Digital Marketer Certifications

Some people choose to go to college, and others sign up for a certification course in order to learn digital marketing. The difference between certifications and certificates is that certifications are earned after taking a test to demonstrate proficiency in the field of digital marketing, and certificates are awarded when you complete a class. 

What is a Digital Marketer?

Over half the world’s population uses the internet, and businesses have noticed. Most companies and organizations have a website and use digital marketing to reach potential customers or clients. Digital Marketers use social media platforms, website content, email campaigns, paid and unpaid advertising, and video marketing to promote goods and services to a target audience.

Digital Marketers use data analytics to identify an audience likely to be interested in the products or services they sell. Next, they create a detailed description of that audience, focusing on the pain points and problems the product will solve. Then, Digital Marketers set Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure the marketing campaign's performance. Common KPIs are sales goals or increasing traffic to a website.

After setting goals and determining strategy, Digital Marketers create high-quality content to engage the audience and place it near the top of search engine pages. After posting the content on social media, Digital Marketers use tools like Google Analytics, SEMRush, or Moz to analyze its performance. Digital Marketers also interact with followers on social media in the company’s brand voice. 

Some Digital Marketers work for agencies and take care of many accounts, while others work for one company. Some are employed in-house, while others work remotely. Digital Marketers in agencies and larger companies often work as part of a team. They may only be responsible for one part of the workload, such as content marketing, SEO, or data analytics. Many people start their careers as freelance Digital Marketers working at home by themselves or in small startups.

Read more about what a Digital Marketer does.

Do I Need a Degree to Become a Digital Marketer?

Some companies list a college degree as a requirement when advertising digital marketing jobs, but many do not. When it comes to degrees for a career in digital marketing, your chosen major will depend on what you want to do with it.

Many people interested in working as Digital Marketers choose to study advertising or business in college, but there are other ways to go, too. English and psychology are popular majors for people interested in content marketing and social media marketing. Computer science and information technology are also common majors for people who want to focus on the data aspects of digital marketing. If you are interested in eventually working as a Digital Marketing Manager, consider an MBA after your bachelor’s degree.

While some ads specifically state a degree requirement, others don’t mention it at all. These employers are more interested in what tools applicants can use and what experience they have. You can get a job as a Digital Marketer with a certificate from a training program. Digital marketing bootcamps and certification programs take two to six months to complete, which is much less than four years for a bachelor’s degree. These classes cover SEO and web optimization, data analytics, paid and unpaid advertising, social media marketing, as well as content and email marketing. You can choose to attend college to begin a career in digital marketing, but it is possible to get hired without one.

Read more about if you need a degree to become a Digital Marketer.

Do Certifications Matter for Digital Marketers?

So you need a certificate to get a job as a Digital Marketer. The short answer is no, but it isn’t that simple. Few job advertisements for Digital Marketers require a certificate, so you don’t need one. But certifications are a signal to hiring managers that you made the effort to pursue certification to increase your digital marketing knowledge. 

Certifications vs. Certificates: What’s the Difference?

When you decide to start a career in digital marketing, you can go to college for four or five years or you can sign up for a certificate program. A college or university degree is very expensive, so many people are pursuing professional certificate programs instead. Certificate programs take months to complete instead of years, and these intensive courses focus exclusively on the latest digital marketing techniques. 

Upon completion, you will receive a digital certificate that you can attach to your resume or LinkedIn profile. This lets prospective employers know that you are up-to-date on the latest techniques in digital marketing such as search engine optimization, social media marketing, analytical tools, and content management. The instructors in training programs are usually working professionals who are familiar with rapidly changing internet trends, while college professors are more focused on research.

Certifications are different from certificates. After completing a prep course, you take a test and if you earn a minimum score, you earn the certification. Certification exams are usually administered by professional associations or by companies that create digital marketing tools. Some certifications last for life and others expire and must be renewed regularly.

