Whether you’re completely new to digital marketing or you’re looking to refresh your knowledge, online courses are ideal as you can do them at your own pace. The tricky part is finding courses that are going to offer useful content and teach you the correct tools of the trade (so to speak).
To succeed, you’ll need to set time aside, so your learning is consistent, and you actually finish the course. What you don’t want is to start a course, get halfway through and be distracted by something completely irrelevant and have to start all over again.
No matter what your current position is, learning and partaking in courses in your own time looks good to any employer. It looks great on your CV if you’ve gone out of your way to complete courses that are relevant for the job you’re applying for. And, if you’re already employed, it can help teach you new ways of working and save you time. What’s more, it can help you understand the value of work being undertaken by third parties, including freelancers and agencies that work for you.
So, which digital marketing courses are worth your time and effort?
We’ve scoured the World Wide Web to find courses that will provide you with practical knowledge and help you develop the skills you need. What’s more, the courses we’ve listed below are all FREE!
1. Google Digital Garage
Everyone wants to improve their search results in Google. And it’s easy to understand why. Google receives 5.6 billion searches per day! So, what better way to improve your digital marketing skills than through their platform. The Google Digital Garage has 134 courses you can take, 28 of which are specifically digital marketing. Some take just an hour, whereas others do take much longer.
A colleague, friend and fellow marketeer, Sylwia Lysakowska-Lombari, recently decided to take a look at the courses from Google, and said, “The courses are broken down into modules covering everything from social media to content marketing, online advertising and expanding your business internationally. They’re packed with real-life examples to help you apply the knowledge into your own work environment.”
She goes on to say, “As a marketer, I realise the power of digital marketing and would highly recommend the course to anyone who wants to learn how to capitalise on the upward trends of online consumer behaviour and eCommerce.”
2. HubSpot Academy
HubSpot is well-known in the digital marketing community. They have a fantastic CRM solution, with email and website tracking capabilities. They also have a plethora of incredible digital marketing training courses available, too. With everything from eCommerce marketing to data segmentation and so much more, you’ll be spoilt for choice.
They have courses for all skill levels. Some are short and provide practical information, whereas others are more in-depth and take longer to complete. But, whatever stage you are, their courses are well worth a look.
3. Udemy
If you’re on social media, you’ll likely have come across an ad for Udemy. They provide courses on a variety of subjects, including digital marketing. What’s more, their Content Marketing for B2B Enterprises is currently free.
The free version of this course gives you access to the online video content but doesn’t provide the certification or access to instructors. The course, which consists of 19 videos that are around 5 minutes each is short and sweet enough to squeeze in over your morning coffee.
On this particular course, you’ll learn how to get inside the mind of your market and build content that really interests them and, how to find industry influencers and identify promotional opportunities.
4. Coursera
There are a whole host of marketing courses to try your hand at on Coursera. From viral marketing and personal branding through to graphic design. But, if you’re looking at improving your digital marketing skills, The Strategy of Content Marketing course is a great place to start. There is a paid-for version that will give you a certification once you’ve completed the course, but you can access the complete course for free, without receiving certification at the end.
The Strategy of Content Marketing course was developed in partnership between Copyblogger, and UC Davis (University of California). It teaches you how to acquire and retain customers, implement a content marketing strategy, analyse the effectiveness of campaigns and how to build your professional brand.
5. WordStream
PPC (Pay Per Click) has never been so popular. Growing organically is fantastic, but if you can give your business a boost via Google Ads, then why the devil not!? Plus, we have conducted some research that suggests that if your target audience sees your ad, they’re more likely to click on one of your organic search listings.
That’s why we recommend looking at the PPC 101 course from WordStream. It’ll teach you everything from identifying keywords, creating ad groups and how to set up the ideal AdWords Account. There are other PPC courses available, but this one is free, and it is perfect for getting you started.
These are just five we recommend, and in fact, many of these are course providers, so there are more than simply five courses for you to undertake.
Have you tried any of them out before? How did you get on? Did you find it was worth your time? Are there any other courses you’d recommend? Tweet us @QuibbleDigital.