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While Google keeps us on our toes with all the algorithm updates they keep rollin’ out, one thing has stayed pretty consistent for inbound marketers looking to optimize their websites for search: keyword research.
In this post, we’ll define what keyword research is, why it’s important, how to conduct your research for your SEO strategy, and choose the right keywords for your website.

Why is keyword research important?
Keyword research provides valuable insight into the queries that your target audience is actually searching on Google. The insight that you can get into these actual search terms can help inform content strategy as well as your larger marketing strategy.
People use keywords to find solutions when conducting research online. So if your content is successful in getting in front of our audience as they conduct searches, you stand to gain more traffic. Therefore, you should be targeting those searches.
In addition, in the inbound methodology, we don’t create content around what we want to tell people; we should be creating content around what people want to discover. In other words, our audience is coming to us.
This all starts with keyword research.
For an inside look into how Arel=”noopener” target=”_blank” hrefs can aid you in your SEO keyword research, check out our case study and exclusive interview here.

Conducting keyword research has many benefits, the most popular reasons being:
Marketing Trend Insight
Conducting effective keyword research can provide you with insights into current marketing trends, and help you center your content on relevant topics and keywords your audience is in search of.
Traffic Growth
When you identify the best fitting keywords for the content you publish, the higher ranking the it is in search engine results — the more traffic you’ll attract to your website.
Customer Acquisition
If your business has content that other business professionals are looking for, you can meet there need and provide them with a call to action that will lead them into the buyer journey from the awareness stage to the point of purchase.
By researching keywords for their popularity, search volume, and general intent, you can tackle the questions that most people in your audience want answers to.
However, keywords themselves because Google has evolved beyond exact-match algorithms.
Keywords vs. Topics
More and more, we hear how much SEO has evolved over just the last 10 years, and how unimportant keywords themselves have become to our ability to rank well for the searches people make every day.
And to some extent, this is true, but in the eyes of an SEO professional it’s a different approach. Rather, it’s the intent behind that keyword, and whether or not a piece of content solves for that intent (we’ll talk more about intent in just a minute).
But that doesn’t mean keyword research is an outdated process. Let me explain:
Keyword research tells you what topics people care about and, assuming you use the right SEO tool, how popular those topics actually are among your audience. The operative term here is topics — by researching keywords that are getting a high volume of searches per month, you can identify and sort your content into topics that you want to create content on. Then, you can use these topics to dictate which keywords you look for and target.
Elements of Keyword Research
There are three main elements to pay attention to when conducting keyword research.
1. Relevance
Google ranks content for relevance. This is where the concept of search intent comes in. Your content will only rank for a keyword if it meets the searchers’ needs. In addition, your content must be the best resource out there for the query. After all, why would Google rank your content higher if it provides less value than other content that exists on the web?
2. Authority
Google will provide more weight to sources it deems authoritative. That means you must do all you can to become an authoritative source by enriching your site with helpful, information content and promoting that content to earn social signals and backlinks. If you’re not seen as authoritative in the space, or if a keyword’s SERPs are loaded with heavy sources you can’t compete with (like Forbes or The Mayo Clinic), you have a lower chance of ranking unless your content is exceptional.
3. Volume
You may end up ranking on the first page for a specific keyword, but if no one ever searches for it, it will not result in traffic to your site. Kind of like setting up shop in a ghost town.
Volume is measured by MSV (monthly search volume), which means the number of times the keyword is searched per month across all audiences.

How to Research Keywords for Your SEO Strategy
I’m going to lay out a keyword research process you can follow to help you come up with a list of terms you should be targeting. That way, you’ll be able to establish and execute a strong keyword strategy that helps you get found for the search terms you actually care about.
Step 1: Make a list of important, relevant topics based on what you know about your business.
To kick off this process, think about the topics you want to rank for in terms of generic buckets. You’ll come up with about 5-10 topic buckets you think are important to your business, and then you’ll use those topic buckets to help come up with some specific keywords later in the process.
If you’re a regular blogger, these are probably the topics you blog about most frequently. Or perhaps they’re the topics that come up the most in sales conversations. Put yourself in the shoes of your buyer personas — what types of topics would your target audience search that you’d want your business to get found for? If you were a company like HubSpot, for example — selling marketing software (which happens to have some awesome SEO tools… but I digress), you might have general topic buckets like:

“inbound marketing” (21K)
“blogging” (19K)
“email marketing” (30K)
“lead generation” (17K)
“SEO” (214K)
“social media marketing” (71K)
“marketing analytics” (6.2K)
“marketing automation” (8.5K)

See those numbers in parentheses to the right of each keyword? That’s their monthly search volume. This data allows you to gauge how important these topics are to your audience, and how many different sub-topics you might need to create content on to be successful with that keyword. To learn more about these sub-topics, we move on to step 2 …
Step 2: Fill in those topic buckets with keywords.
Now that you have a few topic buckets you want to focus on, it’s time to identify some keywords that fall into those buckets. These are keyword phrases you think are important to rank for in the SERPs (search engine results pages) because your target customer is probably conducting searches for those specific terms.
For instance, if I took that last topic bucket for an inbound marketing software company — “marketing automation” — I’d brainstorm some keyword phrases that I think people would type in related to that topic. Those might include:

marketing automation tools
how to use marketing automation software
what is marketing automation?
how to tell if I need marketing automation software
lead nurturing
email marketing automation
top automation tools

And so on and so on. The point of this step isn’t to come up with your final list of keyword phrases. You just want to end up with a brain dump of phrases you think potential customers might use to search for content related to that particular topic bucket. We’ll narrow the lists down later in the process so you don’t have something too unwieldy.
Although more and more keywords are getting encrypted by Google every day, another smart way to come up with keyword ideas is to figure out which keywords your website is already getting found for. To do this, you’ll need website analytics software like Google Analytics or HubSpot’s Sources report, available in the Traffic Analytics tool. Drill down into your website’s traffic sources, and sift through your organic search traffic bucket to identify the keywords people are using to arrive at your site.
Repeat this exercise for as many topic buckets as you have. And remember, if you’re having trouble coming up with relevant search terms, you can always head on over to your customer-facing colleagues — those who are in Sales or Service and ask them what types of terms their prospects and customers use, or common questions they have. Those are often great starting points for keyword research.
Here at HubSpot, we use the Search Insights Report in this part of the process. This template is designed to help you do the same and bucket your keywords into topic clusters, analyze MSV, and inform your editorial calendar and strategy.
Featured Resource: Search Insights Report Template

Download the Template
Step 3: Understand How Intent Affects Keyword Research and Analyze Accordingly.
Like I said in the previous section, user intent is now one of the most pivotal factors in your ability to rank well on search engines like Google. Today, it’s more important that your web page addresses the problem a searcher intended to solve than simply carries the keyword the searcher used. So, how does this affect the keyword research you do?
It’s easy to take keywords for face value, and unfortunately, keywords can have many different meanings beneath the surface. Because the intent behind a search is so important to your ranking potential, you need to be extra-careful about how you interpret the keywords you target.
Let’s say, for example, you’re researching the keyword “how to start a blog” for an article you want to create. “Blog” can mean a blog post or the blog website itself, and what a searcher’s intent is behind that keyword will influence the direction of your article. Does the searcher want to learn how to start an individual blog post? Or do they want to know how to actually launch a website domain for the purposes of blogging? If your content strategy is only targeting people interested in the latter, you’ll need to make sure of the keyword’s intent before committing to it.
To verify what a user’s intent is in a keyword, it’s a good idea to simply enter this keyword into a search engine yourself, and see what types of results come up. Make sure the type of content Google is closely related to what you’d intend to create for the keyword.
Step 4: Research related search terms.
This is a creative step you may have already thought of when doing keyword research. If not, it’s a great way to fill out those lists.
If you’re struggling to think of more keywords people might be searching about a specific topic, take a look at the related search terms that appear when you plug in a keyword into Google. When you type in your phrase and scroll to the bottom of Google’s results, you’ll notice some suggestions for searches related to your original input. These keywords can spark ideas for other keywords you may want to take into consideration.
Want a bonus? Type in some of those related search terms and look at their related search terms.
Step 5: Use keyword research tools to your advantage.
Keyword research and SEO tools can help you come up with more keyword ideas based on exact match keywords and phrase match keywords based on the ideas you’ve generated up to this point. Some of the most popular ones include:

Ahrefs
SEMrush
Ubersuggest
Google Keyword Planner
SECockpit
Keywords Everywhere
Moz
KeywordTool.io
KWFinder

How to Find and Choose Keywords for Your Website
Once you have an idea of the keywords that you want to rank for, now it’s time to refine your list based on the best ones for your strategy. Here’s how:
Step 1. Use Google Keyword Planner to cut down your keyword list.
In Google’s Keyword Planner, you can get search volume and traffic estimates for keywords you’re considering. Then, take the information you learn from Keyword Planner and use Google Trends to fill in some blanks.
Use the Keyword Planner to flag any terms on your list that have way too little (or way too much) search volume, and don’t help you maintain a healthy mix like we talked about above. But before you delete anything, check out their trend history and projections in Google Trends. You can see whether, say, some low-volume terms might actually be something you should invest in now — and reap the benefits for later.
Or perhaps you’re just looking at a list of terms that is way too unwieldy, and you have to narrow it down somehow … Google Trends can help you determine which terms are trending upward, and are therefore worth more of your focus.
Step 2: Prioritize low-hanging fruit.
What we mean by prioritizing low-hanging fruit is to prioritize keywords that you have a chance of ranking for based on your website’s authority.
Large companies typically go after high search volume keywords, and since these brands are well established already, Google typically rewards them with authority over many topics.
You can also consider keywords that have little competition. Keywords that don’t already have multiple articles battling for the highest rank can afford you the spot by default — if there’s no one else trying to claim it.
Step 3: Check the monthly search volume (MSV) for keywords you’ve chosen.
You want to write content around what people want to discover, and checking MSV can help you do just that.
Monthly search volume is the number of times a search query or keyword is entered into search engines each monthly. Tools like searchvolume.io or Google Trends can help you find out the most searched keywords over related keyword clusters for free.
Step 4: Factor in SERP features as you choose keywords.
There’s several SERP feature snippets that Google will highlight if used correctly. An easy way to find out about them is to look up the keywords of your choosing and see what the first result looks like. But for a quick overview of the types of SERP featured snippets, we’ll summarize what they are here.
Image Packs
Image packs are search results displayed as a horizontal row of images that appear in an organic position. If there’s an image pack, you should write an image-heavy post to win placement in it.

Paragraph Snippets
Featured snippets, or paragraph snippets, are short snippets of text that appear at the top of Google search results for quick answers to common search queries. Understanding the searcher’s intent and providing succinct, concise answers can help in winning the placement.

List Snippets
List snippets, or listicles, are snippets made for posts outlining steps to do something from start to finish — often for “How To” searches. Making posts with direct, clear instructions and formatting can assist in winning this placement.

Video Snippets
Video snippets are short videos that Google will display at the top of a search query page in place of text featured snippets. Posting a video on both YouTube and your website can help you win this placement if tagged in the targeted keywords people are searching for.

Step 5: Check for a mix of head terms and long-tail keywords in each bucket.
Head terms are keyword phrases that are generally shorter and more generic — they’re typically just one to three words in length, depending on who you talk to. Long-tail keywords, on the other hand, are longer keyword phrases usually containing three or more words.
It’s important to check that you have a mix of head terms and long-tail terms because it’ll give you a keyword strategy that’s well balanced with long-term goals and short-term wins. That’s because head terms are generally searched more frequently, making them often (not always, but often) much more competitive and harder to rank for than long-tail terms. Think about it: Without even looking up search volume or difficulty, which of the following terms do you think would be harder to rank for?

how to write a great blog post
blogging

If you answered #2, you’re absolutely right. But don’t get discouraged. While head terms generally boast the most search volume (meaning greater potential to send you traffic), frankly, the traffic you’ll get from the term “how to write a great blog post” is usually more desirable.
Why?
Because someone who is looking for something that specific is probably a much more qualified searcher for your product or service (presuming you’re in the blogging space) than someone looking for something really generic. And because long-tail keywords tend to be more specific, it’s usually easier to tell what people who search for those keywords are really looking for. Someone searching for the head term “blogging,” on the other hand, could be searching it for a whole host of reasons unrelated to your business.
So check your keyword lists to make sure you have a healthy mix of head terms and long-tail keywords. You definitely want some quick wins that long-tail keywords will afford you, but you should also try to chip away at more difficult head terms over the long haul.
Step 6: See how competitors are ranking for these keywords.
Just because your competitor is doing something doesn’t mean you need to. The same goes for keywords. Just because a keyword is important to your competitor, doesn’t mean it’s important to you. However, understanding what keywords your competitors are trying to rank for is a great way to help you give your list of keywords another evaluation.
If your competitor is ranking for certain keywords that are on your list, too, it definitely makes sense to work on improving your ranking for those. However, don’t ignore the ones your competitors don’t seem to care about. This could be a great opportunity for you to own market share on important terms, too.
Understanding the balance of terms that might be a little more difficult due to competition, versus those terms that are a little more realistic, will help you maintain a similar balance that the mix of long-tail and head terms allows. Remember, the goal is to end up with a list of keywords that provide some quick wins but also helps you make progress toward bigger, more challenging SEO goals.
How do you figure out what keywords your competitors are ranking for, you ask? Aside from manually searching for keywords in an incognito browser and seeing what positions your competitors are in, Arel=”noopener” target=”_blank” hrefs allows you to run a number of free reports that show you the top keywords for the domain you enter. This is a quick way to get a sense of the types of terms your competitors are ranking for.
Best Keywords for SEO
Understand that there’s no “best” keywords, just those that are highly searched by your audience. With this in mind, it’s up to you to craft a strategy that will help you rank pages and drive traffic.
The best keywords for your SEO strategy will take into account relevance, authority, and volume. You want to find highly searched keywords that you can reasonably compete for based on:

The level of competition you’re up against.
Your ability to produce content that exceeds in quality what’s currently ranking.

And You’ve Got the Right Keywords for Your Website SEO
You now have a list of keywords that’ll help you focus on the right topics for your business, and get you some short-term and long-term gains.
Be sure to re-evaluate these keywords every few months — once a quarter is a good benchmark, but some businesses like to do it even more often than that. As you gain even more authority in the SERPs, you’ll find that you can add more and more keywords to your lists to tackle as you work on maintaining your current presence, and then growing in new areas on top of that.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in May 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Salesforce delivers tons of new functionalities to Pardot like control over enhanced landing pages, which now include layout templates, header code support, and inline form styles. You also get Lightning templates for Salesforce Engage and expanded automation support and Einstein Engagement Frequency for enhanced emails. Get more out of Pardot
The post Pardot Spring’22 Release: Top 10 Features appeared first on Automation Champion.

https://youtu.be/VGPHSCkRGa8 Brian Kurtz, Living Legend of Direct Marketing, Shares His Secrets #marketing #interview #thecontributors #directmarketing #infomercial #overdeliver #briankurtz #ltv #RFM #listbuilding #salesexcellence #victorgichun https://preview.redd.it/ryajz2hmi3a81.jpg?width=1400&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=782e97a65424cd189c87ee31b000386947ee5aa5
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Many marketers think improving email deliverability starts and ends with great content. And, while great content is essential to growing your newsletter, it won’t matter how great the writing is if your subscribers never see it.
Deliverability is the universal struggle among marketing teams; you can get so many things right when developing your marketing content and still struggle to get it in front of your audience. In fact, according to Demand Metric, 30% of email marketers cite deliverability as their primary challenge, and 67% report inbox placement rates of 89% or less.
The good news is, unlike some channels that are constantly changing requirements (*cough* Facebook *cough*), improving email deliverability comes down to a few consistent elements. We’ll save the discussion on Facebook ad delivery nightmares for someone else and just get to what we know best: email marketing.
1. Protect your sender reputation
In the world of email, your reputation truly does precede you. Email inbox providers will automatically mark your email as spam if you don’t have a strong sender reputation. According to Statista, 9-14% of marketing emails (depending on the industry) are marked as spam. Protecting your sender reputation is foundational to improving deliverability. But how, exactly, do you do this?
Check the reputation of your IP address
Your IP address is a set of numbers that identifies all emails that come from your domain. Email providers recognize “safe” and “unsafe” emails based on the historical context of your IP address and domain reputation. Why is this important? According to Demand Metric, open rates of 16% or more increased by 27% among email marketers who actively monitor their sender reputation.
If servers have historically seen “bad” mail come from your IP address, they may blacklist your domain and send it straight to spam. If they’ve seen only “good” mail come from your IP address, it most likely will arrive safely in the recipient’s primary inbox. If they’ve never seen your IP address, their default is to distrust it and likely send it to spam as well.
To prevent your emails from ending up in the spam folder, first, check to see if your domain or IP address is blacklisted. If you are, visit the blacklist company’s page to find the requirements to get removed from their list. Requirements may include providing re-opt-in for subscribers or removing addresses that were added to your mailing list before a certain date. Better yet, proactively use best practices to stay off these blacklists in the first place.
If you have a new IP address with little to no sending reputation, build it up by slowly increasing the number of emails sent from it. Start by sending emails to your most engaged subscribers who will drive up the open rate, signaling the email provider it’s “good” mail. Sending a large number of emails — like to your entire email list — from a “cold” IP address will likely get flagged as spam. It also might get you blacklisted before you get started.
Put authentication protocols in place
Another way to make sure your domain isn’t compromised is to require that anyone sending an email on behalf of your domain show “credentials” to the email provider. A Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) is a DNS protocol that protects a domain from unauthorized use (i.e., phishing emails and email spoofing). The DMARC protects the domain by giving specific instructions to the email provider about allowable use of the sending domain.
When an email is sent, the email provider will check two sources — Sender Policy Framework (SPF) and Domain Keys Identified Mail (DKIM) — in the DMARC to verify legitimacy and decide if it belongs in the primary inbox, quarantine, or spam folder.

