As the name suggests, marketing digital courses are designed to teach you all you need to know about digital marketing. Being a digital marketer myself, I knew exactly what students were looking for and what sort of courses they should avoid. This article will tell you exactly what you need to know and help you make the right decision so you can complete your studies easily and with minimal effort. Let’s get started.

The Purpose of Studying Digital Marketing

Most students will tell you that they are either looking for a career in digital marketing or are at least considering it as a possible career path. This is because the role of a digital marketer is evolving as technologies change and because there are so many opportunities in digital marketing.

If you’re looking for a career in digital marketing, you should get accredited. Doing so will not only make you stand out from the crowd but will also give you a clear shot at the job market. Accreditation means your knowledge and skills will be valued and you will have a greater chance of getting hired. If you’re serious about a career in digital marketing, accredited courses are a must.

The Difference Between Affiliate Marketing and Digital Marketing

When a student is first learning about digital marketing, they may be told by an uninformed source that all they need to learn is how to advertise on social media. This could not be more wrong. Just like with many other things in life, there is a huge difference between what you think and what you know.

To begin with, let’s discuss affiliate marketing. If you’re a webmaster and you want to earn a commission from advertisers whenever someone clicks a monetized link or buys a product that’s promoted on your website, you will be an affiliate marketer. The more you know about this sort of thing, the better you will be at earning a passive income stream from your web content.

The difference between affiliate marketing and digital marketing is that with affiliate marketing, you will be paid based on results. You don’t get paid unless a consumer takes a specific action (i.e., makes a purchase, subscribes to a newsletter, or signs up for a webinar). So, in a nutshell, affiliate marketing is when you promote a product (or a service) and get paid per conversion (i.e., sale, subscription, or similar action).

On the other hand, in digital marketing, you will be paid for a variety of activities including generating traffic, qualifying leads, converting those leads into paying customers, and measuring the ROI of your digital marketing campaign. Essentially, with the latter you are focused on behavior change and getting people to take a specific action (i.e., make a purchase, subscribe to a newsletter, or participate in a webinar).

The Most Popular Courses in Digital Marketing

In 2016, Future of Online Learning conducted a study to discover the most popular and most desired online courses in digital marketing. The results of this study were quite surprising. Here are the top 15 most popular courses in digital marketing:

1. Foundations of Digital Marketing

This is a 5-star rating course from Future of Online Learning. It teaches you the basics of digital marketing including marketing analytics and measurement, marketing strategy, marketing planning, marketing execution, and digital marketing ethics. This is one of the most popular courses in digital marketing because it teaches you the foundations of the field. You will not only be able to get a good grasp of the subject but will also be able to apply what you’ve learned.

The course also offers a special feature called Project Wombat, which helps you practice building and analyzing marketing plans. What makes this course so special is that it teaches you the theoretical aspects of digital marketing while also giving you practical examples of best practices. This allows you to easily connect the theoretical lessons learned with real-world examples.

2. Growth of Digital Marketing

The second most popular course in digital marketing is Growth of Digital Marketing. This is a 3-star rated course from Future of Online Learning. It aims to teach you the theory and practice of digital marketing in a business context. The course covers marketing research, marketing plan development, social media management, and performance marketing. This course will boost your ability to understand how to plan and implement a digital marketing campaign from the ground up. Additionally, you will learn how to track the results of your campaign and analyze the data to see what’s working and what needs to be adjusted.

3. SEO for Marketing Managers

This is a 4-star rated course from Future of Online Learning. It aims to equip you with the theory and practice of search engine optimization (SEO) for marketing managers. SEOM is an acronym for search engine optimization. This course will give you the know-how to navigate the complex world of SEO. It covers basic SEO concepts such as on-site SEO, off-site SEO, and SEO for mobile users. Additionally, you will learn the tools and techniques used by experienced SEOs.

4. Analytics for Marketers

This is a 4-star rating course from Future of Online Learning. Analytics for Marketers is probably the most popular of the analytics courses offered in digital marketing. This is because it teaches you how to measure, analyze, and report the results of your marketing activities. The course includes live case studies that you can engage with and interactive quizzes that test your knowledge.

5. Email Marketing Essentials

This is a 3-star rated course from Future of Online Learning. It teaches you the theory and practice of email marketing. It covers all you need to know about email marketing including list acquisition, list segmentation, campaign planning, content, and subject line testing. Additionally, you will learn how to conduct A/B testing, track results, and design effective email campaigns.

6. Social Media Marketing

This is a 4-star rating course from Future of Online Learning. Social Media Marketing focuses on building and measuring effective social media marketing campaigns. What makes this course so special is that it covers all the basics of social media marketing including marketing research, analysis, and social media strategy. The course also teaches you how to conduct A/B testing, track results, and design effective social media marketing campaigns. This course is ideal for students who are just getting started and don’t have any real-world experience yet. However, even experienced marketers may find this course helpful because it covers all the basics and allows them to focus on more complex tasks such as performance marketing and multichannel marketing.

7. Conversion Optimization for Marketers

This is a 4-star rating course from Future of Online Learning. It teaches you the theory and practice of conversion optimization. What makes this course so special is that it covers all the essentials of conversion optimization including site analysis, goal setting, and A/B testing. The course also covers paid and organic search, display ads, and retargeting. This is a must-take course for students who are newly entering the field and want to secure a good job in digital marketing. However, even experienced marketers may find this course helpful because it will give you a boost of knowledge needed to fully understand and implement conversion optimization strategies.

8. Online Marketing Measurement

This is a 4-star rating course from Future of Online Learning. Online Marketing Measurement equips you with the tools and resources you need to accurately measure the results of your online marketing strategies and initiatives. The course begins with an introduction to measurement followed by lessons on key methods and metrics including benchmarking, analytics, and web analytics. This course is designed for marketers who are looking for an objective way to evaluate the success of their online initiatives.

9. Designing Digital Marketing Pages

This is a 4-star rating course from Future of Online Learning. Designing Digital Marketing Pages will teach you the basics of creating good-looking web pages. You will not only learn the theory but will also be able to apply it to real-life examples. The course begins with an introduction to web page design and moves on to lessons on typography, colors, and layout. Additionally, you will learn the importance of a good-looking web page with a focus on creating a unique and memorable user experience for your customers.

10. Performance Marketing

This is a 4-star rating course from Future of Online Learning. Performance Marketing is all about getting people to take a specific action (i.e., make a purchase, subscribe to a newsletter, or participate in a webinar). It’s a form of proactive marketing that relies on data to determine what works best for your organization.