Nobody buys the first time they hear of a brand. Marketers map the steps people go through, then measure how many make it from each step to the next.
🧲 The marketing funnel
Awareness: people discover you (search, social posts, ads, word of mouth).
Consideration: they compare you with others (product pages, reviews, comparison articles).
Conversion: they take the action you want: buy, sign up, book a call.
Retention: they come back (email, loyalty offers, great service).
Advocacy: they recommend you (reviews, referrals, sharing).
The classic model behind it is AIDA: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action.
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🧮 Conversion rate
Conversion rate = conversions ÷ visitors × 100. Measure it for the whole funnel and for each step, so you can see where people drop out.
Online shop, one month
Visitors 20,000
Viewed a product 4,000 (20% of visitors)
Added to cart 800 (20% of viewers)
Purchased 400 (50% of carts)
Overall conversion rate = 400 ÷ 20,000 × 100 = 2%
Cart abandonment = (800 − 400) ÷ 800 × 100 = 50%
💡 On the job
Fix the leakiest step first. Doubling traffic costs money; fixing a checkout that loses half its carts can double sales for free.
Common mistakes. Judging every channel on direct sales: a blog post or video is often an awareness tool, so measure it on reach and on the people it sends further down the funnel. Forgetting retention: keeping a customer is usually far cheaper than finding a new one.
✍️ Type your answer · 1 of 8
A landing page gets 5,000 visitors and 150 sign-ups.
What is the conversion rate?
Enter a number without the % sign.
%
Conversions ÷ visitors × 100.
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600 carts were started and 240 orders were completed.
What is the cart abandonment rate?
Enter a number without the % sign.
%
Abandoned carts ÷ carts started.
✍️ Type your answer · 3 of 8
A shop converts 1.5% of its visitors.
How many visitors does it need for 90 sales?
Enter a whole number.
Divide the sales by the rate as a decimal.
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A site has 20,000 visitors a month. Its conversion rate rises from 2% to 2.5%.
How many extra sales a month is that?
Enter a whole number.
Work out sales at each rate.
✏️ Quick check · 5 of 8
Funnel stage
A customer reads reviews comparing three brands. Which stage are they in?
They already know you exist.
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Funnel stage
A “refer a friend, get 10% off” scheme mainly targets:
Who is being asked to act?
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Funnel stage
Sending a past customer a “we miss you” discount is about:
They have bought before.
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Analyse
Many people add to cart but few complete checkout. What should you look at first?
Where is the leak?
📝 Lesson quiz · 5 questions
0 / 5
Re-read the lesson, then give it another go.
Question 1 of 5
The first stage of the funnel is:
Question 2 of 5
AIDA stands for:
Question 3 of 5
Conversion rate is:
Question 4 of 5
A conversion is:
Question 5 of 5
Why focus on retention?
Lesson 2 · Organic traffic
🔎 Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
SEO is the work of earning a high place in search results without paying for each click. It is slow to build and lasts a long time.
🔎 How search engines work
Crawl: bots follow links to discover pages.
Index: pages are stored and understood (topic, language, quality).
Rank: for each search, the engine orders pages by how well they answer it, how trustworthy they are and how good they are to use.
The aim is not to trick the engine but to be the most useful result for the person searching.
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🧱 Three pillars of SEO
On-page: content that answers the search, a clear title tag and meta description, one main heading, descriptive headings, image alt text, internal links.
Technical: fast pages, mobile-friendly design, HTTPS, an XML sitemap, no broken links, clean URLs.
Off-page: backlinks from respected sites, brand mentions, reviews and (for local businesses) a complete business profile.
🎯 Keywords and search intent
Every search has an intent:
Informational: “how to fix a leaking tap”
Navigational: “gmail login”
Commercial: “best running shoes for flat feet”
Transactional: “buy nike pegasus size 9”
Match the page to the intent: a how-to guide for informational searches, a product page for transactional ones. Long-tail keywords (longer, specific phrases) have less traffic but less competition and usually convert better.
Organic click-through rate = clicks ÷ impressions × 100. A page ranking well with a low CTR often needs a better title and description.
