Will SEO certification ever be provided by Google?

Google offers certification to professionals for a range of their products, including AdWords and Google Analytics. Despite considerable interest from customers and SEO providers alike, however, they don’t provide certification for SEO, and that is unlikely to change.

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Who would like SEO Certification?

If you are a person who is trying to decide upon an agency to provide the SEO content for your website, a web design agency looking for a partner company, or even an employer looking into hiring a new SEO specialist, a Google certification would be ideal. Google is the largest search company in the world. In fact, as of February 2016, Google’s parent company Alphabet is the largest company in the world. Their certification would be valuable and meaningful to those who obtain it.

Why won’t Google certify SEO companies?

If Google were to certify SEO providers, they would be certifying people to complete a range of tasks, not all of which require Google software. They would be certifying people’s practice and not their competency in a clearly defined field. Understandably, Google doesn’t want to be held accountable for the actions of that many people across the world. If your Google-certified SEO specialist didn’t get you to the top of the search rankings, would you try to sue Google? To hear Google specialists explain this themselves, see this Search Engine Land article.

Google has given several explanations over the past few years as to why the firm is unwilling to certify SEO providers. One of the main reasons is that you can become a Google Adwords Certified individual by studying the software and passing the exams. The certification includes a code of practice but is based on technical proficiency, which is straightforward to test. It also requires that people use Google’s Adwords API or web interface, so they must comply with Google policies. Companies such as elevate uk, who offer Professional SEO services, use Google Analytics and Adwords to create websites and monitor their performance.  It is important for businesses to be at the top of google search so customers can find them easily.

Google also wants to maintain a certain distance between paid-for services and its organic search results. Providing SEO certification would inevitably involve providing training and assessment, Courses would have to be planned, delivered, reviewed and revised. This costs money, and that would have to come from the individuals and companies seeking certification.