SPF: An SPF tells the email provider which IP addresses and hostnames are allowed to send emails from a domain.

DKIM: DKIM is an encrypted digital signature that tells the receiving inbox provider what an authentic email from this domain should include. For example, all emails from XYZ domain should include a header with this text, that logo, and these body paragraphs. If an email doesn’t include these elements, the authentication “key” won’t match. The inbox provider will then refer to the DMARC protocol to decide if it goes into the spam folder or is blocked altogether.

2. Maintain email list hygiene
It doesn’t matter if you have a massive email list if most of those emails are bouncing or not opened. When bounce rates increase and engagement metrics go down, it signals the receiving server’s Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) you’re not actively maintaining your list or sending engaging content. And your emails will likely get sent to the spam folder when the server receives these signals. Maintaining an email list and promoting long-term growth requires proactively pruning and managing your list.
Routinely review your list for unengaged subscribers and invalid emails
According to Statista, 2%-4% of marketing emails go undelivered each month, which means your engagement rates are tanking partially due to emails that never even see the recipients.
We get it; no one wants to cut their list down. However, by removing addresses that hard bounce (i.e., are permanently undeliverable) and subscribers who are unengaged, you’ll increase your open rate and long-term email deliverability rate. If an email has a hard bounce or a subscriber doesn’t open emails for 12-18 months (depending on cadence), it’s time to cut them loose.
Pro-tip: Not sure where to start cleaning up your list? Check out QuickEmailVerification, an email deliverability tool that will analyze your email list for you.
Implement a double opt-in
A double opt-in is when a subscriber is sent an email to confirm their subscription before being added to the email list. This prevents hard bounces because the user has to verify their email. It also requires an extra step of commitment from the subscriber to confirm their email so you’ll end up with fewer unengaged users.
Make it easy to unsubscribe
Yes, you read that right. Making it easy for unengaged users to unsubscribe prevents them from getting sick of hearing from your brand, cultivates authenticity with your readership, and improves overall engagement on your list.
You can make it easy to unsubscribe from your emails by including a prominent unsubscribe link in every email and creating a 1-click unsubscribe process. A 1-click unsubscribe process includes pre-populating the email field, making feedback optional, and creating simple ways of adjusting preferences, such as checkboxes.
When recipients move to unsubscribe, giving them the option to adjust preferences instead is a good way to retain them. Some users may not actually want to unsubscribe but just aren’t interested in the specific email campaign or don’t want emails as frequently.
Don’t buy email lists
Buying email lists contributes to high bounce rates and low engagement and ultimately compromises the integrity of the portion of the subscriber list that did opt-in.
The first issue you’ll run into with buying an email list is most reputable email service providers (ESPs) won’t allow you to send emails to email addresses that have not opted in. They do this to preserve their own sender reputation and business.
And, if you do find an ESP that’ll allow you to send to this list, the quality won’t be there. Many of the addresses on bought lists are invalid, inactive, or recycled. You’ll also likely run into spam traps using bought email lists. Spam traps are created by blacklist providers who deliberately place fake addresses on bought email lists to identify domains sending spam.
On the off chance your email does find its way into a real, active inbox, remember you’re intruding on someone’s personal space, uninvited. Your email will likely be marked as spam by them or their email provider.
Want to know how to grow your email list the right way? Check out our Modern Marketer’s Guide to Growing an Email List!
3. “Throttle“ your delivery
Many ESPs will enforce a daily rate limit (the number of emails you’re allowed to send in a day) to prevent spam from being sent from their platform. ESPs aren’t the only ones with a rate limit, either. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) will also limit the number of emails they’ll accept from the same IP address within a set timeframe to prevent spam.
When an email sender reaches their rate limit, the email will be temporarily undeliverable — or what email marketers call a “soft bounce.” The server will likely resend a soft-bounced email within 72 hours to see if it’ll go through, but who wants to take their chances with that? This is where “throttling” comes in.
Throttling is the practice of sending emails in smaller batches over time to avoid hitting rate limits, getting soft bounces, or getting marked as spam. For large lists (typically above 250 recipients), senders should segment their lists. Once lists are segmented, plan ahead to make sure the campaign is sent to each segment by the date needed.
4. Deliver consistently
The key to any relationship is trust, and when you start showing up consistently for your subscribers, they begin to not only expect your emails, but they begin to trust your role in their life.
If you wait too long between sending emails, recipients forget why they were interested in subscribing in the first place. When they forget why they subscribed, they typically either unsubscribe or delete your email without opening it. On the flip side, if you send emails too frequently, they’re more likely to be marked as spam or just flat-out annoy your subscribers. And, you guessed it, they’ll likely unsubscribe or delete the email without opening it.
So what is the perfect email cadence? It varies by the audience and type of campaign, but our research has found that every two weeks is the ideal frequency for most organizations. This frequency is based on open rates, click-through rate (CTR), and unsubscribe rates.
Create an email worth opening to improve email deliverability
With the supporting elements in place, now you can focus on creating something subscribers want to open. “That’s easier said than done,” you might be thinking. Well, that’s just the thing — email marketing doesn’t need to be an overcomplicated exercise with a monkey taunting you the whole way.
With Campaign Monitor’s simple drag-and-drop builder, fully customizable templates, and collaboration tools, designing engaging emails that convert just got a whole lot easier. Get started building something unforgettable today. Rest assured, there’s no monkey involved here, just professionals getting stuff done.
The post 4 Steps To Improve Email Deliverability appeared first on Campaign Monitor.

With every campaign comes specific goals advertisers want to achieve. For some, it’s brand awareness. For others, it’s increased website traffic.

But what if your goal is to reach audiences who are already prime to take action? With Google Discover ads, you can reach them – up to 3 billion of them to be exact.
Let’s dive into what Google Discovery ads are, how they work, and how to set one up today.

Using customer intent signals, Google uses machine learning to determine when users are most likely to engage with a brand. According to Google, brands should use it to:

Scale their conversions.
Reach new customers.
Reconnect with previous customers.

Another thing that sets Google Discovery ads apart from other campaigns is the limited campaign settings. Advertisers cannot adjust:

Ad rotation
Frequency capping
Delivery method
Device targeting
Placement targeting
Contextual targeting
Manual bid strategies

This campaign type offers automated campaign settings for bidding and targeting so that advertisers can focus on optimizing campaign performance.
Discovery Ads vs. Display Ads
The key difference in these ads is who they’re reaching and where.
Discovery ads reach those exhibiting high-intent behavior, as determined by Google’s algorithms. For instance, they’re great for ecommerce businesses looking to acquire new consumers and introduce their audiences to products and/or services.
Display ads, on the other hand, are not always meant to drive this type of action. In addition, display ads deliver ads in the Google Display Network whereas Discovery ads are only on Google feeds.

