As an emerging digital marketing expert, how can you enhance your skill set? You may not have work experience yet and want to boost your resume for potential employment opportunities. Certifications give you a taste of different aspects of the digital marketing field such as analytics, AdWords and inbound strategy. Then, once you have the foundations of these skills you can apply them in your marketing career.
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1. Inbound Certification
Inbound marketing is the way to market online. It's about understanding and speaking to customers' needs through SEO and landing pages, and it's about cultivating connections with customers through exceptional blog and website content. As Jake Sorofman says, "When you start with what's at stake for the buyer, you earn the right to their attention." You can take a 6-hour Hubspot course that leads to Inbound certification, showing that you're dedicated to drawing in customers online. Through videos and slides, you'll prepare for an online exam. After you pass, you'll be able to add your Inbound certification banner to your resume, portfolio, or website.
2. Google Analytics Individual Qualification
As a marketer, you need fundamental data that will allow you to change the way that you cultivate leads and set up your marketing campaigns. Google Analytics can help you improve the performance of your sites and apps by giving you insights about customer visits and conversions. To take Google Analytics courses such as Digital Analytics Fundamentals, ECommerce Analytics, and Mobile App Analytics, visit the Analytics Academy. GAIQ covers many different topics and it can be a challenge to prepare for the exam. Study with confidence using the Ultimate Guide to the GAIQ -- a free learning tool that covers that guides you through a plethora of resources and provides practice tests and tips for acing the exam.
3. Google Adwords: Fundamentals and Search Or Display
Google Adwords allows you to determine the words that suit your targeted audiences and design advertising that speaks to those leads. Google has many different 2-hour courses, all designed to give you competency in a different area of Adwords advertising. These online tests are valid for a period of 12 months. These courses include:
- AdWords Fundamentals, an introduction to Adwords that offers easy downloads to boost your knowledge of measurement, optimization, and campaign management.
- Search Advertising, which helps you understand and adjust your ad performance and keywords.
- Display Advertising, which focuses on practices for creating, managing and optimizing Display campaigns.
- Video Advertising, which reviews best practices for creating, managing, measuring, and optimizing video advertising on the web and on YouTube.
- Shopping Advertising, which focuses on Merchant Center and Shopping campaign management.
- Mobile Advertising, which increases your ability to target ads to mobile customers.
There are six Adwords courses, and to become Adwords certified you need two. What's the best choice? That depends on your area of work, but two good courses to begin with are Adwords Fundamentals and Search Advertising or Display Advertising.
4. Google Mobile Exam
Google's Mobile certification helps digital marketing specialists target ads for your mobile customer base. While it's shorter than other Google exams, the mobile exam includes a lot of technical questions about conversion, tracking, and measurement. As this exam is a little more advanced than some of the other Google courses, it's beneficial to go back and review your Adwords Fundamentals, Search Advertising, Shopping Advertising, Video Advertising, and Display Advertising modules before taking the Mobile exam.
5. Hubspot User
Take the first step with a Hubspot User certification. This is the first certification that you'll receive when you enroll in our apprenticeship program, and it shows that you understand the basics of using Hubspot's inbound marketing program and inbound best practices. You'll learn how to use the tools and how they work with inbound marketing methods. If you're not a Hubspot customer, you can take the Hubspot Design Certification, which examines your ability to create styled templates for responsive websites.
Google Adwords, Google Analytics, Hubspot, and Inbound Certification can build your digital marketing skillset, and every digital marketer should have these certifications. As Paul Harvey says, "You can tell you're on the road to success; it's uphill all the way." Embrace the uphill path with support from mentors and courses that increase your knowledge base.
Advance your digital knowledge today. If you've already become Inbound Certified, why not tackle the GAIQ or Google AdWords? Think you might want a coach to guide you along the way? Learn more about DCI's digital marketing apprenticeship program and coaching model.
