The best free digital marketing courses online

As a lecturer in Marketing you might be surprised that I'm in favour of free online courses.

It's true, nothing can replace academic or professional qualifications in Marketing. There are too many people promoting themselves on LinkedIn and elsewhere as 'experts' who don't have any professional training. This is not good for their clients, who are not getting a trained expert, or for the industry as poor marketers give everyone a bad name.

You wouldn't visit an accountant or dentist who didn't have professional training, so why risk it with your marketing?

The case for online digital marketing training

Where online courses play their part is in providing marketers with the opportunity to develop new skill sets in specific aspects of marketing. For instance, to develop a deeper understanding of SEO (search engine optimisation) or Marketing Analytics.

Degrees or professional qualifications tend to focus on the strategic and academic approach to marketing rather than practical, hands-on approaches.

Additionally, online training allows qualified marketers to keep abreast of the latest developments in digital marketing and platform changes. The free training that Google and Facebook offer, for instance means that you can easily keep up to date with the latest changes to their advertising platforms.

If you're in a digital marketing role and want to keep up to date then online training packages are ideal as they can be completed at your desk or in your own time.

CPD (continuing professional development) is important to ensure that your skills are current and you are investing in your professional growth. This ethos is at the heart of the CIM's Chartered Marketer status. A client can be confident that a Chartered Marketer is not only qualified but keeps their professional skills up to date.

Who are the top online course providers?

The good news is that there is a range of online, respected providers that offer free online training in a range of digital marketing subjects.

We've compiled a list of our favourites, all of which provide good quality, structured online training in digital marketing, which is entirely free (apart from the time it takes you of course!).

Google's services feature heavily in our list, however there are a few providers that you may not have come across yet.

Choosing which one is for you depends on the area you want to focus on, the balance between strategic or tactical, and how long you have to spend on developing your skills.

For the full list of free online digital marketing courses read our blog post: www.refreshmarketing.co.uk