Online marketing courses teach you the skills, systems, and strategies needed to engage your audience in your message, business, or product on digital platforms. However, many online training options are available, and it can be difficult to sift through courses and figure out what’s worth your time and money. To help you narrow down your choices, we’ve reviewed the eight best online marketing courses below.
- ClickMinded — Marketing Operating System — Top Pick
- Digital Marketing Institute — Masters (MSc) in Digital Marketing — Best for Earning a Master’s Degree
- Hubspot Academy — Email Marketing Certification Course: Get Certified in Email Marketing — Best for Email
- Google Digital Garage — Fundamentals of Digital Marketing — Best for Beginners
- Coursera — Digital Marketing Specialization — Best for MBA Students
- Simplilearn — Post Graduate Program in Digital Marketing — Best Advanced Course
- Udemy — The Complete Digital Marketing Course — Best for Platform-Specific Modules
- Udacity — Digital Marketing Nanodegree — Best for Real-World Projects
Our Ranking Criteria
The top online marketing courses provide you with practical training, real-world exercises, analysis of successful campaigns, and technical know-how needed to become a powerful digital marketer. We researched 30 online marketing courses before narrowing down the top 8.
Basic Ranking Criteria
Before committing to an online course, you should know the time required to complete the course, whether any prerequisites are required, how flexible the schedule is, and what sort of certificate you can earn upon completion. That’s why for each online marketing course covered in this guide, we looked at four basic factors:
Time to complete. You should be able to complete your online marketing course relatively quickly to build and launch campaigns that impact the real world. The courses covered in this guide take anywhere from several hours to two years to complete.
Prerequisites required. Only one of the courses covered in this guide requires you to have completed any prerequisites. This means you can dive straight into almost any of the courses and immediately start learning.
Flexible schedule. We get it, you’re busy. We selected part-time courses with flexible schedules to best suit your needs.
Certificate of completion. All of the courses in this guide offer a verified certificate of completion, which is a valuable addition to your resume.
Advanced ranking criteria
The basic criteria mentioned above are relevant to nearly all online courses. However, we also looked at some key factors specific to marketing. These factors include:
- The course covers various marketing skills and strategies, from frameworks and funnels to web analytics and SEO.
- The instructors are skilled teachers with firsthand experience as successful marketers, especially in the digital space.
- The course’s effectiveness has been proven by former graduates successfully launching marketing campaigns and converting clicks into sales.
- The course includes interactions with teachers and fellow students to build a sense of camaraderie and personal connection through the online platform.
- The course utilizes hands-on, project-based exercises that help students implement marketing strategies.
- The course acquaints students with important techniques, vocabulary, and norms in marketing, especially digital marketing.
- The course is highly applicable to contemporary, 21st-century digital marketing and is on the cutting edge of new developments in the digital marketing space.
8 Best Online Marketing Courses
ClickMinded
Digital Marketing Course
Intelligent Award: Top Pick
The ClickMinded platform is devoted solely to teaching people digital marketing. You can review hundreds of step-by-step standard operating procedures, marketing templates, and optimized AI prompts by purchasing access to their Marketing Operating System. Eight in-depth courses on content marketing, email marketing, and social media are also included. The courses are taught by marketers at the most successful tech companies like Airbnb and Lyft. More so than any other courses included in this guide, this one practices what it preaches. Its webpage and sales funnels are top-notch, its platform is fresh and user-friendly, and its variety of courses makes it a one-stop shop for digital marketing.
- Price: $999 per year
- Time to complete: 80+ hours
- Prerequisites required: No
- Flexible schedule: Yes
- Includes verified certificate of participation: Yes
Who should take this course? Anyone who is serious about committing time and money to learning the ins and outs of digital marketing would benefit from this bundle.
