Learning marketing doesn't have to be expensive. Many academies offer free training to anyone interested in online marketing.
The problem is that not all free courses are worth it. To help you avoid wasting time on low-quality programs, we’ve hand-picked and reviewed each course to include the best training classes covering all major online marketing channels.
All courses are free, and some come with a certification to showcase on your CV.
General Marketing Courses
1. Digital Marketing Course For Beginners
Course provider: Reliablesoft
Duration: 2 hours
Instructor(s): Alex Chris
Level: Beginner
Link: Digital Marketing Course For Beginners
What You'll Learn
Reliablesoft Free Marketing Course is a great option for learning the basics of digital marketing before enrolling in a paid course.
The instructor has over two decades of marketing experience and lays down the fundamentals in an easy-to-digest format.
Upon completing this course, you'll know:
- How digital marketing works.
- How to optimize your website for search engines like Google.
- How to get into affiliate marketing.
- How to build campaigns on various channels like email, social media platforms, and PPC.
2. Fundamentals of Digital Marketing
Course provider: Google Digital Garage
Duration: 40 hours
Instructor(s): Google
Level: Beginner
Link: Fundamentals of Digital Marketing
What you’ll learn
One of the most popular free courses is the “Fundamentals of Digital Marketing” offered by Google Digital Garage through Google Skillshop.
The course comprises 26 modules and teaches you how to create a marketing strategy to get your business online. It takes around 40 hours to complete.
The most important modules are: getting found on Google search, mobile marketing, online advertising, analytics, and expanding internationally.
To access this course, you must create a free Google Skillshop account.
3. Digital Marketing Associate
Course provider: Meta Blueprint
Duration: 4 hours
Instructor(s): Meta
Level: Beginner
Link: Digital Marketing Associate
What you’ll learn
Meta Blueprint offers free courses on Facebook and digital marketing topics. This course will help you prepare for the Digital Marketing Associate Certification.
The topics covered in the course include:
- How to create a Facebook Business Page
- How to get more likes on Facebook and Instagram
- How to design and execute a Facebook ad campaign,
- Other topics to run successful Meta campaigns.
You can enroll in the course for free, but you must pay a $150 fee to get certified.
4. Google Analytics Certification
Course provider: Google
Duration: 5 hours
Instructor(s): Google
Level: Beginner
Link: Google Analytics Certification
What you’ll learn
One digital marketing discipline that is always in demand is reporting and analytics. If you’re starting now, this is one of the areas to tackle first. Analytics will give you valuable user information and help you make informed decisions for all your marketing campaigns.
The Google Analytics Certification will teach you the basics and advanced concepts of Google Analytics.
By the end of this course, you’ll get a deep understanding of how to do reporting and analysis using Google Analytics.
Upon completing the courses, you can pass the Google Analytics exam and become Google Analytics certified.
Registration for these courses is free with a Google Skillshop account.
SEO Courses
5. SEO Course for Beginners
Course provider: Reliablesoft
Duration: 5 hours
Instructor(s): Alex Chris
Level: Beginner
Link: Free SEO Course For Beginners
What you’ll learn
This free SEO course by Reliablesoft Academy will teach you the basics of Search engine optimization. It is an excellent course for beginners in SEO and a good choice for starting your online marketing learning journey.
Through the course, you’ll learn:
- How search engines work
- What SEO is and why it’s essential
- How to get started with technical SEO
- How to do on-page SEO
- How to approach off-page SEO
Despite being a free course, it is regularly updated to include new SEO techniques and practices.
6. The One-Hour Guide to SEO
Course provider: Moz
Duration: 1 hour
Instructor(s): Rand Fishkin
Level: Beginner
Link: The One-Hour Guide to SEO
What you’ll learn
The one-hour guide to SEO is taught by Rand Fishkin (Moz Founder), and it consists of six free videos, a total duration of one hour.
In this free course, you’ll learn the SEO fundamentals. The first video explains how to incorporate all important SEO concepts into your SEO strategy.
The other videos show you how to approach keyword research, keep searchers happy, and do on-page SEO, technical SEO, and link building.
You can access the course directly by visiting the link below. No registration is required.
