If you’re wondering how you can learn online marketing for free, you’re on the right page.
This is the ultimate list of the best free online marketing courses of 2021.
We’ve been in the online marketing training business for more than a decade and we curated this list to help you access the best training courses to improve your digital marketing skills.
All courses are 100% free and you don’t have to pay anything.
We’ve hand-picked and reviewed each item in the list to include the best courses covering all major online marketing channels.
Topics include SEO, social media marketing, PPC marketing, email marketing, analytics, affiliate marketing, and online marketing strategy.
So, if you want to get into digital marketing, grab a cup of coffee and start learning!
Best Free Online Marketing Courses
Free SEO Course for Beginners
Fundamental of Digital Marketing
Keyword Research Course with Greg Gifford
The One-Hour Guide to SEO
Google Ads Search Certification
Internet Marketing Education
Facebook Digital Marketing Associate Course
PPC Marketing Free Resources
Diploma in Social Media Strategy
Content Marketing Free Course
Google Analytics Free Course
Marketing With Purpose
Social Media Mastery
Free SEO training: SEO for beginners
Email Marketing Free Course
How to Start an Online Business
Social Media Marketing Foundations
Build a Business On YouTube
Free Affiliate Marketing Course for Beginners
Email Marketing Masterclass for Beginners
1. Free SEO Course for Beginners
Reliablesoft Academy Online Courses
This free SEO course by Reliablesoft Academy will teach you the basics of Search engine optimization. It is a great course for beginners in SEO and a good choice for starting your online marketing learning journey.
What you’ll learn? Through the course, you’ll learn how search engines work, what is SEO and why it’s important and how to get started with technical SEO, on-page SEO, and off-page SEO.
To access this free course, you first need to register for Reliablesoft’s free newsletter.
Vendor: Reliablesoft Academy
Cost: Free
Level: Beginner
Topics Covered: SEO
While free SEO courses are great to start with, to further expand your skills and get certified, you can consider enrolling in a paid course. Our list of the best SEO certifications includes the top courses to consider to become SEO certified.
2. Fundamental of Digital Marketing
Google Digital Garage Online Training
One of the best free online marketing courses is the “Fundamentals of Digital Marketing” offered by Google Digital Garage.
The course is made up of 26 modules covering all important aspects of digital marketing. The course duration is 40 hours and upon completion, you can achieve the Google Digital Marketing Certification (after passing an exam).
What you’ll learn? Through this course, you’ll learn how to create a marketing strategy to get your business online. The course is divided into seven sections covering all major areas of digital marketing.
The most important are: getting found on Google search, mobile marketing, online advertising, analytics, and expanding internationally.
To access this course you need to create a free account with Google Digital Garage.
Vendor: Google
Cost: Free
Level: Beginner
Topics Covered: Digital Marketing
Once you complete this course, you can continue your digital marketing learning with a paid course from a reliable academy. There are hundreds of courses to choose from and to help you make an informed decision, we curated a list of the 10 best digital marketing courses that are highly rated by thousands of students.
3. Keyword Research Course with Greg Gifford
SEMRush Academy Online Courses
One of the most critical tasks for almost all online campaigns is keyword research. This free marketing course by SEMRush will teach you how to conduct keyword research in just one hour.
What you’ll learn? The course is made up of eight lessons covering the following areas: introduction to keyword research, understanding search intent, performing keyword research using SEMRush tools, and competitor analysis.
Although this course is using SEMRush to perform keyword research, the concepts explained can be used to do keyword research using any other tool.
To access this course, you’ll need to create a free account with SEMRush.
Vendor: SEMRush
Cost: Free
Level: Beginner
Topics Covered: Keyword Research
4. The One-Hour Guide to SEO
Moz Academy
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.
What you’ll learn? 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, how to keep searchers happy, how to do on-page SEO, technical SEO, and link building.
You can access the course directly by visiting the link below, no registration is required.
Vendor: MOZ
Cost: Free
Level: Beginner
Topics Covered: SEO
If you want to explore other free options for SEO training, take a look at our list of the best SEO courses available online.
5. Google Ads Search Certification
Google Skillshop Online Courses
One important channel of online marketing is PPC marketing and Google Ads is the major platform in this area. Becoming a PPC specialist is essential if you plan to follow a career in digital marketing.
What you’ll learn? In this free advertising certification by Google Skillshop, you’ll learn everything you need to know about Google Search ads.
To prepare for the certification, Google offers nine free courses (total duration 2.5 hours). Courses cover topics related to the design, setup, and optimization of Google Search Campaigns.
To access the course, you’ll have to create a free Google Skillshop account.
