6 Digital Certifications to Help Your Career and Business

As businesses, we often rely on digital tools to help inform and manage communication with our audiences. Whether we’re creating a Facebook ad, tweeting out valuable information to our followers, or simply updating our websites, the apps and programs we use on the daily are vital to our workflow.

But as useful as these tools are, they’re also maturing and becoming more complex by the day. Facebook alone has added so many new features this year, it’s been difficult to keep up. Thankfully, the internet’s got you covered.

Many of these programs and apps offer official certifications to help you use them more effectively to reach your intended business goals. Most are free, and some cost money. But earning a certification is a great investment in you and your company’s future.

So, get back to class and check out a few of the most worthwhile certifications on the web!

1. Google Analytics Academy

If you haven’t installed Google Analytics on your website yet, stop reading this post and get to it. Seriously. Drop what you’re doing, open a new browser tab and type in google.com/analytics. In just a few clicks, you’ll be able to track important user data on your site, from the number of unique visitors per month to the exact version of Internet Explorer they might (sadly) be using. Google Analytics is by far the most useful tool you’ll find on tracking and measuring your online audience, and it’s one of the most important steps you can take to building a strong web presence.

Once it’s set up, Google has an abundance of tutorials and certifications available to help you get the most out of your data. In 5-6 minute videos, these training resources will help you set up a new account, build reports, campaign and conversion tracking, and more. As of March 2017, here are the four free courses in its Analytics Academy:

• Google Analytics for Beginners
• Advanced Google Analytics
• Ecommerce Analytics: From Data to Decisions
• Google Tag Manager Fundamentals

To receive the official Google Analytics IQ Certification, you must set up a Google Partners account and complete an exam of roughly 70 multiple-choice and true/false questions. You get 90 minutes to complete the exam, and if you pass you get a bona fide, printable certificate valid for 18 months.