Google Certified SEO Experts – Does Something Like This Exist? 

I was doing some keyword research today and came across this term – Google Certified SEO Experts.

The volume was low, but surprisingly advertisers were willing to pay up to 10 dollars for a single click on this keyword.

The majority of searches for these terms would be by website owners who are looking to carry out the optimization of their website by SEO experts who are certified as authentic or reputed by Google.

But is there an SEO certification issued by Google? The answer is no. Claiming to have one, is a tactic by scammy salesmen who are fooling potential customers looking to hire SEOs for their websites. On its part, Google has already come out with an extensive guide on how to choose an SEO expert and the dos and don’ts you need to keep in mind while hiring someone to do SEO for your website.

Below is an example of a “Google certified SEO expert”-

Here is what you need to know when you come across someone who claims to be a “Google certified SEO expert”.

1. Google doesn’t provide any certifications for SEO

Google’s ideal world would be one without SEOs, where it could purely rank websites based on natural exchange. SEO’s, on the other hand, work towards understanding Google’s algorithm and building sites that follow SEO practices in a way that helps them rank higher in Google search results.

This, in many ways, is counterintuitive to Google’s cause as ultimately, it sees SEOs as marketers manipulating its results for their vested interests.

So not even the best ethical SEOs who follow all of Google’s rules have a chance of getting a seal of approval as a “Google Certified SEO Expert” from Google. So if an individual or company tells you that they are a Google Certified SEO experts, run a million miles away because they have scammer written all over them.

2. Google Analytics Certified or Google Partners doesn’t translate to Google Certified SEO Expert

Google has its own examinations for Google Ads and Google Analytics, wherein businesses or individuals can pass respective Google certifications and be labelled as Google Partners & Google Analytics Certified individuals.

Google Partners is an ad certification program by Google while Google Analytics Certification, as the name suggests, is a certificate for passing Google’s Analytics test.

Even though there might be an overlap of various marketing aspects of PPC and Google Analytics with SEO, in the true sense, being Google Analytics certified or a Google Partner in no way certifies a brand or person as “Google certified SEO expert”. Also, there is no Google SEO Certification course.

So how do you choose an SEO expert?

1. Ask about their SEO process and strategy when taking on a new client.

2. Do they talk only in marketing jargon or do they have an overall understanding of how SEO fits into the bigger picture?

3. Ask them for some of their case studies & client references.

4. You can also ask them to share an SEO site audit before starting out. Some agencies charge for an in-depth audit, but it can give you a clearer understanding of how they envision carrying out SEO for your site.

To summarize, don’t fall for the trap of those who claim to be “Google certified SEO experts” or those that tell you that they know someone internally within Google who can help you get better ranking positions. Google’s algorithm can’t be manually manipulated by any internal employees for better rankings.

Have more questions on how to choose an SEO agency or SEO expert? Get in touch with us. Promise we won’t sell you anything 😊