10 Best Online SEM Courses (Free & Paid)

An SEM online course will guide you through the art of earning traffic from search engines, either with organic methods like SEO or paid campaigns (PPC).

The question is, which SEM training courses are most likely to enhance your abilities? We’ve reviewed some of the most popular training solutions on the market to bring you the list of the best SEM courses available online.

10 Top Online SEM Courses

1. The Complete SEO Course By Reliablesoft
2. Google Ads Course By Reliablesoft
3. Google Ads for Beginners By Coursera
4. Attract and Engage Customers with Digital Marketing By Google
5. Promote a Business With Online Advertising By Google
6. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) By Udacity
7. PPC Fundamentals By Semrush
8. SEO Unlocked By NeilPatel
9. SEO: Keyword Strategy By LinkedIn Learning
10. SEM Online Course By IntelliPaat

1. The Complete SEO Course By Reliablesoft

The Reliablesoft SEO Course will help you master one of the components of SEM, Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

This comprehensive course will teach you everything you need to know to become a successful SEO expert.

This course is part of the Digital Marketing Course Bundle, which includes 9 more courses that will give you a holistic view of search engine marketing. In particular, the related to SEM courses are:

• Keyword Research Course
• eCommerce SEO Course
• Google Analytics Course
• Google Ads Course

Why enroll in this course?

This course will help you learn SEO, the most critical Search Engine Marketing (SEM) part. Upon completing the course, you’ll know what it takes to rank your website high on Google and get the maximum organic traffic for your target keywords.

It includes the following topics:

• What is SEO
• How Search Engines Work
• On-Page SEO
• Technical SEO
• Link Building
• Mobile SEO
• Advanced SEO
• Conversion Optimization

It’s the exact blueprint we use to generate thousands of monthly visits from organic searches.

The course is highly rated by students and includes videos, checklists, many examples, and step-by-step tutorials. It’s the only course you need to optimize your website for search engines fully.

The course instructor has over 20 years of SEO experience, and the course has a 60-day money-back guarantee (best in the industry). Upon completing the course and passing an exam, you can also get an SEO Certification to enrich your CV.

2. Google Ads Course By Reliablesoft

Google Ads is one of the most important SEM tools to master. With Google Ads, you can position your ads on Google SERPs and get highly targeted search engine traffic to your website.

The Google Ads Course by Reliablesoft Academy includes 11 lessons and will teach you how to run profitable PPC campaigns. It starts from the beginning and goes through setting up a new account and enabling conversion tracking.

It then explains how to set up different types of Google campaigns, including Search Ads, Display Ads, Dynamic Ads, Discovery Ads, and Remarketing Ads. You’ll also learn how to create highly successful Google ads and optimize your campaigns for profit.

The lessons include the following topics:

• Introduction to Google Ads
• Setup a Google Ads Account
• Google Ads Conversion Tracking
• Google Search Campaigns
• Google Display Campaigns
• Dynamic Search Ads
• Remarketing Campaigns
• Discovery Campaigns
• Google Ads Optimization

Why enroll in this course?

It’s one of the best Google Ads courses you can find online. In the course, you’ll learn the exact framework Reliablesoft uses to run Google Ads campaigns for their clients.

Unlike other courses that teach you the theory, this course is highly practical and based on practices that are proven to work. Reliablesoft is also an official Google Ads Partner.

Below is an overview of our Google Ads spending the last year and the number of conversions generated for our clients.

Upon completing the course, you can also go through the other courses that are part of the Digital Marketing Bundle and earn a Digital Marketing Certification.

3. Google Ads for Beginners By Coursera

Most business owners, marketers, and eCommerce store owners will use a combination of paid and organic marketing to drive traffic to their websites. Learning how to use Google Ads correctly will save you a lot of time and money in the long run.

Offered for free by Coursera, the Google Ads course only takes around 2 hours to complete, but it offers a fantastic overview into many of the critical elements of running a successful Google Ads campaign.

You’ll learn how to structure your Google Ads account, and which tools you can use to optimize your marketing campaigns.

Why enroll in this course?

Ideal for beginners making their first steps into paid ads, the Coursera Google Ads course will take you on a guided journey through the creation of Google ad campaigns, how to do keyword research, and what it means to target the ideal audience.

You’ll also learn how to set bids and budgets for your campaigns.

Following the “guided project” format means you’ll actually be able to set up campaigns while going through the lessons.

During this online SEM training, you’ll learn how to:

• Create your account on Google Ads
• Set up your campaigns and track the results
• Add relevant audience information and set bids
• Conduct effective keyword research
• Navigate the tools and settings on Google Ads

If you know nothing about Google Ads right now, the instructor of this course, Ishita Sinha, will give you an easy and straightforward introduction to enhance your SEM abilities.

