These premium and free digital marketing courses teach you the essentials and beef up your resume with industry-recognized certifications. Ready to skill up and stand out?
What are the best digital marketing courses to further your career?
Hiring managers want candidates with stellar copywriting, social media, and analytics skills. They must also excel in ad campaign management and content creation and curation.
But finding candidates who check off all these boxes doesn’t come easy. And it may be why it takes 16% longer to fill digital marketing jobs[*].
So it’s time to enroll in a digital marketing course and use this talent gap to your advantage.
Not Enrolled In Digital Marketing Courses? Big Mistake.
Digital marketing courses help you:
#1. Level up your marketing skills. Experienced professionals teach online courses. So you get to learn from the experts and keep up with the latest industry trends.
Courses include case studies, real-world assignments, hands-on projects, quizzes, and more. You can complete most coursework on your own time at home without ever attending a lecture.
#2. Earn industry-recognized certifications. Courses teach you the skills hiring managers are looking for. But achieving certification takes your credibility to the next level.
Stick these badges on your personal website, social media profiles, resume, and more.
These low-cost certifications prove you know what you’re doing so you can zoom to the top of the resume stack. And they often lead to higher salaries.
#3. Show off a specialty. Hiring managers look for candidates who solve specific issues for a team or company.
SEO in the tank? Facebook campaigns not as profitable as they should be? If you’re an expert in these fields, companies want to know — and hire you to fix their problems.
So as you can see, advanced-level courses and certifications set you apart from the rest of the pack.
But the best part? You can find online digital marketing courses for all stages of your career and price range. And many of them are free.
The 8 Best Digital Marketing Courses to Catapult Your Career
Digital marketing salaries range from $45,000 to over $115,000 per year. So these free and premium courses make a smart investment if you want to become a:
- Digital marketing manager
- Social media manager
- SEO manager
- SEM/PPC wizard
- Content marketer
- Affiliate marketer
- … and more
Start by enrolling in:
#1. The Online University Route
Don’t have the time or money to enroll in a prestigious university?
Many high-profile colleges offer online digital marketing courses and certifications.
If you skipped college and want a bit of clout on your resume, this may be the quickest and most affordable route to take.
The most popular online digital marketing university courses come from:
Sessions can take as long as a few weeks to an entire year. And the price ranges between $1,500 to over $5,000.
If you don’t have the scratch right now, keep this option on the back burner. Google has you covered with free digital marketing courses in the meantime.
#2. Google Ads and Analytics Academy Courses
Every digital marketer needs a basic to advanced knowledge of how Google Ads works.
Google Ads Certifications in Search, Display, Video, Shopping ads, and Measurement prove you have what it takes.
Google Analytics Academy courses help you learn about Google’s measurement tools. Find out how to grow your campaigns through intelligent data collection and analysis.
Employers look for both of these qualifications in candidates because they reduce company spend and boost ROI.
And did we mention these courses are free? Same goes for the next.
#3. Google Digital Garage: Fundamentals of Digital Marketing
Google’s free Fundamentals of Digital Marketing course is a must. It’s accredited by the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Europe and The Open University.
Enroll and you’ll explore 26 modules full of video tutorials and practical exercises. Google trainers created these based on real-world examples.
With self-paced learning, most users complete the course in 40 hours and earn a certification to boost their resumes and careers.
#4. Google Marketing Platform Certification
Google Marketing Platform‘s courses have an intermediate marketing professional in mind. You’ll gain certifications in courses that help you achieve marketing objectives as a:
- Paid Search Director
- Paid Search Manager
- Paid Search Supervisor
- Paid Search Analyst
- Trafficker
- Project Manager
- Creative Developer
- Creative Director
Google Marketing Platform certifications take about one hour to complete, and they’re also free.
#5. HubSpot Marketing Courses
HubSpot Academy is the leader in free online training for content and inbound marketing.
You’ll find single topic courses in bite-sized lessons. And you can work towards full certifications to earn their industry-recognized badges.
Here are the three most popular HubSpot Academy marketing courses:
- HubSpot Marketing Certification. Covers 12 separate categories with intel about best practices, research, and content marketing.
- HubSpot Inbound Marketing Certification. Learn about buyer personas, the buyer’s journey, content marketing, and more.
- HubSpot Email Marketing Certification. Discover how to generate and structure an email marketing strategy to grow business. This includes contact management and segmentation to deliverables and analyzing email sends.
Each course is free and only takes between three and six hours to complete.
#6. Hootsuite Academy: Industry-Recognized Social Media Courses
At Hootsuite Academy, you’ll develop the skills to use social media to its full potential. This will boost the impact of your marketing efforts, drive results, and prove your ROI.
They offer training courses and those with a certification reward upon completion in:
- Social Marketing
- Advanced Social Advertising
- Social Media Value ROI and Analysis
- Social Selling
- Social Selling for Financial Services
- Social for Healthcare Professionals (in partnership with Mayo Clinic)
Pass these courses and you’ll win permanent social media certifications and a badge to show off. Plus, you’ll get your name placed in the Hootsuite Certified Professionals Directory.
Check out the Hootsuite Advanced Social Media course. Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications co-jointly offers this academically recognized certification.
Courses range from four hours to 40 hours long. And they can be free or cost as much as $999.
#7. Facebook BluePrint Certification
Facebook Blueprint provides digital marketers with training, resources, and certifications. They teach you how and prove you can reach customers across all their products.
You’ll find free, self-paced online courses, which are only five minutes long. These are the most popular:
- Facebook Digital Marketing Associate. Create, manage, and understand reporting on ads across Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger.
- Facebook Certified Marketing Science Professional. Learn how to use data, insights, and measurements to make informed marketing recommendations.
- Facebook Certified Media Planning Professional. Design Facebook media strategies that align with business goals and marketing plans. Discover how to plan Facebook campaigns and target audiences for the greatest impact.
- Facebook Certified Media Buying Professional. Master campaign management, generating and buying ads on Facebook, and Facebook Pixel.
Each Facebook BluePrint Certification takes two to three days to complete. And each exam costs $150.
But an official Facebook-recognized certificate goes a long way for potential employers. Many are hoping to specifically hire someone to improve ROI on this platform (and Instagram).
#8. Simplilearn Digital Marketing Specialist Master Program
Want to become the complete digital marketing package? Consider enrolling in the Simplilearn Digital Marketing Specialist course.
In their 75+ live instructor-led online classes, you’ll have access to 45+ projects and MimicPro Simulation time. This will give you experience in:
- Search engine optimization
- Social media
- Pay-per-click
- Conversion optimization
- Digital analytics
- Content creation and curation
- Mobile marketing
- Email marketing
- .. and more
Plus, you’ll receive The OMCP (Online Marketing Certified Professional) Certification upon completion. This highly-acclaimed certification costs $395 on its own.
For the $1,499 investment, you can fast-track your marketing career, whether you’re just starting out or totally starting over.
Give Yourself the Gift of Opportunity
These eight digital marketing courses prove it doesn’t take a lot of time or money to invest in your career.
Digital marketers with the skills you’ll learn in these courses are in high demand. So earning these certifications will help you stand out in this ultra-competitive job market.
Check out which skills you need to level up by browsing digital marketing jobs on FreshGigs now.
Enroll in a digital marketing course today and become the best candidate for the job you want tomorrow.