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The 8 best digital marketing courses for every level (free + paid)

July 9, 2025
Gabriela Lefanowicz

Scroll through your LinkedIn feed for five seconds and you’ll swear everyone is offering a digital marketing course, class, or workshop these days.

And somehow, all these posts seem to start the same way: “10 years ago, I was scrounging the docks, fighting off plague-infested rats, and then marketing saved my life.” 🙄 

Sure thing, Brad.

With so many options out there, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed real fast. And the reality is… It’s hard to know what courses are the best unless you have a friend or peer telling you first-hand about their experience.

But, we’re in the business of education and uplifting marketers. That’s why we’ve rounded up the eight best digital marketing courses that are practical, give you actionable advice, and are built to help you grow as a digital marketer. Zero dramatics—just real, helpful content. 💯

Let’s get into the nitty gritty.

Who should take a marketing course?

Honestly? Pretty much everyone can benefit from a growth marketing course. 

Whether you’re a:

  • CEO who wants to actually understand what your marketing team is doing.
  • Founder flying solo and figuring out how to grow your business from the ground up.
  • Seasoned marketer looking to sharpen your edge and stay ahead of the game.
  • Beginner marketer trying to figure out what the heck SEO actually is.

In our wonderful world of marketing, there’s always something new to learn. Algorithms shift. Platforms launch (Hi, to the one million new AI tools everyone’s using instead of Google 👋). And trends? They can change overnight.

That said—keep in mind that online courses aren’t for everyone. Some people enjoy watching someone yap on their screens, while others prefer to curl up with a great marketing book rather than a romantasy (side note: I am not that someone 🐉💖)​​.

But no matter your learning style or your schedule—we think you’ll find a course below that’ll help you grow faster, work smarter, and (dare we say it) actually enjoy the process.

The 8 best digital marketing courses to grow your skills in 2025 (free + paid)

1. Growclass Growth Marketing Full Certification

Growclass full certification course

Need a practical, no-fluff, and truly comprehensive growth marketing course? 

Check out the Growclass Full Certification. This isn’t your typical read-from-the-slides snoozefest. It’s taught by seasoned marketers who’ve been deep in the trenches building real campaigns and solving real problems. The course covers the full stack: customer psychology, paid ads, analytics, AI for marketing, SEO, copywriting, and email—so you’ll leave with a marketing toolkit to grow any business.

Here’s the best part: the course is split into cohorts, and each one kicks off with an orientation call led by Growclass founder Sarah Stockdale, who personally helps you set your growth goals from day one. 

You’ll meet your cohort—aka your built-in support and accountability crew—and get access to a private Slack channel packed with inspiring entrepreneurs, growth experts, and the kind of feedback and networking you actually want. You’ll also score a growth calendar, invites to private events, and direct access to the Growclass team.

Length/commitment: Plan to set aside around 3 hours per week for 6 weeks. Growclass’s course is a mix of self-paced learning (with community support) and live sessions!

Best for: Founders, career switchers, and community-minded marketers (new and seasoned)

Marketing channel focus: Growth marketing, SEO, paid ads, AI, copywriting, analytics, and email

Certification provided? Yes

Cost: $1999 USD

Pros: 

  • Practical, actionable lessons (no fluff, no bro-y marketing jargon)
  • Supportive, tight-knit community learning alongside you
  • Direct access to founders and a private community (Slack, growth calendar, exclusive events)
  • Comprehensive course that’ll teach you to actually do marketing

Cons:

  • Not a one-off video binge—you’ve got to show up and commit your time
  • Doesn’t go super deep into technical SEO (but you’ll have access to technical SEO experts)

2. Jelly Academy Digital Marketing Bootcamp

Jelly Academy

Looking to learn the fundamentals? Try Jelly Academy’s Digital Marketing Bootcamp—one of the best digital marketing courses for beginners! It’s a focused program that teaches you the essential skills you can actually use on the job—without spending months buried in training. You’ll dive into key areas like social media, Google Ads, Google Analytics, SEO, public relations, and more—all explained in an approachable, beginner-friendly way.

On top of earning Jelly Academy’s own certification, you’ll also unlock certifications from big names like Google, Meta, Hootsuite, and HubSpot—serious resume boosters, especially for new grads or those just starting their marketing careers.

Length/commitment: Jelly Academy’s bootcamp runs over 10 weeks and includes 15.5 hours of self-paced video lessons. You’ll also need to complete about 13.5 hours of quizzes and 11 hours of assignments.