4. Attract and Engage Customers with Digital Marketing By Google

The Attract and Engage Customers with Digital Marketing is a course Google offers through Coursera. The course includes 3 lessons related to Search Engine Marketing. In particular:

• Understand search engine optimization (SEO)
• Apply search engine optimization (SEO)
• Search engine marketing (SEM) and display advertising

It’s a beginner-friendly course that takes 21 hours to complete. The course is part of the Google Digital Marketing & eCommerce certificate program.

Why enroll in this course?

The course covers both aspects of SEM related to getting organic and paid traffic from search engines. The SEO lessons explain how to use white-hat SEO practices to make your website more visible on Google. It covers modern techniques like structured data and UX optimization.

The SEM lesson goes deep into search engine marketing with Google Ads. It explains how paid advertising works and how to create ads to get the best possible results from your campaigns.

Each lesson has quizzes and activities to test your knowledge and practice what you’ve learned. You can enroll in the course for free for 7 days. To continue your studies, the cost is $49 monthly.

5. Promote a Business With Online Advertising By Google

Google is the most popular search engine in the world. What better way to learn SEM than from the market leaders themselves? The “Promote a Business With Online Advertising” course is part of the Google Skillshop program that users can access for free.

The lessons are convenient, simple, and straightforward, ideal for beginners entering the marketing landscape. The bite-sized, animated videos are a joy to watch, and they’re easy to follow, even if you’re not familiar with all the jargon of the search engines.

Why enroll in this course?

To really master search engine marketing, you need to understand what it means to leverage search engines in your campaigns. Google’s course teaches you the basics of ensuring your business is noticed online for all the right reasons. The videos cover the essentials of evaluating keywords and making your PPC ads stand out.

You’ll learn how the “SEM” auction works and how to plan your own SEM campaigns.

Although there’s not a lot of focus on content marketing and organic search here, you can transfer the lessons you get on keywords into both organic and paid campaigns. During these lessons, you’ll learn how to:

• Define SEM and its benefits for brands
• Track keywords and assess their value
• Bid for keywords in PPC
• Make your ads stand out
• Improve your search campaigns
• Be noticed with search ads

Google’s course makes complex topics like search engine marketing more accessible and interesting.

6. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) By Udacity

Udacity’s Search Engine Marketing (SEM) course will teach you how to optimize your website’s visibility in search engine results (SERPS).

The course is suitable for beginners to SEM and includes 6 lessons. The total time investment required is 4 weeks.

It includes the following topics:

• Introduction to SEM
• Keywords
• Ads
• Ad Rank and Maximum CPC bid
• Metrics and Optimization
• Evaluate a Google Ads Campaign

Why enroll in this course?

What is nice about this course is that it touches on all the essential tasks an SEM specialist has to take to get positive results from SEM campaigns.

It explains the importance of keywords and how to find the most appropriate keywords for your campaigns. It outlines how to create good ads and what factors are important to get a high Adrank. It also explains how to evaluate and improve the performance of your campaigns.

The course comes with a monthly subscription of $249 that gives you access to all Udacity courses.

7. PPC Fundamentals By Semrush

The PPC Fundamentals Course taught by Joel Bondorowsky offers students an opportunity to learn all about search engine marketing.

Like some of the other SEM online courses mentioned above, these lessons focus mostly on PPC and paid advertising. However, Joel’s tips can also be translated into the SEO environment.

This free-to-use course provides five hours of intensive training, broken down into 36 bite-sized and easy-to-follow lessons.

Designed to empower anyone with the skills they need to master search engine advertising, the PPC fundamentals course can transform you into a true PPC specialist.

Why enroll in this course?

The biggest selling point of this course is the instructor. Jon Bondorowsky is the founder of the PPC Designs brand and has more than 20 years of experience in the paid advertising space.

Joel has created ad campaigns for hundreds of businesses and uses this experience to give more depth to his teachings.

The lesson structure is fantastic. You’ll start each segment with an easy-to-follow video, with access to further reading opportunities if you want to learn more about a specific topic. There are also quizzes to test what you learn.

Throughout the course, you’ll discover how to:

• Set up profitable PPC campaigns with Google Ads
• Navigate the Google Ads ecosystem
• Track the results of your campaigns and gather useful details for reports
• Experiment with shopping campaigns and display advertising
• Use bidding, budgeting, and universal app campaigns

Jon even covers advanced topics like multi-touch conversions. Plus, you get a certification at the end of the course.

8. SEO Unlocked By NeilPatel

Another course made particularly impressive by its instructor, SEO Unlocked by Neil Patel provides students with an insight into the organic side of search engine marketing with a digital advertising leader.

Neil Patel’s free SEO course provides a comprehensive introduction to mastering SEO.

