Staying on top of the latest strategies and trends has been crucial for keeping my knowledge and skills current as a digital marketer.
Whether it’s learning new SEO techniques or understanding changing social media algorithms, free digital marketing courses have been an invaluable resource throughout my career.
![→ Click here to download our free guide to digital marketing fundamentals [Download Now].](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/53/0a42501f-0096-4817-9fbc-923540fe37a6.png)
All fields are required.
Click this link to access this resource at any time.
If you‘re not currently using social media as a marketing tool, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity.
Unlike traditional marketing channels, social media provides a unique immediacy that allows you to interact with your audience in real time and capitalize on emerging trends as they unfold.
However, it's crucial to understand that each social platform operates differently, with its algorithms and “etiquette,” so to speak.
For example, I’ve found that Instagram content is typically more focused on visual storytelling and aesthetics, while Facebook is a bit more versatile, allowing for a mix of content types.
The courses listed below will help you master various aspects of social media, from strategy to metrics. Some of the courses also focus on a single platform, which is great if you're looking to deep dive into a specific social media channel.
Level: Beginner to intermediate
Cost: Free
Format: Includes 38 videos and 29 quizzes to test your social media acumen.
Instructor: Taught by twenty professionals, including Mari Smith, Christina Garnett, and Ai Addyson-Zhang.
Prerequisites: None
Certifications: After completing this course, you can get your Social Media Certification by passing a one-hour exam.
Course duration: This course includes over five hours of content.
This course is great for anyone looking to learn social media marketing fundamentals.
Whether you‘re an influencer, a small business owner, or a social media marketer, you’ll find valuable insights here to help you create a strong social media strategy.
This free certification course teaches you how to leverage social media to boost your brand, attract new customers, and forge meaningful online connections.
It covers the fundamentals of social media strategies and management, including media monitoring, social media advertising, and measuring social ROI.
This program is also highly praised by professionals and college marketing programs alike.
Additionally, HubSpot Academy offers over 90 lessons on current and related topics beyond the certification course.
This is one of several globally-recognized marketing certifications from HubSpot.
You can jump into your social media certification or start with platform-specific learning. For example, HubSpot’s free Instagram training course offers lessons on Instagram strategy, attracting followers, content, and more.
Whether you're a beginner or just want to refresh your certification, this is an exceptional online marketing course.
Level: Beginner
Cost: Free
Format: Includes 36 video lessons split into three sections. The paid version of the course also includes instructor Q&A and direct messaging.
Instructor: Taught by Scott D. Clary, a marketing executive and host of the Success Story podcast.
Prerequisites: Access to a smartphone.
Certifications: While the free course doesn't include a certificate of completion, you can get a certificate with the paid version of the course.
Course duration: This course includes almost two hours of content.
Marketers or business owners who want to understand how to leverage short-form video content. While this course focuses on TikTok, the learnings should be transferable across multiple short-form video platforms.
The course starts with the basics. It kicks off with essential TikTok marketing principles and then dives deep into various strategies tailored to the platform.
You’ll get a walkthrough of TikTok‘s interface, which will help you learn about core functionalities and how to navigate the platform. You’ll also learn how to create your first TikTok video, leverage the “Discover” tab for marketing, and engage users with hashtag challenges.
The course then offers more advanced topics such as navigating premium tools and services, understanding TikTok Ads policies, etc.
All that said, it's important to note that critical reviews mention a lack of practical examples and techniques for increasing visibility on the platform.
Clear instructions, like the ones provided in this course, are helpful when you're first learning a social platform. This is a great course to begin your TikTok education, as it provides a solid foundation you can then build on.
Level: Beginner
Cost: Free
Format: Includes 14 learning modules that include videos, quizzes, and online chat support.
Instructor: There is limited information about who teaches this course.
Prerequisites: None
Certifications: This online marketing course offers a CPD-accredited diploma. While the course is free, there is a charge for the diploma.
Course duration: This course should take 10-15 hours to complete.
This course is perfect for people looking for a more well-rounded understanding of social media.
