Choosing the Best Digital Marketing Course: A Step-by-Step Guide

If you are planning to start a career in digital marketing and wondering about the below questions, we have the perfect guide for you.

• Should I apply for a digital marketing course?
• Which digital marketing course will be perfect for me?
• Is digital marketing the right career option for me?

In this blog, we will take you through various types of digital marketing courses, their pros and cons, and a step-by-step guide to choosing the best digital marketing course.

Digital marketing as a career has taken up the front seat for the last few years, thanks to the booming digital industry. A healthy number of job opportunities are opening as several companies are expanding their digital marketing wing to cater to marketing needs. Now is the perfect time to get certified in the best digital marketing course.

Digital marketing courses equip a candidate with the following knowledge base – the basics of online marketing, the current trends in the industry, optimizing and managing a website, understanding marketing to increase sales and revenue, and so on.

However, how to choose a digital marketing course that fits you perfectly?

Let us first understand what a digital marketing course has to offer and whether is it the right fit for you.

Step 1: Self-Assessment for a Digital Marketing Course

Before spending a hefty amount on the best digital marketing course, it is important to assess its fit for you.

Digital marketing is a diverse discipline enjoyed by candidates of various backgrounds. It branches out to several in-depth career fields, such as SEO, Paid Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Email Marketing, and more. Understanding and mastering each discipline is necessary when taking up a digital marketing course.

Enrolling in a digital marketing program without knowing the required skills sounds intimidating. To make this easier, we have rounded up the top 10 skill assessments for marketing courses –

• You enjoy a fast-paced, evolving career field – Digital marketing is an evolving industry, and you must keep learning further innovations to revamp the marketing game.

• You understand that the future is digital – You understand that the digital marketing sector is booming at a growth rate of 25 to 30%, and the future is digital (Source: The Economic Times).

• Problem-solving skills – A problem solver will never have a dull day in a digital marketing career. There are always challenges to conquer, problems to fix, and room for improvement in this discipline.

• The dynamic work environment is your cup of tea – Strategies in the digital marketing domain keep updating every month. That is how rapidly growing the digital industry is and you must keep learning more strategies.

• You are open to learning something every day – Owning to the flourishing nature of marketing, there is always something new to learn in the course. Also, you must be a quick learner to keep up the pace.

• You are collaborative and can team up – In a digital marketing course, you will learn to collaborate with other departments like design and development to plan for digital success.
• You have a basic understanding of the field – Before enrolling in a digital marketing course, you must possess a theoretical understanding of digital marketing and what the training program includes.

Once you are through with this self-assessment, you are one step ahead in selecting a course in digital marketing.

Step 2: Defining Your Goals Before Selecting a Course in Digital Marketing

What is it you want to master in a digital marketing course? Do you wish to be a core digital marketer? Or do you want to master the various branches and explore SEO or email marketing?

A core digital marketing course will train you to execute complete digital marketing campaigns, from paid ads to SEO and email campaigns to content marketing. Specific career paths, on the other hand, like an email marketing course, will train you to handle email campaigns of multiple types. There are several digital marketing roles to explore – SEO Specialist, Social Media Manager, Content Strategist, and more.

There is a lot to explore and get overwhelmed with; hence, it is essential to prioritize important career goals to stay committed during training sessions.

Here are some pointers to keep in mind

• With newer trends and algorithms coming up every month, stay abreast of the evolving landscape. Look for further training opportunities to upgrade in this career path.
• Apart from being certified in digital marketing, explore the scope of specialization to gain more experience. You can pick the field – content, design, SEO, or email.
• Learn the intricacies of analytics and metrics and how they can help build digital marketing strategies in the long run.
• Start building your profile while getting certified.

Step 3: Exploring the Different Types of Digital Marketing Courses

There are several digital marketing training programs to enrol in the vast digital marketing field. Each of these courses is designed to guide students in leveraging the online platform for digital success.

