#019 Going Back to Basics: My Experience Getting Certified by Google in Digital Marketing

After five years of working and regularly engaging in digital marketing, one tends to become accustomed to the routine. With experience, two things often occur: the assumption that everyone knows the terms and concepts being used (the curse of knowledge), and the formation of habits, both good and bad. To counteract these tendencies, I recently made the decision to take a step back, shake off the rust, and revisit the basics of digital marketing taking the 40 hour long Fundamentals of Digital Marketing Certification by Google .

Getting certified by Google in digital marketing was a great opportunity for me to refresh my knowledge and re-learn new techniques to help businesses succeed online. What I realized during the course is that sometimes we get too caught up in the latest trends and forget about the basics. Here are some key insights I gained from the course that I believe can help businesses improve their marketing strategies.

First and foremost, SEO is still king. However, the new updates from Google for SEO will be challenging for businesses. But, it also gives an advantage for content written for humans, not algorithms. This means that the first priority needs to be "what adds value to the reader" instead of "what makes me rank better on Google." So, it's crucial to have a well-written and informative website that provides value to the audience.

Secondly, social media is trending upwards, and exploring the main channels is essential. But, on the other hand, niche platforms can be less costly and more productive to target specific audiences. So, it's important not to neglect niche platforms that can cater to a specific audience.

Lastly, analytics has the power to change things around for businesses, and its use is still not fully utilized. There is a huge horizon to be explored in marketing analytics that can help businesses make informed decisions about their marketing strategies.

In conclusion, getting the basics right is essential in digital marketing. Going back to the fundamentals can help businesses achieve their marketing goals. SEO, social media, and analytics are three key areas that businesses need to focus on to improve their marketing strategies. In a nut shell it's all about providing value to the audience and making informed decisions based on analytics.

I'm glad I took the rust out and went back to basics because I do believe a solid foundation leads to future success.