13 Best Marketing Software Certifications to Take in 2025
Marketing software certifications are valuable for professionals seeking to validate their expertise in digital marketing tools and advance their careers.
I’ve summarized the top marketing software certifications, including notes on who they’re best suited for and how they can help you take the next step in your career.
Best Marketing Software Certification Shortlist
- Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate — Best for data-driven marketing insights
- Google Digital Marketing & Ecommerce Professional Certificate — Best for comprehensive digital marketing strategies
- Hootsuite Social Media Marketing Certification — Best for social media management skills
- Salesforce Marketing Cloud Email Specialist Certification — Best for email marketing expertise
- Adobe Marketo Engage Certification — Best for marketing automation proficiency
- HubSpot Marketing Hub Software Certification — Best for inbound marketing tactics
- Oracle Eloqua Marketing 2025 Certified Implementation Professional — Best for enterprise-level marketing solutions
- Sprout Social Publishing Certification — Best for content scheduling and publishing
- Sprout Social Listening Certification — Best for social media listening and analytics
- Zendesk Explore CX Analyst — Best for customer experience analytics
- ActiveCampaign Certified Consultant — Best for email and automation strategies
- Klaviyo Product Certification — Best for personalized marketing campaigns
- Mailchimp Foundations Certification — Best for foundational email marketing skills
Overview of the Best Marketing Software Certifications
Below are my detailed summaries of my shortlist's best marketing software certifications.
1. Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate - Best for data-driven marketing insights
This certification focuses on cleaning, organizing, analyzing, and visualizing data using tools like spreadsheets, SQL, R, and Tableau. It emphasizes structured thinking, problem-solving, data integrity, and effective communication of analysis results, making it valuable for roles like SEO specialists and marketing managers. It also covers key areas such as search engine optimization, Google Analytics, and Google Ads to enhance data-driven decision-making.
Issued by: Google
Focus:
- Foundations of data and its ecosystem
- Making data-driven decisions
- Preparing data for exploration
- Cleaning and processing data
- Analyzing data to find insights
- Visualizing and sharing data effectively
- Data analysis using R programming
Prerequisites:
- Education: Not required
- Work Experience: Not required
- Other Certifications Required: Not required
Renewability: The certification does not expire and does not require renewal.
Price: Subscription-based:
- Monthly Subscription: $59 per month
- Annual Subscription: $399 per year
Who It’s For: This certificate is for those seeking entry-level data analyst roles, including individuals with no prior experience in data analytics who want to develop skills in tools like spreadsheets, SQL, Tableau, and R programming.
2. Google Digital Marketing & Ecommerce Professional Certificate - Best for comprehensive digital marketing strategies
This certification covers the fundamentals of digital marketing and ecommerce, focusing on building strategies to attract customers, optimize online content, measure performance through analytics, and create effective marketing campaigns across various channels. It also includes practical skills for creating e-ommerce stores and analyzing their performance.
Issued by: Google
Focus:
- Foundations of digital marketing and ecommerce
- Attracting and engaging customers online
- Interacting with customers through social media
- Creating and optimizing email marketing campaigns
- Measuring success with marketing analytics
- Building and managing ecommerce stores
Prerequisites:
- Education: Not required
- Work Experience: Not required
- Exam: Not required
- Other Certifications Required: Not required
Renewability: The certification does not expire and does not require renewal.
Price: Subscription-based:
- Monthly Subscription: $59 per month
- Annual Subscription: $399 per year
Who It’s For: This certificate is for individuals seeking entry-level roles in digital marketing and ecommerce.
3. Hootsuite Social Media Marketing Certification — Best for social media management skills
This certification focuses on building a successful social media strategy by setting clear goals, creating effective content, incorporating diversity and accessibility, fostering community engagement, and analyzing metrics to optimize performance and gain stakeholder support. It covers in-demand skills relevant to roles in sales management, web development, and digital marketing. To earn the certification, you must pass the social marketing certification exam.
