A successful and thriving business boils down to having a deep understanding of what works and what doesn’t so businesses can do more of the good and less of the bad. How do you get there? While it may not be a solution to all issues companies have to face, PPC course can definitely help businesses visualize their customers’ journey, build advertising campaigns, understand which marketing strategies will drive the most sales and why, and tweak anything that needs improving.
Sounds perfect, right?
We created a roundup of the best PPC courses out there so you can do just that (along with preventing click fraud, which we’ll get to next 😉)
Why Is PPC Education Needed?
PPC education is needed for two critical, intersecting reasons:
- To help you and your team cut down on PPC-related costs and optimize your advertising campaigns
- To combat click fraud
Digital advertising is a bit like a chessboard, requiring strategy, calculation, and behind-the-scenes management of different moving parts. As an entrepreneur or PPC marketer, taking one of the best PPC courses out there is the next logical step to up your game in advertising and handle all those pieces expertly.
By improving your knowledge of PPC, you and your team can also better understand click fraud, how it happens, and how to prevent it.
As a refresher, click fraud is when an individual, bot, or automated software repeatedly clicks on pay-per-click (PPC) ads. The clicking is done with no intention of actually using the advertised product or service; rather, the intent is to harm competitor ad budgets or boost publisher’s profits.
If a company hasn’t set up protections against click fraud, competitors can continually click on pay-per-click ads until the PPC daily budget is depleted, preventing real customers from viewing them. In fact, nearly 50% of all internet traffic stems from bots, and many of them are designed to hurt PPC campaigns.
Fraudulent clicks can literally run businesses into the ground.
Taking a PPC course is the best way to protect your business from wasteful clicks and optimize your advertising campaigns, leading to decreased customer acquisition costs and optimal ROAS.
How to Select the Best PPC Education?
It can be daunting to find the best PPC course when there are so many to choose from. When searching for a course, pay attention to whether the course offers some of these key features:
- An overview of the ad platform (Google Ads, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn) and how to decide if it’s a good fit for your business
- An overview on setting up PPC ad campaigns
- How to choose the best campaign based on your business needs
- Using keywords and keyword groups
- How to set up your account strategically
Essentially, it’s important to make sure that the course is comprehensive and includes ALL the information you need. Especially if you’re choosing a paid course and/or are just starting out with PPC ads.
Some PPC experts have webinars and blogs you can watch or read through, but you could end up wasting a lot of time searching for one with all the information in one place. Your best bet is a thorough PPC course that will give you accreditation and is created by industry professionals.
The Best PPC Courses of 2021 to Take with You into 2022
Again, it can be overwhelming to search for the best PPC course and come up with so many hits, but no worries – we’ve got your back. We compiled the best PPC courses into a comprehensive list, separating them by Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Twitter Ads, and LinkedIn Ads. Included below are paid options, free options, and details about what each course offers.
The Best (Free) Google Ads Courses
Google Skillshop
Google itself created the Skillshop course, which allows you to get certified in Search, Display, Video, Shopping Ads, Apps, and Measurement. Through this course, you will learn how Google Ads campaigns and searches work, and practice setting up and managing your ad campaigns.
It’s marketed to those with beginner/intermediate skills in Google Ads, so if you’re new to the game or looking to add to your existing skillset, this could be a great option.
The Google Skillshop course is flexible and self-paced, meaning you’re not required to finish within a certain period of time. So go ahead and take as long as you need to soak up all the info!
The Best (Paid) Google Ads Courses
SimpliLearn Advanced Pay-Per-Click Certification Training
SimpliLearn has a paid course that is essentially a bootcamp for advanced PPC professionals wanting to become Google Ads specialists. The course is intense – it includes five industry projects, 26 live demos, a commitment of over 60 (!) hours, and costs about $215 for a self-paced learning plan.
It’s a huge investment (both in cost and time), but the course goes really deep. You’ll learn:
- In-depth knowledge of web analytics and display advertising
- How to create campaigns that increase ROI
- Bidding methods and ranking algorithms
So, yes, big cost commitment, but excellent outcomes – we did promise to give you the best PPC courses available 😊
Udemy Complete Google Ads Masterclass
Udemy boasts a comprehensive list of courses including Google AdWords for Beginners, Ultimate Google Ads Training 2020: Profit with Pay Per Click, and the Complete Google Ads Masterclass.
