Marketing Courses and Certifications

I run the Remote Work, Digital Nomading, and Freelancing Facebook group and one question that we see time and time again is, “How can I break into digital marketing? Where do I start? What courses and certifications are worth pursuing?” When you’re new to something, it can be difficult to differentiate between high-quality and low-quality information. How do you really know that a particular Udemy creator knows his stuff? How do you know that you’re building a strong foundation for yourself?

Personally, I’m of the opinion that we should make things as easy as possible for ourselves when we’re tackling something new. Let’s minimize confounding factors and reduce the potential for error by sticking to vetted courses and certification programs developed by established companies. In this post, I’ll share with you a number of resources that you can use to start diving into the world of online marketing. I am not affiliated with any of the organizations mentioned below and am not compensated in any way for mentioning them so, rest assured: no conflicts of interest here.

Marketing Fundamentals

Google’s Fundamentals of Digital Marketing (Free, 40 hours): Master the basics of digital marketing with our free course accredited by Interactive Advertising Bureau Europe and The Open University. There are 26 modules to explore, all created by Google trainers, packed with practical exercises and real world examples to help you turn knowledge into action. The course covers analytics and data insights, business strategy, content marketing, display advertising, e-commerce, email marketing, local marketing, mobile, SEM, SEO, social media, video, and web optimization!

Social Media Marketing

HubSpot Social Media Certification (Free, 5 hours): Learn how to build an effective social media strategy, set up social listening and moderation, create social content, extend your reach, excel in digital advertising, measure ROI, and more.

Hootsuite Social Marketing Training (Free, 6 hours): Develop foundational social marketing skills to grow followers, engagement, and business results. An optional certification exam is available at a cost of $199. Additional courses and certifications are also available, including “Advanced Social Advertising,” “Social Selling,” “Social Media ROI and Value Analysis,” and more.

Facebook Blueprint: The program consists of two separate tracks: “Facebook Certified Planning Professional” and “Facebook Certified Buying Professional.” All courses are free but the exams cost $150 each. Facebook Blueprint is an extremely robust program with a lot of content but, if you want to get into Facebook ads, who better to learn from than the people behind the platform?

Analytics

Google Analytics Individual Qualification (Free, 4 hours): The Google Analytics Individual Qualification (IQ) is a demonstration of proficiency in Google Analytics that is available to any individual who has passed the Google Analytics assessment. Qualified users will be effective at leveraging Google Analytics within their organizations and at helping others to do the same. You can access the certification exam and relevant coursework here. Additional Analytics resources are available at the Google Analytics Academy website.

Google and Bing Ads

Google Ads Fundamentals (Free, 2.5 hours): Google Ads Fundamentals covers basic and intermediate concepts, including the benefits of online advertising and Google Ads, and best practices for managing and optimising Google Ads campaigns.

Google Ads Display Certification (Free, 8 hours): Google Ads Display Certification covers basic and intermediate concepts, including best practices for creating, managing and optimizing Display campaigns.

Google Ads Search Certification (Free, 9 hours): Google Ads Search Certification covers basic and intermediate concepts, including best practices for creating, managing, measuring and optimising search ad campaigns across the search network.

Bing Ads Accredited Professional Certification (Free): Master the ins and outs of advertising on Bing.

Inbound

HubSpot Inbound Marketing Certification (Free, 2 hours): Discover the fundamentals of inbound, the inbound methodology and the flywheel and learn how to apply them to your business. The Inbound Certification Course teaches you how to run a successful inbound business, from marketing to sales to services.

HubSpot Inbound Sales (Free, 2.5 hours): The Inbound Sales Certification covers the basics of an inbound approach to sales. This course is for individual sales reps who are looking for actionable tips to use in their next call or meeting. You’ll learn how to identify new prospects, connect with them, explore their needs, and advise them on a path forward.

Miscellaneous

HubSpot Content Marketing Certification (Free, 4 hours): This content marketing certification course will teach you how storytelling, content creation, repurposing, and promotion come together to build a content marketing machine that grows your business, and your career.

HubSpot Email Marketing Certification (Free, 3.5 hours): From contact management and segmentation to email deliverability and analyzing your email sends, you’ll learn how to build an email marketing strategy that is human and helpful and builds trust with your contacts.

HubSpot Content Marketing Certification (Free, 4 hours): Content marketing is the foundation for executing an effective inbound marketing strategy. This content marketing certification course will teach you how storytelling, content creation, repurposing, and promotion come together to build a content marketing machine that grows your business, and your career.

HubSpot Email Marketing Certification (Free, 3.5 hours): This email marketing course will teach you to create an email marketing strategy that grows your business, and your career. From contact management and segmentation to email deliverability and analyzing your email sends, you’ll learn how to build an email marketing strategy that is human and helpful and builds trust with your contacts.

That’s all for now! Feel free to leave your thoughts, questions, or recommendations in the comments below!