It not only prepares learners for a social media strategist role but also teaches cross-over skills such as community management and social media customer service.
This course takes a more holistic approach to teaching about social media.
It covers a wide range of topics, from the evolution of social media to social media policy and, of course, more practical topics like market analysis and marketing strategies.
Overall, you’ll learn how to set goals, select platforms, craft content, analyze marketing personas, and launch successful campaigns.
This course is helpful for learners who like to learn about a topic from many different angles. This course covers social media history, career expectations, community management, and more.
Level: Beginner
Cost: Free with a 7-day free trial or $59 a month for a Coursera Plus subscription.
Format: This certification includes six courses.
Instructor: The professor for this course is Anke Audenaert, an experienced educator, digital marketer, and CEO.
Prerequisites: None
Certifications: Upon completion, you’ll receive a professional certificate and the Meta Digital Marketing Associate Certification.
Course duration: Requires 30+ hours to complete.
This is a great course for anyone looking to break into social media as a social media manager, specialist, or coordinator.
This program provides a path for launching a professional career in social media. It covers the fundamentals of digital marketing and then drills down into creating social media campaigns on the major social media platforms.
In this certification, you’ll learn how to successfully manage a social media account for a brand (or yourself) and drive traffic — both organically and through ads. The course also includes several applied projects to ensure you’re practicing these skills and building a portfolio.
This social media marketing course is a professional-level course from one of the top social media platforms. Plus, it’s available in 22 different languages and rated 4.9/5 with over 16,000 reviews.
Level: Beginner
Cost: Free with a one-month trial or $19.99 a month for an annual subscription.
Format: This course is a compilation of videos from different online teachers curated for this topic. You can view most videos on a tablet or phone as well as your desktop or laptop computer.
Instructor: Taught by five instructors who collectively have several years of professional marketing and social media management experience.
Prerequisites: None
Certifications: After completing this course, you get a LinkedIn certificate of completion.
Course duration: This course includes just over six hours of content.
If you’re looking to learn from experts across certain niches or subjects rather than a single instructor, this might be the course for you. If you’re also looking for a shiny LinkedIn credential to display on your profile, this course is also for you.
This course is essentially a collection of videos organized into a single “learning path”.
It currently offers seven lessons on the following topics: social media marketing foundations, social media strategy and optimization, copywriting for social media, social media management skills, content creation, short-form video content, and storytelling.
Individual videos have a Q&A tab where learners can ask questions or share insights. The average learner review rating for videos in this course is also pretty high (4.7), with comments being generally positive.
This is a basic compilation of videos you can watch any time during your free trial. It‘s best for social media beginners who are just beginning to understand social media marketing. It’s also a good introduction to developing social media skills and strategies.
Everything you need to know about the most sought-after business skills. Get certified for free in.
Your superb content is only effective if users can find it. That’s why search engine optimization (SEO) is so important.
But mastering SEO goes beyond just targeting the right keywords; it's about understanding the intent behind each search term and creating content that satisfies that intent.
Moreover, SEO is a field that's constantly evolving. As search engines update their algorithms, we marketers also need to adapt our strategies accordingly.
Learn SEO best practices with the courses below.
Level: Beginner to intermediate
Cost: Free
Format: Includes six lessons with 26 videos and five quizzes to confirm understanding.
Instructor: Taught by instructors from the HubSpot team, including experts like Matthew Howells-Barby and Rachel Sheldon.
Prerequisites: None
Certifications: After completing this course, you can get your SEO Certification by passing a one-hour exam.
Course duration: This course includes four hours of content.
This is a great course if you have experience running or managing SEO programs and are looking to upskill or simply improve your existing knowledge.
Whether you’re a general marketer looking to strengthen your SEO skills or a professional applying for SEO marketing roles, you can create a strong foundation with HubSpot Academy’s SEO Training Certification.
It covers all facets of the discipline — from on-page optimization to SEO reporting.
Instead of focusing on a single aspect of SEO, this course covers a range of SEO skills. Instructors present every lesson in a friendly and transparent way. This encourages learners to keep exploring the topics that are most useful to them.
