SDSU’s Digital Marketing Bootcamp provides you with an immersive education that prepares you with the sought-after knowledge, skill set, and experience that are prized by hiring departments.
About the Program
This 400-hour online program is designed for those with no prior background or experience in digital marketing, working professionals seeking to gain a foundational understanding of marketing, business owners and entrepreneurs, and anyone looking to update their marketing knowledge and skill set.
Throughout the bootcamp, you’ll work with digital simulations that deliver a practical application of knowledge that you’ll be able to draw from throughout your career. You’ll also receive one-on-one guidance to help you develop a professional resume and social media profile, practice interviewing skills, and more.
Program Structure
Introductory Course
The Digital Marketing Bootcamp begins with a 20-hour introductory course. You’ll learn about core marketing concepts, including different advertising platforms, SEO fundamentals, social networks, and basic digital marketing terminology. You’ll also learn how businesses use these marketing tools to engage with existing customers and find new ones.
Upon completion of the introductory course, you’ll take a culminatory assessment and meet with your instructor to help you evaluate your progress and assess your suitability for the field.
Digital Marketing Bootcamp
If continuing with the extended course, you’ll enroll in the full 380-hour Digital Marketing Bootcamp Program, where you’ll learn about advanced marketing theory through guided virtual lessons alongside immersive digital simulations and experiential training. Your curriculum is based on years of research, best practices, and insight from industry professionals.
The Digital Marketing Bootcamp coursework has 12 unique segments:
Fundamentals of Marketing
To provide a foundation for the continuously evolving field of digital marketing, this essential course will help you learn the fundamentals of digital marketing, such as branding, inbound and outbound marketing, building buyer personas, the difference between online marketing and traditional marketing, and more.
Web Development for Marketers
This course includes instruction on hosting, domain names, Domain Name Server (DNS) set-up, and marketing and website promotion.You’ll learn the basics of HTML and CSS and apply it to a branded website that you’ll design and build in WordPress. Through implementation of the most common features, such as themes, plug-ins, and content publication, you’ll learn about the flexibility of WordPress and gain virtual hands-on experience.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
In this SEO course, you’ll learn the best practices of search engine optimization, which is one of the most successful and cost-effective ways to promote a business online and something marketers use every day to maximize the reach and impact of websites. You’ll learn how to structure a website for optimal results, use keywords competitively, and optimize code. You’ll also learn how search engines work, how link building works, and other advanced optimization techniques. You’ll work with tools like Google Search Console, Google My Business, Google Analytics, Google Trends, and other essential platforms to gain SEO experience through digital simulation training.
Content Writing
Web content takes a variety of forms: blog posts, case studies, video and audio recordings, web pages, white papers, and more. Understanding the purpose of content and how it relates to the sales funnel is key to producing high-quality, high-converting work. Effective content speaks directly to a particular audience, such as customers, potential customers, investors, employees, or stakeholders. Content can be well-written, researched, and beautifully laid out, but if it isn’t speaking to the intended audience, it’s not effective. In this course, you’ll learn how to create compelling written content to support each phase of the sales funnel, with a key focus on writing to a specific audience with a specific goal.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
One of the primary concerns of pay-per-click (PPC) managers is to increase the relevancy of a brand or business by ensuring it appears on the first page of results in a Google search. PPC managers must have an understanding of PPC marketing, how to reduce PPC costs, optimal ad placement, campaign building, and how to increase conversion rates. This course focuses on the above concepts, in addition to working with Google Tag Manager, Google Ads Editor, and Microsoft/ Bing Ads. You’ll learn to use Google Ads, Google's paid advertising platform and a digital marketing tool that is considered essential due to its comprehensive format. This course will also help you prepare for the Google Ads certification exams.
User Experience (UX)
This course will teach you about optimal integration for user interfaces and design, banner creation, interface adaptation, and more to build your understanding of User Experience (UX), which is key in creating a successful website that is both effective and addresses the needs of users.
Data Analytics and Visualization
A critical part of digital marketing is tracking user data. In this course, you’ll learn how to interpret information such as the number of unique site visitors, pages viewed, access source, bounce rate, average time on page, and conversion rate to help maximize a business's reach and conversion. This course will also help you develop a comprehensive understanding of Google Analytics.
Data analysts are extremely important in digital marketing. This is partly due to the sheer amount of information they process and because it is their understanding that helps to shape, target, and assess the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. You’ll learn about the graphic presentation of data, or data visualization, and how it facilitates data analysis by presenting information in a quantified visual format with graphs, charts, and other illustrative formats.
E-Commerce
E-commerce is increasingly critical to the success of businesses as more and more people turn to online shopping for their every need. In this course, you’ll build a professional online store that connects with eBay, Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce, and Amazon. You’ll also learn how to work successfully with vendors, determine product pricing, establish proper logistics, create competitor analyses, and update and operate third-party platforms.
Email Marketing and Automation
Automated marketing processes save significant amounts of time, money, and labor and are easily created in various software programs. In this course, you’ll learn automation processes as well as how to attract qualified leads, how to keep leads engaged and interested through every step of the lead nurturing process, the importance of email marketing, and how to increase sales with automation tools.
Customer Relationship Management
Managing client relationships and handling customer expectations are crucial aspects of digital marketing, and this course teaches you how to connect the lifetime value of a customer by tracking their behavior across platforms throughout their journey. You’ll also learn about the profit potential of affiliate programs and the key legal aspects of digital marketing.
Social Media Marketing: Organic and Paid
In this course, you’ll learn to manage multiple advertising channels and gain the knowledge, theory, and experience you need to use social media marketing on a variety of platforms. Social networks are a fundamental tool for digital marketers and advertisers, as a social media presence is a key source of leads that increases the likelihood a business will appear in searches and attract the attention of new and potential clients. This course also covers the delicate task of social media crisis management. This course prepares you to take the international Facebook Blueprint Certification Exam.
Digital Strategy
This course shows you how to implement the concepts and experience learned into a digital marketing strategy that includes Google AdSense, buying and selling media, programmatic advertising, and real-time bidding (RTB).
Digital Marketing Career Services
Throughout the program, you’ll have access to a team of career service professionals who are dedicated to helping you prepare for your career in digital marketing. You’ll get the support and tools you need to enter the job market, including interview training, professional networking opportunities, internship placement assistance, and one-on-one consultations devoted to perfecting your LinkedIn profile, e-portfolio, and resume.
Why Choose SDSU’s Digital Marketing Bootcamp?
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400 In-Class Hours of Instruction
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12 Specialized Courses
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Advanced Remote Learning Technology
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Live Lessons and Practice Labs with Industry Experts
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Experiential Learning with Real-World Projects
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Preparation for Industry Certification Exams, including Google Ads and Facebook Blueprint
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Professional Networking Opportunities
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Career-Building Workshops
Want to Learn More?
For more information, please visit digitalskills.sdsu.edu or call (619) 839-3030.