Vendor: Google Skillshop
Cost: Free
Level: Beginner / Intermediate
Topics Covered: Google Ads, PPC Marketing
To expand your skills beyond Google Ads, you can pursue a digital marketing certification. It will increase your chances of getting a job in other areas of digital marketing besides PPC marketing.
6. Internet Marketing Education
Copyblogger Academy
Although this course was initially released a few years ago it is still valid today. The Internet Marketing Education in 16 Ebooks and 20 Emails free course will teach you clever ways to mix social media, content marketing, and SEO for lead generation.
What you’ll learn? The course will help you understand and implement effective online marketing. It is broken down into four sections covering: relationship building, copywriting, creating great content, and selling (through content).
To access the course you’ll need to register to Copyblogger’s newsletter. All material will be sent to your email account.
Vendor: Copyblogger
Cost: Free
Level: Beginner
Topics Covered: Social media, content marketing, SEO
7. Facebook Digital Marketing Associate Course
Facebook Online Training Courses
One of the trending free marketing courses these days is the Digital Marketing Associate Course offered by Facebook Blueprint.
Facebook Blueprint is the online training academy of Facebook offering free courses on topics related to Facebook and Digital marketing.
What you’ll learn? This course will help you prepare for the FB 100-101 exam. Upon completion of the course and passing an exam, you can achieve the Facebook Digital Marketing Associate Certification.
The topics covered in the course are all related to Facebook marketing. It includes lessons on 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, and other topics to run successful Facebook campaigns.
It’s the first step to take to become a Facebook Ads expert.
To enroll in this free course you’ll need a Facebook account. To take the exam and get certified you’ll have to pay the exam fee ($150 per exam).
Vendor: Facebook
Cost: Free
Level: Beginner
Topics Covered: Facebook Marketing
8. PPC Marketing Free Resources
Wordstream Academy
Another free course worth exploring is the PPC University offered by WordStream.
The course will teach you both basic and advanced strategies related to search engines and social media. Its main focus is Pay-Per-Click advertising.
What you’ll learn? The course is broken down into six sections covering: PPC basics, advanced PPC concepts, social media, Facebook Ads, and Google Ads.
No registration is needed to access the course contents.
Vendor: Wordstream
Cost: Free
Level: Beginner
Topics Covered: PPC Marketing
9. Diploma in Social Media Strategy
Alison Free Online Courses
If you want to learn social media marketing, this free course by Alison Academy is a good starting point.
What you’ll learn? In this course, you’ll learn how to set social media goals and how to 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 have to pass an exam and pay a fee (cost varies per certification).
Vendor: Alison Academy
Cost: Free
Level: Beginner
Topics Covered: Social Media Marketing
10. Content Marketing Free Course
Hubspot Academy Courses
One of the marketing classes to learn content marketing for free is the Content Marketing course offered by Hubspot Academy.
It’s a comprehensive and quality course made up of 12 lessons that include videos and quizzes. The total duration of the course is 6.5 hours.
What you’ll learn? 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 creating good content on a consistent basis and a process to follow to repurpose your existing content.
To register for this course, you’ll have to create a free Hubspot Academy account.
Vendor: Hubspot Academy
Cost: Free
Level: Beginner
Topics Covered: Content Marketing
11. Google Analytics Free Course
Google Analytics Course
One of the digital marketing disciplines that are always in demand is reporting and analytics. If you’re starting out now this is one of the areas to tackle first. Analytics will give you valuable information about your users and help you make informed decisions for all your marketing campaigns.
This free course by Google Analytics academy will teach you the basics and advanced concepts of Google Analytics.
What you’ll learn? By the end of these two video courses (Google Analytics for Beginners and Advanced Google Analytics), you’ll get a deep understand of how to do reporting and analysis using Google Analytics.
Upon completion of the courses, you can pass the Google Analytics Individual Qualification exam and become Google Analytics certified.
Registration for these courses is free with a Google Skillshop account.
Vendor: Google Skillshop
Cost: Free
Level: Beginner
Topics Covered: Google Analytics
12. Marketing With Purpose
Microsoft Learn Online Training
This free course by Microsoft will teach you how to use marketing to accelerate growth and build a trusted brand.
The course has 5 modules and the total duration is 1:10 minutes. Upon completion of the course, you’ll get a badge to add to your CV.
What you’ll learn? By the end of this course, you’ll have a deep understanding of how to promote brand awareness through different online marketing techniques.
To enroll in this course you need a free Microsoft Account.
Vendor: Microsoft
Cost: Free
Level: Beginner
Topics Covered: Online Marketing
13. Social Media Mastery
Canva Courses
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.
What you’ll learn? 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 it’s a good free course for beginners.
You can access all Canva courses for free, no registration required.