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Flexible scheduling | No live interactions with faculty/students |
| User-friendly platform | Expensive |
| Many options within the bundle |
Digital Marketing Institute
Masters (MSc) in Digital Marketing
Intelligent Award: Best for Earning a Master’s Degree
This two-year distance learning program culminates in a Master of Science degree. It is the most comprehensive and time-intensive program included in this guide. The degree program aims to teach you not just how to play the game of digital marketing, but how to become “an expert’s expert.” This is an advanced sequence of courses on communications and digital strategy and planning, as well as consumer, social media, search, ecommerce, email, and mobile marketing. The platform is cutting-edge and engaging, and the program features a nearly even split between taught courses and real-world research and implementation. Before joining the program, students must have completed a bachelor’s degree in a business/marketing-related field and have at least one to two years of experience in this field.
- Price: $12,900
- Time to complete: Two years
- Prerequisites required: Yes
- Flexible schedule: Yes
- Includes verified certificate of participation: Yes
Who should take this course? If you’re a seasoned digital marketer looking to stand out from the pack, this is a great choice for you. The time and money requirements are substantial, so this program is best suited to serious, experienced students.
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Very comprehensive | Expensive |
| A strong combination of theory and practice | Takes two years to complete |
| Engaging platform | Not for beginners/those without a bachelor’s |
HubSpot Academy
Email Marketing Certification Course: Get Certified in Email Marketing
Intelligent Award: Best for Email
HubSpot Academy’s Email Certification Course is designed to make you an email marketing expert. The course teaches you everything you need to create an email marketing strategy that grows your business and your career as a whole. In this four-hour training, you learn practical tools and systems for building an email marketing campaign and higher-level skills like building trust and forging a human connection with your audience. By the end of the course, you’ll have a chance to apply what you’ve learned with HubSpot’s free email marketing tool.
- Price: Free
- Time to complete: 3 hours, 54 minutes
- Prerequisites required: No
- Flexible schedule: Yes
- Includes verified certificate of participation: Yes
Who should take this course? Anyone looking for a relatively short, free email marketing training would benefit from this course, especially if you intend to use HubSpot’s email services.
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Flexible scheduling | Too basic for most experienced marketing professionals |
| Beginner-friendly | |
| Free |
Google Digital Garage
Fundamentals of Digital Marketing
Intelligent Award: Best for Beginners
Google’s Fundamentals of Digital Marketing course is a bundle of 24 modules created by Google trainers, geared specifically toward digital marketing beginners. While many other courses in this guide are best suited to digital marketers with some prior training and experience, Google’s course walks you through the fundamentals of digital marketing in an accessible, beginner-friendly way. The course design and platform are streamlined and user-friendly, and the topics covered include everything from analytics and data insights to e-commerce and social media. This is truly a perfect comprehensive course for beginners. After completing the 24-module course, you take a final exam consisting of 40 questions. Once you pass, you receive a shareable certificate to showcase on your CV and LinkedIn profile.
- Price: Free
- Time to complete: 40 hours
- Prerequisites required: No
- Flexible schedule: Yes
- Includes verified certificate of participation: Yes, if you pass the final exam
Who should take this course? It’s perfect for anyone getting started with digital marketing. It’s free, comprehensive, user-friendly, accessible, and well-respected by industry professionals.
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Flexible scheduling | Requires more time than other courses |
| Free | |
| Comprehensive and beginner-friendly |
Coursera
Digital Marketing Specialization
Intelligent Award: Best for Both Digital and Analog
Coursera’s Digital Marketing Specialization is a bundle of seven courses that provide an overview of the latest digital marketing skills, taught by industry experts. Course topics include the digital marketing revolution, marketing in a digital world, digital marketing analytics in theory, digital marketing analytics in practice, digital media and marketing principles, digital media, and marketing strategies, and finally, a digital marketing capstone project where students put all of their new skills into practice. This specialization is part of the 100% online iMBA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; if you are admitted to the iMBA program, you can get credit for this specialization.
