The free online course Diploma in Building an Online Business provides a broad overview of how you can build a successful online business using web and internet technology. It also highlights the benefits, opportunities and challenges associated with conducting business online.

The course begins by introducing you to the concept of e-business, its categories and benefits. You will learn how to assess if a business is ready to start conducting e-business and you will learn about issues that need to be addressed when conducting e-business. You will also learn about services you can use to help your business and the steps involved in creating a web presence. You will learn about the different benefits of online marketing for your business.

Next, you will be given an overview of e-commerce and its categories. You will learn where e-commerce can be applied and the different benefits that come from purchasing and selling online. You will also learn about what you need to consider before integrating e-commerce into your business. You will learn about different features and issues associated with selling products and services online, and about options to consider when you have decided to sell online.

Next, you will learn about the variety of issues that need to be addressed once a company has decided to conduct e-business. You will be introduced to a range of services that are available for businesses in order to deal with these issues and conduct e-business successfully. You will learn the importance of creating a web presence for your business and the steps and options involved in doing so. You will learn about different types of e-commerce solutions, websites and popular e-commerce trends.

The course continues by teaching you about the different elements of a dynamic website and how to plan for creating a dynamic website. You will learn about different areas that need to be considered when creating a website for your business. You will learn about different types of social media and how a business should engage with social media. You will learn the different ways for preparing and sharing social media content. You will learn how to measure social media engagement using popular social media platforms.

Finally, you will be introduced to the process of social media advertising and the rules you should follow for successful social advertising. You will learn about social advertising platforms and what they can offer your business. You will learn about using online display advertising for any ad campaigns your business may have. You will learn about different approaches to online display advertising that you can choose from to suit your business’s needs. You will be introduced to the process of search engine optimization which involves optimizing your website to ensure relevant visitors find it. You will learn how to use search engine optimization effectively with your website. You will also learn pitfalls and barriers that are involved with search engine optimization.

This free Diploma in Building an Online Business will be of great interest to business professionals in small-to-medium enterprises, entrepreneurs and anyone who wants to build a successful online business in the modern digital world.

Having completed this course you will be able to:
- Define the term e-business and the different categories of e-business;
- Discuss ways e-business can help a business;
- Define the term e-commerce;
- Describe different types of e-commerce;
- Describe the features involved with setting up an online store;
- Discuss security and privacy issues that may arise when conducting e-commerce;
- Discuss the need for a dynamic web presence;
- Describe different elements of a dynamic website;
- Discuss the different benefits to online advertising;
- Discuss the benefits of social media marketing;
- Discuss approaches to mobile marketing;
- Describe Twitter, Facebook, blogs, LinkedIn, YouTube and their useful features;
- Describe what is meant by social advertising;
- Discuss the rules of social advertising;
- Discuss different social advertising platforms and what they offer;
- Discuss the key concepts of online display advertising;
- Describe different approaches to online display advertising;
- Describe the process of search engine optimization;
- Discuss best practices, pitfalls and barriers for search engine optimization;
- Describe ways in which to implement search engine optimization;
- Discuss ways in which to test the effectiveness of search engine optimization.

All The Digital Classroom courses are free to study. To successfully complete a course you must score 80% or higher in each course assessments. Upon successful completion of a course, you can choose to make your achievement formal by purchasing an official The Digital Classroom Diploma or Certificate.

Having an official The Digital Classroom document is a great way to celebrate and share your success. It is:

• Ideal to include with CVs, job applications and portfolios
• A way to show your ability to learn and achieve high results