Marketing has proved to be a resilient sector through the pandemic. Although some jobs were lost in the industry, there was an overall increase of 9.1% in marketing jobs available in 2020. 72.2% of marketers stated that marketing had become more important in their company in 2021, an almost 10% increase from what was reported in 2020.
The signs are positive for anyone looking to work in marketing over the next few years. It also helps that you can easily pick up marketing skills in a variety of disciplines simply by taking online courses. If you’re looking for free online marketing courses to take your skills up a notch in 2024, we’ve got you covered.
Is It Worth Taking a Free Online Marketing Course?
You might be wondering how much value you can gain from doing a free online course. Can they really be that great if they’re free? They certainly can.
Some of the top universities and marketing experts in the world offer free courses online. Companies like Google, HubSpot, and Moz all have courses where they teach marketers how to use their own and other platforms. And they don’t charge any money for it.
Thanks to that, you can now make significant strides in your career by completing free marketing courses online. There are courses that cover every skill, platform, and strategy in the playbook. All you need to do is commit yourself to a learning path and diligently work your way through course material.
Free Online Marketing Courses
Now that we know that the Internet is a treasure trove for marketers looking to upskill, let’s see where you can find the best free online marketing courses.
Free Digital Marketing Courses
Digital marketing is the broad field that deals with marketing products and services using digital channels like search engines, email, and social media (see here what’s the best path, digital marketing or UX). If you like how the Internet makes it so easy and fun to reach out to new customers, then you’re sure to enjoy digital marketing.
You can work in a range of areas within digital marketing based on what your interests are (for further reading, check out here what digital marketers really do). If you’re creative, you can get involved with things like copywriting, video ad production, and graphic design. Those with a more analytical bent can work in areas like data analytics and marketing automation.
Here are the best free digital marketing courses online:
- Fundamentals of Digital Marketing
- Fundamentals of Digital Marketing by Google
- Digital Marketing Specialization
- Digital Marketing 101
Free SEO Courses
Search engines mediate access to everything that’s available on the Internet. So if you know how to create content that impresses search engines, you can get your message across to your audience easily.
And that’s exactly what SEO is about: creating content that search engines index quickly and favorably so that your webpages can appear among the top search engine results for specific keywords.
SEO is a field that lies at the intersection of data analysis and content creation. You need to be able to produce great copy but also perform keyword research, analyze competitors, and track search engine rankings at scale.
Here’s where you can find great free SEO courses online:
Free PPC Courses
A pay-per-click (PPC) professional is someone who executes a company’s PPC advertising campaign. PPC experts are often tasked with overseeing advertising efforts end to end, which means that they create the strategy, oversee design and implementation, and analyze ad performance.
PPC is a great career option for those who like to hone in on the details of different advertising methods and have the analytical chops to deliver successful campaigns. With that said, here are some of the best free PPC courses online.
Free Content Marketing Courses
Content marketing is somewhat of a new kid on the block when it comes to marketing disciplines. It’s only with the growth of inbound marketing strategy that companies began to realize the importance of creating content that speaks to users’ pain points and interests.
Content marketers need to be able to create blog posts, podcasts, videos, etc. that educate and delight their audiences. You might have to do some customer research yourself, but the bulk of a content marketer’s job is creating content and tweaking content strategy based on prior performance.
These are the best free content marketing courses:
Free Email Marketing Courses
You might wonder if email marketing is still relevant in 2022 and the answer is a resounding yes. A whopping 4 billion people used email in 2020 and that number is expected to grow to 4.6 billion in 2025. That’s a massive market and one that any company would do well to tap into.
Email marketers focus on both the delivery infrastructure and the content of campaigns. You have to be able to choose the right email marketing platforms and automation tools to be able to scale your company’s efforts. Along with that, you also need to generate the kind of content that goads your audience into clicking on an email and leave them feeling glad for having done so.
The best email marketing courses online are:
- Email Marketing Course by Hubspot
- Free Email Marketing Course
- Email Marketing Made Easy For Beginners
- Introduction to Email Production
Free Social Media Marketing Courses
Social media marketing is a no-brainer for modern companies. But don’t let what you see on the platforms convince you that social media marketers make witty comments on Twitter all day.
What the job really involves is a whole lot of research and planning. Social media sites are treasure troves for user data, which social media marketers use to create targeted advertising materials. That said, there are also social media marketing jobs that focus largely on content and require skills in copywriting, graphic design, and video editing.
Here are the best social media marketing courses in 2022:
Free Web Design and Web Development Courses
Web design and development isn’t a marketing discipline on its own. However, web programmers do play a role in developing websites that deliver great user experiences and increase conversion rates, which is the final goal of any marketing campaign. For that reason, web designers and developers increasingly work with marketing teams on projects.