- Price: $79 per month
- Time to complete: 4 months (10 hours per week)
- Prerequisites required: No
- Flexible schedule: No
- Includes verified certificate of participation: Yes
Who should take this course? It is a good fit for students who are considering applying to the UIUC iMBA program.
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Diverse modules | High time commitment to complete specialization |
| Flexible, self-paced schedule |
Simplilearn
Post Graduate Program in Digital Marketing
Intelligent Award: Best Advanced Course
This in-depth training program culminates in a certificate from Purdue University. The program teaches advanced knowledge in SEO, content marketing, PPC, digital analytics, social media (with Facebook Blueprint Voucher), mobile marketing, and digital strategy. Unlike many other online courses, this one is built around live, interactive classes, which means it is potentially more engaging and personalized, but also potentially more difficult to fit into your schedule. In addition to the core certification courses, students can also choose to take electives in more specialized advanced areas.
- Price: $3,000
- Time to complete: 8 months
- Prerequisites required: No
- Flexible schedule: No; courses are taught live on weekends
- Includes verified certificate of participation: Yes
Who should take this course? Serious digital marketers seeking advanced knowledge through live, interactive classes would be a great fit for this course. You need to be able to participate in live classes on the weekends for approximately three hours at a time.
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Oriented around specialized, advanced knowledge | Less flexible scheduling |
| Live, interactive classes | |
| Advanced certifications |
Udemy
The Complete Digital Marketing Course
Intelligent Award: Best for Platform-Specific Modules
Udemy’s Complete Digital Marketing Course is a comprehensive bundle of 12 courses. Compared to other courses in this guide, this one does a great job of breaking the program into platform-specific modules. There are separate mini-courses on Facebook, Quora, Twitter, and YouTube. You also learn to make a website and navigate Google Ads. Each mini-course is broken down into bite-sized lectures, so the material is easily digestible and accessible. You can go at your own pace and hop around to the most interesting mini-classes.
- Price: $199.99
- Time to complete: 22.5 hours
- Prerequisites required: No
- Flexible schedule: Yes
- Includes verified certificate of participation: Yes
Who should take this course? Students who want to learn digital marketing strategies very specific to certain platforms and niches should take this course.
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Flexible scheduling | Focuses more on platform-specific strategies than on building a solid foundation in digital marketing |
| Great for niche tips and strategies | |
| Access to all 12 courses in the bundle |
Udacity
Digital Marketing Nanodegree
Intelligent Award: Best for Real-World Projects
Udacity’s Nanodegree in Digital Marketing is an extensive set of modules that teach you topics such as marketing fundamentals, social media marketing, SEO, search engine marketing with Google Ads, and Google Analytics. It’s a great all-around course that is beginner-friendly but also worthwhile for digital marketers with some experience. What separates this course from its peers is its focus on real-world, hands-on projects from industry experts. Udacity also offers career services to students, so you’ll have access to resume feedback, GitHub portfolio review, and LinkedIn profile optimization to help you make the best impression possible on future employers.
- Price: $249 per month
- Time to complete: 3 months
- Prerequisites required: No
- Flexible schedule: Yes
- Includes verified certificate of participation: Yes
Who should take this course? This in-depth yet beginner-friendly course is best suited to students who can commit to three months of classes to launch a career in digital marketing. It’s great for hands-on learners and students who want to build a portfolio while learning.