To launch a Discovery campaign, you first have to gather your creative assets, such as your copy, images, and logo. Next, you need a daily budget high enough to cover at least 10 times your target CPA bid.
Then, you’ll need to enable sitewide tagging in your ad account along with conversion tracking. Lastly, you must review and ensure you comply with Google’s personalized ad policies.
Once you’ve completed these key steps, you can start setting up your campaign.
Step 1: Set up a Google Discover ad campaign.

Sign in to your Google Ads account.
Click ‘Campaigns’ located on the left of the page menu.
Click the ‘+’ button, then select ‘New campaign.’
Choose your marketing objective.
Click on the ‘Discovery campaign’ type.
Select ‘Continue.’
Pick your geographic and language targeting for this campaign.
Select your audiences.

You can choose between customer intent, your data (i.e. remarketing list), and in-market audiences.

Set your bidding strategy and average daily budget.
Click ‘Save and continue.’
Click ‘Save.’

After setting up your campaign, the next step is setting up your single-image ad and multi-image carousel ad.
Step 2: Upload your creative assets.
There are two formats available for Discovery campaigns: single-image ads and multi-image carousel ads.
For this campaign, you must upload multiple versions of some assets, as Google will create different combinations to optimize your campaigns, such as:

Headlines – You must upload between three to five headlines up to 40 characters each.

Description – You can have anywhere from one to five descriptions up to 90 characters.

Business name, CTA, and Final URL – You can only have one of each.

Images – You must have at least one landscape image, one square image, and a square logo, with a maximum file size of 5MB.

For additional information on asset requirements for Discovery ads, click here.
Here are the steps to upload your creative assets:

Log into your Google Ads account.
Click on “Campaigns” and select your Discovery campaign.
On the left page menu, click on “Ads & Extensions.”
Click on the “+” icon then select “Discovery ad” or “Discovery Carousel ad.”
Upload.

Step 3: Undergo the “Learning” period.
Once your campaign goes live, you must allow two weeks for Google Ads to optimize your bids.
During this time frame, you may see the label “Learning” next to your bid strategy status. This is an indication that you should avoid making any bidding changes and assess once that time expires.
Google Discovery Ad Examples
Gmail Feed
One place Discovery ads will show up is in Gmail. When you navigate to the “Promotions” or “Social” tabs, you may see ads like this:

Once you click on one of the ads, it will open up like an email and show details on the offer from the brand – as shown below.

YouTube Home Feed
Another place you’ll find Discovery ads is in the YouTube app.
As you scroll down the “Home” tab, you will likely see ads like these with the yellow “Ad” indicator.
Google App Discover
Have the Google app downloaded on your device? You may see Discovery ads if you have the “Discover” feature turned on.
The Discover feeds offers personalized content to users based on their web history, interests, and saved items. Here’s an example of an ad on the app:

One thing to note about the Discover feed is that it’s unavailable to consumers in Germany, Australia, and France. As a result, those consumers also won’t see ads like these in their Google App.
Google Discovery Ads is Google’s latest tool to help advertisers reach their target audience. As always, be sure to experiment and optimize your campaigns.

Whether you want that job promotion or to sidestep into a new field, you’ll need to commit to learning new skills. One of the best ways you can do that is by taking free online courses.
Blog posts and podcasts are great starting points for exploring a particular topic. But online business courses will provide you with the time and space you need to explore a topic in depth and truly master a new skill. Plus, most courses are made up of on-demand videos and exercises that you can progress through at your own pace.

Below, we’ve gathered the best free online business courses. These cover the main business skills you’ll need to advance in today’s rapidly changing workplace — from digital marketing and coding to selling, managing conflicts, and more. Keep reading to become an expert in whatever subject you feel can best help you succeed.
If you’d prefer, click on one of the following topics to jump straight to courses regarding that topic in particular:

Best Free Online Courses Overall
Fundamental Marketing
Content Marketing
Social Media Marketing
Email Marketing
SEM
Sales
Ecommerce
Coding
Personal & Professional Development
Design
Business & Finance
Writing
Communication
Entrepreneurship
Humanities
Languages

Free Online Courses
Learning new skills can be both time-consuming and challenging. In fact, according to Josh Kaufman, international bestselling author of The Personal MBA, it takes 20 hours to go from knowing nothing about a particular subject to being pretty good at it. Of course, if you want to become an expert, that takes even longer.
Online courses allow you to get a head-start on the fundamental skills you need to grow in your career or switch to a new field. Here are the absolute best ones:

Fundamental Marketing: Inbound Marketing Certification by HubSpot Academy

Content Marketing: Content Marketing Certification by HubSpot Academy

Social Media Marketing: Social Media Marketing Course by HubSpot Academy

Email Marketing: Cold Email Masterclass by Mailshake

SEM: Google Ads by Google Skillshop

Sales: Inbound Sales Certification by HubSpot Academy

Ecommerce: How to Start a Dropshipping Business by Shopify Academy

Coding: Intro to HTML and CSS by Udacity

Personal & Professional Development: Conquering the Fear of Public Speaking by Udemy

Design: Graphic Design Course by HubSpot Academy

Business & Finance: The Fundamentals of Business by Smartly

Writing: Good with Words: Writing and Editing by University of Michigan

Communication: Communication Skills – Persuasion and Motivation by Alison

Entrepreneurship: How to Build a Startup by Udacity

Humanities: Introduction to Digital Humanities by Harvard University

Languages: Basic Spanish 1: Getting Started by the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia

Ready to start developing your skills? Let’s take a look at the best courses below.

Free Fundamental Marketing Courses
1. Inbound Marketing Certification by HubSpot Academy

Length: 4-5 Hours
From attracting leads to engaging prospects and delighting customers, this course covers the fundamentals of what inbound marketing is all about. It’s ideal for new graduates who’d like to go into marketing or for any experienced professional who’s considering shifting into a marketing career. It will give you the foundational knowledge you need to move into any marketing job.
Recommended for:

New marketing professionals
Experienced non-marketing professionals shifting into marketing

2. Build Your Web Presence by Google Digital Garage
Length: 30-60 Minutes
Learn the basics of websites, local business listings, review sites, social media, mobile apps, and more. This course is a helpful introduction to making your business visible online without delving too deeply into the specifics. We recommend it for small business owners and marketers just starting out in their careers.
Recommended for:

Small business owners
New marketing professionals at small businesses

3. Google Analytics for Beginners by Google Analytics Academy
Length: 4-6 Hours
This course shows new Google Analytics users how to create an account, implement a tracking code, and set up data filters. You’ll learn how to navigate the Google Analytics interface and reports, and set up dashboards and shortcuts. We recommend this course for both beginner and advanced marketers who need a refresher on Google Analytics or need more advanced instruction.
Recommended for:

Marketing professionals at every level

Free Content Marketing Courses
4. Content Marketing Certification by HubSpot Academy

Length: 6-7 Hours
Power your business with remarkable content. This course will teach you how storytelling, content creation, repurposing, and promotion come together to build a content marketing machine that grows your business, and your career. While every professional will benefit from taking the content marketing certification course, it’s especially recommended for new content writers and content managers.
Recommended for:

New content marketers, content writers, and content managers
Experienced non-marketing professionals moving into a content marketing role

5. Viral Marketing and How to Create Contagious Content by Coursera
Length: 4-5 Hours
Ever wondered why some things become popular, while other things don’t? This course explains how things catch on, and can help you apply those ideas to become a more effective marketer. This is a good course to take if you feel your marketing efforts aren’t yielding the results you want or aren’t becoming as widespread as you’d like.
While individual contributors would benefit from taking this course, marketing managers who have a hand on ideation and strategy would most benefit from the knowledge they gain.
Recommended for:

Mid- and senior-level marketers with a hand on strategy and ideation
Brand managers of all levels

6. Online Video Marketing Course by HubSpot Academy
Length: 2 Hours
This online video marketing training will teach you how to get started with online video marketing to better attract, engage, and delight your audience. It’s an excellent course for individual contributors with a hand on video creation and content creation. Managers would also benefit from taking the first course, “How to Create a Successful Video Marketing Strategy,” if they’ve not yet established a video marketing strategy.
Recommended for:

Video and content marketers getting started with video marketing
Marketing managers who want to start a video marketing strategy

Free Social Media Marketing Courses
7. Social Media Marketing Course by HubSpot Academy

Length: 4-5 Hours
This course provides you with everything you need to build a social media strategy — including tools to help you attract new customers, build loyalty, and shape a positive conversation around your business. It’s a great fit for marketers of all levels who need a strong foundation on social media marketing.
Recommended for:

Marketers of all levels delving into social media marketing
Business owners who want to create a social media marketing strategy

Once you’ve completed this overarching social media marketing course, you can then jump into the following channel-specific courses.

