Do you think SEO 'Certification' is worth it?

In a word, no.

If somebody came to me looking for a job as an SEO my first question would be what have you ranked well and how did you do it? Not what certificates do you have?

There may be some clients that would be impressed by a nice certificate though. I'll be happy to print you one for a lot less than $250

but are you saying that because you are guys in the seo field that dont have a certification and not a small business owner or hr person looking for someone to do SEO for a comopany?

'eh... why not. Can't hurt. People are easily swayed by a piece of paper that states you are an 'expert'. Just look at all the dummies coming out of college these days. A bunch of retards.

If you think about it, you and I could be just as qualified and knowledgeable when it comes to SEO but when we both meet with the naive CEO or HR of super company and you bust out the college credentials, you're going to have the edge. Stuff like certificates give them a woodie.

Now, when it comes to people who know what they are talking about, that certificate isn't going to hold much weight but I don't think those people are looking to hire an SEO expert anyway.

Certificates reassure someone that you know what you are talking about and that they can trust you, you're an 'expert' , the certificate said so. I think it could help when dealing with potential clients.

You'll be able to refer to yourself as a 'certified SEO expert', that'll sound cool when you start pitching your first WSO.

And it'll be really neat to hang on the wall

Although it sounds nice, personally I think it would be useless. I would spend that $250 on something that will add value to your websites for example a shedload of articles.

What you need is to build up your portfolio, I would spend the money on courses such as John's (XFactor's) ADsense Masters which in my opinion is lot more useful, I doubt they'll teach you tips and tricks that you learn on these forums.

In a nutshell, spend it on domains and content so that you can build up your tangible results which will in effect enhance your credentials.

If smeone came to me with a piece of paper saying they were an SEO expert and didn't have anythign to show for it, I'd tell them to close the door on the way out....just my £0.05.

If you all ready understand SEO, why bother with a job? You can become independently wealthy, as there are few limits in terms of income generation with firm SEO knowledge. You must all ready know how vast the web is and SEO allows free advertising. A job is like drugs. It's addictive. Why not be independent with your knowledge? Be your own boss. A certificate in your situation may be like wearing golden underwear.

Yes and no.

Yes, I think the certificate would help give credibility with many business owners and is probably worth $250...How many extra jobs do you need to get to have a good ROI?

No...It isn't the $250, it's the hours you will need to put into the class that may be better spent actually getting business...On the other hand, I took some computer classes at the local communtity college, and it's a great place to network.

If you feel like going back to school, go for it.

If you want certification, you could go for the Google AdWords pro qualification although it's irrelevant to SEO. It mught just look good on your CV/Resume!