7. SEO Training For Beginners
Course provider: Yoast
Duration: 2 hours
Instructor(s): Yoast Trainers
Level: Beginner
Link: SEO For Beginners Training
What you’ll learn
Another free training class for learning SEO is the SEO for Beginners course delivered by Yoast Academy.
The course has three modules that cover SEO basics, content SEO, and technical SEO.
By the end of this course, you'll know how search engines work, what keywords are, and what SEO copywriting is.
In addition, you'll get an introduction to proper site structure, website crawlability, and Google-rich results.
You must create a free account with Yoast Academy to access this course.
8. SEO Course For Beginners
Course provider: Ahrefs
Duration: 2 hours
Instructor(s): Sam Oh
Level: Beginner
Link: SEO For Beginners Training
What you'll learn
This course is for beginners to SEO, small business owners, and marketing team leaders.
Sam Oh, VP of Marketing at Ahrefs, delivers the lessons in a way that keeps the students engaged through the lesson. The course is made up of 14 videos covering the following topics:
- Technical SEO Basics
- Keyword Research
- On-page SEO
- Link Building
Registration for the course is free, and no sign-up is required.
PPC Marketing Courses
9. Google Ads Search Certification
Course provider: Google
Duration: 3.4 hours
Instructor(s): Google
Level: Beginner / Intermediate
Link: Google Ads Search Certification
What you’ll learn
PPC marketing is among the most critical online channels, and Google Ads is the primary platform in this area. Becoming a PPC specialist is essential if you plan to pursue a career in digital marketing.
In this free certification by Google Skillshop, you’ll learn how Google Search ads work and get certified.
To prepare for the certification, Google offers eight free courses (3.4 hours). Courses cover topics related to the design, setup, and optimization of Google Search Campaigns.
To access the course, you must create a free Google Skillshop account.
10. PPC Fundamentals Certification
Course provider: Semrush
Duration: 5 hours
Instructor(s): Joel Bondorowsky
Level: Beginner / Intermediate
Link: PPC Fundamentals Course
What you’ll learn
This course guides you on how to become a PPC specialist. It starts from the beginning, covering PPC basics like account setup and then touches on other topics like campaign management and optimization.
The lessons are delivered by an experienced PPC professional, and upon completion, you will receive a certificate of completion from Semrush Academy.
Affiliate Marketing Courses
11. Affiliate Marketing Course For Beginners
Course provider: Reliablesoft
Duration: 2 hours
Instructor(s): Alex Chris
Level: Beginner
Link: Free Affiliate Marketing Course
What you’ll learn
Despite being beginner-friendly, this course explains in detail how to use affiliate marketing to make money in the ever-changing online environment.
The course starts with an overview of what affiliate marketing is and how it works and offers practical advice on building an affiliate business with no prior experience.
It includes 5 lessons and takes less than 2 hours to complete.
12. Free Affiliate Marketing Course for Beginners
Course provider: Udemy
Duration: 2.2 hours
Instructor(s): Tyler Stokes
Level: Beginner
Link: Free Affiliate Marketing Course
What you’ll learn
Affiliate marketing is one of the ways to make money with digital marketing, either by selling other people’s products and getting a commission or by giving a commission to others to sell your products.
This free affiliate marketing course by Udemy is a good starting point for beginners in affiliate marketing. The total course duration is 2 hours and 18 minutes.
By the end of this course, you’ll understand what affiliate marketing is and how it works. You’ll also know how to build a website for affiliate marketing and how to choose which affiliate networks to join.
To enroll in this course, you must create a free account with Udemy.
13. Affiliate Marketing Course
Course provider: Ahrefs
Duration: 1.5 hours
Instructor(s): Sam Oh
Level: Beginner
Link: Affiliate Marketing For Beginners
What you’ll learn
This video course has 16 lessons grouped into 5 modules, totaling 1.5 hours.
Upon completing this course, you’ll know:
- How affiliate marketing works
- How to select an affiliate marketing program
- How to create and promote affiliate marketing content
While the lessons are based on Ahrefs, you can go through the course and use your other SEO tools to perform keyword research and competitor analysis.