Facebook Marketing (~1.5 Hours): Facebook is a huge platform, ripe with marketing opportunity. Learn how to develop an effective marketing strategy using Facebook that covers all the bases.

Twitter for Business Marketing (~2 Hours): You know Twitter beyond the basics, and now it’s time to bump it up a notch. In this course, you’ll learn the advancements in building and launching a successful Twitter marketing strategy.

Instagram Marketing (~2.5 Hours): An Instagram marketing and advertising strategy is one of the most powerful ways to connect with customers and drive marketing impact. This course takes you from the beginning to the end of planning an Instagram marketing strategy.

YouTube Marketing (1.5-2 Hours): HubSpot’s course in YouTube Marketing is an in-depth, expansive set of tools and lessons that offer successful strategies to grow a monetized, optimized YouTube channel. It’s ideal for social media managers and anyone who would be creating videos for your company’s YouTube channel.

8. Introduction to Social Media Strategy by Skillshare
Length: 30-60 Minutes
Whether you’re looking to foster brand awareness, increase website traffic, or drive sales, this course can teach you how to craft a social media strategy to achieve your goals on Facebook and Twitter. From finding your voice to buying paid advertising, this course walks you through a proven process for creating custom social strategies. It’s ideal for new marketers who need a quick refresher or overview.
Note: Skillshare offers community members free access to its courses for 14 days — you’ll need to sign up as a member to access the class for free.
Recommended for:

Marketers of all levels delving into social media marketing
Business owners who want to create a social media marketing strategy

9. Video Storytelling for Social Media by Social Creators
Length: 5 Days
This crash course is set up like a challenge. The goal? Help you make high-quality videos with your iPhone or Android device so you can start vlogging and share engaging videos on your social media accounts. It’s ideal if you’re planning to market your brand or business over video-based channels such as Instagram or TikTok, and it’s specially a good fit if you don’t want to spend money on expensive video gear.
Recommended for:

Video marketers and content creators wanting to create storytelling videos
Freelance bloggers and content creators wanting to create more videos

10. How to Create an Instagram Content Plan by Later
Length: 1-1.5 Hours
This video series is a great introduction to the Instagram world. You’ll learn how to gain more followers, build a community, and create content that drives true engagement. It’s ideal for you if you’re interested in finding influencer partners on Instagram and build a visual identity.
Recommended for:

Marketers at small businesses without an Instagram strategy
Freelance bloggers and online content creators

11. Free Social Media Analytics Course for Beginners by Quintly
Length: 10-11 Hours
This class will cover the basic principles of social media analytics, and is helpful both for beginners and for marketers who want to refresh their knowledge. It aims to help anybody involved in social media analytics, whether you’re working for a brand, an agency, or the media. We highly recommend this course for new social media marketing managers who don’t know how to measure analytics for their company’s social channels.
Recommended for:

New social media marketing managers who are unfamiliar with social media analytics
Any marketer who’s interested in specializing in social media marketing

12. Twitter Flight School by Twitter
Length: Various
Twitter Flight School isn’t so much as a course as it is a school for both advanced and beginner Twitter marketers. Whether you’re a social media coordinator or the director of social media marketing at an enterprise firm, Twitter Flight School’s courses will help you build the knowledge and skills you need to scale and improve your Twitter marketing strategy.
The courses have been designed to help you level up your expertise with advertising on Twitter, so that you can succeed. We don’t recommend it if you’re not planning to extensively use Twitter as a marketing channel.
Recommended for:

New and experienced social media professionals who are planning to use Twitter extensively
Any marketer or professional who wants to specialize in Twitter marketing

Free Email Marketing Courses
13. Cold Email Masterclass by Mailshake

Length: Self-Paced
Whether you use cold emails to connect with influencers, build your personal brand, find mentors, or grow your network, there’s no underestimating their power. Sujan Patel reveals eight lessons that will show you how to turn theory into practice, tapping into existing cold email best practices and deploying them in a way that’s both efficient and effective.
It’s not applicable just to cold emails, either. You can use the course to learn email writing best practices that will serve you as you market to leads and prospects who’ve subscribed to your email list.
Recommended for:

Any marketer or professional who’s planning to email leads or other professionals in their network
Any professional who wants to improve their cold emailing skills

14. Email Marketing Certification by HubSpot Academy
Length: ~3.5 Hours
Email marketing is a necessity to learn. By completing HubSpot’s course, you’ll walk away with expansive knowledge in all things email marketing, from templates to testing, as well as a certification to add to your resume. This is an excellent follow-up to the Cold Email Masterclass, allowing you to specialize specifically in email marketing. You’ll learn to segment your user base and optimize email deliverability rates.
Recommended for:

Marketers of all levels who are planning to do email marketing

Free SEM Courses
15. Google Ads by Google Skillshop

Length: Various
If you don’t know where to start with Google’s ad products, Google’s Skillshop for Google Ads may be for you. You’ll figure out where to get started in mini, bite-sized lessons or jump straight into the certification process. Topics include programmatic ads, search ads, discovery ads, and video ads. If you already have experience with Google Ads, you can forgo taking the courses and instead apply your existing knowledge using a series of exercises.
Recommended for:

Marketers of all levels who want to further their knowledge or practice their existing Google Ads knowledge
Business owners who want to learn how to set up Google Ads

16. SEO Certification Course by HubSpot Academy
Length: 2-3 Hours
Interested in building traffic, but unsure about a successful strategy? Our SEO crash course eliminates the pains of navigating a concrete SEO strategy and provides you with the tools to implement a winning one. Because it starts from a basic starting point, we recommend it for beginner marketers only. If you’ve been in a digital marketing role for a few years, chances are you’re familiar with most of this information.
Recommended for:

New marketers who want to learn the basics of SEO and improve their SEO skills
Experienced non-marketing professionals who want to learn SEO

Free Sales Courses
17. Inbound Sales Certification by HubSpot Academy

Length: 2-2.5 Hours
In this certification course, you’ll learn how to grow your sales pipeline, close more leads, and grow your career. It’s ideal for new sales professionals or experienced salespeople who need a refresher or formal training in core sales skills.
Recommended for:

New and aspiring salespeople
Experienced sales professionals who need a refresher in sales fundamentals

Once you complete this initial certification, you can then dive into more specific topics such as sales enablement and management training.

Sales Enablement Certification (Length: 4-5 Hours): In this self-paced online course and exam, you’ll learn how to align marketing and sales for optimal efficiency. You’ll learn to bridge the gap between marketing and sales teams with strategies and tactics from sales leaders.

Sales Management Training (Length: 3 Hours): Learn how to define your target market, create a scalable sales process, and build training, coaching, hiring, and on-boarding programs to help your sales team grow.

18. The Art of Sales: Mastering the Selling Process Specialization by Northwestern University
Length: 6 Months
This course is designed to make you more effective and efficient as you pursue your sales goals. Understand how to stand out in the crowd, attract customers, and build support for initiatives within your company. Plus, the most important art in sales is knowing how to get a “yes.” This course teaches this, as well as methods to improve efficiency as a salesperson.
Recommended for:

Sales managers who want to improve the performance of their sales team
Experienced salespeople looking to level-up their skills

19. The SMART Sales System by SalesScripter
Length: 16-18 Hours
This program is designed to give you a strategy-backed process. It covers building a value proposition, asking the right questions, closing more effectively, and more. You’ll sell more, and even better — selling will become more fun. After you’ve watched all of the videos in the training course, you’ll have an overview of the most important topics in sales.
Recommended for:

New sales professionals trying to get a high-level overview of the most important sales topics
Sales managers who want to level-up their team

Free Ecommerce Courses
20. How to Start a Dropshipping Business by Shopify Academy

Length: 1.5-2 Hours
Dropshipping is a business model where you don’t keep any products in stock at your own warehouses, but rather ship them directly from the manufacturers’ or suppliers’ warehouses. It’s one of the best ways to start an ecommerce business with few overhead and startup costs. In this course, Corey Ferreira shares his methods for finding a product to sell, testing its popularity, and building an unforgettable brand.
Recommended for:

