Visual Sciences Web Analytics Certifications: Are they worth it?
October 10, 2007
With the Web Analytics industry becoming bigger and bigger it is only natural that vendors like Visual Sciences who sell the WebSideStory’s HBX Analytics suite of products start to develop certification paths for those interested in studying the HBX Analytics platform. That being said, not all certifications are created equally. Many certifications are not worth the paper that they are printed on unless you are doing a job that requires you to be certified. For those people who are seeking an education in Web Analytics you may be confused about the path to achieving this education.
I wrote a while ago that I was studying the Award of Achievement in Web Analytics at UBC (University of British Columbia) because at the time when I was looking around it was really the only course of its kind that I could find. Vendor certifications are biased in teaching you about their specific product and how it works and not giving you the basic skills and tools you need to be successful in Web Analytics. For those of you with an analytics backgrounds wondering about the various certifications that Visual Sciences offer keep on reading.
Certification Levels for Visual Sciences Products
- Visual CERTIFIED Analyst - this prepares you to be an end user
- Visual CERTIFIED Architect - this prepares you to configure and construct datasets using the Visual Sciences Platform
- Visual CERTIFIED Solution Consultant - this prepares you to represent and sell HBX and Visual Site
All certifications that Visual Sciences offers cover the HBX and Visual Site product line. People that will benefit most from these certifications are people that are looking for in-depth knowledge of HBX, Visual Site and Visual Sciences products but again if you are new to web analytics then you will probably want to look elsewhere for training and certification. Here are some resources that may help you…
- UBC’s Award of Achievement in Web Analytics
- Web Analytics Association (WAA)
- Web Analytics - An Hour a Day by
If you happen to know of any other excellent resources then feel free to post them in the comments section of this article. As the web analytics field expands and changes you’ll still need a base knowledge of Web Analytics so finding a course or courses that can train you is the first step.
Luc
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2 Responses to “Visual Sciences Web Analytics Certifications: Are they worth it?”
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You should not compare vendor courses with vendor-independent courses. They have different scope. As for the Visual Site Certified Analyst training, I have followed this one in London last week and the course itself was very good. It showed all features of Visual Site and I feel comfortable to work with the product now. The exam itself wasn’t a giveaway, they really want to have people working on the product that know it thoroughly.
The comparison was actually for people looking to get into the field of Web Analytics. If you don’t have a background in Web Analytics then gaining the background is necessary in my opinion.
If you already have a background in Web Analytics (self-taught or otherwise) then this article wouldn’t benefit you and possibly a certification like the ones offered by Visual Sciences would.