Thoughts On Search Marketing Certification

Just completed my first Search Engine Marketing Professional Association (SEMPO) certification, through the organization's Sempo Institute. As a reward, in addition to a nice paper document, they gave me a neat web badge -- see it somewhere on the home page of this blog.

The certification course was given through self-directed online training. While I knew a good deal of the content from my experience with my interactive team at Symbol Technologies and then Motorola, there were definitely new things to learn. At around $300 for SEMPO members and little more for non-members, I would recommend it as a way to improve your knowledge of SEO, Pay-Per-Click and Web 2.0 developments.

The only concern I have about the course was the quality of the review and test questions. Having given college exams for some time now, I would say the questions were often a little too focused on a term rather than the knowledge behind the term. Some were rightly challenging for sure. But some are worth reviewing for next time around.

What is the value of the certification? Knowledge for one. Professional recognition for another. If you are looking for a job in a major corporation, this definitely could be a plus for hiring managers who move in the circles of Search Engine Strategies and SMX, and are familiar with SEMPO. It shows you know that professional audience's concerns.

But what about small business or self-employment? My view is that the certification is reassuring to potential customers. It shows you are serious about the field.

Experience, however, is also very important. It helps to have worked on researching keywords, placing them in HTML and optimizing copy for example. If you need those additional skills, I would suggest you consider approaching an interactive organization or Search Marketing firm with your SEMPO certification and offer to freelance some of these tasks.

The next two courses in advanced search are more expensive. Over $1K each. But cheaper, for example, than the project management tracks I am pondering. And perhaps worth just as much in terms of knowledge. I'll be thinking hard about which to take next.