Avoid: keyword stuffing, copying content, and buying links. They can get a site pushed down or removed from results.
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Intent
“best budget laptop for students” has which intent?
“Best” usually signals comparison.
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Intent
“facebook login” is:
They know where they are going.
✏️ Quick check · 3 of 8
Pillar
Making pages load faster is part of:
It is about how the site works.
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Pillar
A respected news site links to your guide. This helps:
It happens away from your site.
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Practice
Which is a long-tail keyword?
Long-tail = longer, specific phrases.
✍️ Type your answer · 6 of 8
A page had 4,000 impressions and 120 clicks in search results.
What is its organic click-through rate?
Enter a number without the % sign.
%
Clicks ÷ impressions × 100.
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Organic visits grew from 8,000 to 10,000 a month.
What is the percentage increase?
Enter a number without the % sign.
%
Change ÷ original × 100.
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A blog gets 12,000 organic visits a month and 2% of them join the email list.
How many sign-ups is that a month?
Enter a whole number.
Visits × rate as a decimal.
📝 Lesson quiz · 5 questions
0 / 5
Re-read the lesson, then give it another go.
Question 1 of 5
The three steps search engines take are:
Question 2 of 5
A backlink is:
Question 3 of 5
The title tag mainly affects:
Question 4 of 5
Keyword stuffing is:
Question 5 of 5
A transactional search shows the person wants to:
Lesson 3 · Paid traffic
💸 Paid Advertising (PPC & Social Ads)
Paid ads buy attention straight away. The skill is knowing your numbers well enough to stop the ads that lose money and grow the ones that make it.
💸 How paid ads work
In pay-per-click (PPC) ads on search engines you bid on keywords and pay when someone clicks. On social platforms you choose an audience (age, location, interests, people like your customers) and pay per click or per thousand views.
Your position is not only about the bid: platforms also score how relevant and useful the ad and landing page are (Google calls this Quality Score). A better ad can win a higher place for less money.
Know your break-even ROAS. If your profit margin is 25%, you need a ROAS of at least 1 ÷ 0.25 = 4 just to cover the ad cost. Below that, the ads lose money even if they “make sales”.
Common mistakes. Sending ad clicks to the home page instead of a matching landing page. Forgetting negative keywords (so “free” or “jobs” searches eat your budget). Judging a campaign on clicks instead of conversions.
✍️ Type your answer · 1 of 8
An ad had 50,000 impressions and 750 clicks.
What is the CTR?
Enter a number without the % sign.
%
Clicks ÷ impressions × 100.
✍️ Type your answer · 2 of 8
A campaign spent $600 and got 400 clicks.
What is the cost per click?
Enter a number without the $ sign.
$
Spend ÷ clicks.
✍️ Type your answer · 3 of 8
A campaign spent $900 for 300,000 impressions.
What is the CPM?
Enter a number without the $ sign.
$
Spend ÷ impressions × 1,000.
✍️ Type your answer · 4 of 8
$2,500 of ads brought 125 new customers.
What is the cost per acquisition?
Enter a number without the $ sign.
$
Spend ÷ conversions.
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$1,500 of ads generated $6,000 in sales.
What is the ROAS?
Enter a number such as 4.
Revenue ÷ spend.
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A store’s profit margin is 20%.
What is its break-even ROAS?
Enter a number such as 5.
Break-even ROAS = 1 ÷ margin.
✏️ Quick check · 7 of 8
Analyse
Campaign A: ROAS 2.4. Campaign B: ROAS 4.8. Both spend the same. You should:
Which earns more per dollar spent?
✏️ Quick check · 8 of 8
Setup
A plumber does not want clicks from people searching “plumber jobs”. They should add:
Block the search, do not pay for it.
📝 Lesson quiz · 5 questions
0 / 5
Re-read the lesson, then give it another go.
Question 1 of 5
In PPC advertising you pay when:
Question 2 of 5
ROAS of 3 means:
Question 3 of 5
CPA stands for:
Question 4 of 5
A higher Quality Score usually means:
Question 5 of 5
The best page to send ad clicks to is usually:
Lesson 4 · Content
📱 Social Media & Content Marketing
Content marketing earns attention by being useful or entertaining. Social media is where much of that content is shared, discussed and discovered.
