Are you eager to kickstart a career in Digital Marketing and searching for the best courses tailored for beginners? If your answer is yes, be sure to read this guide until the end.
As a fellow digital marketer, I understand precisely what makes a digital marketing course ideal for beginners.
So, in this article, I’m going to feature the best digital marketing courses to kick-start your digital marketing journey and learn the essential skills.
Before delving into these top courses, let me first outline what factors you should consider before choosing the right digital marketing course for your learning.
Key Factors to Consider When Choosing A Digital Marketing Course:
Having a clear goal for a course will not only help you find the right one, but you’ll also be more likely to finish it.
Digital Marketing is one of the high-demand fields, with thousands of online courses promising to teach the ins and outs of digital marketing. In fact, I’m about to feature a few of them.
To find the best digital marketing course in this list, please consider these key factors first…
Now, I’m going to feature the 6 best digital marketing courses, highlighting all the major factors discussed above. Make sure you choose the one that best meets your needs.
Best Digital Marketing Courses:
1. Google Digital Marketing and E-Commerce Professional Certificate
This course is a part of Google Career Certificates that help you build the core skills of digital marketing and prepare you for an entry-level job in this industry.
Similar to other Google Career Certificates, this program has the highest enrollment, is available on Coursera, and is taught by senior practitioners at Google.
From my personal experience, I’d say this is one of the best courses on digital marketing for beginners, where you will learn everything from scratch. (You may also read my complete review for Google Digital Marketing Professional Certificate.)
What do you learn in this course?
The program includes a total of 7-series courses where the first course is all about giving you fundamental knowledge. Starting from the importance of Digital Marketing and E-Commerce for a business, marketing funnel, and customer journey, you’ll learn only in the first fundamental course. You’ll be also provided a Digital Marketing Glossary to master all the technical words.
The other 6-courses will be dedicated to teaching you the major skills in the digital marketing industry. You’ll have separate lessons on SEO, SEM, SMM, Email Marketing, Google Analytics, Google Ads, and Marketing Campaigns.
The best part of this program, it also includes a course on the e-commerce industry, and guess what you will learn about how to start an e-commerce project, explore different e-commerce stores, and run ad campaigns. Further, you will gain experience with Shopify, build a dummy store, and create product listings on it.
Cost and Course Duration:
So, how long does it take to complete the course? Well, the course duration and the price depend on your learning speed.
On average, the Google Digital Marketing course costs $49 per month and should not take more than 3 months to complete (by learning 13 hours/week), bringing the total cost to $195. If you have a flexible schedule, I highly recommend opting for the 3-month course as it allows for effective learning while costing less.
If you’re from India, the course costs you only ₹3,259 for 3 months of access. Depending on the geographical location, this cost may increase or decrease.
Remember, If you take more time to complete the course, the more money you have to pay. Whatever course duration and price plan you choose, the good thing is it also includes a 7-day free trial.
Certificate and Career Assistance:
After completion of this program and its project, you can earn a professional certificate from Coursera in collaboration with Google. This professional certification you receive is valid and adding it to your resume and LinkedIn profile can showcase your skills and help you find job opportunities, however, it does not give any job guarantee.
The good thing is this program also includes training on job search and interview skills. You'll be also given opportunities for mock interviews, resume-building workshops, career coaching sessions, and more.
2. Digital Marketing Specialization
This Digital Marketing course is also available on Coursera, offered by the University of Illinois. This course is also designed for beginners who have zero knowledge and experience in digital marketing.
However, this program has completely different course content than the Google Digital Marketing Certificate. It does not teach you how to do digital and about SEO, SEM, Email Marketing, and E-Commerce. Rather, you will understand how digital marketing works.
What do you learn in this course?
This program includes a total of 7 series of courses, where you’ll taught about the revolution of Digital Marketing in the first course itself. You’ll understand Analog (i.e. physical product or service) and Digital and how these two forces relate to one another within the Digital Marketing Revolution.
You’ll explore key differences between the Analog and the Digital and then examine four ways in which the Analog World has been affected by the Digital Revolution with several examples, case studies, and hands-on experiences.
In the next courses, you will understand how digital tools are changing the nature of marketing and allowing consumers to take a more active role in product development, promotion, placement, pricing, and other activities. Further, you’ll understand the consumer decision journey, content strategy, and how to analyze data.
Needless to say, the program teaches you the theoretical aspects of digital marketing where you’ll not learn how to do digital marketing, and drive customers and sales online but understand the impact of digital marketing and how it works.
Cost and Course Duration:
As the course is available on Coursera, the cost and course duration depend on your learning speed. On average, the course costs $79 per month and takes 4-6 months to complete (by studying 10 hours/per week). This cost may increase or decrease depending on your geographical location.
If you belong to India, it costs ₹4380 per month, bringing total costs to ₹13,139 if you complete the program in 3 months.
(Note: You may also sign up for Coursera Plus which only costs $59 per month, giving you access to over 6000 courses, including professional certification and specialization programs.)