Issued by: Hootsuite Academy
Focus:
- Social media strategy
- Content marketing for social media
- Inclusivity and accessibility in social media
- Building and engaging social media communities
- Measuring and analyzing social media success
Prerequisites:
- Education: No specific educational prerequisites
- Work Experience: Not required
- Exam: Not required
Renewability: The certification does not expire and does not require renewal.
Price: $199
Who It’s For: This course is for marketers seeking practical social media skills to drive immediate results.
4. Salesforce Marketing Cloud Email Specialist Certification — Best for email marketing expertise
This certification focuses on creating and managing email marketing campaigns using Salesforce Marketing Cloud tools. It covers building campaigns with Content Builder, automating workflows with Automation Studio and Journey Builder, and optimizing performance through AI-driven personalization and analytics. The certification includes an exam to validate these skills.
Issued by: Salesforce
Focus:
- Email marketing best practices
- Content creation and delivery
- Marketing automation
- Subscriber and data management
- Insights and analytics
Prerequisites:
- Education: No specific educational prerequisites
- Work Experience:
- Basic understanding of Marketing Cloud server-side scripting languages (AMPscript, GTL, SSJS).
- Familiarity with email development and design using HTML and CSS.
- Advanced development skills and custom API integration knowledge are not necessary.
- Exam: Proctored exam available both onsite and online
- Other Certifications Required: Not required
Renewability: Yes, it requires maintenance modules to keep credentials current.
Who It’s For: This certification is intended for those with experience using Marketing Cloud tools to execute and optimize email marketing campaigns, including managing data, automation, and performance tracking.
5. Adobe Marketo Engage Certification — Best for marketing automation proficiency
This certification validates the expertise needed to manage marketing campaigns, engage customers, and drive results using the Marketo platform. It ensures proficiency in leveraging Marketo's features, applying effective methodology, supporting marketing enablement, and developing a strong skill set for enhanced marketing operations.
Issued by: Adobe
Focus:
- Profiles and audiences
- Omnichannel engagement
- Personalized content
- Campaign operations and workflows
- Sales intelligence and engagement
- Marketing analytics
Prerequisites:
- Education: No specific educational prerequisites
- Work Experience: Experience with Adobe Marketo Engage is recommended, but not required.
- Other Certifications Required: Not required
Renewability: The certification does not expire and does not require renewal
Who It’s For: This certification validates expertise in marketing automation and demonstrates in-depth knowledge of Adobe Marketo Engage for business practitioners and marketing professionals
6. HubSpot Marketing Hub Software Certification — Best for inbound marketing tactics
This certification provides a comprehensive guide to using HubSpot's Marketing Hub to execute inbound strategies, manage contact databases, and leverage tools like segmentation, automation, campaigns, CTAs, and reporting to optimize marketing efforts. It also covers creating emails, forms, and workflows tailored to business needs while utilizing data to drive decisions.
Issued by: HubSpot Academy
Focus:
- Introduction to marketing hub
- Using buyer personas in HubSpot
- Exploring the contacts database
- Understanding segmentation
- Creating campaigns in HubSpot
- Creating calls-to-action
- Creating forms in HubSpot
- Understanding workflows
- Getting started with email marketing
- Understanding social media in HubSpot
- Reporting in the marketing hub
Prerequisites:
- Education: No specific educational prerequisites
- Work Experience: Not required
- Exam: Not required
- Other Certifications Required: Not required
Renewability: The certification does not expire and does not require renewal
Price: Free
Who It’s For: This course is for marketers who want to learn how to use HubSpot Marketing Hub effectively.
7. Oracle Eloqua Marketing 2025 Certified Implementation Professional — Best for enterprise-level marketing solutions
This certification validates participants' skills in implementing and configuring the Oracle Eloqua platform, including its architecture, data model, security settings, and CRM integration. It also covers AI-driven marketing tools like Send Time Optimization and Subject Line Optimization, as well as updates on the platform’s latest features.