📱 Choose the right platforms
Be where your audience already spends time, rather than everywhere at once:
Short video platforms (TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts): discovery, younger audiences, entertainment and how-tos.
Instagram / Facebook: visual brands, local businesses, communities and groups.
LinkedIn: business-to-business, recruiting, professional expertise.
YouTube: longer tutorials and reviews that people search for.
🖼️ See it
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🗂️ Content pillars and a calendar
Content pillars are 3 to 5 themes you post about again and again, such as tips, behind the scenes, customer stories, product news and offers. They keep the feed varied and on-brand.
A content calendar plans what goes out, where and when. Many teams follow an 80/20 split: about 80% useful or entertaining content, 20% direct selling.
Repurpose: one long video can become a blog post, three short clips, a carousel and an email.
🧮 Engagement rate
Engagement rate = (likes + comments + shares + saves) ÷ reach × 100. Some teams divide by followers instead; always say which one you use.
A post reached 8,000 people
240 likes + 40 comments + 20 shares = 300 engagements
Engagement rate = 300 ÷ 8,000 × 100 = 3.75%
Vanity metrics. Follower count looks good but does not pay the bills. Track what links to the goal: clicks to the site, leads, sales, and comments that show real interest.
Reply to comments quickly. Conversations boost reach on most platforms and turn followers into customers.
✍️ Type your answer · 1 of 8
A post reached 5,000 people and got 150 likes, 30 comments and 20 shares.
What is the engagement rate (by reach)?
Enter a number without the % sign.
%
Add all engagements, divide by reach.
✍️ Type your answer · 2 of 8
An account has 12,000 followers. A post got 360 engagements.
What is the engagement rate by followers?
Enter a number without the % sign.
%
Engagements ÷ followers × 100.
✍️ Type your answer · 3 of 8
A team plans 20 posts a month using an 80/20 split.
How many posts should be direct selling?
Enter a whole number.
20% as a decimal is 0.2.
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A video got 40,000 views and 1% of viewers clicked the link. 5% of those clicks bought.
How many sales came from the video?
Enter a whole number.
Do it in two steps.
✏️ Quick check · 5 of 8
Platform
A company selling accounting software to other businesses should focus first on:
Where are business decision makers?
✏️ Quick check · 6 of 8
Metric
Which metric is closest to the business goal of selling more?
Avoid vanity metrics.
✏️ Quick check · 7 of 8
Plan
Content pillars are:
Think of them as categories.
✏️ Quick check · 8 of 8
Practice
You made one 20-minute tutorial video. The most efficient next step is to:
One piece, many formats.
📝 Lesson quiz · 5 questions
0 / 5
Re-read the lesson, then give it another go.
Question 1 of 5
Engagement rate measures:
Question 2 of 5
A vanity metric is one that:
Question 3 of 5
The 80/20 content rule suggests:
Question 4 of 5
A content calendar is used to:
Question 5 of 5
Repurposing content means:
Lesson 5 · Owned channels
✉️ Email Marketing
An email list is an audience you own: no algorithm decides who sees your message. Done well, email is one of the best-paying channels in marketing.
✉️ Build the list the right way
Only email people who have agreed to hear from you. Offer something worth signing up for: a discount, a guide, early access. Laws such as the EU’s GDPR and the US CAN-SPAM Act require consent or a clear relationship, an easy unsubscribe link in every email, and honest sender details.
Segment the list (new subscribers, past buyers, inactive people, interests) and send each group what matters to them.
Never buy email lists. It breaks consent rules, and messages to strangers get marked as spam, which harms delivery for your whole list.
🖼️ See it
🖼️ See it
🧮 Email metrics
Delivered = sent − bounced
Open rate = opens ÷ delivered × 100
Click rate = clicks ÷ delivered × 100
Click-to-open rate (CTOR) = clicks ÷ opens × 100: how good the content was for people who opened
Write one clear subject line and one clear call to action. Test the subject line on a small part of the list before sending to everyone.