Vendor: Canva Design School
Cost: Free
Level: Beginner
Topics Covered: Social Media Marketing
14. Free SEO training: SEO for beginners
Yoast Academy
Another free training class to learn SEO is the SEO for Beginners course deliver by Yoast Academy.
The course three modules that cover the SEO basics, content SEO, and technical SEO.
What you’ll learn? By the end of you this course you’ll know how search engines work, what are keywords, and what is SEO copywriting. In addition, you’ll get an introduction to proper site structure, website crawlability, and Google-rich results.
To access this course, you’ll have to create a free account with Yoast Academy.
Vendor: Yoast
Cost: Free
Level: Beginner
Topics Covered: SEO
15. Email Marketing Free Course
Shopify eCommerce Training
This Email Marketing course is delivered by Shopify. It includes 38 lessons broken down into six lessons. The total course duration is 2 hours and 7 mins.
It’s a course for beginners, intermediates, and students who need to learn the advanced concepts of email marketing.
What you’ll learn? By the end of this course, you’ll have a good understanding of the process to follow to build an email list for your business. You’ll also learn how to utilize email automation to improve the performance of your email campaigns.
You can access the course for free, no registration needed.
Vendor: Shopify
Cost: Free
Level: Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced.
Topics Covered: Email Marketing
16. How to Start an Online Business
Skillshare Online Courses
This Skillshare course is different than the rest of the marketing courses on this list. It will not teach you how to use the various marketing channels but how to approach the process of starting an online business.
It includes nine lessons and the total duration is 1 hour.
What you’ll learn? By the end of this course, you’ll know how to choose which products to sell online, how to identify your competition and do a competitive analysis, how to find the best eCommerce platform and how to come up with content marketing strategy.
You can access this course for free, no registration required.
Vendor: Skillshare
Cost: Free
Level: Beginner
Topics Covered: Online Marketing
17. Social Media Marketing Foundations
LinkedIn Learning Courses
Another free digital marketing course you can follow from a reputable learning academy is the Social Media Foundations course from LinkedIn Learning.
The course includes seven lessons and covers ALL aspects of social media marketing. It is highly recommended for beginners and those who want to improve their social media marketing skills.
What you’ll learn? By the end of this course, you’ll have a deep understanding of social media marketing. You’ll know how to define your audience and design a social media marketing strategy to satisfy your business goals.
You can access this course without having to create a LinkedIn account.
Vendor: LinkedIn Learning
Cost: Free
Level: Beginner
Topics Covered: Social Media Marketing
18. Build a Business On YouTube
YouTube Creator Academy
One of the marketing courses to follow if you plan to work with Video content is the Build a Business on YouTube delivered by the YouTube academy.
As you might have guessed, this is a video course that explains the steps of creating and promoting your online business on YouTube.
What you’ll learn? Unlike other video courses, this course is interactive with quizzes and questions at the end of each lesson. This makes it easier to comprehend the material and also it helps in creating your own strategy for getting your business on Youtube.
I strongly recommend watching this course if you’re thinking of expanding into Video marketing.
By the end of the course, you also have the option to take an exam and get a certification of completion.
To signup for this course, you’ll need a YouTube account.
Vendor: YouTube Academy
Cost: Free
Level: Beginner
Topics Covered: Video Marketing
19. Free Affiliate Marketing Course for Beginners
Udemy Online Courses
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 to affiliate marketing. The total course duration is 2 hours and 18 minutes.
What you’ll learn? By the end of this course, you’ll have a good understanding of 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’ll need to create a free account with Udemy.
Vendor: Udemy
Cost: Free
Level: Beginner
Topics Covered: Affiliate Marketing
20. Email Marketing Masterclass for Beginners
Wishbond Email Marketing Training
One of the online marketing classes to 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.
What you’ll learn? 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.
Enrolled in this course is free but you need to create an account with Wishpond Academy.
Vendor: Wishpond
Cost: Free
Level: Beginner
Topics Covered: Email Marketing
Do Free Digital Marketing Courses Worth Your Time?
When you search Google for “free online marketing courses”, you may get disappointed by the results.
Most of the lists that appear on the top positions contain links to outdated courses and it’s natural to make you think that free courses are useless and not worth your time.
This is not the case with the courses we have included in this list. All courses have been selected manually AFTER enrolling in the particular course and viewing the material.
Our main goal was to create a list of up-to-date courses that can actually help you learn something and build your digital marketing skills.
Once you try a few courses, you may agree with us that free courses can certainly be useful and of high quality if they are provided by a good vendor.
They might not be enough for you to become an expert in digital marketing but they are a great starting point.
Do you know of any quality marketing courses that are 100% free? Let us know in the comments below.
The post Top Free Online Marketing Courses of 2021 [100% Free] appeared first on reliablesoft.net.