Best for: New grads, career pivoters, and early-career marketers

Marketing channel focus: Social media, SEO, paid ads, PR, email, influencer marketing, and analytics

Certification provided? Yes

Cost: $3999 USD

Pros: 

  • Strong, broad introduction to digital marketing
  • Includes certifications from top platforms (Google, Meta, Mailchimp, HubSpot)

Cons:

  • Less depth for advanced marketers
  • Focuses on broad skills over specialization
  • Between courses, quizzes, and assignments, this course requires a hefty time commitment

3. CMA’s Chartered Marketer Program

The Chartered Marketer (CM) Program is a little different from the other courses on this list—it’s not just about learning new skills, it’s about earning Canada’s only professional marketing designation and joining the powerful network that comes with it. 🤝

Sure, you’ll build serious skills—like diving into Canada’s diverse marketing landscape, thinking strategically, managing budgets, and leading high-impact campaigns—but the real flex? The CM designation itself. It’s a career booster that signals you’re serious about your craft. And if you’ve got prior experience, you might even be able to fast-track your pathway and skip some courses (love a shortcut when you’ve earned it!).

Length/commitment: To complete the full CM program, you’ll work through four mandatory courses, one elective of your choice, and a final Summit course.

  • Each core and elective course takes about 40 hours to complete
  • The Summit course is 70 hours

Best for: Mid to senior marketers looking to further their careers and build their networks

Marketing channel focus: Strategy, branding, campaign execution, finance, and compliance

Certification provided? Yes

Cost: The price tag is a little hefty, as non-members pay $8675 CAD, while members pay $7175 CAD for the full certification. 

The good news? The program is 100% free for eligible senior marketers in Canada. Apply for this one quickly, though, as 70% of fully-funded spots are already filled!

Pros: 

  • Free for eligible participants
  • You’ll get the Chartered Marketer (CM) certification—Canada's only professional marketing designation
  • Combines knowhow with access to a powerful network

Cons:

  • Higher cost and time commitment compared to others on this list
  • Niche course for experienced marketers in Canada 
  • Focuses less on tactical skills like SEO or paid ads
  • Big time commitment relative to other courses

4. Conversion Copywriting by Growclass

If you’ve ever stared at a blinking cursor wondering, “What do I even say here?”—this course is your new BFF. Growclass’s Conversion Copywriting online course teaches you how to write words that actually convert, without sounding like a greasy sales ad. 

You’ll learn how to craft irresistible value propositions, bring your brand’s personality to life, write landing pages that actually convert, and build revenue-driving campaigns that get results. The course is taught by Sarah Stockdale, founder of Growclass and a no-BS conversion copywriter with over 15 years of experience helping companies—from scrappy startups to global brands—write high-converting copy that makes money. 

Length/commitment: The course is fully self-paced, so you can start whenever you’re ready and you’ll have access to all the lessons for a full year. If you spend around an hour a day, you can finish it in about 2 to 4 weeks.

Best for: Small business owners, marketers, and freelancers aiming to increase conversions

Marketing channel focus: Landing pages and paid ads

Certification provided? Yes

Cost: $245 USD

Pros: 

  • 6-8 bite-sized, practical lessons with actionable worksheets you can apply right away
  • Stacked resource hub with strategy decks, templates, and toolkits
  • Great price for the hands-on, practical value

Cons:

  • Completely self-paced—if you need hard deadlines, this might not keep you on track
  • Focused solely on copywriting

5. Girls in Marketing Advanced Digital Marketing Course

girls in marketing digital marketing course

If you’re a mid-level marketer trying to figure out how to level up, stand out, and confidently step into a senior role, this course was built for you! The Advanced Digital Marketing Strategy Course from Girls in Marketing gives you a clear, practical roadmap to grow your skills and your career.

The course covers how to create high-impact marketing campaigns, sharpen your strategic thinking, and develop the leadership confidence you need to manage people and teams effectively. Through expert-led modules, grab-and-go templates, and in-depth resources, you’ll build the advanced marketing skills employers are dying to see on your resume—plus, you’ll get free course updates to keep your knowledge fresh as can be.

Length/commitment: This course is entirely self-paced, meaning you can start it whenever you like and take as long as you need to work through it.