Anyone who’d like to start an ecommerce business with a dropshipping model

21. Product Photography for Ecommerce by Shopify Academy
Length: 2 Hours
In this course, you’ll learn how to set up your own home studio and take product photos with your smartphone or digital SLR. This is an ideal course for anyone who’s planning to sell the products they make in their online store. If you’re starting a dropshipping business, you can skip taking this course.
Recommended for:

Ecommerce sellers who need photos of the products they sell
Marketers at small ecommerce businesses

22. Ecommerce Marketing Training by HubSpot Academy
Length: 30-60 Minutes
If you work for an ecommerce business and want to implement an inbound marketing strategy, this is a good course for you. In this short crash course, you’ll learn the basics of selling more online, and how that fits into an inbound strategy. We recommend taking this course once you’ve got the basics down, such as how to run a dropshipping business.
Recommended for:

Ecommerce sellers who want to grow their business

23. Email Marketing for Ecommerce by MailChimp
Length: ~30 Minutes
Learn how to use automation, optimization, and personalization to boost your business through email. Once you’ve got the leads from your ecommerce website, it’s time to nurture them through email marketing. This course will run through the entire process. Due to its inclusion of advanced marketing topics such as A/B testing and segmentation, we recommend it for experienced marketers at an ecommerce retailer.
Recommended for:

Experienced marketers working at ecommerce businesses
Freelance marketers with ecommerce clients

Free Coding & Developer Courses
24. Intro to HTML and CSS by Udacity

Length: ~3 Weeks
In this course, you’ll learn the fundamentals of HTML and CSS, two core web development languages, along with best practices and professional problem-solving techniques using Developer Tools. This online coding lesson offers easy-to-follow instructions, interactive quizzes, and a tested curriculum that can help anyone learn how to code.
Recommended for:

Marketers, salespeople, and freelancers wanting to learn HTML and CSS

Udacity offers a variety of other courses that can teach you to code. Once you’ve covered HTML and CSS, you can then dive into:

Intro to JavaScript (Length: ~2 Weeks): After HTML and CSS, JavaScript is an essential language to learn if you’re planning to create high-performing websites. Udacity’s Intro to JavaScript course will cover all the basics you need to know.

Intro to Python Programming (Length: ~5 Weeks): Get to grips with key computer science concepts in this introductory Python course. You’ll learn by doing, and will build your own search engine and social network.

Self-Driving Fundamentals: Featuring Apollo (Length: ~4 Weeks): Through this course, you’ll be able to identify key parts of self-driving cars and get to know Apollo architecture. You’ll be able to utilize Apollo HD Map, localization, perception, prediction, planning, and control, and start the learning path of building a self-driving car. We recommend taking this course for fun.

25. Learn Java by Codecademy
Length: 25 Hours
Codecademy offers an excellent repository of coding courses. If you didn’t like Udemy’s HTML and CSS class, we highly recommend learning it from Codeacademy instead. One of the languages you can learn is Java, which can be used to create web applications, software-as-a-service products, and mobile apps.
Because it’s a more advanced programming topic, we only recommend it if you’re planning to start a computer science career or develop your own web app or SaaS.
Recommended for:

Any professional who’s interested in shifting into a developer role or code their own app

26. Introduction to iOS App Development, Xcode, and Interface Builder by Devslopes
Length: 10-15 Hours
This iPhone app development course will give you all you need to create your very own iOS app from the ground up. You’ll specifically learn how to create an app using XCode, Apple’s iOS app builder, and Interface Builder, which is a feature within Xcode. With clear video tutorials that are easy to follow, this course will get you up-to-date with the latest in iPhone app development trends.
Recommended for:

Any professional who’s interested in coding their own iOS app

27. Algorithms, Part I by Princeton University
Length: ~53 Hours
This course by Princeton University covers the essential information that every serious programmer needs to know about algorithms and data structures, with emphasis on applications and scientific performance analysis of Java implementations. Because algorithms are a more advanced coding topic, we only recommend it if you’re planning to shift into a programming career. If that doesn’t sound like you, start with Udemy’s HTML and CSS course instead.
Recommended for:

Any professional who’s interested in shifting into a programming career

28. Machine Learning by Stanford University
Length: ~60 Hours
The description of this course reads, “Machine learning is the science of getting computers to act without being explicitly programmed.” In other words, machine learning allows computers to act based on prior user input. Speech recognition and self-driving cars are examples of machine learning. If you want to create a web or mobile application that uses machine learning to improve the user experience, we recommend this course. This is an advanced coding topic that’s only recommended for current programmers.
Recommended for:

Programmers who want to get foundational knowledge in machine learning

Free Personal & Professional Development Courses
29. Conquering the Fear of Public Speaking by Udemy

Length: 30-60 Minutes
We all fear public speaking — or, at the very least, feel a measure of anxiety whenever we have to give a speech or a presentation. This course will teach you techniques to overcome the fear of public speaking, as well as how to avoid feeling nervous before speaking publicly. It’s a short course, too.
Recommended for:

Anyone who wants to overcome the fear of public speaking

30. Learning How to Learn: Powerful Mental Tools to Help You Master Tough Subjects by Deep Teaching Solutions
Length: ~15 Hours
Whether you’re a student or a young professional, learning how to digest and access information is a key skill to succeed at both school and work. This delightfully “meta” course teaches you how to learn new subjects and retain information.
Recommended for:

Students of all levels who want to get better at retaining information
Professionals of all levels who want to learn how to retain information

31. Successful Negotiation: Essential Strategies and Skills by University of Michigan
Length: ~17 Hours
In this course created by the University of Michigan, you’ll learn about and practice four key steps to a successful negotiation. While negotiation skills may be most often used at work, and specifically during a sales call or prior to signing an employment contract, it can also be used in your day-to-day and personal interactions.
Recommended for:

Professionals of all levels

32. The Manager’s Toolkit: A Practical Guide to Managing People at Work by University of London
Length: ~29 Hours
This course gives you a practical guide to managing people at work. It doesn’t matter whether you are a first-time manager in a shop or a middle manager in an office environment — the same skills apply to every workplace.
Recommended for:

Mid- to senior-level professionals moving into a managerial role

33. Career Success Specialization by University of California, Irvine
Length: ~2 Hours / Week (11 Months)
This series of courses will teach you project management skills, communication skills, time management skills, and financial skills — all of which are needed to succeed in today’s workforce. You’ll also learn business writing and negotiation skills. We recommend it for new graduates or anyone who’s still in college.
Recommended for:

New college grads or current college students

34. The Science of Happiness by University of California, Berkeley
Length: 4-5 Hours / Week (11 Weeks)
Feeling down because of the pandemic? We’re right there with you. This course by UC Berkeley will walk you through the concept of happiness from a scientific and psychological standpoint, and give you practical tips for boosting happiness when you’re feeling blue.
Recommended for:

Anyone who’d like to improve their happiness in work and life

35. The Science of Wellbeing by Yale University
Length: ~19 Hours
The purpose of this course is to not only learn what psychological research says about what makes us happy, but also to put those strategies into practice. It’s an excellent follow-up to UC Berkeley’s course above. It’ll help you rewire the way you think about happiness.
Recommended for:

Anyone who’d like to improve their happiness in work and life

Free Design Courses
36. Graphic Design Course by HubSpot Academy

Length: 30-60 Minutes
Need to become a graphic designer in less than an hour? This course by HubSpot Academy offers basic concepts in graphic design to create designs that accurately represent your brand. You can then translate these concepts to any tool of your choosing, including Adobe Illustrator, Canva, and even PowerPoint.
Recommended for:

Non-design professionals who need to learn the basics of graphic design

37. Learn Adobe Illustrator From Scratch by EduOnix
Length: 10-11 Hours
Adobe Illustrator is one of the best tools you can use for your graphic design projects. In this course by EduOnix, you’’ll learn how to master Adobe Illustrator with real world examples. We only recommend it if you have an active Adobe Creative Cloud subscription.
Recommended for:

Designers who need to learn how to use Adobe Illustrator quickly

Free Business & Finance Courses
38. The Fundamental of Business by Smartly

Length: 2-3 Hours / Week (6-8 Weeks)
Designed with input from business professors, Smartly’s Fundamentals of Business course combines a self-guided software approach with collaborative online case studies and group projects. It’s a flexible yet structured course for the modern professional who wants to learn the basics of business.
Recommended for:

