In the last few years, the world of digital marketing has changed. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re seeing a complete overhaul of how people interact, connect, and learn. As a result, many traditional teaching methods and classroom setups have been sidelined, while online learning has gained popularity.

With the world shifting to an online presence, it’s important to update your knowledge and stay relevant.

Here’s a list of the top 10 online marketing courses for 2020, with information on the course material, learning objectives, and preparing time.

Top 10 Online Marketing Courses

We’ve picked out the best online marketing classes and ranked them from top to bottom based on several factors. Take a look below to discover the perfect course for your needs.

The first thing you’ll want to consider is how useful the course will be to you. Will it help you progress your career, or are you looking to develop your personal brand? Take some time to assess your skills and see what area of online marketing would be the most suitable for you.

Once you’ve chosen a subject, the next step is to consider the learning material. Does the course provide high-quality videos, infographics, or handouts? Are the learning materials up to date and relevant to what you’ll encounter in the real world?

An easy way to find out what’s included in each course is to check out the course description. Here you’ll discover the level of difficulty of each section, the course objectives, and whether or not there’s a preparing time.

Looking for a full-time course? Many of these programs are accredited and offer full-time slots, so you can study on-demand or in your spare time.

What is the Level of Difficulty?

The level of difficulty is simply defined as the amount of effort you need to put in to master the content. Generally speaking, an easy course will have a level of difficulty of 1-2, a medium-hard course will have a level of difficulty of 3-4, and a hard course will have a level of difficulty of 5-6. It is important to keep in mind that this is only a general guideline and may vary depending on the instructor and the course material.

Is This Online Marketing Course Accredited?

Accreditation ensures that you’re learning from an expert in the field and that you’re getting the absolute best possible information. Many online marketing courses are accredited, so you can be sure that you’re learning from the best. 

This is an important factor to consider, especially if you’re wanting to progress your career. You don’t want to be learning from unaccredited sources or people who aren’t experienced in the field. Remember, too, that some of these people may be operating from a personal profit perspective rather than a professional one, so be sure to look out for any signs of fluff on a partnership or faculty page.

Is This an Information-Gathering Course?

An information-gathering course will generally aim to give you a good understanding of a specific subject. Depending on your background, you may have already identified a specific area of interest in digital marketing (be it SEO, content strategy, or PPC), and this course will help you build a foundation in those areas.

If you’re looking for a broad overview of online marketing, however, then this isn’t the right course for you. Once you’ve grasped the basics of a particular component (for example, SEO), you can then move on to another (like PPC) and gain a better understanding of the underlying concepts. This type of course also allows you to develop transferable skills by practicing making presentations and analyzing data.

Information-gathering courses don’t really fit into the top 10 best online marketing courses list, because they don’t really provide you with anything directly applicable to your daily job search. In the next section, we’ll discuss courses that do give you something useful to apply directly to your career.

Useful For What Purpose?

The courses on this list are all useful for one purpose or another. Some of them are better suited towards beginners, while others are designed more for experts. Below we’ll provide a detailed description of each course.

Beginner’s Guide to Online Marketing

This is a great course for beginners who want to enter the world of online marketing. It’s also one of the few courses on this list that doesn’t focus solely on learning about online marketing. Instead, it also covers various other digital marketing skills that you might not know how to do yet.

There are several subsections in the course where you’ll learn how to perform certain tasks, like setting up email marketing campaigns or analyzing competitors’ websites. Along with this, you’ll also learn the theory behind each process. This is an excellent way to learn, especially if you’re a beginner, because you’ll have somebody helping you all the way through. There are also several helpful tools at your disposal, like Google Analytics and Hootsuite, which you’ll use to practice what you’ve learnt. This is undoubtedly one of the best courses for beginners.

Marketing Essie: Become a Better Consumer

If you’re looking to improve your brand-awareness and learn more about how to behave as a conscious consumer, then this is the perfect course for you. It takes a slightly different approach with a fun and interactive teacher, who helps you develop a “Marketing Essie” through which you’ll conduct your daily shopping. You’ll start by researching products and companies you’re interested in purchasing, then move on to constructing a persona and playing assessor. This persona will serve as the driver for all your buying decisions, so it’s essential that you develop it correctly. When you’re finished, you’ll have a clear understanding of what type of customer you are, how you’ll behave, and what you’ll need to focus on in order to be a better consumer.

Along with this, you’ll learn how to develop a marketing plan, target the right audience, and measure the effectiveness of your plan. By the end of the course, you’ll have a complete understanding of what it means to be a conscious consumer and how to apply this to your daily purchases. Not everybody will be able to put this knowledge into practice right away, but once they do, they’ll never be the same again.

Marketing Is About Relationships

If you’re looking to learn more about marketing, then this is the ideal course for you. It starts by defining the word marketing and looking at its various components, including marketing research, public relations, and advertising. You’ll then move on to learning about various types of markets, including traditional, niche, and emerging markets. With an interactive teacher and a complete section on market research, this course will put you ahead of the game.

You’ll also learn how to create buyer personas, design engaging marketing platforms, and set up automated marketing campaigns. By the end of the course, you’ll have a clear idea of what marketing is and how you can integrate it into your daily life.

SEO Basics For Non-Searchers

If you’re someone who wants to work in SEO, but don’t have a lot of experience, then this is the perfect course for you. It will teach you the theory behind SEO, including how and why search engines work the way they do, the various factors that might affect your organic search score, and how to conduct successful keyword research. It’s well-written and designed, and doesn’t leave out any important details.

Along with this, you’ll learn how to set up basic SEO techniques for free, like SEO title tags, meta descriptions, and optimized images. You’ll then move on to advanced tactics, like link building, content strategy, and PPC advertising. At the end of the day, you’ll have a good understanding of what SEO is and how to conduct basic SEO tasks.