Each of these courses has thousands of reviews, with the Ultimate Google Ads Training 2020 showing a 4.6-star rating after more than 43,000 reviews. It’s taught by Isaac Rudansky, a certified Google AdWords Pro and co-founder of the digital marketing agency AdVenture Media.
The Complete Google Ads Masterclass is for beginners and will teach you how to determine the value of your ad campaigns, conversion tracking, and other essential skills. It features 16 hours of on-demand videos designed to help you drive traffic to your website.
The Masterclass is available for $40-$45 and offers discounts to beginners.
The Best (Free) Facebook Ads Courses
Facebook Blueprint
Facebook Blueprint offers some of the best free PPC courses that support advertisers that want to grow their business. There are several self-guided courses from which you can select, including courses geared towards building marketing skills across Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and even WhatsApp.
You can also choose from learning programs marketed to learners from different backgrounds. These programs are tailors to brands and agencies, students, small businesses, charities/nonprofits, and more.
Some key knowledge outcomes include:
- Preparing to bring your business online
- Establish an online presence
- Attracting your ideal audience
- Building relationships
- Improving creative strategy
- Optimizing efforts and increasing sales
AdEspresso Beginner’s Guide to Facebook Advertising
AsEspresso has a pretty rad free Facebook advertising guide designed for beginners. It boasts 7 chapters and throws in a free eBook on the Do’s and Don’ts of Facebook Ads if you subscribe to their newsletter.
The Beginner’s Guide takes you through the following essential Facebook Ads skills and more:
- How to get started with Facebook Ads
- How to use the Facebook Ads Manager
- How to set up a Facebook ad campaign
- How to create Facebook ad images and messages
- How to manage and review Facebook ads
The Best (Paid) Facebook Ads Courses
Facebook Ads and Facebook Marketing Mastery 2022 on Udemy
Created by Course Envy, this course promises to leave you a MASTER of Facebook Ads. The course – which includes 11 hours of on-demand video, 33 downloadable resources, and a certificate of completion – is so good that even Netflix and Apple have used it.
Usually, the course is $169.99, but right now they’re running a deal for over 70% off, bringing the price down to $36.99.
Below are the key takeaways you’d get from taking this course:
- Connect with new audiences and lower ad costs via Facebook Ads
- Master Facebook Ads Manager
- Implement the Facebook Pixel and advanced tracking strategies
- Master your sales funnel, including awareness, retargeting, and conversion
- Average $0.01 per engagement/like/click with Facebook ad strategies
- Use the advanced features available in Facebook Business Manager
Emarketeers’ Facebook Advertising Training Course
Emarketeers boasts intensive, full-day training courses live online.
The course isn’t cheap – it’s £440, or roughly $589 – but it will be a jam-packed, highly valuable day. You’ll learn how to develop and optimize your Facebook (and Instagram!) ad campaigns, and how to set up Facebook ads using Facebook Ads Manager.
The course also explains the technical details of implementing Facebook Pixel, and fine-tunes your Custom Conversions and Custom and Lookalike Audiences to help you maximize your campaign performance and ROI.
The Best (Free) Twitter Ads Courses
Coursera Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube Marketing
Coursera has a three-in-one social media marketing course that covers Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube advertising.
You can enroll in this course for free, and it will teach you how to use Twitter’s platform and advertising features. It’s fully online and has flexible deadlines, so don’t worry about clearing a busy schedule. You can work the course around your own timeline.
Some of the skills you’ll gain include:
- Using Ads Manager to create and optimize Twitter ads
- Using social selling tactics to connect and engage with prospects
- Setting up and optimizing YouTube and LinkedIn, as a bonus to Twitter!
HubSpot Academy Twitter Training Course
Another excellent and free course is HubSpot Academy’s Twitter Training Course. It’s geared toward social media marketers, marketing managers, and aspiring marketers, so it pretty much runs the gamut when it comes to who it benefits.
The logistics? Plan on this course taking slightly over 2 hours, and including 4 lessons, 12 videos, and 4 quizzes to test your knowledge.