Here are all the digital marketing courses with their pros and cons

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Course

Search Engine Optimization means optimizing a website with unique, quality content to rank on the first page of the SERPs. Google utilizes its algorithm to understand the relevancy of the website and content and ranks accordingly. The entire course guides in a good content strategy and keyword research to find out what your potential customers are searching for.

Pros:

• Gradually improves brand visibility.
• It is cost-saving compared to Paid marketing.

Cons:

• Google’s continuous algorithm updates hinder SEO efforts.
• SEO is a time-consuming endeavour.

2. PPC Marketing Course

PPC or ‘Pay per Click’ means using paid advertisements for websites to make it to the top of the search results. The overall paid campaign cost depends on the number of clicks received through ads, hence the name.

When you search for something on Google, the sponsored links that come to the top of the results are paid advertisements. In a PPC marketing course, you will learn how to choose the right set of keywords to run ads on.

Pros:

• A quick way to gain ranking.
• Extremely time efficient and great for brand-new businesses.

Cons:

• It is heavy on the budget, especially if running ads on popular keywords.
• The majority of internet users prefer clicking organic links compared to paid ones.

3. Social Media Marketing Course

The Social Media Marketing course teaches candidates how to leverage various social media channels, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and more. The last social media survey in 2022 indicated India has about 470 million active social media users. The medium of engaging with these potential customers could be any – advertisements, fresh content, comments, and more.

Pros:

• Social Media paid ads are more targeted, and it is easy to grab the relevant segment.
• Conversion rates are higher, and success metrics could be comments, likes, followers, and engagements.

Cons:

• The content trend changes frequently, and is a daunting task to keep up with the algorithm.
• SMM requires strategic planning of content across platforms.

4. Email Marketing Course

In an email marketing course, you will be trained on how to deliver relevant information and engage your customers via emails. From newsletters to personalized emails, you will learn various email styles to attract your audience. You will be trained to use various email marketing tools like Mailchimp, GetResponse, and Constant Contact and build strategies to make ultimate conversions happen.

Pros:

• Email marketing is free from the impact of algorithm updates.
• This mode of marketing is an impressive medium to maintain a strong bond with customers.

Cons:

• Breaking through the email open rate failure is difficult.
• Keeping subscribers engaged through engaging email content and offers requires massive brainstorming and A/B testing.’

5. Content Marketing Course

Content Marketing Course involves learning how to create and utilize various forms of content and educate your audiences about the brand, the products, or services. The content created needs to be unique and valuable and can generate healthy organic leads.

The course also trains students to build and manage content calendars to create brand awareness.

Pros:

• There are multiple forms of content to curate and strategize.
• Every digital marketing discipline requires content to function.

Cons:

• Maintaining content quality at times can be difficult.
• Organically ranking through content and keywords alone is difficult and takes time.

6. Online Reputation Management (ORM) Course

ORM course trains candidates to effectively monitor the digital presence of a brand and improve the brand value. It involves keeping a check on a brand’s online presence and what users are saying – reviews, comments, social media posts, etc.

The objective of the course is to train candidates in building a positive reputation for a brand and encourage customers to leave a positive impression.

Pros:

• Learn closely the intricacies of building a brand reputation.
• Gather the ability to control and mitigate negative online presence.

Cons:

• Staying constantly updated about brand reputation can be stressful.
• With multiple platforms to manage, ORM can be overwhelming for a beginner in this career.

A full-fledged Digital Marketing course includes all of the above and candidates will be trained to manage end-to-end marketing projects.

When you avail of the best digital marketing course from a reputable institution, you will be offered certification which you can further highlight on the resume for getting hired.

If you ever get a scope to attend a digital marketing workshop, you will experience how vast the industry is. You will meet several seasoned marketers with knowledge of years that is beyond books.

You will experience real-time growth stories and failed events from entrepreneurs and learn from them; get inspired even.

Step 4: Research for Digital Marketing Course Providers

There are tons of digital marketing courses out there offered by recognized institutions in India. Do not get overwhelmed!

