How Long Do Digital Marketing Courses Take?

You can find digital marketing classes in a variety of lengths. Free introductory seminars last an hour or two, while a college degree takes years. Bootcamps last a few days and certification courses last several months. Before signing up for a class, consider your schedule and other commitments and how much time you have to attend classes and work on assignments.

Lengths of Classes

Digital marketing classes come in various lengths. Some of this depends on whether it is an overview course, a deep dive into a specific topic, or a program designed to give you the skills you need to change careers. A rule of thumb is the more in depth the material covered, the longer the class will last. Choose a class that will provide you with the amount of information you need.

Free Seminars

If you are simply curious about digital marketing and looking for an overview of the subject, you can find many free seminars on platforms like YouTube. These videos last about an hour and will introduce the main topics without going into too much detail. Free seminars are useful if you haven't made up your mind about whether or not you want to take a class and just want to get an idea of what digital marketing is all about. Noble Desktop offers many free videos on its website, like Intro to a Career in Digital Marketing or Intro to Social Media Marketing. Once you get a taste, you may find you want more.

College Courses

If you want to start a career as a Digital Marketer, you can get a college degree. Some colleges and universities offer bachelor's degrees in digital marketing, but you can also major in English and psychology. If you are more attracted to the data aspects of digital marketing, a degree in computer science or information technology is a good choice. 

College courses usually last three to four months. In addition to classes in your major, you will have to fulfill other requirements, so it can take four to five years of full-time instruction to complete a college degree. This option is also very expensive, with the average tuition at a state school currently running about $10,000 a year and private schools much more. With added fees, a bachelor's degree in marketing will cost between $50,000 and $200,000.

Bootcamp Classes

While some job advertisements list a college degree as a requirement, others do not. Many companies are more interested in your demonstrated abilities than in education, so a bootcamp course is another way to get started learning digital marketing. Bootcamp courses only last a few sessions and focus on a single topic, like content management or data analytics. They usually cost several hundred to around a thousand dollars each. If you want to learn a specific skill, like planning and running an email campaign, a bootcamp will do that. This is a good option for entrepreneurs who want to build up their skill set, but if you want to start a career in digital marketing, a certification course is a better choice for you.

Certification Courses

Certification courses are broadly focused and designed for students to start as beginners and finish with enough experience and knowledge to find a job as a Digital Marketer. They are often made up of multiple bootcamp classes and take place over several months to a year. Some programs offer career coaching, with 1-1 mentoring and classes on putting together a portfolio and preparing for interviews. Certification courses start at a few thousand dollars and go up to $10,000 or more. While this is a considerable cost, it is less than a college degree.

Part-time or Full-time?

Another consideration is whether you want to sign up for part-time or full-time instruction. Some courses offer a part-time option that allows you to take classes in the evenings or on weekends. This works well if you are working full-time. Of course, part-time classes take longer to complete but give you extra time to practice your skills between meetings. With a full-time schedule, you will be done with training and ready for the job market sooner.

Learn Digital Marketing Skills With Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop offers both bootcamp classes and certificate programs on digital marketing topics. The Digital Marketing Certificate offers120 hours of hands-on instruction on digital marketing strategy and web fundamentals, SEO, content marketing, email marketing, Google Analytics, Google Ads, and bootcamps on individual platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and TikTok. The certificate includes additional courses in social media content marketing, streaming for social media, and a portfolio course.

If you are looking for a course that focuses on social media platforms, Noble's Social Media Marketing Certificate will boost your skills. This course includes 72 hours of instruction on different platforms and how to choose the ones that are right for your campaign. You will also learn about creating content for social media and how to use the analytics tools offered by the platforms. The course concludes with a class on the social media industry and portfolio preparation.

Noble's Google Analytics Bootcamp provides a deep dive into this important marketing tool. Understand key terms, find out what to track, how to understand reports, and how to assess the success of a campaign. The 6-hour course will also look at the differences between GA4 and the new Universal Analytics.

Learn all about keywords and searching with SEO Bootcamp from Noble Desktop. This 12-hour class introduces search engine optimization and how search rankings work. You will learn how to use keyword research tools, techniques for writing SEO content, link building strategies, and optimization techniques.

Google Ads Bootcamp will teach you how to plan a paid advertising campaign for Google searches. This 12-hour class from Noble will teach you how to set up an account, how auctions work, and how to create ads that convert. The course will also cover best practices for landing pages, how to set up call and conversion tracking, how display ads work, and automating your campaign. 

Noble's Digital Marketing Strategy & Web Fundamentals is an introductory class for anyone who wants to find out what digital marketing is all about. This 6-hour class covers the key skills you need to increase traffic to a website, generate leads, and close sales. You will learn how to develop a digital marketing strategy and analyze your campaign to improve your return on investment. The course also covers techniques for optimizing your website to increase conversions.

High-quality content is the best way to market a product of service and Noble's Content Marketing Bootcamp will teach you how to do it. Lean about strategies and solutions for content marketing, develop an understanding of content creation and best practices, and create a plan to promote, track, and optimize your content in this 6-hour course.

Learn how to build an effective email list, create compelling emails, and optimize your campaign for success in Noble's Email Marketing Bootcamp. This 6-hour course covers the important role of email in a marketing strategy, the qualities of a successful campaign, and how to get the most out of your email marketing.