What do I have to do to become a trained SEO professional?

Maria U: What do I have to do to become a trained SEO professional?
I have been working as a content writer fro some time but am at a disadvantage when a client asks me if I am a SEO expert. I know it’s not that difficult to be one but I don’t know whether I have to take a course to qualify as one or just work with a SEO firm to pick up the tricks. Please help.

Answers and Views:

Answer by SEO Wizz
There are no globally recognised SEO certificates however having a certificate in internet marketing from www.webceo.com will help show some credability.

The test is split in to modules with tests at the end of each one. It covers SEO from every angle as SEO is not just about content and links it covers the entire structure and HTML of a website.

There are so many things aspects to SEO and it’s only when you use them all together that you create an effective result. You could also look to read a good SEO blog on a consistent basis and pick all the tips SEO’s are currently using to optimise sites.

It’s one of them areas where your knowledge grows with experience.

Good Luck

Answer by bryson9
There are a few courses available to help you become more knowledgeable in the field of SEO, and they might help you gain credibility with certain audiences. Web CEO is actually not one I would recommend, as it’s run by a commercial enterprise and isn’t to my knowledge backed by a credible SEO expert. Here are three that are offered by marketing organizations or backed by leading experts:
SEMPO Institute Advanced SEO Certification
Bruce Clay’s SEO Toolset
DMA Search Engine Marketing Certification Program

If you feel that you need extra training or are trying to land an SEO job without a lot of experience I think these courses could help you do it. As a graduate of SEMPO Institute’s Advanced SEO program one of the people who hires SEOs for our agency, I would say that having any of these certificates would give you an advantage over someone with similar experience who wasn’t trained.

That said, as someone who has been a successful SEO for years prior to taking any certification course, I don’t believe any course is necessary to become an SEO. There’s plenty of information out there on blogs like SEOMoz and Search Insider, and at conferences like SMX and SES, and at this point in the game Google even has a resource to help white hat SEOs learn their trade. If you have read and understood the Google Webmaster Guidelines, and practiced them for a few months, you should be able to see some improvement in indexing and ranking digital content in order to drive traffic or revenue. And from my perspective, and the perspective of most SEOs and clients who hire us, that’s the test of whether or not you’re an SEO, not necessarily a training course.

Good luck! Always keep learning the trade because it changes with the search engine algorithms.

Best,
Bryson

Answer by Art C
I have noticed that some community colleges in California have started offering online Search Engine Optimization courses. MSJC in Southern California www.msjc.edu offered a low cost online class for under $ 100. The class may be through another online provider but was offered through the school.

Just a suggestion, you might want to change your mind set. SEO is not easy. There is a ton of information out there. Sorting through the multiple offering and opinions is tough !

GOOGLE LUCK ! Sorry, I meant good luck !

Answer by unlimited1010
SEO is way complicated. You have to keep up with Google and as one of my students put it, it was like learning photo shop from scratch.

You do not just pick up a book and read it and done. Even with a one on one class like: https://kortia.com/ you will need follow up and refresher courses.

Things just just change to much and Google does not send a memo every time they make an algorithm change.

last year they did over 400 changes.