How to Get Certified as a Digital Marketer

There are many certificate programs available to help you build the skill set you need to get a job as a Digital Marketer. Noble Desktop offers a Digital Marketing Certificate course that includes classes on Digital Marketing Strategies, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media Marketing, Google Ads, and Google Analytics. Participants will learn to develop, execute, and measure marketing strategies using a variety of tools and metrics. Students will work with each tool to launch campaigns across Google Ads and social media channels, analyze web data with Google Analytics, and learn about other key digital marketing strategies. 

This course is great for people who want to start a career in digital marketing, for entrepreneurs looking to start a business and leverage digital marketing, or business owners looking to grow a business using digital marketing techniques. This program also includes a free retake so students can come back to refresh the material. You can take classes in person or live online from anywhere in the world. Live online classes have a set-up similar to in-person instruction, with a real-time, remote instructor who can answer questions and the ability to share your screen to show you how to do things. You get the same level of attention as in in-person classes. 

Top Certifications & Certificates for Digital Marketer

Digital Marketing Certificates

You can find digital marketing certificate courses at colleges and private training schools. Here are just a few:

Noble Desktop Digital Marketing Certificate

Noble Desktop offers a certificate course that includes classes on many aspects of digital marketing. This course is perfect for small business owners and entrepreneurs who want to move their businesses online, or for people wanting to change to a career as a Digital Marketer. When you successfully complete the course, you will receive a verified digital certificate of completion licensed by the New York State Department of Education. The six-week course costs $3,995.

LinkedIn Learning

LinkedIn Learning offers many certificate courses in different aspects of digital marketing. You have to pay for a monthly subscription, but your first month is free, and that is plenty of time to get through several of the asynchronous classes and earn a certificate.

Cornell Digital Marketing Certificate

The business school at Cornell University has developed a digital marketing program through the university’s elearning platform. The five-course program costs $3,600.

Northwestern University

The Kellog School of Management at Northwestern University offers a certificate course in Digital Marketing Strategies. This online course lasts for two months, meets four-six hours per week and costs $2,600.

Content Marketing Institute

The Content Marketing Institute offers a Content Marketing Certificate. To earn the certificate, you must complete 10 online modules and pass quizzes. The cost is $995 with group and non-profit discounts.

Digital Marketing Certifications

Many professional organizations offer certification in different areas of digital marketing like data analytics, social media marketing, SEO, and content management. Here are some possibilities:

Google

Search giant Google has several opportunities for Digital Marketers to take tests and earn certifications in using their products. This includes Google Ads, Google Analytics, and a collection of digital marketing skills called Google Digital Garage. All of the course and tests are free. The downside of Google certifications is that they expire in a year, but then Google is constantly changing, so that is not surprising.

American Marketing Association (AMA) Digital Marketing Certification

This national marketing group offers a certificate in partnership with the Digital Marketing Institute. The 30-hour course costs around $2,000 and is offered self-paced online. After completing the cumulative exam, graduates receive a PCM Digital Marketing and Certified Digital Marketing Professional certification.

Hootsuite Social Media Marketing

The social media management platform Hootsuite offers 15 lessons on social media marketing and a certification that doesn’t expire.

YouTube 

YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world. YouTube offers a certification covering how to create content, grow an audience, optimize, and monetize their channel. The certificate is good for 18 months.

Facebook Blueprint

Meta offers several certifications covering different aspects of using Facebook for digital marketing.

HubSpot

Digital Marketers can earn a certification in 12 different areas at HubSpot Academy. The classes are free and online and take between 3 - 5 hours each to complete.

SEMRush Digital Marketing Certifications

SEMRush has a library of free courses on how to use its products and offers certification in SEO, PPC, and content and social media marketing.

Key Takeaways

• There are numerous opportunities to take certification courses in digital marketing or to get certified in some aspect of the field.
• You get a certificate of completion when you finish a course, while certification requires passing an exam.
• Certification is not usually required to get a job as a Digital Marketer, fut earning one demonstrates digital marketing competence.
• You can receive comprehensive training to become a Digital Marketer through an in-person or live online course with Noble Desktop.