Issued by: Oracle
Focus:
- Security settings and administrative features
- Email deliverability exercises
- Campaign and program automation
- Web tracking capabilities
- CRM integrations
Prerequisites:
- Education: Not required
- Work Experience: Not required
- Exam: Yes
- Other Certifications Required: Not required
Renewability: Yes, the certification requires periodic renewal to keep the credentials up to date.
Who It’s For: This certification is for Eloqua implementers and integrators responsible for configuring the Eloqua marketing automation platform. It validates skills in security settings, administrative features, email deliverability, campaign automation, web tracking, and CRM integrations.
8. Sprout Social Publishing Certification - Best for content scheduling and publishing
This certification focuses on using Sprout Social's Publishing tools to schedule, manage, and optimize content across multiple social media platforms. To earn the certification, a minimum score of 80% on the exam is required to demonstrate expertise in social content management.
Issued by: Sprout Academy
Focus:
- Social media content planning
- Scheduling and publishing across platforms
- Utilizing Sprout's features effectively
Prerequisites:
- Education: Not required
- Work Experience: Not required
- Exam: Not required
- Other Certifications Required: Not required
Renewability: The certification does not expire and does not require renewal.
Price: Free
Who It’s For: This certification is for social media professionals looking to demonstrate expertise in scheduling, managing, and optimizing content using Sprout Social's Publishing tools.
9. Sprout Social Listening Certification — Best for social media listening and analytics
This certification focuses on mastering Sprout Social's Listening tools, including creating and managing Listening queries, analyzing data, and extracting actionable insights to inform social media strategies. A minimum score of 80% on the exam is required to earn the certification.
Issued by: Sprout Academy
Focus:
- Publishing
- Engagement
- Analytics
- Listening
- Mobile app usage
- Employee advocacy
- Platform settings
Prerequisites:
- Education: Not required
- Work Experience: Not required
- Exam: Not required
- Other Certifications Required: Not required
Renewability: The certification does not expire and does not require renewal
Price: Free
Who It’s For: This certification is designed for social media professionals seeking to enhance their proficiency with the Sprout Social platform. It is suitable for individuals aiming to validate their social media management and analytics skills.
10. Zendesk Explore CX Analyst - Best for customer experience analytics
This certification validates one's ability to leverage Zendesk's data analytics tools to provide actionable insights and improve customer interactions. It requires proficiency in using Zendesk Explore to interpret data and make informed decisions that can optimize customer service operations.
Issued by: Zendesk
Focus:
- Customer experience data analysis
- Zendesk Explore functionality
- Data interpretation and reporting
- Driving actionable insights from data
Prerequisites:
- Education: Completed the Explore/Analytics Learning Path
- Work Experience:
- Prior experience in customer service or data analysis may be beneficial
- At least three months of consistent use as a Zendesk Support Administrator
- Exam: Not required
- Other Certifications Required: Not required
Renewability: Re-certification is available.
Price: $350
Who It’s For: This certification is designed for professionals who aim to enhance their skills in analyzing customer experience data using Zendesk Explore.
11. ActiveCampaign Certified Consultant - Best for email and automation strategies
This certification assesses expertise in implementing and optimizing ActiveCampaign’s marketing automation tools to build efficient workflows and improve customer engagement. It validates the ability to deliver tailored automation solutions that drive business growth.
Issued by: ActiveCampaign
Focus:
- Marketing automation
- CRM integration
- Email marketing
- Advanced reporting functionalities
Prerequisites:
- Education: Not required
- Work Experience: Not required
- Exam: Pass the ActiveCampaign Platform Exam
- Other Certifications Required: Not required
Price: $2,000
Who It’s For: This certification is for marketing agencies, consultants, and service providers who specialize in implementing and managing ActiveCampaign’s marketing automation platform for businesses.
12. Klaviyo Product Certification - Best for personalized marketing campaigns
This certification validates expertise in configuring Klaviyo accounts, integrating with other tools, and implementing marketing strategies using automation, segmentation, and branded templates. It includes hands-on exercises and a final exam to achieve certification.