The first week of training in the course focuses exclusively on keyword research – teaching skills and techniques you can use in SEO and PPC.

As you progress throughout the course, you’ll also learn how to conduct SEO audits and optimize your website with on-page SEO.

Why enroll in this course?

Neil’s engaging and interesting attitude makes this course on organic SEM strategies a delight to follow. Every video introduces the student to a new piece of actionable advice you can use in your campaigns.

Neil even includes a week of lessons dedicated to using Google Analytics to assess your campaign results over time and optimize your marketing strategies. Throughout this learning opportunity, you’ll discover how to:

• Conduct keyword research for all of your SEM campaigns
• Manage on-page SEO and SEO Audits
• Use content marketing and edit your content
• Set up and use Google Analytics
• Built powerful brand elements

The comprehensive nature of Neil’s course means you’ll leave the classes feeling empowered and ready to launch a fantastic campaign.

9. SEO: Keyword Strategy By LinkedIn Learning

Ask any professional how to learn SEM, and they’ll tell you a few key factors that are essential in any campaign. One of the most important tools you’ll need to leverage is keyword research.

While keyword analysis and optimization are tasks frequently associated with SEO, the ability to target specific terms is essential to all aspects of search engine marketing.

The SEO keyword strategy course from LinkedIn guides students through formulating a keyword strategy.

With digital marketing expert Matt Bailey, you’ll discover the basics of conducting keyword research and analyzing each term for its ability to drive traffic.

Why enroll in this course?

Matt Bailey’s easy-to-follow, bite-sized lessons cover all the essentials of keyword management, from using powerful keyword tools to finding terms suitable for different stages in the buyer’s journey.

By the time you’re done learning, you’ll walk away with a certificate of completion from LinkedIn, which is ideal for adding something extra to your resume.

You’ll also better understand how to apply keywords to all aspects of your marketing campaigns. During this course, you’ll discover how to:

• Find keywords for your search marketing campaigns
• Research and group keywords
• Use keywords on your website and content
• Use keywords to optimize your search campaigns
• Experiment with keywords through the customer lifecycle

Matt Bailey’s content is concise and easy to follow, making it great for beginners.

10. SEM Online Course By IntelliPaat

The online SEM training course from IntelliPaat is essentially an end-to-end overview of the most essential components of search engine marketing. As part of the training experience, you get 30 hours of projects and exercises to complete and 15 hours of videos which you can watch at your own pace.

This course is wonderfully comprehensive yet easy enough to follow for beginners. It starts with an introduction to what Search Engine Marketing really means and covers critical points, like how to use keywords in content marketing or Google AdWords.

Why enroll in this course?

The curriculum provided by IntelliPaat is one of the best we’ve seen for those who want to make the most of the paid aspects of search engine marketing. Although the course doesn’t cover much about organic content and SEO, it offers a comprehensive insight into creating ad campaigns, conducting keyword research, and even collecting information from reports.

One particularly compelling aspect of this SEM training course is its coverage of different kinds of PPC advertising. You’ll learn how to use Display Ad campaigns Google Ads, and how to set up remarketing campaigns. Throughout the learning experience, you’ll discover how to:

• Research and categorize critical keywords.
• Design targeted ad campaigns for Google Ads.
• Access reports in PPC.
• Make the most of metrics in your campaigns.
• Experiment with remarketing techniques

There’s also an excellent “Peer chat” feature from IntelliPaat, which is great for sharing your knowledge with other learners in your community.

Compare The Best SEM Training Courses

The table below compares the cost of the most popular SEM courses.

What are SEM Courses?

SEM (Search Engine Marketing) courses are educational tools that teach students how to achieve higher rankings in the SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages) and how to use paid advertising to get search engine traffic.

With an SEM online course, you’ll learn how to utilize the various organic and paid elements of search engine marketing individually and discover how to combine disciplines for a more holistic approach.

Who should follow an SEM marketing course?

Online SEM training gives you the skills you need to understand how search engines work. You can learn how to use a combination of organic and paid methods to bring more traffic to a website or convert leads.

Anyone hoping to generate more traffic and opportunities for their business can benefit from an SEM course. These classes are often beneficial for marketing professionals working in the digital landscape.

Methodology

Why are these the best online courses in SEM?

We’ve chosen our selection of the top online SEM courses based on their ability to deliver actionable guidance to students. Each course above will ensure you can make the most of either a specific aspect of Search Engine Marketing or a certain discipline, such as SEO.

We selected our courses based on factors such as:

• Accessibility: How easy it is to learn SEM using the training provided.
• Topic coverage: How much detail and guidance are provided for each topic.
• Takeaways: The actionable advice you can leverage after the course.
• Value: The depth of education provided for the price and time commitment.
• Relevance: The coverage of up-to-date information.

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