Level: Intermediate
Cost: Free
Format: Includes 18 video lectures.
Instructor: There is limited information about who teaches this course.
Prerequisites: None
Certifications: Like other Udemy courses, you're not able to get a certificate with the free course. That said, you can get a certificate of completion with the paid version of the course.
Course duration: This course offers almost four hours of instructional content.
This is a great course for anyone generally interested in learning about SEO. That said, if you’re looking for some light learning, this might not be the course for you.
This SEO training course by Moz is a great mix of technical and fundamental SEO topics.
It teaches foundational skills like keyword research and on-page SEO while also including less talked about skills like site auditing and off-page SEO.
This course also delves a bit deeper into specific topics than most courses. For example, rather than broadly covering the subject of keyword selection, a lecture might introduce strategies like building a keyword map.
Although this course covers the fundamentals excellently, it also includes some advanced strategies and tasks.
Level: Beginner to advanced
Cost: Free with a 7-day free trial or $59 a month for a Coursera Plus subscription.
Format: Five-course series with lectures, readings, and assignments.
Instructor: Taught by Eric Enge and Rebekah May.
Prerequisites: None
Certifications: Offers the option to complete a career certificate.
Course duration: Flexible schedule, but the recommended timeline is three months, 10 hours per week.
This is a great program for anyone who wants to learn SEO, but it’ll be especially helpful if you intend to run SEO operations for a third party (like a client).
Created by UC Davis, this SEO course is a great program for anyone looking to learn how to optimize their web content and rank higher in the search results.
Specifically, you’ll learn how Google ranks websites, which factors it takes into account, and which other branches of marketing — such as content marketing — can help you rank better.
This SEO course is a big time investment, but if you want to learn as much as you can about Google-specific SEO, this course is for you.
Besides SEO concepts, it also covers skill sets like competitive web page analysis, developing influencer relationships, and local SEO.
Level: Beginner
Cost: Free or $99 a year for Yoast SEO Premium.
Format: Combines video lectures with readings and quizzes. It also includes lists of terms, which is a helpful addition for beginners.
Instructor: There is limited information about who teaches this course.
Prerequisites: None
Certifications: A certificate of completion is available upon completion of each course.
Course duration: Different for every course included in the academy. For example, the “What is SEO?” course has about five hours of content.
This is a great program for anyone with a website built on WordPress.
The academy offers a range of courses. You’ll find comprehensive courses such as the “All Round SEO Training” and specialized courses such as the “Keyword Research Training.”
If you’re also looking for platform/tool-specific training, the academy offers multiple WordPress and Yoast courses.
Overall, if you use WordPress and want to learn more about SEO on the platform, these courses are an exceptional place to start.
Yoast’s Academy is a fantastic choice for current WordPress developers looking to build their SEO skills. It's also an excellent resource for SEO professionals who might be looking to specialize in working on WordPress websites.
Level: Intermediate
Cost: Free
Format: Eight sections that include video lectures, practical assignments, test assignments, and a final test.
Instructor: Taught by Joe Williams, founder and content creator for Tribe SEO and a contributor to Search Engine Watch.
Prerequisites: None
Certifications: This course offers a certificate of completion.
Course duration: This course offers 2+ hours of content.
If you’re looking for an actionable, hands-on resource for learning SEO, this will likely be a great fit.
Content SEO is designed to teach anyone to write content that both people and search engines will love.
In this course, you‘ll master a variety of crucial skills for creating and optimizing content. You’ll discover how to conduct keyword research and choose topics that appeal to users at various stages of the buying process.
Additionally, you'll learn the art of crafting SEO-friendly content and measuring its performance.
The course also provides hands-on learning through practical assignments and exercises, like optimizing a content page using specific instructions.
This online marketing course combines content marketing with another highly-valued skill, SEO. This combination helps learners make the most of their learning time and combines a range of important skill sets.
Everything you need to know to get started with digital marketing. You'll learn about:
