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Frequently Asked Questions About Our
Search Engine
Marketing Training With An Expert
- Who is the Academy of Web SpecialistsTM? What are your qualifications?
Visit
our home page to learn more
about the Academy and our philosophy. Or, visit our
Management
page, our Instructors'
page, and our
Specialists'
page to discover the qualifications of the people associated with the
Academy of Web SpecialistsTM.
- How long does the SEM Training last?
Our Search Engine Marketing Training features eight lessons, and
students have 16 weeks of access to the material in order to complete the SEM
Training. You can work at your own pace and finish much sooner, if you
choose.
- Do you provide chat sessions?
The Academy offers weekly
chat sessions
for our students at various times and days of the week. Students can
participate in any of those sessions that they choose, and we frequently invite
guest speakers to lead the sessions. .
Because many of our students are
professional search engine optimizers, we also offer chat sessions and conduct
research of special interest to professional optimizers. For example, here's
some research we did on
contracts
for search engine optimizing companies.
- Are lessons mailed out to the students?
All of our students access lessons online at a password-protected
area of the Web.
- Will we receive a printed book, or is
everything downloaded from the Web?
All of our materials are
downloaded from the Web.
- When do the classes meet?
Our
classes don't meet at specific times. However, we have chat sessions at
different times throughout the week.
- How much time does it take to work on a
lesson?
Our Search Engine Marketing lessons are comprehensive. It
takes time to read the material and apply those principles. Plan to spend a few
hours every week working on the lessons.
- How much HTML do you need to know in order
to benefit from Essential Foundations of Search Engine Marketing?
Students need to have a basic knowledge of HTML, but they certainly don't need
to know advanced HTML. We'll be creating information pages and making changes
to certain tags, so in order for the students not to be confused, they'll need
to know some basics. Visit these links for free online tutorials in HTML:
HTML Testbed
HTML 4 Rookies
- If you have basic search engine ranking
experience already, can you go directly into the Advanced Search Engine
Marketing program?
Yes, but you'll need to pass our prerequisite
test and score at least 80% on it. Visit this URL:
http://school.discovery.com/quizzes3/
smslady/AdvancedPrequisite.html
- What search engines do you use in the
Essential Foundations class?
Our Essential students utilize Google
and Fast since those engines still accept free submissions and generally index
pages in a timely manner.
- What translations of the material do you
provide?
We don't have translations of the material available. But
we have contacts in many other countries and we can put you in touch with
promotion specialists who could offer consultation in other languages.
- When are classes taught?
Sign
up and begin right away.
- Is there a "real" person who will look over
my homework and answer my questions?
Yes! Our SEM experts are
quite real, and you'll find them personable, knowledgeable, and very willing to
work with you on your Web site.
- Will my SEM expert visit my Web site?
Your SEM expert will visit your Web site at the beginning of your
search engine marketing course. Then, as the class progresses, she/he will
visit again as needed, depending on your situation. For example, if you're
having ranking problems, your SEM expert may end up visiting your site almost
every week. If your ranking is excellent and you're having no problems, the SEM
expert won't need to visit as often.
- What if I don't have a Web site that I can
use?
We have some "dummy" Web pages that have been donated by
past students, and we'll be glad to let you use one of those pages for your
course. We also have a "test" domain that you can use, if you don't have your
own Web space.
- Can I cancel my registration and get a
refund?
The Academy doesn't offer refunds. Our Search Engine
Marketing Training is taught in conjunction with a university, so strict
guidelines apply. Like a university, we can't offer refunds for our SEM
Training, and you can't cancel your registration. Once you've accessed the
material, you've accessed our vast resources of knowledge. Even if we were able
to offer refunds from a university standpoint, we wouldn't be able to do so,
because to issue refunds would be to "give away the ship."
- Can I get a refund for unfinished
lessons?
No refunds will be given for unfinished lessons.
- Can I switch to a later class?
Students who can't finish the program on time will be allowed to purchase
8 additional weeks of access to the program material for $149, but only if
purchased within 30 days from the end of their training program.
- What if I have an emergency and can't
complete the class?
If you have an emergency and can't complete
the class, talk to your instructor. The above switching policies will
apply.
- What can you do with Continuing Education
Units (CEUs)?
Many employers and government agencies require
their employees to take so many hours of Continuing Education classes every
year. Our Search Engine Marketing Training will fulfill those requirements.
Earning Continuing Education Units will prove that you completed all SEM
Training requirements and have learned and mastered the strategies involved. It
is a credential that you can use to prove your experience and education.
Continuing Education Units aren't the same as university credit. They
can't be used to earn a degree. However, taking specific groupings of
Continuing Education courses can be used to earn special certification.
- How can you earn Continuing Education
Units?
Students who are interested in earning university
Continuing Education Units will pay for the cost of CEUs ($25 per CEU) to the
University of Southern Mississippi. Students will register and pay for the SEM
Training through the Academy and pay for the CEUs separately to USM. Students
can also register directly through the University of Southern Mississippi's
Continuing Education Department as well, so students who want to pay the entire
amount to USM can register for the SEM Training in that manner.
Click here for more
information on Continuing Education Units.
Important Note: If you want
to earn Continuing Education Units, you must register and pay the $25
fee per CEU to USM prior to beginning the SEM Training. Absolutely NO
CEUs can be awarded to anyone after the SEM Training begins.
- What is your certification process? How can
certification benefit me?
Competition is great on the Internet,
as you know. Web designers and promoters need every edge over the competition
that they can get in order to succeed. Certification in Search Engine Marketing
skills is proof that you've mastered those specialized techniques, and you can
proudly display your certification seal on your Web site.
In the past,
several students who didn't complete the course and didn't earn certification
have missed out on jobs that they would have gotten had they have been able to
prove their skills by being certified.
Certification with the Academy of Web
SpecialistsTM isn't given lightly. Our
students truly earn certification by doing more than just taking the class.
For example, our students are given a real life example and asked to offer
suggestions for boosting traffic to the site.
- What trial versions of software programs
are available to the students?
We have working relationships with
numerous companies to provide our students with trial versions of software,
some of which aren't available in trial versions except to our registered
students. Our students can download a trial version of
Keyword Density Analyzer, for
example, that isn't available anywhere else. Students can also download a trial
version of Search Engine Optimizer
(SEO). Please visit our
Important
Resources page for more information on our partners.
- What if I have a pornographic Web site? Can
I still take the class?
Experts who work for the Academy of Web
SpecialistsTM are professionals, and they
handle their students in a businesslike and professional manner. Our goal is to
help you get your site ranked high in the search engines, no matter what that
site is about. We will work with students that have pornographic Web sites,
just like we will work with all of our other students. The one thing we don't
want to happen is for a student not to send homework because they're afraid of
offending our SEM expert. We're professionals, and we're here to help you. A
pornographic Web site won't offend us. We approach it as being part of the
job.
However, we will not work with Web sites that deal with anything
illegal.
- Who can I write to if I have a search
engine ranking question?
The Academy provides consultation
services. Send an e-mail to the following e-mail address to learn about our
consultation services, billed hourly. You can also use your credit card.
questions
- Do you provide telephone consultations with
your students?
All students are entitled to call their SEM expert
one time during their course of study. If you want to talk to your SEM expert,
set up an appointment with him/her and call at a time that is convenient for
you both. Our SEM experts are very busy people with tough schedules, so please
limit the call to 15-30 minutes. If you want to schedule further telephone
conferences with your SEM expert, we will be glad to set that up for you for a
fee of $120 per hour.
- I have a question or concern that isn't
answered here. What should I do?
Send your question or comment to
RobinN. We'll be glad to help
you!
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#9, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
(650) 712-8198
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