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Online marketing is all around us, from social media ads to our Google search results and even sponsored blog posts. Whether you’re a small business owner, contemplating a change of careers, or simply wanting to learn new in-demand skills, understanding the ins and outs of online marketing can be a gamechanger.
There are different types of marketing professionals. Some may dedicate their time to creating print or digital advertisements, while others focus on social media channels or work with content writers to find the best keywords to boost their SEO ranking and Google search results.
As with many professions, there are a lot of learning opportunities available online, from free introductory courses to in-depth certificate programs from platforms like edX, Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, Udemy, and Skillshare. Whether you want to expand your knowledge (or even just see if a marketing career seems interesting enough to commit yourself to), taking an online marketing course can help take your career or business to new heights.
Online marketing courses
Online marketing certificate programs
Available on edX
Length: 4 weeks
Cost: Free; $399 for certificate
If you want to learn how to analyze marketing data, consider this self-paced course from the University of Maryland that covers what you need to know and the tools to use for a positive marketing presence that actually gets results. Topics include search engine optimization (SEO), web analytics, Big Data applications, and more.
Available on Skillshare
Length: 3 hours and 19 minutes
Cost: Free with a 7-day trial; $8 per month or $29.88 per year for a Skillshare subscription
Designed for marketing novices, this course teaches different strategies on how to turn your target audience into customers and increase your sales by understanding metrics and using different pricing scales.
Available on edX
Length: 6 weeks
Cost: Free; $150 for a certificate of completion
This University of British Columbia course is designed for beginners and anyone interested in gaining a better understanding of all marketing jargon as well as strategies and techniques. Students learn a range of topics including market research, how to gain customers, and how to use social media.
Available on LinkedIn Learning
Length: 2 hours and 9 minutes
Cost: Free with a 1-month free trial; LinkedIn Learning subscription $26.99 or $39.99 per month
Whether you’re a novice or have some experience with online marketing, this relatively short class teaches you how to figure out your audience and target customers by using SEO, digital ads, and social media to meet your goals.
Available on Udemy
Length: 20 hours
Cost: $29.99 (normally $149.99)
Whether you’re considering a new career, want to expand your professional skillsets, or want to get your business off the ground, this intensive and immersive course can help. Topics range from market research, Google Adwords, and using WordPress for copywriting.
Available on Skillshare
Length: 13 hours and 11 minutes
Cost: Free with a 7-day trial; $8 per month or $29.88 per year for a Skillshare subscription
One of the many aspects of online marketing is creating advertisements on Google. This class is geared for anyone who wants to grow their business or wants to expand their skills, where you quickly learn how to use ads to increase traffic to your website, convert your target audience into customers, analyze ad campaigns, and more.
Available on LinkedIn Learning
Length: 2 hours and 38 minutes
Cost: Free with a 1-month free trial; LinkedIn Learning subscription $26.99 or $39.99 per month
If you’re interested in honing your SEO skills for your job or your own business, this course is designed with that in mind. The class focuses on using the principles of SEO, such as using keyword search, internal and external links, as well as implementing an SEO strategy to achieve notable results.
Available on edX
Length: 4 weeks
Cost: Free; $499 for certificate
Knowing how to use social media as a marketing tool is a skill in its own right. This University of Maryland course covers everything you need to know, including the importance of SEO, lead generation, video advertisements, and content marketing.
Available on Udemy
Length: 3.5 hours
Cost: $29.99
This course is specifically designed for business owners who want to finetune their social media marketing skills. It teaches students how to use different types of social media and create a social media strategy, while also covering the risks involved.
Available on Coursera
Length: 19 hours
Cost: Free to audit (no certificate) or with a 7-day trial; $49 per month subscription after trial ends
This University of California, Davis course highlights the importance of content writing and how to use it to attract customers, create a strategy that you can measure, and write engaging copy. This course also features assignments for hands-on learning.
Available on LinkedIn Learning
Length: 2 hours and 39 minutes
Cost: Free with a 1-month free trial; LinkedIn Learning subscription $26.99 or $39.99 per month
Digital marketing is complex, but if you want to understand all the happenings behind the scenes of how your business comes up in search engines and how people interact with your website, this class is for you.
Available on Coursera
No prior experience is required to start this certificate program, which teaches you how to collect, organize, and analyze marketing data as well as design experiments to test the effectiveness of different ad strategies. Students also learn how to use Facebook Ads Manager. You can learn more about the program here.
Available on edX
Length: 4 months
Cost: $313.20 for the program; individual courses can be audited for free (no certificate)
Curious about all the marketing jargon and different strategies that are used to target customers? This fundamentals certificate program from the University of Edinburgh explains everything you need to know to conduct a competitor audit as well as create your own marketing strategy.
Available on Coursera
Length: 3 months
Cost: Free to audit (no certificate) or with a 7-day trial; $49 per month subscription after trial ends
A series of three courses, this Specialization from the Digital Marketing Institute is designed for beginners who want to learn about various aspects of marketing, including social media and content writing, as well as how to design and implement a marketing strategy that effectively converts your target audience into customers.
Available on Coursera
Length: 8 months
Cost: Free with a 7-day Coursera trial; $79 per month after the trial ends
Part of the University of Illinois’s online MBA degree, this Coursera Specialization covers the data analysis and web tools needed to identify a core audience before diving into the principles of digital marketing.
Available on Coursera
Length: 5 months
Cost: Free to audit (no certificate) or with a 7-day trial; $49 per month subscription after trial ends
Understanding how SEO works is crucial for any business or organization. This four-course Specialization from the University of California, Davis teaches you the basics of SEO, from conducting a keyword search to optimizing a website and analyzing web reports. Upon completion of the certificate program, you’ll be able to identify and recommend SEO best practices to future clients.
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