Certifications & Education
Certified Experience Across Search, AI, Advertising & Technology
Digital marketing changes constantly. The platforms we used in 2002 aren't the platforms businesses depend on today — and the tools businesses use five years from now will be different again.
That's why The Real Social Company has made continuing education part of our business for more than two decades.
Our certifications and professional training span search engines, analytics, digital advertising, social media, artificial intelligence, enterprise technology, creative tools and compliance.
It's not about collecting badges. It's about understanding the technology behind the work we do for our clients.
Search Engine Optimization & Digital Marketing
Our certifications and professional training span search engines, analytics, digital advertising, social media, artificial intelligence, enterprise technology, creative tools and compliance.
Google Ads / AdWords Professional
Our experience with Google advertising dates back to the early days of search marketing, when businesses were only beginning to understand the importance of being discovered online. That early search experience eventually evolved into today's combination of SEO, paid search and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO).
Google Analytics Academy
Understanding traffic is just as important as generating it. Google Analytics training supports our approach to measuring website traffic, user behavior, acquisition channels, conversions and marketing performance.
SEMrush Digital Marketing & PPC
Professional training covering modern digital marketing strategies, paid search, keyword research and campaign optimization.
SEMrush Social Media Fundamentals
Training in social media strategy, content distribution, audience engagement and digital marketing fundamentals.
AI Search Visibility & AEO Specialist
Search is evolving beyond traditional search engines. AEO training focuses on structuring websites and content so businesses can be better understood by modern answer engines and AI-powered search experiences.
Google Certified Educator
Training and certification demonstrating proficiency with Google's digital ecosystem and technology tools.
Artificial Intelligence & Content Systems
Artificial intelligence represents one of the biggest changes to the Internet since the emergence of Google and social media. The Real Social Company has invested heavily in understanding how AI affects websites, search, content creation, automation and business workflows.
AI-Powered Content Systems Architecture
Training focused on designing scalable content systems that combine artificial intelligence, structured workflows and human oversight.
Prompt Engineering & AI Workflow Design
Advanced work with prompting methodologies and AI workflows designed to make generative AI more useful, repeatable and effective for real-world business applications.
Machine Learning / AI — Google
Education covering the principles behind artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies.
Machine Learning with AI — Alison
Additional training covering machine learning concepts, artificial intelligence systems and their practical applications.
Social Media & Digital Advertising
The Real Social Company began marketing businesses through social networks around 2005. Since then, we've pursued platform-specific education as new advertising ecosystems emerged.
Facebook Blueprint
Professional training covering Facebook Marketing, Media Planning and Advertising Buying. Our experience with Facebook marketing dates back to the platform's early growth as businesses transitioned away from networks such as MySpace.
Twitter Flight School
Professional training covering advertising, content and marketing within the Twitter ecosystem.
Snapchat Advertising
Training covering advertising and audience engagement within Snapchat.
Pinterest Advertising
Training covering Pinterest advertising, discovery and visual marketing.
YouTube
Training and experience surrounding video content, digital advertising and audience development on YouTube.
Microsoft Search & Advertising
Microsoft certification and training covering paid search advertising within the Bing/Microsoft advertising ecosystem. Today, Microsoft's search technology has become particularly important as traditional Bing search increasingly intersects with AI-powered experiences and Microsoft Copilot.
Bing Ads Professional
Microsoft certification covering paid search advertising, campaign management and audience targeting within the Bing Ads / Microsoft Advertising network.
Technical Certifications
The Real Social Company didn't originate solely from an advertising background. Founder Joey Stardust's professional career began in enterprise information technology, including administering large Unix server environments for research institutions.
Solaris Certified Systems Administrator
Professional certification in the administration and operation of Solaris Unix systems. Joey worked with enterprise systems including large Sun Microsystems server environments during his career as a Unix administrator.
Linux Systems Administration
Training and certification in Linux operating systems and server administration. The emergence of Linux was also one of the technological shifts that encouraged Joey to move from traditional enterprise computing toward the rapidly expanding Internet.
Oracle Certified Professional
Professional technical certification within the Oracle technology ecosystem.
Apple ACSA
Professional Apple systems administration certification and training.
Creative Technology
Web design looked very different when The Real Social Company began. In the early 2000s, website designs were commonly created in Photoshop, sliced into individual graphical elements and assembled into HTML websites.
Adobe Certified Professional — Photoshop
Adobe certification represents both professional creative training and a connection to the earliest days of our website design history. Today the technology has changed dramatically, but strong design remains an essential part of building an effective digital presence.
Compliance & Responsible Marketing
As The Real Social Company expanded into healthcare, medical aesthetics, wellness and other specialized industries, understanding compliance became increasingly important.
HIPAA Compliance Certification
Training focused on understanding the privacy and security responsibilities surrounding protected health information within healthcare environments.
GDPR Compliance
Training covering data protection and privacy principles associated with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation.
AML Compliance
Training covering Anti-Money Laundering principles, risk awareness and regulatory compliance.
Education
Ohio University
Bachelor of Specialized Studies
- Conferred: May 2013
- Concentration: Organizational Communication, Humanities & Fine Art
- GPA: 3.227
- Honors: Dean's List
The combination of technology, communication and creative education reflects the disciplines that ultimately came together at The Real Social Company. Successful digital marketing isn't only about technology — it's understanding how technology, communication, creativity and human behavior work together.
From Solaris to AI
Our certifications tell part of a much larger story. Over the years, we've studied and worked with a wide range of evolving technologies. Each represents a different era. And each time the industry changed, we invested in learning what came next.
Certifications Aren't a Substitute for Experience
They're a complement to it. The Real Social Company has been working with businesses online since 2002. We've worked with approximately 5,000 businesses and organizations, managed hundreds of websites simultaneously, experienced the rise and fall of major platforms, and helped clients navigate more than two decades of technological change.
Certifications provide the knowledge. 24+ years of applying that knowledge provides the experience.
Always Learning. Always Adapting.
We don't know what the Internet will look like ten years from now. Neither does anyone else.
What we do know is that search will change. AI will evolve. Social platforms will come and go. Website technologies will be replaced.
That's been happening since we started. Our commitment is simple: keep learning, keep testing, keep adapting — so our clients don't have to figure it all out themselves.