Best for: Mid-level marketers eyeing those juicy leadership roles

Marketing channel focus: Growth strategy, leadership, brand, budgeting, and people management

Certification provided? Yes

Cost: £199

Pros: 

  • Packed with practical tools, templates, and career-focused content
  • Modules on people management and career progression (not just marketing skills)
  • Lifetime access with free updates

Cons:

  • Doesn’t dive deep into channel-specific tactics like SEO or paid ads
  • Focuses more on big-picture strategy than hands-on campaign execution
  • Entirely self-paced, so you’ll need a hefty dose of self-motivation to stay on track

6. Camp Tech

camp tech

Does tech sometimes feel like your biggest enemy? Camp Tech has your back. They specialize in teaching beginner-friendly, practical tech skills that help you scale and grow your business—without the overwhelm. Scroll down to upcoming training sessions on their website and you’ll find gems like Canva for Communicators, DIY Video Production, and the Early AI Adoption Lab.

Their sessions are approachable, affordable, and designed to get you hands-on with the tools you actually need. Want a sneak peek at their teaching style? Grab their free mini-course on using generative AI for your emails—it’s a quick win and a great intro to what they offer.

Length/commitment: All depends which training session you enroll in!

Best for: Small business owners and community organizations looking for friendly, jargon-free intros to digital tools

Marketing channel focus: Very tech-focused—think Canva, ChatGPT, Google Analytics, etc.

Certification provided? Yes

Cost: Range from free to paid, depending on what you choose

Pros: 

  • Extremely beginner-friendly and approachable
  • Usually free or very affordable
  • Makes tech feel accessible and less intimidating

Cons:

  • Pretty basic—advanced marketers may find it too simple
  • Smaller course library compared to larger platforms

7. Semrush Academy

Whether you love her, hate her, or simply tolerate her—if you’ve dabbled in marketing, you’ve heard of Semrush. But did you know they have an entire academy? (Confession: I’ve been using Semrush for years and found out about this way later than I’d like to admit. 🙃) 

Semrush Academy offers free, snappy courses on all things SEO—think keyword research, technical SEO, and content strategy, to name a few. They have a solid library of webinars and courses, even going as far as to cover topics like branding, PR, and PPC ads—perfect if you’re looking to round out your growth marketing playbook.

Length/commitment: Everything is completely self-paced and pre-recorded, with most courses taking around one hour.

Best for: Digital marketers and copywriters who want to improve their SEO game

Marketing channel focus: SEO 

Certification provided? Yes

Cost: Free

Pros: 

  • Mostly focused on Semrush and SEO—great if that’s what you’re looking for!
  • Everything is free 💸
  • Large library of online courses and webinars

Cons:

  • Mostly focused on Semrush and SEO—not so great if you need broader instruction
  • Everything is self-paced, which limited interactivity and no community support

8. HubSpot Academy

hubspot academy

Looking for some of the best free digital marketing courses? You’ll find plenty at HubSpot Academy—one of the most popular spots to pick up real marketing skills without spending a dime. HubSpot offers certifications and short courses across pretty much every marketing/growth channel you can think of—inbound marketing, SEO, content marketing, social media, email, sales, and (shocker!) HubSpot-specific software training.

What makes HubSpot Academy a go-to for marketers is its mix of practical courses and industry-recognized certifications, all in a truly massive library of content. You can knock out quick, 20-minute skill builders or dive into more in-depth certification programs that take a few hours to complete—whatever fits your schedule.

Length/commitment: Self-paced, with each course ranging anywhere from 20 minutes to 7 hours.

Best for: Beginners to intermediate marketers looking to brush up on key skills

Marketing channel focus: Inbound sales, social media, email marketing, reporting, content marketing, and SEO

Certification provided? Yes

Cost: Free

Pros:

  • Free, high-quality certifications 
  • You can get a pretty comprehensive marketing overview just by using HubSpot’s Academy 
  • Regularly updated to keep pace with the latest trends and tools

Cons:

  • Some lessons lean heavily on HubSpot products (helpful if you use them, less so if you don’t!)
  • Not super advanced—think solid foundation, not deep-dive masterclasses
  • Some courses can be a bit dry and lecture-heavy

Let’s get you growing

And there you have it—our rundown of the eight best growth marketing courses currently on the internet’s menu. Whether you’re ready to drop thousands or spend absolutely nothing, there’s something out there for every budget. You can choose to build broad, full-stack skills or focus on a super niche area, like technical SEO.

But here’s the thing: with every one of these courses, you get what you give. The real magic happens when you show up, stay engaged, and put what you’re learning into action.

And if you still don’t know where to start, we recommend our Full Certification course (I mean you are reading this on the Growclass website 😏). Come for the real, practical content, be blown away by the mentorship, and stay for the most supportive community around. ❤️

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