Early-career professionals who want to start a business or move into executive roles

31. Stock Market Investing for Beginners by Udemy
Length: 1.5-2 Hours
Learn the basics of the stock market through comprehensive, interesting, and fun lectures. This is an essential course for anyone who’d like to invest and diversify their portfolio.
Recommended for:

Anyone who wants to start investing

32. Corporate Finance by New York University
Length: Self-Paced
New York University’s Corporate Finance course is a big-picture class. It looks at the financial principles that govern how businesses raise funds, invest those funds in assets and projects, and return those funds to investors. This would be a helpful course for both entrepreneurs and professionals considering starting a career in corporate finance.
Recommended for:

Entrepreneurs
Professionals moving into executive roles
Professionals interested in shifting into corporate finance

Free Writing Online Courses
33. Good with Words: Writing and Editing by University of Michigan
Length: 18-20 Hours
Good with Words: Writing and Editing prepares you to write strong prose from a grammatical, technical, and syntactical standpoint. This is an excellent option for anyone who’d like to strengthen their writing skills without necessarily diving into additional topics such as marketing or essay writing. It’s a great foundational course for any type of writing discipline, including fiction writing.
To take this course for free, click the “Enroll for Free” button. In the pop-up, click “Audit the course.” This will give you the option to view the course materials without paying for the certificate.
Recommended for:

Any professional who writes emails, social posts, articles, and web pages in their role

34. Business Blogging by HubSpot Academy
Length: 2 Hours
Business blogging is more than just writing and publishing content in the hopes you’ll attract customers. In this course, you’ll learn how to craft a blogging strategy that drives business growth, create quality blog content that customers love, and build a guest blogging strategy that’s powered by SEO.
Recommended for:

Mid- to senior-level marketers who have a hand on their company’s marketing strategy

Free Communication Online Courses
35. Communication Skills – Persuasion and Motivation by NPTEL
Length: 1.5-3 Hours
This course will introduce you to essential communication skills that aid persuasion, guide you through the differences between persuasion and manipulation, and show you how to use strong communication to motivate the people around you. These abilities will be a great boost for both your professional and personal relationships.
Recommended for:

Anyone who’d like to improve their communication skills

36. Conflict Management Specialization by University of California, Irvine
Length: 4 Months
With this series of courses by the University of California Irvine, you’ll learn listening skills, verbal and non-verbal communication skills, and how to assemble a conflict management plan likely to yield positive resolutions. While anyone would benefit from taking this course, it’s specially recommended for professionals in people-management roles.
Recommended for:

Mid- to senior-level professionals who manage teams or other people
Anyone who’d like to improve their conflict management skills

Free Entrepreneurship Online Courses
37. How to Build a Startup by Udacity
Length: ~1 Month
In this course, Steve Blank provides insight into the key steps needed to build a successful start-up. You’ll learn the various types of business models, the parts of a value proposition, the concept of customer segmentation, and more. This is a top-to-bottom course that will give you the foundations you need for starting a business.
Recommended for:

First-time entrepreneurs

38. Business Strategy Specialization by University of Virginia
Length: ~6 Months
Develop your ability to think strategically, analyze your competition, recommend a positioning strategy, and create value. In this course, you’ll explore the underlying theory and foundation of a successful business strategy, and gain the tools you need to understand that strategy.
Recommended for:

Entrepreneurs with an existing business they’d like to grow

39. Marketing Fundamentals: Who Is Your Customer? by Babson College
Length: 3-4 Weeks
Marketing Fundamentals: Who Is Your Customer? will help you discover how to acquire the right customers and grow your startup business. While it’s branded as a marketing course, it’s designed for entrepreneurs who don’t know how to begin marketing their new product or service, and who want to understand their target market. That said, it’s also a great course to take if you’re interested in going into marketing.
Recommended for:

Entrepreneurs without a marketing background
Professionals with an interest in marketing

Free Humanities Online Courses
40. Introduction to Digital Humanities by Harvard University
Length: ~7 Weeks
The term “humanities” encompasses a wide variety of disciplines and fields. Regardless of your favorite humanities subject, learning how to carry out research and visualize the subject using digital tools is essential if you’d like to progress in your career.
Recommended for:

Any professional who carries out research in the humanities

41. Modern Masterpieces of World Literature by Harvard University
Length: ~8 Weeks
Explore some of the world’s most salient literary masterpieces in Harvard’s Modern Masterpieces of World Literature course. You’ll get a taste not only of the English literary tradition, but of others around the globe, too.
Recommended for:

Any professional who’s interested in global literature

42. Global History Lab by Princeton University
Length: ~3 Months
If you’re in need of a history course, consider Princeton University’s Global History Lab. We recommend it for beginners who want an overview of history from the 14th century up until now. While the course is sometimes archived, you may be able to access it live and discuss the course materials with other current students.
Recommended for:

Any professional who’s interested in history

43. Gender and Sexuality: Applications in Society by the University of British Columbia
Length: ~6 Weeks
If you’re interested in studying gender from a theoretical and epistemological standpoint, Gender and Sexuality: Applications in Society is the course you need to take. It will give you an overarching overview of gender and sexuality through a variety of perspectives and lenses.
Recommended for:

Any professional who’s interested in gender and sexuality

Free Language Online Courses
44. Basic strongish 1: Getting Started by the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia
Length: ~7 Weeks
Learning a new language is always a worthwhile investment, especially if you’re a global marketer or salesperson. This basic strongish course by the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia will help you establish a foundation for further learning.
Recommended for:

Any professional who’s planning to use strongish at work or for leisure

45. Mandarin Chinese Level 1 by MandarinX
Length: ~6 Weeks
If you’re planning to expand your business into the Asian market, then learning Mandarin is key, given that Mandarin is the most spoken language in Asia. It’s also a popular language for business. Mandarin Chinese Level 1 will give you the foundation you need to take more advanced Mandarin courses.
Recommended for:

Any professional who’s planning to use Mandarin at work or for leisure

46. Getting Started with French 1 by The Open University
Length: ~6 Weeks
Have you been wanting to learn French? Getting Started with French 1 will teach you the basic phrases you need to interact with others in a French-speaking environment. We highly recommend taking all of the courses in this series as a precursor for more advanced language study.
Recommended for:

Any professional who’s planning to use French at work or for leisure

Learning is an investment that continues to pay.
Benjamin Franklin once said, “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”
That’s never been truer than it is today. With new technologies emerging at breakneck speeds, there’s a palpable pressure to continuously upskill.
We hope you found the online business courses you need for the next step in your career — whether you’re looking for a promotion or a sidestep into an entirely new field.
Whatever your reason, learning new skills will give you a competitive advantage in today’s rapidly changing workplace. Plus, the more you invest in your learning, the better you’ll grow.
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Editor’s note: This post was originally published in January 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Sometimes employees stay at a company for many years, loving the work they do and feeling like they’re exactly where they’re meant to be. Conversely, some employees leave and pursue other opportunities.
Whatever the case is for your business, you likely want to retain all of your employees, whether they’ve been with you for ten years or just started last quarter.
In this post, learn what employee retention is and discover high-impact strategies that will help you satisfy your employees and keep a low retention rate.

What is employee retention?
Employee retention is a business’s ability to keep their employees and reduce employee turnover, which is when employees leave their jobs for other opportunities or reasons.
Increasing employee retention directly impacts business success, as having more employees or the right amount of employees makes it easier to reach business goals.
Employee retention is expressed as a percentage, and below we’ll discuss how it’s measured.
How to Calculate Employee Retention Rate
The formula to calculate your employee retention rate is rather straightforward. You simply divide your total number of remaining employees during a set period by the total number of employees you began with during that same period and multiply the number by 100.

For example, let’s say you began Q1 with 43 employees and finished Q1 with 39 employees. Your equation would look like this:
(39 / 43) x 100
And your employee retention rate would be 90.69%, or 90.7% rounded to the nearest 10th.
Why is employee retention rate important?
Employee retention rate is important because it helps you understand how your business fares in keeping employees and whether or not there need to be improvements to your employee retention strategies.
If your rate tells you that you have lower retention, your business likely spends more money hiring new employees than helping existing employees succeed. In fact, according to Gallup, the cost of replacing employees can range from .5 to 2x times an employee’s annual salary.
How to Improve Employee Retention
Recent HubSpot Data found that marketers reported that they believed that the reasons for high employee turnover were a lack of work-life balance, lack of flexible schedule, or lack of career growth opportunities.

