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Certify Me – Two Emerging SEO Certification
Programs
By Jim Hedger, StepForth News Editor, StepForth Placement Inc.
May 5 2006
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Two emerging initiatives aim to create and present certification designations
for search engine optimization specialists. Oddly enough, both are from
Southern Ontario, Canada both are being initiated by long term players in
the online marketing world, and neither has sanction from any official bodies,
other than their own boards of directors.
If the situation sounds confusing and ad-hoc, that’s because it is.
There is no official governing board for search engine optimization practitioners.
In other words, SEO is not a profession by any extent of the word. It is
a practice. There is no regulation, other than the vocal self-policing that
happens within the industry and no bureau of complaints and compliance,
other than the search engines themselves.
From a business and consumer’s point of view, the lack of professional
oversight or certification in the search engine optimization field can present
problems when deciding with whom to risk advertising dollars. Again, there
is no overarching better business bureau or best practices council for consumers
to file complaints with. Without an industry-wide certification program,
the only protection consumers can expect comes from the due-diligence process
they exercise themselves.
The Society of Internet Professionals wants to change that. Formed as a
non-profit society in 1997, the Society of Internet Professionals (SIP)
sees itself as one of the few entities capable of offering a professional
certification for SEOs. They took sole responsibility for the certification
for Internet Professionals in 2003 when the Association of Web Professionals
ceased operation, though they have been offering an accreditation program,
Accredited Internet Professional (AIP), since 1999.
Since that time, the number of specialization streams under which SIP offers
accreditation has grown to include, Web Technology, Web Design, Web Management,
Web Development, Internet Privacy, e-Business, e-Learning, and SEO.
According to SIP president and founder Max Haroon, “AIP is the accreditation
of Internet professional’s qualification and experience. AIP are professionals
practicing in the Internet sector whose qualifications, experience and professionalism
have been assessed by SIP.” Expanding certification into the SEO sector
is a natural move for SIP, says Haroon.
In order to qualify for an AIP in SEO, a practitioner must first become
a member of SIP. They must then conduct a three step assessment program,
the first step being a free online self-assessment. After taking the online
assessment test, applicants must then pass a SIP Core Examination which
challenges the writer’s mastery of general Internet competencies.
Lastly applicants must take a more difficult test covering the specific
AIP certification stream they are interested in.
The certification process is rigorous. Taking the two competency tests
is one thing. Passing them with a grade of 75% or higher is another. If
the applicant passes both competency tests, he or she will also need to
provide references from employers, peers and friends, and agree to abide
by SIP’s code of ethics.
For more information on becoming a member of the Society of Internet Professionals,
or on achieving SIP accreditation, visit their website at http://www.sipgroup.org/.
A second certification initiative will soon be launched if Terry Van
Horne (Webmaster T) from SEOPros.org has his way. SEOPros.org is also
a registered non-profit society based in Southern Ontario. Founded as
a directory
of vetted and approved ethical SEO and SEM firms, SEOPros wants to
bring a standard of best practices to the industry by offering an online
training
and evaluation course covering SEO Best Practices and Techniques.
The SEOPros initiative differs from SIP’s in that direct instruction
is offered to participants in a highly focused online classroom setting.
As SEOPros promises one-on-one instruction, it limits its classes to a maximum
of 20 participants.
Participants benefit from instruction offered by some of the most well
known and trusted names in the SEO industry including Van Horne, Dan Thies,
Scotty Claiborne and CJ Newton. SEOPros guarantees participants at least
one hour of private conversation with an instructor for personalized, one-on-one
lessons.
According to the SEOPros certification documents, “If you have heard
of "boot camps" for MCSE, then you know what to expect!”
The SEOPros course covers the following areas, Web Development and Conversion
Strategies, Understanding SERPs and HTML Optimization, and Submission and
Link Building Strategies. Participants who successfully navigate their way
through the intense learning sessions are invited to take a final exam which,
if passed leads to SEOPro “Best Practices Certification” and
membership in the (best practices exclusive) SEOPros directory. For more
information on the SEOPros Best Practices certification, please visit the
SEOPros website.
Both the Society of Internet Professionals and SEOPros recognize they have
common goals and have indicated a willingness to work with each other in
the future. It is interesting to note that both initiatives began independently
of each other but are located within 50 kilometres of each other.
The need for a professional designation or best practice certification
for SEOs is obvious. The method for creating, marketing and distributing
these certificates is not. Each of the initiatives would have more strength
if backed by one of the known SEO/SEM industry associations such as SEMPO
or the emerging Search Marketing Association of North America.
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