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Hands-on projects | Relatively high time commitment |
| Flexible scheduling | |
| Comprehensive yet beginner-friendly |
Online Marketing Course Comparison Chart
| Course | Price | Features |
| ClickMinded — Marketing Operating System — Top Pick | $999 per year | ✓ No prerequisites required
✓ Flexible schedule ✓ Includes verified certificate of participation |
| Digital Marketing Institute — Masters (MSc) in Digital Marketing — Best for Earning a Master’s Degree | $12,900 | X No prerequisites required
✓ Flexible schedule ✓ Includes verified certificate of participation |
| Hubspot Academy — Email Marketing Certification Course: Get Certified in Email Marketing — Best for Email | Free | ✓ No prerequisites required
✓ Flexible schedule ✓ Includes verified certificate of participation |
| Google Digital Garage — Fundamentals of Digital Marketing — Best for Beginners | Free | ✓ No prerequisites required
✓ Flexible schedule ✓ Includes verified certificate of participation |
| Coursera — Digital Marketing Specialization — Best for MBA Students | $79 per month | X No prerequisites required
X Flexible schedule ✓ Includes verified certificate of participation |
| Simplilearn — Post Graduate Program in Digital Marketing — Best Advanced Course | $3,000 | X No prerequisites required
✓ Flexible schedule ✓ Includes verified certificate of participation |
| Udemy — The Complete Digital Marketing Course — Best for Platform-Specific Modules | $199.99 | ✓ No prerequisites required
✓ Flexible schedule ✓ Includes verified certificate of participation |
| Udacity — Digital Marketing Nanodegree — Best for Real-World Projects | $249 per month | ✓ No prerequisites required
✓ Flexible schedule ✓ Includes verified certificate of participation |
Tips for Succeeding in an Online Marketing Course
1. Consider the cost
How much do online marketing classes cost?
Online marketing course costs vary widely. You can expect to spend anywhere from $0 for a free course to upwards of $13,000 for a degree-granting program. Most fee-based courses offer you the option of making payments in installments instead of upfront. Furthermore, some courses charge by the month for access, so the sooner you complete the course, the sooner you can stop paying the monthly fee. If you do not want or need a verified certificate after your course, then you can audit some courses for free.
Will my employer pay for me to take the course?
Employers often reimburse or help to subsidize the cost of professional development courses and programs for their employees. This is something worth speaking to your boss or HR department about. It’s likely that your employer will be happy to cover, or at least subsidize, the cost of digital marketing training.
2. Get your tech squared away
This guide’s online marketing courses do not require fancy software or programs. You can engage with all the course materials through your web browser. Your computer will need to support streaming video, so you’ll want to ensure you have a fast, reliable wifi connection and at minimum, an i5-level processor and 8 GB of RAM.
3. Use the right study resources
Some courses in this guide are geared towards established digital marketers. If you’re looking for beginner-friendly learning resources to engage with before or during your online marketing course(s), here are a few good places to start: Donald Miller’s book Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen and Jonah Berger’s book Contagious: Why Things Catch On.
Frequently Asked Questions About Online Marketing Courses
What jobs can you get after completing an online marketing course?
The skills and strategies learned in an online marketing course can prepare you for various marketing-related careers, including content manager/strategist, SEO specialist, and digital marketing manager. In addition to taking one or more online courses, you’ll want to work on building a strong portfolio of work to showcase to potential employers.
Are there free online marketing courses?
Some free marketing courses are available online, some of which are featured in this guide. If you are just starting with marketing and want to test out a few different areas of specialization, then free online marketing courses can be a great option. If you are a more established marketer looking to gain advanced skills and knowledge, investing in a more formal paid course with individualized feedback is probably worth investing in.
How long is the average online marketing course?
Online marketing courses can be as short as a few hours and as long as two years or more. Most courses run for 3 to 4 months, with 3 to 5 hours of work per week.
How can I learn online marketing?
Online marketing, also called digital marketing, is marketing on the internet and other forms of digital communication, including email, social media, texts, and multimedia messaging. Online digital marketing courses like those included in this guide are a great way to learn online marketing to promote an existing business or help launch a future one. Some online marketing courses focus on establishing strong fundamentals in digital marketing basics, while others are geared more specifically towards specific platforms, such as email or social media. The online marketing courses featured in this guide are a great place to start learning digital marketing, as most of the courses are self-paced, reasonably priced, and beginner-friendly.
Interested in a degree instead?
Learn more about online degrees, their start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.