16 Online Digital Marketing Certifications to Propel Your Freelance Career

Gone are the days where you have to pay thousands of dollars to get a university degree or certification in order to get ahead in your freelance career. Great learning is all around us and as accessible as a click of the mouse.

Working in the digital marketing industry means that things are constantly changing, and you need to keep learning to stay ahead of the curve.

This can be difficult when you’re working on your own, since the only person there to challenge your knowledge is yourself. Luckily there are plenty of free or cheap courses available to get you learning and developing. 

Check out some of our top picks of online certifications to propel your freelance career.

1. Digital Marketing Specialization with Coursera

The Digital Marketing Specialization gives you the opportunity to master marketing concepts and tools to address brand communication in a digital world.

It’s a six-course overview of the latest digital marketing skills, as part of the University of Illinois’s MBA, meaning you’ll be learning from industry experts. 

Courses include:

• Marketing in a Digital World
• Marketing Analytics in Theory
• Marketing Analytics in Practice
• Digital Media and Marketing Principles
• Digital Media and Marketing Strategies
• Marketing in an Analog World
• Digital Marketing Capstone

You can enrol in the whole specialization or take it course by course. You’ve also got the option to pay for the certified track or get the free versions.

2. Instagram Ads Fundamentals 

This comprehensive step-by-step course is for anyone who wants to enhance their knowledge of Instagram’s marketing tools. Through the 8 chapters, you’ll learn how to create inspiring and engaging Instagram campaigns that will drive real business results for your clients.

You’ll learn about tagging and tracking campaigns, including how to set up and use the Facebook pixel. You’ll also master how to define the best custom and lookalike target audiences for your client’s objectives, create inspiring ad content, as well as take away best practices on reporting and optimization in Google Analytics.

3. Facebook Ads Targeting

Content is only half the battle; every ad is 50% content and 50% targeting. Learn how to improve ad performance and scale your Facebook campaigns in this targeting course. 

This course will give you an in-depth overview of Facebook’s targeting capabilities, using real world insights. It includes some real gems including expending the audience, how to prevent audience burnout and special tips for freelancers. 

It’s suitable for all levels, whether you’re a complete beginner or want to polish up your Facebook targeting skills.

4. Viral Marketing: 7 Secrets to Promote Any Product

In this course, you’ll learn about the process of “going viral.” The presenter shows you proven tactics, tools and templates ready to apply whether you’re marketing a product, book, personal brand or crowdfunding campaign. It’s not pure luck. No fluff. No touchy-feely theories. 

The speaker breaks down complicated theories into bite-size notes, making it ideal for individuals who are ready to take their brand or business to a new level. Put an end to the guessing games, and learn what it actually takes to go viral so you can promote any product.

5. Blog Content Strategy

This course is a comprehensive overview of the ins and outs of blogging. It provides you with practical advice and a framework for building and implementing a content strategy for your clients’ blog that delivers results. 

This course is ideal for those who possess some knowledge in digital marketing or blogging. There is significant work in building a blog content strategy and it requires a variety of digital marketing skills ranging from keyword research and content creation to content analytics and optimization. By the end of the course, you’ll have the skills needed to monetize and scale your content strategy.

6. SEO Website Technical Audit Fundamentals

Technical SEO is the foundation upon which all other SEO tactics are built. This course will teach you the nuts and bolts of technical SEO, from its purpose and value to its execution. The focus is on technical SEO tools and how to use them, as well as approaching a client, and performing an audit. This course is intended for all levels, from beginners to seasoned SEO pros who might need a technical refresher.

You can also purchase this course along with the Blog Strategy course as a program.

7. Google Analytics

Discover Google Analytics from the ground-up with this training program consisting of three courses – Fundamentals, Advanced and Mastery. You can either purchase them separately or all together as a program.

In the Fundamentals course, you’ll learn how to harness the power of Google Analytics, get the most out of the data you collect, and discover all that you can do within Google Analytics. You don’t need any prior knowledge or experience with Google Analytics, and if you do have experience, it’s a great opportunity to learn something new.

8. Email Marketing Fundamentals using Mailchimp

They say that your number of email subscribers correlates directly to your business success. This course teaches you to plan and implement a welcome/onboarding drip email campaign to increase retention rate, engagement rate, and brand affinity.

You’ll create a campaign and then work on analytics and testing. In this course you’ll use MailChimp, but the principles you’ll learn apply to any email provider you choose to use.

9. How to Build a Start up by the Lean Launch Pad

Want to bring your idea from conception to market? How to Build a Start up by The Lean Launchpad is a free course part of the Nanodegree program Digital Marketing from Udacity. 

The introduction covers the famous Customer Development Process, providing insight into the key areas needed to build a successful startup. Learning will cover business models, value proposition, customer segments, channels, customer relationships, revenue models and more. 

10. How to Brand your Business

Branding is important for businesses of all sizes as it helps companies stand out, connect and increase loyalty. 

Learn from one of Skillshare’s top instructors with the course on How to Brand Your Business. Learn about what a brand is and how to create your own. The course includes additional resources on branding. 

11. Charge What You’re Worth 

One of the biggest barriers to success is underselling yourself. 

Charge what you’re worth is a free, 9-lesson course delivered entirely by email. It will give you personalised and actionable lessons that cover how to reframe the way you present yourself to clients, how to clearly communicate the value you produce, the questions you need to ask potential clients and a framework for pitching on value and winning deals. 

12. How to build meaningful customer relationships online

Building good relationships is essential if you want to get ahead in your career. This course is targeted at beginners or people who’d like an overview of digital brand marketing. It will not only teach you strategies you should employ and tools to use but also what not to do.

13. Measuring success in digital marketing campaigns 

What is success? In an era where digital marketing is constantly evolving and changing, impact and success are measured by results. Aimed at individuals who have a product, brand or web presence they want to create awareness for, this course will take you through key foundations and concepts, allowing you to measure success and results effectively. 

You’ll learn how to set realistic goals, how to think strategically on various platforms, the value of quantitative and qualitative results, the value of working with influencers to create success, and finally how to benchmark results for future projects. 

As part of this course, you’ll undertake a project that entails creating a digital campaign brief and putting together your own benchmarks for success metrics. 

14. How can I run my business better?

Business admin is one of the most important areas of running a business. This totally free course from Elevate from Fiverr helps you discover the tools that will save you time and get you paid. 

It runs you through:

• Creating beautiful proposals
• Using a contract
• Tracking your time
• Invoicing and getting paid quickly 

15. Building Online Communities: Grow Your Facebook Group & Leverage it for Business

Facebook groups have become one of the most popular ways to connect with like-minded people online. They receive more organic exposure than company pages and help build authentic relationships at the same time. So many businesses are now using them to build a community around their brand, connect with their target audience, provide value, and ultimately sell.

Learn how to start, grow and leverage your own online community to grow your business and brand in this Skillshare course.

16. The Six Figure Freelancer Audio Course

This 12-episode audio course is great for freelancers of all specialities who want to learn how to grow their business. Learn from top professionals who share their exact formulas for success in starting, growing, and maintaining a 6-figure freelance career.

 

Are you feeling inspired?

It’s time to pick a course and start learning! You’re just a click away from developing both personally and professionally and propelling your freelance career.