Web design is a field well-suited to those who enjoy creating the aesthetic elements of a website. You’ll be involved in things like creating wireframes, photoshop mockups, and writing HTML and CSS. Web developers are tasked with creating the functional elements of a website along with its backend and database.
Free Data Analysis Course
We’ve seen from surveying other online marketing disciplines that data analysis is an important skill no matter what specific approach you take. Being able to collect, process, and interpret data is a superpower for any marketing team.
Data analysts that work on marketing campaigns need to be able to understand marketing terminology and the significance of different metrics. Most analysts measure the results of campaigns and determine ways in which future campaigns can yield superior results.
Below are the best free data analysis courses online:
Where To Find Free Marketing Courses
We’ve already listed a lot of the best free marketing courses available online in 2022. But if you’re looking to explore your options further, here are some platforms to check out.
YouTube
YouTube is, of course, a treasure trove of free information. But none of the content on there is moderated or quality tested, so you have to do your due diligence. Always look up instructors offering courses on YouTube and go through the comments before determining whether you should go through with it.
Udemy
Udemy is a slightly more refined version of Youtube when it comes to course content. It lets anybody create and sell courses but there is a quality check process that every course goes through before it’s published there. Along with that, you can also go through course reviews and descriptions to determine the quality, prerequisites, and learning outcomes.
Coursera
Coursera is a platform where universities can offer courses through their professors. So it’s a lot more serious than Udemy and YouTube in that sense. Most of the courses are offered as part of the degree programs at these colleges. The online version is offered as an extension to that and is taught by the same professors. You can choose to either audit the courses or pay to get a certificate at the end.
Springboard
Springboard takes a mentor-led approach to online learning. Springboard currently offers courses in design, data science, analytics, coding, cybersecurity, and tech sales, as well as a digital marketing professional certificate.
Google offers courses on how to use some of its tools and in marketing disciplines like digital marketing. Google Skillshop offers training and certifications in areas like analytics and ad management. They also have a thorough digital marketing course that goes over skills in the discipline and using various Google tools.
HubSpot
HubSpot is an industry leader in the field of inbound marketing. They are well-known for creating information-rich blog posts but they also have HubSpot Academy, where you can pick up digital skills in a format, regimented fashion. They offer courses on a wide range of subjects including digital advertising, social media marketing, and paid media strategy.
How To Get the Most Out of a Free Online Marketing Course
Pick Something You’re Interested in and Will Complete
Well begun, as they say, is half done. And beginning a marketing course well means choosing an area that you’re interested in and know you want to work on further. Your interest will tide you over the tough patches that you’ll eventually phase and give you the fuel that you need to reach the finish line.
So don’t choose a course because your friends are doing it or because a particular marketing niche has suddenly become popular. Instead, focus on the ones that arouse your curiosity and interest.
Set Aside Time Each Week
Like with any other skill, consistency is important if you’re learning something new in the field of marketing. For that reason, the best way to work through a course is by chipping away at it little by little every week.
You can decide the specifics of your weekly learning based on what works for you. You might want to spread your coursework across the entire week or choose a couple of days on which to do it. But make sure that you stay in touch with the subject each week and make steady progress.
Certificate vs No Certificate
We saw that some course platforms offer certificates and others don’t. So should you choose certificate courses or ones that don’t offer them?
The answer to that depends on what your current goals are. If you’re just looking to learn as much as you can and grow as a young marketer, then you can choose courses that don’t offer certificates. But if you need to land a job soon and need something you can show recruiters, then a certificate course is the way to go.
Update Your Resume
The marketing courses that you complete are a nice boost to your resume and can help you land jobs. They show recruiters that you’ve taken the initiative to upskill yourself and are evidence of your passion for the field.
You can add your courses under the education or professional training section of your resume. Make sure to mention the course provider, topics covered, and your grade in the course if that’s relevant. It really helps if you’ve applied your learnings from a course in the form of a side project or open-source contribution.
Free Marketing Course FAQs
Do Companies Value Free Marketing Courses?
Yes, companies see completing free marketing courses as a positive. It shows hiring managers that you are passionate about the field and are able to pick up new skills on your own. Just make sure that you do your courses from recognized providers with a good reputation in the field of marketing.
Can I Teach Myself Digital Marketing for Free?
You can learn digital marketing yourself for free online. There are several platforms that offer quality courses taught by experts and they don’t cost anything. You just need to be able to choose the right courses and work through them diligently.
Do I Need a Degree To Get Into Digital Marketing?
You don’t need a university degree to land a job in digital marketing. It’s a field that you can break into by completing online courses and working on your own projects. Most companies hire candidates based on what they’ve done on their own and don’t place too much weight on degrees.
Since you’re here…
Interested in a career in digital marketing? Get started today with our free digital marketing learning path.