Certificate and Career Assistance:
If you complete the course and pass all its exams and mock tests, you may earn a Digital Marketing Specialization Certificate by Coursera, approved by the University of Illinois. This certificate you can add to your resume and LinkedIn profile to showcase your knowledge.
Like the Google Digital Marketing program, this course does not provide any guidance on jobs and careers in digital marketing, because it focuses on understanding how digital marketing works, not how to do it.
3. The Complete Digital Marketing Guide – 24 Courses in 1
This course is also one of the best digital marketing for beginners who want to learn everything from scratch. It’s available on Udemy and created by Robin & Jesper, top digital marketing, WordPress, and ChatGpt instructors.
This course on Digital Marketing has the highest enrollment and ratings on Udemy and also wins a best-seller tag. (I have also published a detailed review of Udemy, which I highly recommend reading if you want a clear understanding of this online learning platform.)
If you already understand digital marketing and want to learn how to do it actually, this course is perfect for you.
What I most like about this course, is that course covers and talks about all major skills in Digital Marketing. It’s a practical Course where you will get hands-on experience from the first lecture.
What do you learn in this course?
This course takes a different approach to teaching digital marketing. It includes a total of 24 courses in 1. In the first lesson, you’ll be guided about market research, customer persona, and competitor analysis, and in the next lesson, you’ll learn about setting up a WordPress website.
Being a digital marketer myself, I believe learning digital marketing is all about doing it actually, and once you set up a website, you can better learn all the major skills in it.
Further, you’ll have a separate lesson on each topic such as SEO, Email Marketing, Google Analytics, Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing, and Running ads on different marketing channels. Further, you’ll have a separate Masterclass on SEO, WordPress, and ChatGPT.
In my opinion, the course offers a lot of value. Apart from E-commerce, the course talks about everything in an easy language.
Cost and Course Duration:
The course includes a total of 75.5 hours of video lectures, 33 reading articles, and assignments to complete which should not take more than 2 months to completion. At present, It costs around $17.99, giving you lifetime access, which means you can complete the course at your own pace.
In India, it costs ₹3,199. This cost may increase and decrease on offers times which Udemy keeps offering from time to time.
This course does not include any free trial but offers you a 30-day money-back guarantee. In case, you don’t enjoy the course or find it worth it, you may ask for a refund.
Certificate and Career Assistance:
After completion of any course on Udmey, it offers you a Certificate of Completion which you may add to your resume and LinkedIn profile. However, Udemy certificates are not legally valid and they might not be helpful enough to land you a job.
Furthermore, this course does not provide any training or job assistance. However, the skills you will gain after this course will surely help start a career in digital marketing.
4. Udacity Digital Marketing Nanodegree:
Similar to Coursera and Udemy, Udacity is also a popular online learning platform that offers courses in leading tech fields.
Udacity Digital Marketing Nanodegree program is also one of the best digital marketing courses, designed for beginners who want to start a career in this industry and are inclined to learn all major skills in it. I have already published a detailed review and featured a graduate review for this course, which I’d highly recommend reading.
What do you learn in this course?
This program is also very similar to Google Digital Marketing and E-Commerce Certification featured above. Apart from a section on E-Commerce, it has lessons on all crucial digital marketing skills.
It also consists of a total of 7 series modules. In the first module of this course, you’ll be taught about digital marketing framework, how to build your customer journey, marketing objectives, and how to make a content strategy.
The remaining 6 modules will cover all major topics such as SMM, SEO, SEM, Digital Advertising, and Email Marketing. You can learn all these concepts on YouTube as well, but the way Udacity structures the modules is truly commendable.
And, the best part about this program is that you work on real projects and run actual AdWords and Facebook campaigns, and Udacity provides you with a budget for that.
Cost and Course Duration:
Like other Udacity Nanodegree programs, this program costs $399 per month. You may also take the bundle subscription of 3-month access for this program that will cost you $1017, a 15% discount when paying upfront.
However, if you take the Udacity subscription which gives you access to all its programs (including this one), it only costs you $249 per month.
The course may appear a little expensive to you but it provides great value in teaching and career support. Further, Udacity often provides huge discounts on all Nanodegree programs, make sure you check the offer before making the payment.
(Note: To stay updated with Udacity discounts, and offers on other learning platforms, you better subscribe to our newsletter.)
Certificate and Career Assistance:
After completing this program, you will earn a Digital Marketing Nanodegree certificate which you can add to your resume and LinkedIn profile to showcase your skills and expertise in this field.
Please note, that this Nanodegree certificate you receive is not accredited by any institution and is legally valid. The recognition of these Nanodegree comes from some digital companies who know Udacity as a learning platform.
When it comes to career support, Udacity does a pretty decent job at it. They will help you to create a better resume and optimize your LinkedIn profile. They will also connect you with an open network, allowing you to network and take the next steps to land a job. However, Udacity does not give any job guarantee.
5. Digital Marketing Specialist by Simplilearn
This course offered by Simplilearn, is also one of the best courses on Digital Marketing. In fact, Search Engine General rated this course #1 for the best digital marketing course in 2021.