Issued by: Klaviyo
Focus:
- Configure and manage Klaviyo account settings and integrations
- Design and personalize sign-up forms
- Organize and manage profiles, lists, and segments
- Customize email templates and content
- Create and send campaigns in Klaviyo
- Develop automated flows to nurture relationships
- Track and analyze performance metrics in Klaviyo
Prerequisites:
- Education:
- Basic knowledge of Klaviyo's core features
- Completion of "Getting Started with Klaviyo" or "Getting Started with SMS"
- Work Experience: Not required
- Exam: Yes
- Other Certifications Required: Not required
Who It’s For: This certification is for marketers, eCommerce business owners, and consultants who want to demonstrate expertise in using Klaviyo for campaigns, automation, and performance analysis
13. Mailchimp Foundations Certification - Best for foundational email marketing skills
This certification demonstrates expertise in using Mailchimp's advanced tools to create personalized, multichannel campaigns, optimize marketing efforts with data-driven insights, and enhance performance using features like A/B testing, customer lifetime value, and lookalike audiences. It includes hands-on practice with segmentation, automation, and analytics tools, and concludes with a final assessment.
Issued by: Mailchimp Academy
Focus:
- Tags, groups, and segments
- Advanced segmentation
- Audience dashboard and contact profiles
- Merge tags and dynamic information
- Insights and analytics tools
- Address finder and predicted demographics
- Campaigns
- Social posts
- Digital ads
- Landing pages
- Automation
- Mailchimp’s content studio
- Reports
- Smart recommendations
- A/B and multivariate testing
- Customer lifetime value (CLV) and purchase
- Send time optimization and lookalike audiences
Prerequisites:
- Education: Not required
- Work Experience: Not required
- Exam: Not required
- Other Certifications Required: Not required
Renewability: The certification does not expire and does not require renewal.
Price: Free
Who It’s For: Demonstrates foundational expertise in email marketing and the ability to effectively use Mailchimp's tools for creating personalized marketing campaigns.
FAQs About Marketing Software Certifications
What is a marketing software certification?
Marketing software certification is a credential that validates an individual's proficiency in using specific marketing tools and platforms. These certifications are typically offered by the software providers themselves or by third-party organizations and often require passing an exam or completing a course to demonstrate knowledge and skills.
Why should I get certified in marketing software?
Obtaining a marketing software certification can enhance your resume, demonstrating to employers your expertise and commitment to staying updated with industry tools. It can also improve your efficiency and effectiveness in using the software, potentially leading to better marketing results and career advancement opportunities.
How long does it typically take to get certified?
The duration to achieve certification can vary depending on the software and the complexity of the certification program. Some certifications may be completed in a few days, while others might take several weeks to months. Most programs are self-paced, allowing learners to progress according to their schedules.
Are marketing software certifications recognized by employers?
Yes, many employers recognize and value marketing software certifications, especially those from well-known providers. Certifications can serve as a testament to your skills and knowledge, making you a more attractive candidate for marketing roles that require specific technical expertise.
Do I need to renew my marketing software certification?
Some marketing software certifications require periodic renewal to ensure that holders stay current with new updates and best practices. Renewal processes might involve taking additional courses, or exams, or earning continuing education credits, depending on the certifying body’s requirements.
Other Useful Resources
Here are a few other useful resources to check out:
- Types of marketing software and what they do
- Best marketing software options
Looking to dive deep into social media, inbound, or email marketing? These certifications and courses are a great place to start:
- Email Marketing Courses
- Inbound Marketing Certifications
- Marketing Automation Certifications
- Social Media Marketing Certifications
Asides from courses, we also have a few other useful resources you should check out on digital marketing:
- This list of digital marketing podcasts if you are an audiophile like me
- Or our list of marketing communities (free & paid) to meet other professionals like yourself
We also recommend subscribing to The CMO newsletter to stay on top of trends and get the latest tips, resources, and guides from our community of seasoned marketing leaders straight to your inbox.
