Google Digital Garage is an online qualification whereby you can learn about different areas of marketing, for free. As a digital marketing student, it was one of my goals this year to complete Google Digital Garage and having completed it, I wanted to write a review for you. In this post therefore, I shall cover everything I loved and hated about Google Digital Garage.
What I loved
Easy To Consume
Arguably the best thing about Google Digital Garage is how easy it is to consume. The whole course is split into 26 modules with each module having about 5 or 6 lessons. These lessons are videos that are only 5 or so minutes long which makes them really easy to complete in small chunks. You don’t have to sit down and dedicate hours to completing the course. You can just complete a couple of lessons at a time while you eat your breakfast or while you’re on the train which makes it really manageable to do.
Knowledge Checks
After every lesson is a knowledge check: a few questions just to make sure you understood the video. I found these really useful to consolidate what you’ve just learnt. Thankfully though, these questions don’t just repeat exactly what was already said. Instead, they relate it to an example scenario which makes you actually think about the answer, rather than just repeat what you’ve been told.
Real Life Examples
As mentioned in the previous point, throughout Google Digital Garage is the use of real life examples. There are interviews with business owners and examples given from a range of sectors like a bakery or a plumber. I thought it was particularly interesting to see how the different digital techniques can be applied across lots of examples.
Certificate To Prove You’ve Completed It
Lastly, I really like the fact that the course counts towards a genuine, recognised certification. You receive a certificate at the end of the course so you can prove to future employers that you have completed the course and have a good understanding of digital marketing. At the university, we had an employer who are a digital agency come in and explicitly say they wouldn’t consider anyone who didn’t have the qualification. That was really interesting to me and should absolutely be something to consider if you are also a student.
What I Hated
The Videos Are Slow
There was only one thing that I disliked about Google Digital Garage: The speed of the videos! I personally found the speed at which the people spoke on the videos to be really quite frustrating. Although this is may be useful for beginners who want to take notes, I personally didn’t find it helpful. At all. I ended up speeding up the videos to 1.25x and sometimes 1.5x speed and could still understand everything they’re saying.
Just to quantify how much quicker this is, a module meant to take 35 minutes only took me 15. That was while pausing the videos to take notes and completing every video and knowledge check properly. Overall it made a significant difference to the time the course takes. While it says it takes 40 hours to complete, I would argue it is closer to 25 hours.
If you are a student yourself or a business owner, I would absolutely recommend completing Google Digital Garage. It’s a great way of supplementing your studies learning more about the importance of digital marketing. It’s a great qualification to have as an addition to your CV and equips you with an arsenal of skills you can apply to any business. Check out this video below to see if you think it is right for you.
Please leave a comment if you have any questions about Google Digital Garage and I hope you have a productive day.