Social Media Marketing Courses
14. Social Media Mastery
Course provider: Canva
Duration: 0.5 hours
Instructor(s): Canva
Level: Beginner
Link: Social Media Mastery
What you’ll learn
The Social Media Mastery is a free course by Canva Design Academy. The course is made up of 12 short video lessons. The total course duration is 30 minutes.
This course will help you understand how the different social media channels work and how to choose which channel you should focus on.
The material is easy to follow, and a good free course for beginners.
You can access all Canva courses for free. No registration is required.
15. Diploma in Social Media Strategy
Course provider: Alison
Duration: 1 hour
Instructor(s): Workforce Academy
Level: Beginner
Link: Diploma in Social Media Strategy
What you’ll learn
If you want to learn social media marketing, this free course by Alison Academy is a good starting point.
In this course, you’ll learn how to set social media goals and create a social media strategy. The course includes 12 modules with demos and quizzes to help you understand the different concepts.
Enrolling in this course is free. All you need is an Alison Academy account. To get a diploma, you must pass an exam and pay a fee (the cost varies per certification).
16. How To Build Your Social Media Marketing Strategy
Course provider: Udemy
Duration: 1 hour
Instructor(s): Ethan Bridge
Level: Beginner
Link: How to Build Your Social Media Strategy
What you’ll learn
This course teaches you how to create an effective social media marketing strategy that drives results. You’ll discover what makes a strategy successful, why it’s essential for your business, and how to set clear goals with actionable steps to achieve them.
You can enroll for free and watch the video, which takes around 48 minutes.
Content Marketing Courses
17. Content Marketing Certification Course
Course provider: HubSpot
Duration: 8.5 hours
Instructor(s): Justin Champion, Lindsay Thibeault
Level: Beginner
Link: Content Marketing Certification Course
What you’ll learn
One of the free marketing classes for learning content marketing is the Content Marketing course offered by Hubspot Academy.
It’s a comprehensive and quality course comprising 12 lessons, including videos and quizzes. The total duration of the course is 8.5 hours.
By the end of this course, you’ll learn how to become a better content marketer. In particular, you’ll be introduced to a framework for consistently creating good content and a process to repurpose your existing content.
You must create a free Hubspot Academy account to register for this course.
18. Advanced Content Marketing with Brian Dean
Course provider: Semrush Academy
Duration: 3 hours
Instructor(s): Brian Dean
Level: Advanced
Link: Content Marketing With Brian Dean
What you’ll learn
This course by Brian Dean will teach you how to grow a blog with content marketing.
It includes 20 lessons and takes 3 hours to complete. Upon completion, you can take an exam and become content marketing certified.
Some of the topics covered in the program include writing long-form content, optimizing blog posts, and promoting your work beyond your website.
Email Marketing Courses
19. Connect Through Email
Course provider: Google Skillshop
Duration: 0.5 hours
Instructor(s): Google
Level: Beginner
Link: Connect Through Email
What you’ll learn
Connect Through Email is a 30-minute course part of the ‘Promote a Business with Online Advertising’ course, delivered by Google Skillshop.
It covers the following topics:
- Email Marketing Basics
- Creating Marketing Emails
- Running Email Campaigns
- Evaluating Email Marketing Performance
20. Email Marketing Masterclass for Beginners
Course provider: WishPond
Duration: 0.5 hours
Instructor(s): Victoria Taylor
Level: Beginner
Link: Email Marketing Masterclass For Beginners
What you’ll learn
One of the online marketing classes you can join if you want to learn more about email marketing is the Email Marketing Masterclass delivered by Wishpond.
The course is in video format, and it consists of seven lessons.
In this course, besides the email marketing basics, you'll also learn how to create an email marketing funnel and how to carry out successful testing of your A/B campaigns.
Enrolling in this course is free, but you must create an account with Wishpond Academy.
Additional Learning Resources
- Digital Marketing Full Course - an all-in-one course for learning online marketing.
- 20 Websites To Find Online Courses - manually curated directory of high-quality online learning providers.
- Google Certification Courses - free courses with certificates from Google
- Coursera Courses - premium courses you can take on Coursera without paying.
