Online Internet Marketing Degree Programs & Schools

Internet Marketing Degree Information

Compared to other degrees in the business field, the demand for an Internet marketing degree has grown exponentially, spurred on by the growing influence of the Internet on business today. A typical Internet marketing degree program will incorporate elements of traditional marketing such as demographics, statistical analysis, writing and psychology, as well as core subjects designed to prepare the student for a career in integrated marketing such as the following:

• Business planning
• Search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM)
• Project management
• Market research and innovation
• Web design
• Work based learning
• Fundamentals of marketing

Online Internet Marketing Curriculum

Internet marketing students need to learn how to use technology to maximize the impact of marketing messages. Your courses should include graphic design, HTML programming, SEO, and user interface techniques. These courses are in addition to the standard marketing curricula that would include statistics, demographics, market research, psychology, project management, and the usual business courses of accounting, finance, and management.

Earning a Degree Online

It is easily possible to earn an Internet marketing degree either partially or completely online. It is also possible to get a great education with a blended program that combines both on campus and online courses. You can earn an Associate’s, Bachelor’s or even a Master’s degree through online education.

The minimum educational credential that potential employers expect is an Associate’s degree. You will find more opportunities for advancement if you earn a Bachelor’s. If your goal is to move into top management ranks, you should shoot for an MBA.

Bachelor’s

With an in Internet marketing degree earned from a top accredited school in tow, one will gain the relevant skills needed to:

• Analyze Internet consumer behavior
• Device, implement and track web campaigns designed to entice visitors
• Determine target audiences

You should consider going for a Bachelor’s degree if your goal is to work in a large organization. It will be easier to get hired at larger companies with a bachelor’s degree than with an Associate’s or certificate, regardless of how skilled you are at Internet marketing techniques.

A bachelor’s degree will take about 4 years to complete, although you can shorten the time by taking courses over the summer or other breaks. With an online program, the time to earn a degree is strictly up to you and the time you are able to devote to education.

Master’s

A Master’s degree in Internet marketing will usually be an MBA program. An MBA takes 18 months to 2 years or more to complete. Online programs may take longer, again depending on the course load you are comfortable with.

MBA programs often require both individual and team projects on a variety of topics. This helps prepare you for the real world environment where you will often be called on to collaborate on projects with other members of an organization.

You should expect more in-depth courses on economics, finance and statistics, as well as general management and employee motivation. These in-depth courses will help you to land a good job in management, where you may be responsible for budgeting and managing project results for a team.

Further Education

There are online and on campus programs that offer a PhD in marketing. You can concentrate on Internet marketing techniques in these programs. A PhD will provide an excellent credential for freelance work or if you want to join the top echelons of management in a large organization.

Most programs require an individual thesis or project as part of the curriculum.

Coursework

A degree in Internet marketing is similar to a general business or marketing degree, with the addition of courses focused on the specifics of reaching customers and prospects through the Web. Business courses will include accounting, economics, organizational behavior, finance and business law.

Internet marketing courses most likely will include HTML, graphic design, basics of user interface, and SEO techniques. You may also benefit in courses on business or creative writing.

Career Opportunities

Internet marketing requires familiarity with major search engines such as Google, and Bing to understand how they determine a particular web page’s position on the results page from a search. Higher positioning leads to higher traffic to the site and enables companies to capture more leads that may result in higher sales. As a result, individuals with SEO skills are in high demand in all organizations, as well as for freelance opportunities.

Nearly every organization requires a Web presence and so the opportunities for a person with this degree are nearly limitless. With an Associate’s degree you can qualify for an entry level job at a small to mid-sized commercial or industrial organization.

With a Bachelor’s degree or better, your ability to qualify for good jobs at large organizations improves. You may be able to easily move up the ranks to where you are managing teams or groups of people working on Internet marketing projects.

Freelance opportunities abound with knowledge of Internet marketing. You can create and maintain websites for companies that don’t have their own team in-house. You may also generate and execute email marketing campaigns and conduct market research on their behalf.

Earning Potential

According to information published on Payscale.com, salaries for Internet marketing jobs, including SEO managers, strategists and directors, ranges fro $25,000 to over $170,000 depending on the level of the job. This wide disparity in salaries directly reflects the increasing responsibilities as you move up the chain of command in this area, as well as years of experience on the job.