Data Source
Improving employee retention means reducing employee turnover and continuing to meet overall business goals that contribute to success. It usually begins with hiring the right employee and additional strategies we’ll discuss below.
Employee Retention Strategies
1. Use comprehensive hiring practices.
As mentioned above, employee retention often begins by simply hiring the right people. And, the best way to hire the right people is to have a recruitment process that ensures you’re hiring the right people.
It’s best not to subject candidates to a long and drawn-out process as it may send them elsewhere. More so, going through interviewing in a way that helps you best understand the candidate and if they possess the right skills for the role or will be able to develop them on the job.
2. Strive to create supportive work environments.
Employees need to work in environments where they feel supported; a key to retaining employees. Therefore, strive to create an environment where employees flourish and perform to their best abilities.
Some of the best ways to do so are by providing adequate on-the-job training, practicing effective and clear communication, and offering benefits and perks.
3. Provide proper training and development.
Training and development are crucial to employee retention.
If employees aren’t adequately trained for their jobs, they may feel underprepared for their work or as if they aren’t performing well. If employees feel like they can’t do their job, they may pursue opportunities that offer comprehensive onboarding and on-the-job training.
4. Always communicate.
Communication is a pillar of employee retention. When people understand what is expected of them and there are open lines of communication, they’re more likely to feel prepared for their jobs and ask questions if they are confused.
For example, if you’re a people manager, saying “You need to improve next quarter” is less effective than saying, “Next quarter I’d like to see improvement in XYZ areas, and some ways to ensure you’re meeting targets in those areas is to do XYZ.”
Communication is also critical for higher-level executives, as employees want to hear from business leaders about how the business is faring and how their job duties relate to overall success.
5. Offer benefits and perks.  
Benefits and perks are a significant part of employee retention. Offering them shows employees that you genuinely care about their wellbeing, and it can give them a sense of security about their lives. For example, benefits like health insurance ensure employees can find adequate care if they get sick.
Added perks can be fitness discounts, access to corporate deals, or maybe even providing coffee in the workplace. If you’re hoping to include perks directly related to employee desires, ask employees for feedback about what they’re interested in having offered.
6. Create career development plans.
Working with employees to create a path for development at work is a great way to encourage retention. It gives people a goal to work towards and can be a significant motivating factor.
Quarterly, bi-annual, or annual career chats where managers sit down with employees and discuss where they want to be, how they can get there, and what opportunities are open to them is a great way to practice this.
7. Provide effective manager training.
Employees sometimes leave their jobs because they don’t feel supported by their managers. To combat this, ensure that your business invests in effective training for managers so they can effectively support employees and their development.
Effective training also ensures managers are equipped to have tough conversations with employees when necessary, like letting them know that they need to further develop specific skills or make changes to their job processes.
All in all, people want to feel that their managers care about them, and proper training can ensure that this happens.
8. Create internal recognition programs.
A great way for employees to feel seen and appreciated at work is to have internal award programs, where employees are recognized for their hard work. You’ll show employees that you value what they do for your business, and all of their coworkers can be aware of their impact.
In practice, this can look like a peer recognition program where coworkers nominate other team members or a manager nominated award.
9. Support employees in educational endeavors.
One reason employees leave companies is to go back to school and continue their education.
Instead of losing employees, you can consider supporting their educational development while they remain on the job. For example, some companies pay for or reimburse employees for academic courses they complete while still working for the company.
10. Encourage skill development.
You want employees to receive the training they need to succeed at their jobs. Still, you should also encourage employees to develop additional skills that will aid in their professional development. By doing so, employees can progress into new roles within your organization instead of seeking opportunities elsewhere.
For example, say an employee is stuck in a rut where they feel like they already know how to do their job but are desiring to do something more. If there are no opportunities at their current workplace to learn new skills, they may seek an opportunity at another company that will allow them to learn new skills.
Instead, if that employee can develop additional skills while remaining on the job, they may be more likely to stay. For example, employees can propose new projects within their team that will place them outside of their comfort zone and require new skills, or take on a workplace opportunity that requires new skills, like organizing a speaker series and learning about recruiting talent.
11. Show employees how their work affects customers.
A great way to help employees see that their job means something is to ensure they know how their work affects customers. This could look like highlighting customer success stories or case studies where employees can truly see the fruits of their efforts and how a customer has succeeded because of the work they’ve done.
Conversely, when employees don’t feel like their work means something, or they don’t understand how they can help the customer, they may be more likely to pursue an opportunity where they clearly see how they make an impact.
12. Offer fair compensation.
A significant reason employees leave is that they feel they aren’t adequately compensated for their work. Case in point — LinkedIn’s Global Talent Trends Report from 2020 found that companies rated highly in providing fair compensation had a 56% lower rate of attrition.
Therefore, a best practice for increasing employee retention is to ensure that you’re fairly compensating employees, starting with baseline salary. You can also consider offering raises, promotions, or taking on new responsibilities.
13. Always provide actionable feedback.
Employees want to understand their performance, so providing feedback is critical. They’ll know areas of high performance, as well as specific skills that need improvement.
Having this feedback shows employees that you care about their performance and how it affects the company. When feedback is actionable, you show that you care about their development and aren’t just instructing them to do better with no additional advice.
Employees that aren’t given feedback are left confused about their performance and unsure if they need to make changes, lacking guidance, and may go somewhere else where they understand more about how they’re fairing.
14. Encourage a proper work-life balance.
Employees who feel they’re expected to be in work mode 24/7 will be stressed and likely develop feelings of burnout. They may also decide to pursue work elsewhere, where they know that it is encouraged to live a life outside of work.
Instead, encourage people to have a work-life balance and set boundaries. For example, maybe you say that people should set time frames in which they will be doing work, and then times where they will put everything aside and pick it up tomorrow.
Promoting this balance can also look like encouraging employees to take time off when necessary or even taking breaks during the workday.
15. Practice effective change management.
All workplaces have to deal with change, and sometimes that change can be unexpected.
The COVID-19 pandemic is an excellent example of practicing effective change management. Millions of people worldwide were suddenly expected to pivot to different working styles, and change management was necessary to prepare workers for these changes and create a smooth transition.
Being able to reassure employees when changes are happening, both big and small, can help assuage any fears and anxieties they may have about doing their jobs. Without this, employees may feel they are being left behind and seek opportunities elsewhere.
16. Always emphasize teamwork.
Rarely do people work in silos, so you should always encourage employees to work together as a team so people feel as though they aren’t working independently to help solve company needs.
Encourage employees to get to know their coworkers, contribute in group settings, and collaborate when necessary. You can also encourage employees to turn to each other for advice and assistance before reaching out to a manager.
17. Offer flexible work options.
LinkedIn’s Global Talent Report names four P’s of employee experience: people, place, product, and process. Place, concerning employee retention, means where people work, whether physically in the office, are remote, or a combination of the two.
This means that a critical aspect of employee retention is offering employees to choose a preferred mode of work, whether that be entirely in-person at an office, a hybrid option between working at home and going into the office, or completely remote.
By doing this, employees can pick a mode of work that speaks best to their needs. For example, some people are caregivers to family and friends, so having the opportunity to work from home and continue to provide care can be the difference between retaining them or losing them to a company with more flexibility.
18. Create an inclusive work environment.
An inclusive workspace is critical to retention, as employees who feel safe and valued in the workplace are more likely to stay within your company.
This means that it’s important to champion diversity, inclusion, and belonging at work so that all individual employees feel recognized, seen, and cared for by your business. You can do things like:

Create diversity programming,
Create employee resource groups so employees can connect with others in the workplace that share similar identities,
Create an inclusive language guide for your business to refer to to ensure that writing is inclusive of everyone.

Companies that don’t practice diversity see its effects in their retention — for example, nearly 50% of people of color have quit a job because of experiencing or witnessing discrimination at work.
Retaining your employees often begins by hiring the right person. But even then, it’s essential to continuously work to make employees feel safe, comfortable, and able to succeed at their jobs.
If you’ve calculated your business’s business retention rate and found that you want to raise it, leverage the tips on this list to begin lowering your turnover rate.