✍️ Type your answer · 1 of 8
A newsletter was sent to 8,000 people and 400 bounced.
How many were delivered?
Enter a whole number.
Sent − bounced.
✍️ Type your answer · 2 of 8
5,000 emails were delivered and 1,100 were opened.
What is the open rate?
Enter a number without the % sign.
%
Opens ÷ delivered × 100.
✍️ Type your answer · 3 of 8
4,000 emails were delivered and 160 people clicked.
What is the click rate?
Enter a number without the % sign.
%
Clicks ÷ delivered × 100.
✍️ Type your answer · 4 of 8
An email had 1,200 opens and 180 clicks.
What is the click-to-open rate?
Enter a number without the % sign.
%
Clicks ÷ opens × 100.
✍️ Type your answer · 5 of 8
An abandoned-cart email goes to 500 people. 12% of them complete their order, with an average order of $60.
How much revenue did it recover?
Enter a number without the $ sign.
$
Find the orders first.
✏️ Quick check · 6 of 8
Rules
Every marketing email must include:
What do GDPR and CAN-SPAM require?
✏️ Quick check · 7 of 8
Practice
A shop wants to email people who bought running shoes about a new running jacket. This is:
Splitting the list into groups.
✏️ Quick check · 8 of 8
Analyse
Open rate is high but click rate is very low. What should you improve first?
The problem starts after the open.
📝 Lesson quiz · 5 questions
0 / 5
Re-read the lesson, then give it another go.
Question 1 of 5
Open rate is calculated from:
Question 2 of 5
An abandoned-cart email is an example of:
Question 3 of 5
Buying an email list is a bad idea because:
Question 4 of 5
Click-to-open rate shows:
Question 5 of 5
Segmentation means:
Lesson 6 · Measurement
📊 Analytics & A/B Testing
Good marketers decide with data. Analytics shows what happened; A/B tests show what caused it.
📊 KPIs and tracking
A KPI (key performance indicator) is a number tied to a goal: sales, leads, cost per lead, repeat-purchase rate. Pick a few, not dozens.
Web analytics tools (such as Google Analytics) report sessions, users, traffic sources, engagement and conversions. To know which campaign sent each visitor, add UTM parameters to your links:
https://shop.example/jacket?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=winter_sale
utm_source = where it came from (newsletter, facebook, google)
utm_medium = the type of channel (email, social, cpc)
utm_campaign = which campaign (winter_sale)
🖼️ See it
🖼️ See it
🔀 Attribution
Most customers touch several channels before they buy. Attribution decides which one gets the credit:
Last click: all credit to the final channel before the sale.
First click: all credit to the channel that introduced them.
Linear: credit shared equally across every touch.
Data-driven: the tool estimates each channel’s share from real paths.
Last click undervalues awareness channels (social, video, blog posts) that start the journey.
🧪 A/B testing
Show version A to half the visitors and version B to the other half, at the same time, and compare the conversion rates. Change one thing per test (headline, button text, price display, image) so you know what made the difference.
Wait for enough data. Decide the sample size before you start, run for at least a full week (weekdays and weekends behave differently), and check that the result is statistically significant; most testing tools calculate this for you.
Common mistakes. Stopping a test the moment B looks ahead. Testing five changes at once. Comparing this month’s version B with last month’s version A.
✍️ Type your answer · 1 of 8
Version A: 4,000 visitors, 120 purchases.
What is the conversion rate of version A?
Enter a number without the % sign.
%
Conversions ÷ visitors × 100.
✍️ Type your answer · 2 of 8
Version A converts at 4% and version B at 5%.
What is the relative uplift of B over A?
Enter a number without the % sign.
%
Divide the difference by A’s rate.
✍️ Type your answer · 3 of 8
A customer clicked an ad, then a social post, then an email, then a search result before buying a $200 item. Linear attribution is used.
How much revenue is credited to each touch?
Enter a number without the $ sign.
$
Split equally.
✏️ Quick check · 4 of 8
UTM
In a UTM link, utm_medium=email describes:
Source, medium, campaign: which is the channel type?
