Blog

Check out the Neoreef blog for the latest industry insights and guides.

A Guide to Free Online Courses to Improve Your Digital Skills

With the ongoing situation, you may be working from home, and you may have extra time on your hands, so we put together a list of various free online courses you can take to learn and grow your skills as a marketer, Search Engine Optimization specialist, coder, and much more.

Web 

There are a few free online web courses you should take to either working on your existing skill set or learning new skills. First, Google Analytics for Beginners  by Google shows users how to create an account, implement a tracking code onto a site, and set up data filters. 

Also, Google Analytics can help you track and improve upon various aspects on your site, and also help your clients track various aspects of their own sites, such as how certain pages are performing. Through this free course, you will learn how to navigate the Google Analytics interface and reports, as well as set up dashboards and shortcuts.  

A second free online web course is Intro to HTML and CSS by Udacity, where you can learn the building blocks of web development. You can also learn various practices and problem-solving techniques used in developer tools. This course will help you build upon web development skills you already have, or to learn how you can use coding to grow your professional and personal skill set. 

The third free online web course you should dive into is Paid Ads by Google. If you do not know where to begin, start with Google’s ad products, Academy for Ads. There you will be able to go into bite size lessons on ad topics such as programmatic ads, Adwords, double-click and video ads. 

Through these few free online web courses you will not only be able to build upon your current skill set but learn new skills in the process. 

 

 

Search Engine Optimization 

Whether you are a polished Search Engine Optimization (SEO) specialist, or just starting to learn about SEO, these free online courses are geared towards beginners while some courses will go deeper and cover more advanced SEO topics. 

The best way you can go about learning SEO or growing your skillset is through studying the areas that have a huge impact on your organic search traffic. Something important to keep in mind is how crucial mobile search is the foundation of your local SEO, since many will be searching on their mobile devices.  While you may not know where to start at, let’s get started with various resources and courses you can use to grow your diverse SEO skill set. 

The first free online SEO course we suggest you start out with is Free SEO training: SEO for Beginners from Yoast. This course is fundamental for you building a foundation and understanding of SEO. This course is split into three parts: Introduction to SEO, Content SEO, and Technical SEO so you can get a grasp on the various aspects that make up a SEO strategy. 

For further learning, check out Hubspot's first SEO Training Course: Building Sustainable Traffic for Business Growth and Moz’s free SEO 6-Part Video Series. Hubspot’s SEO training course helps you in developing or furthering your SEO strategy, as well as how to go about scaling your link building campaigns and blogging. Through this course you will learn how to use SEO to scale your organic traffic. 

Moz’s free SEO 6-Part Video Series covers the various aspects of SEO, such as keyword research, searcher satisfaction, and on-page optimization. This course is by far the easiest to access, since you don’t have to register, so you can simply begin watching the videos on these topics on the course page. Ultimately it is up to you to choose what free SEO course you want to take to either learn or grow your SEO skill set.

 

Coding 

There once was a time when learning how to program was for a small subset of people, but that is not the case anymore. With many learning to code on the side, or using this skill as a full time professional, coding can help you succeed no matter what profession you are in. While learning to code may take time, there is not a better time than now to learn how to code in a computer language that interests you or helps further your skill set. There is no need to shell out a ton of money, but to take a few of these free online coding courses. 

One of the first places many people dive into the coding waters was on Codecademy, where you can learn HTML and CSS. Through Codecademy, you can access online coding tutorials with easy-to-follow instructions, immediate feedback, and curriculum to learn how to code.   

At Codecademy, you can dive into courses that teach you everything from HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and C++. 

Another free coding course is Coursera, where you can learn and take a number of free beginner programming courses in an array of spealictilites/languages from institutions, such as the University of Washington, Stanford, and Vanderbilt. 

Last but not least, through Udacity’s Intro to HTML and CSS course, you will get to learn the building blocks of web development, as well as the best practices and techniques to use while in Developer Tools. 

While there are many free coding courses you can take out on the world wide web, these are the few coding courses you can use to either begin your coding journey or to build upon.

 

Marketing 

Right now is a great time to jump in and take some free online marketing courses to either learn something new or grow your skill set. So let’s dive into a few online free marketing courses you can take advantage of during this time. 

First, the Hubspot Inbound Marketing course will teach you about everything from content creation to attracting leads, as well as how to go about engaging with prospective and current customers. This course will cover the fundamentals of inbound marketing, such as content strategy, social media promotion and conversion strategy. 

Another free marketing course you can take is Google Digital Garage, where you can learn the building blocks of digital marketing, such as building your web presence, online business strategy, and how to get noticed when potential customers are searching for your services. 

The third free online marketing course we suggest you dive into is Social Media Quickstarter Digital Marketing where you learn how to take your business and grow on various social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn. 

No matter which marketing space you are in, diving into these free three online marketing courses will offer you insight into what aspects of marketing that may help grow your business or skill set. 

Final Thoughts 

Whichever skills you are wanting to learn or improve, there is a free online course out there for you. So whether you are learning or building upon skills, this guide to free online courses will give you a leg up in our current, rapidly changing workplace. 

During this time, and always, you should choose to invest in yourself and learning. This guide to free online courses will either give you a new skill or add to current knowledge to help you grow personally and professionally, even during times like these.

Powerful Tools, Unlimited Support

Neoreef addresses the two biggest issues with websites: lack of control and lack of support. We enable easy control of your website, while a dedicated support team provides you with training, mentorship, and specialized skills.

Start Your Project Today