When selecting an institution in India for a course in digital marketing, keep the following requirements noted:

• Check if the course matches your need to learn digital marketing – specifically the budget, features, and duration.
• Research online about the institute offering the training program and check for positive reviews.
• Look for the duration of the digital marketing training; it needs to be long enough to complete the curriculum.
• Find institutions nearest to your location. For instance, if you are from Kolkata, you can research the best digital marketing course institute in Kolkata.
• Decide upon the learning mode and understand your needs – both offline and offline courses have their pros and cons.
• Take a look at the course material and if it covers all the necessary topics trending in the current digital landscape.
• Check if the course offers certification and placement programs. With proper research, you can find some of the best certifications for digital marketing in India.

Considering these while researching course providers in digital marketing ensures you find the best.

Step 5: Evaluating the Digital Marketing Course Curriculum – What Must It Include

Digital marketing has evolved manifold over the years – and so has its course curriculum. Newer components have been added to meet the industry standard. For the upcoming year 2024, the following is a must for every digital marketing course curriculum to stay updated and ahead in the digital landscape.

1. Basics of Digital Marketing
2. Mastering Web Analytics
3. The various forms of Digital Marketing: SEO, PPC Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing, Email Marketing and Mobile Marketing
4. Lead Generation & Growth Hacking

Apart from these, ensure the course provider allows case studies and live project training for a real-time understanding of the industry. These components powered by certification are enough to kick-start a digital marketing career in 2024.

Step 6: Investigating Digital Marketing Instructor Expertise

We keep stressing the importance of getting trained by industry experts with hands-on project expertise. Ever wondered why is it beneficial? Let us explain –

Once done with a course, or even during one, you might wonder, ‘What’s next?’ or even more difficult ones, ‘Is this course going to help me?’ or ‘Why learn this?’.

Industry experts bring real-world ideas into the classroom. These individuals have relevant knowledge on various ‘how to’ in the industry – from how to succeed as a marketer to solving various problem statements.

Your course instructor might be a massive contributor to your future marketing network and a source to your first digital marketing job.

So, before enrolling in a digital marketing program, investigate your instructor’s industry expertise and qualifications for an enhanced learning experience.

Step 7: Choosing the Learning Mode: Online vs. In-Person Courses

Online courses are offered through Internet video classes, whereas in-person courses are traditional classroom sessions with face-to-face teaching models.

Both of these curriculums have advantages and disadvantages and must be taken into consideration when planning your course schedule for digital marketing. The mode of study needs to be a comfortable setup for a dedicated course completion.

Online vs. In-Person Learning Course – Comparison

• Time – In-person courses are more time-consuming compared to online courses. In-person learning involves travelling to the institute.

• Location – Online courses are location-independent compared to in-person courses.

• Interaction – In-person courses offer real-time problem-solving and effective engagement with mentors; something online courses lack.
• Balance – Online courses offer more lifestyle balance since it is from the comforts of home, compared to in-person learning.

Step 8: Setting Up a Budget for the Digital Marketing Course

Digital marketing course fees vary on several factors, and you must consider those when setting up a learning budget. Here are the primary ones to keep in mind –

• The Curriculum of the course – whether it is a certification course, a digital, or a degree course.
• The Duration of the course – Digital marketing training program durations could vary from 3 months to 1 year.
• The Location of the course – The course fees can vary between cities; a digital marketing course in Kolkata is more affordable than the same in Bangalore.
• Placement Opportunity – Institutes with 100% guaranteed placements are likely to charge more.
• Mentors of the course – The course fees are likely to be higher when guided by industry-expert mentors.
• Mode of Learning – In-person courses are more affordable than online courses, in terms of location independence.

Digital marketing course fees are structured keeping all these factors in consideration. In India, the digital marketing course fees could vary between INR 40000 – INR 3 Lakhs with duration ranging from 2 months to 6 months.