Unlike other digital marketing courses featured above that offer recorded lectures, this course offers live classes delivered by digital marketing industry experts.
However, this course is the best fit for those who already hold some fundamental knowledge of digital marketing and want a deep understanding of this field with live classes. It’s a master’s program that provides you with all the skills to become a digital marketing specialist.
What do you learn in this course?
This digital marketing program offers a lot of value. In this program, you’ll learn and upskill yourself with 35+ digital marketing tools, many case studies, Capstone problem statements, and course-end projects.
It guides you through the fundamental aspects of digital marketing, encompassing areas like website creation, SEO, SEM, social media, mobile marketing, devising content strategies, managing paid campaigns, and digital marketing analytics. You’ll also learn about blogging, affiliate marketing, e-commerce, and ChatGPT.
This program provides an extensive curriculum in all the major skills required in digital marketing. I am surprised by the course content it offers. What I most like about it, it includes lots of projects, case studies, and Capstone problem statements that can surely make anybody a specialist in digital marketing.
Cost and Course Duration:
This Digital Marketing Specialist Bootcamp is designed for 8 8-month duration, where you’ll be learning 5-10hrs/week. It starts on a fixed day and follows a specific time for learning.
The complete program costs you $1,299. This cost may increase or decrease depending on your geographical location. In India, it costs only ₹64,200, which I believe is a great deal if you’re serious about learning and making a career in digital marketing.
Certification and Career Assistance:
Digital Marketing Specialist is a master’s program offered by Simplilearn. After completion of this program, you’ll receive a Digital Marketing Specialist certificate which you can proudly add to your resume and LinkedIn profile to showcase your expertise in this industry.
When it comes to career assistance, the program offers career mentoring sessions where Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) or industry experts answer questions related to career growth and opportunities in Digital Marketing.
Furthermore, Simplilearn offers you a JobAssist program which provides extended support for the certified learners who are looking for a job switch or starting with their first job.
Please note, the JobAssist Program is designed to help you in finding your dream job. It will maximize your potential and chances of landing a successful job but does not give any job guarantee.
6. Professional Certificate in Digital Marketing on edX
This professional certificate in digital marketing is offered by the University of Maryland, available on edX. This course is ideal for those who want job-ready skills in digital marketing from a reputed university.
If you don’t know edX is a well-known online learning learning platform that provides professional courses offered by universities from all over the world.
What do you learn in this course?
This course is designed for beginners and take you to the next level in digital marketing. According to the expert instruction, it’s a 4 skill-building certification in digital marketing.
The first module is all about teaching you the fundamentals of digital marketing where you’ll learn about changing approaches to digital marketing, such as mobile and omnichannel marketing, and marketing mix modeling to inform your organization’s digital marketing strategy.
In the next module, you’ll be taught about leading tools and approaches to digital marketing data analysis. Further, you’ll learn about SEO, SEM, paid search strategies, web analytics, online testing, machine learning, and AI/Big Data applications that will strengthen your digital marketing efforts.
What I most like about the course is that it also has a class on customer analytics where you will understand the power of Customer Lifetime Value Concepts by applying them to firm value, selection of customers, and loyalty programming. These all are crucial concepts if you want to become a digital marketer.
Cost and Course Duration:
On average, this digital marketing professional certification takes 4 months to complete (by studying 3 to 5 hours per week) and it costs around $716.40. In India, it costs the same amount ₹59,674.
Please note that this course does not include any free trial or money-back guarantee. I highly recommend exploring its course content and reading reviews for this course before enrolling in it. After all, it costs a decent money that is not easy to afford for everyone.
Certificate and Career Assistance:
After completion of this course, you receive a professional certificate from edX, approved by the University of Maryland.
This professional certificate has similar value to Udacity Nanodegree and Google Professional Certificates that you can add to your resume and LinkedIn profile to showcase your skills and expertise, but they don’t provide any job guarantee.
However, it's disappointing that it does not include any classes on career support or any guidance on landing a job in the digital marketing industry. All it provides just skills. The job, and the career you have to figure out on your own.
Now It’s Your Turn:
As mentioned in the beginning, digital marketing is one of the highly in-demand fields. If you dream of starting a career in this industry, make sure to choose the best digital marketing course.
In this article, I have not only outlined the key factors for finding the best digital marketing courses but also featured the six best digital marketing courses for beginners in 2024. I’m confident that you have selected the course that best meets your requirements and learning goals.
I hope you enjoyed this article and found it helpful. Now, I’d like to hear from you:
Which digital marketing course are you planning to enroll in? Is it the Google Digital Marketing and E-Commerce Certification, or are you considering the Udacity Digital Marketing Nanodegree Program?
If you prefer live classes over recorded lectures, you may also consider enrolling in the Simplilearn Digital Marketing Specialist Program.
Got any thoughts or questions about this article and starting a career in digital marketing? Please, let me know in the comments.
(To support our blog without advertisements, we may use affiliate links in this post. Rest assured, it does not affect our reviews.)