The outcomes are sweet. You will:
- Learn how to develop a Twitter growth strategy that will take your business further
- Discover how to select the right Twitter content for your brand
- Understand the Twitter algorithm so you can make the smartest advertising decisions
The Best (Paid) Twitter Ads Courses
Twitter Ads: Twitter Advertising 2022 Certification Course on Udemy
If Spotify, Pepsi, and even Twitter itself use this course, you know it must be a killer. It’s definitely one of the best PPC courses available.
Davis Jones and Eazl created this Twitter Ads course, which includes 2.5 hours of on-demand video, 1 article, and a certificate of completion. It’s got tons of 5 star reviews, and promises to teach you the Twitter Ads essentials, including:
- How to launch all of Twitter’s objective-drive campaigns
- How to target Twitter users based on certain behaviors and characteristics
- How to use the targeting features in the Twitter Ads platform
- How to build and use Twitter’s custom creative formats
- How to analyze the success of campaigns using real data
The course usually costs $84.99 unless discounts are being offered.
The Complete Twitter Marketing Bootcamp on Udemy
Udemy coming in clutch again! This bootcamp, created by growth marketer and digital entrepreneur Ali Mirza, will teach you to create a system to consistently generate relevant followers and business leads using Twitter Marketing.
To take the course, you should already know the basics of Twitter, such as how to create an account and what it’s used for. Other than that, this is one of the best PPC courses out there that will help you take your Twitter marketing to the next level.
Key takeaways include:
- Learning to create a Twitter marketing plan (in less than 20 minutes!!)
- How to attract your ideal followers on Twitter
- How to generate business leads from Twitter
- A hands-on demo for using Twitter ads
The Best (Free) LinkedIn Ads Courses
LinkedIn Marketing Labs Courses
Nothing better than getting your info straight from the horse’s mouth. LinkedIn Marketing Labs has fundamentals courses in LinkedIn Ads that are free and quick to complete (each takes about 45 minutes).
The Introduction to LinkedIn Ads course will teach you how to create an ad campaign using LinkedIn targeting, measure success in Campaign Manager, and optimize your advertising goals. If you want to go deeper or are starting with a greater level of LinkedIn Ads knowledge, there’s another course on Using LinkedIn’s Ad Targeting and another for Reporting and Analytics for LinkedIn Ads.
The Best (Paid) LinkedIn Ads Courses
LinkedIn Ads Course From Scratch – LinkedIn Ads 2021 on Udemy
Another of the best PPC courses can be found on Udemy, this time specifically for learning LinkedIn Ads.
The LinkedIn Ads Course From Scratch offers a lot. You’ll learn:
- Pre-requisites for launching a LinkedIn campaign
- How to create your LinkedIn Ads Account
- How to design your Linkedin Ad Creatives
- How to use LinkedIn Campaign Manager
- How to create your Target Audience on LinkedIn Ads
- How to optimize your campaigns
… and more. The course is, essentially, for everyone, including website and business owners, B2B and B2C marketers, digital marketing specialists, and online store owners.
It typically costs $129.99, though the current sale dropped the price to $14.99.
LinkedIn Ads Course 2021 – From Beginner to Advanced on Udemy
This course on Udemy has over 9,000 students… so they must be doing something right.
In fact, it’s one of the most comprehensive LinkedIn Ads courses out there.
For $19.99 (or the current sale of $9.99), you’ll get 5.5 hours of on-demand videos, full lifetime access, a downloadable resource, and certificate of completion. Some of the many skills you’ll learn include:
- The pros and cons of LinkedIn Ads
- Objective-based advertising on LinkedIn
- Audience targeting options
- Using different ad formats
- Bids and budgeting strategy
- Benchmarking
- Conversion tracking
- Reporting
And seriously, a lot more. It’s a gold mine of advertising info.
As you can see from this list, there are plenty of courses tailored to different skill levels, and many are created by industry experts who can pass along a plethora of in-depth, indispensable knowledge. No matter your skill level, a PPC course is essential for marketers, small business owners, and beginners who want to up their marketing game and beat click fraud while they’re at it.
Refer back to this roundup of the best PPC courses to help you choose the right one for you as your business grows!