There are cheaper courses available on the internet. However, it is advisable to check the validity of the institute’s certification and the curriculum to ensure all necessary components of digital marketing are covered.

Look for Financial Aid or Scholarships If Needed:

In India, digital learning growth is rapid, and several marketing institutes offer financial aid to students pursuing a digital marketing course. Here is how to look for options –

• Connect with the institute with a valid Income Certificate and avail of discounts.
• Consult for an EMI program to be able to pay in instalments.
• Ask if a Scholarship program is available for marketing candidates.

Step 8: Determining Course Flexibility and Schedule

A lot goes between being interested in learning digital marketing and being committed to your digital marketing training course. Digital marketing is a multi-faceted discipline, and it is essential to pick a course that is flexible to your lifestyle.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself and determine if the course is a suitable one for you

• If it is online, do you have the proper setup to attend all classes thoroughly? – Ensure you have all the necessary gadgets and a good internet connection for the course.
• If it is offline, will you be able to make it to the course classroom during the scheduled time? – It is advisable to take up a learning program nearest to your home to reduce travel time.
• Is the course clashing with other schedules like office or family? – Choose a flexible course timing that meets your lifestyle needs.
• If the institute offers an internship, will you be available to attend? – An internship program will offer practical project experience and is necessary before applying for jobs.

Digital marketing is a branched-out discipline and is a constantly evolving one. Students are always at a learning edge and must be committed to it. Hence, understanding course flexibility and schedule before enrolling is an essential step.

Step 9: Understanding Course Duration

The duration of digital marketing training depends on the type of course enrolled in and can vary from 3 months to 1 year.

• 3 months is the minimum duration of basic Digital marketing courses to cover the necessary topics in the curriculum.
• For an advanced course, the duration can hike up to 6 months or more, since the curriculum involves further in-depth topics.

To start with a career in digital marketing, committing a minimum of 3-4 months in just learning the basics of the field is necessary.

Step 10: Check for Availability of Resources, Support & Networking

There are tons of online courses available on the internet, each claiming to be the best digital marketing course. However, rarely do these courses offer the necessary resources and support required by the students.

As a student having just enrolled, take the following actions to make the most of the training program:

• Investigate the number of academic resources available for students – program guides, textbooks, query resolutions, and more. Most courses will have a contact number or an email; request a brochure for complete course details.
• Research about the networking opportunities provided or claimed by the institute – is there a placement program? If so, will they guide the interview process? Check if the course offers internships or live-project training.
• Learn about the institute’s networking standards – are they associated with big companies in terms of hiring?
• Perform a little self-research on the mentors, the community, and the course curriculum – all that will contribute to your scope of learning.

Step 11: Enrolling in the Digital Marketing Course

Enrolling in a digital marketing course is super easy – all you have to do is register and fill in the details.

• Provide Name, Age, Address, and other personal details.
• Provide all necessary academic documents.
• Choose the learning mode and course schedule that fits.
• Choose the duration desired.
• Make the course payment.

Once successfully enrolled in the best digital marketing course, and received the curriculum and the entire study material, make sure you stay committed to the program and attend classes diligently.

Apart from learning the course material and following classes, make sure to stay updated on digital marketing trends. Follow industry experts on social media channels to develop your knowledge. Practice on self-projects to study real-time challenges and experiment with strategies and marketing tactics.

Digital marketing offers a massive yet thrilling learning curve. Ensure you are always willing to learn more and stay committed to levelling up your skills.

Your Path to Digital Marketing Success

Are you ready to take over the digital realm with a top-notch digital marketing course? Let Webskitters Academy guide your path to digital marketing success.

At Webskitters Academy, you can enrol in the best digital marketing course in Kolkata. With a recently updated curriculum, our industry expert mentors teach you to navigate the real-time digital space.

Learn all the necessary steps to become a successful digital marketer of the future. We offer guaranteed placements and internships on course completion to ensure your success.

Enroll today!