that involves 100 keywords, each optimized for separate parts of its digital sphere? These might have to be applied to a Google Ads campaign as well, in addition to web content.

Can you do it?

No?

That’s because most online SEO courses won’t teach you these nuances in a step-by-step process. There is a structured process to save time that not many know of. Sometimes, these courses may not offer access to the best SEO keyword tools. Many of the best SEO tools Manuela Willbold recommends are only affordable to companies with a higher budget, however, some offer partially free access and the course instructors at SeekaHost University can provide guidance with SEO tools.

Collaboration is another aspect not often taught in SEO courses. You will have to work with a lot of people.

3. If you already have 2 years of SEO experience you don’t need an SEO certificate

If a professional has been steeped in the intricate processes of SEO for 2 years within an SEO agency or in an SEO role, there is no need to go through the rigamarole of acquiring an SEO certificate.

Most firms have ample work in 2 years, that should satisfy the demands of practical understanding. A month-long SEO training course can obviously not teach the same SEO skills that you would get from working in SEO for 2 years. However, some agencies may provide additional SEO training while you work there as ClickDo Ltd. does to all employees.

If SEO certificates are not necessary then why try for one?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It’s the act of optimizing websites for Google Search when people type in (or say) keywords and phrases into the Google search bar.

It is free for all, and one of the best ways to target users and potential customers. As an SEO expert, your job will be to streamline this process for clients and their websites.

But this process is no easy one.

It is a gradual, patient process of tallying up clicks and views or traffic, A/B testing of tons of keywords and their variants, adjusting and embedding the meta-data, reducing page loading times, and much more.

If you are relatively new to this, then a thorough SEO training course with practical assignments will serve you well. As a bonus, the certificate will compensate for your relative inexperience.

But the challenge lies in finding the right eLearning agency that will provide you with an SEO training course with practical assignments and internships.

Where can you learn SEO the right way?

SeekaHost University provides SEO courses which not only offer practical tasks and work opportunities, but also additional guidance from true SEO experts.

For example, if you learn how to set up local SEO and Business Listings, and to map URL Structures, our experts will consult you in the processes in practical situations in the real world, should you need it. And we provide various free online tutorials on the YouTube channel.

We also offer topic-adjacent courses, such as an SEO content writing course, a Google Ads course, and a Blogging course to show the variety of SEO implementation online and cover as much as possible.

And it doesn’t end there.

At ClickDo, we can offer virtual internships for students who are keen to do some voluntary SEO work to organically progress. In other words, you will be given an opportunity to use your freshly learned SEO skills in digital marketing situations available to you by ClickDo!

As for our expertise itself?

Are our experts credible?

You bet.

ClickDo helped a payroll outsourcing company, Expert Payroll Services, by ranking their website on Google’s Page 1. This is a big deal in any SEO-related venture. Page 1 is where 90% of Google Search online traffic focuses.

SEO certificate – Yes or No?

SEO certificates are for people who don’t necessarily have the experience to land web content and digital marketing jobs right away and need a foot in the door.

The most important thing is to demonstrate your SEO skills and experience via case studies or even your own blogs or websites.

At SeekaHost University we provide an SEO certificate only upon course completion and if the instructor is certain that the student has learned the skills taught.

But even if you don’t complete a course, you will take many useful insights away from it, which you can apply to your SEO practice.

It’s heartening: the best of both worlds.

Recruiters warm to the applicants who are able to explain the practical aspects of SEO conscientiously. Because the SEO process is nothing if not conscientious. It requires a slow, brick-by-brick approach over keyword tools, web analytics, Google analytics, web content, and meta-data.

Are your clients selling sports shoes? “Buy the best sports shoes” can be split up and extrapolated into a thousand permutations. It is an expert who knows which one will serve the cause better. Competitive keywords are not always the best choice. Long-tail keywords are not always easy to find.

But with practice and learning comes success.

If you are new to SEO, having an SEO certificate from a trusted eLearning platform like SeekaHost University can help a student gain their first clients to build their SEO portfolio.

There are certain SEO courses you can take online that are widely recognized as trustworthy among recruiters and human resource agencies. SEO certificates from Google Digital Garage, Moz, and SeekaHost University will look good on one’s resume… provided the student has passed their course with flying colours and gained the necessary experience.

Make sure to take part in the virtual internships that follow some courses or try to offer some free SEO work first. The daily motions and SEO tricks will fall into a rhythm.

All in all, SEO will continue to be a way forward for digital business in the years to come.

Therefore, it is important to have the best SEO education available, in service to the cause.

Organic search is still such a wonderful conduit for small and medium businesses to gain a high profile. Their high-quality content can be rewarded with smart SEO. And your choice to find the best SEO courses will aid that is happening.

Happy hunting!