✏️ Quick check · 5 of 8
Attribution
Under last-click attribution, a video that introduced the customer gets:
Last click credits the final step only.
✏️ Quick check · 6 of 8
Testing
A good A/B test changes:
Keep everything else the same.
✏️ Quick check · 7 of 8
Testing
After one day, version B is ahead by 2 sign-ups. You should:
Is there enough data yet?
✏️ Quick check · 8 of 8
KPI
Which is the best KPI for a campaign whose goal is new leads?
Match the KPI to the goal.
📝 Lesson quiz · 5 questions
0 / 5
Re-read the lesson, then give it another go.
Question 1 of 5
A KPI is:
Question 2 of 5
UTM parameters are used to:
Question 3 of 5
Linear attribution:
Question 4 of 5
In an A/B test, the two versions should run:
Question 5 of 5
Statistical significance tells you:
Lesson 7 · Planning
🎯 Strategy, Budgets & ROI
Strategy ties everything together: who you are trying to reach, what you want them to do, which channels you use, how much you spend, and whether it pays back.
🎯 Goals and audience
Set SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound. “Get 300 new email subscribers from the blog by 30 June” is SMART; “grow our brand” is not.
Describe the target customer as a persona: who they are, their problem, where they look for answers and what stops them buying. Then choose the channels that persona actually uses.
🖼️ See it
🖼️ See it
🧮 CAC, LTV and ROI
Customer acquisition cost (CAC) = marketing spend ÷ new customers
Customer lifetime value (LTV) = average order value × orders per year × years as a customer (a simple version; many teams use profit instead of revenue)
LTV : CAC: a ratio of about 3 : 1 or better is a common target
Marketing ROI = (profit from the campaign − cost) ÷ cost × 100
Spend $6,000 → 150 new customers CAC = 6,000 ÷ 150 = $40
Average order $30 × 2 orders a year × 2 years LTV = $120
LTV : CAC = 120 : 40 = 3 : 1
Campaign cost $2,000, gross profit from its sales $5,000
ROI = (5,000 − 2,000) ÷ 2,000 × 100 = 150%
💼 Building the plan
A simple marketing plan covers: goal, audience, message (why choose us), channels, budget, timeline and KPIs. Review it monthly and move money towards what works.
Test small, then scale. Put a small slice of the budget (often 10–20%) into new ideas; grow the ones that beat your CAC target.
Common mistakes. Measuring ROI on revenue instead of profit. Spending on every channel at once. Copying a competitor’s plan without knowing their numbers.
✍️ Type your answer · 1 of 8
A company spent $4,500 on marketing and gained 90 new customers.
What is the customer acquisition cost?
Enter a number without the $ sign.
$
Spend ÷ new customers.
✍️ Type your answer · 2 of 8
Average order $40, 3 orders a year, customers stay 2 years.
What is the customer lifetime value?
Enter a number without the $ sign.
$
Multiply the three numbers.
✍️ Type your answer · 3 of 8
LTV is $300 and CAC is $75.
What is the LTV to CAC ratio (as a single number)?
Enter a number such as 4.
LTV ÷ CAC.
✍️ Type your answer · 4 of 8
A campaign cost $1,000 and produced $2,500 of gross profit.
What is the marketing ROI?
Enter a number without the % sign.
%
(Profit − cost) ÷ cost × 100.
✍️ Type your answer · 5 of 8
A marketing budget is $8,000 and 15% is set aside for testing new ideas.
How much is the testing budget?
Enter a number without the $ sign.
$
15% as a decimal is 0.15.
✏️ Quick check · 6 of 8
SMART
Which goal is SMART?
Look for a number and a date.
✏️ Quick check · 7 of 8
Budget
Email has a CAC of $15 and social ads $60. Your CAC target is $40. What should you do?
Compare each channel with the target.
✏️ Quick check · 8 of 8
Ratio
An LTV : CAC ratio of 1 : 1 means:
Compare value with cost.
📝 Lesson quiz · 5 questions
0 / 5
Re-read the lesson, then give it another go.
Question 1 of 5
The M in SMART stands for:
Question 2 of 5
CAC is:
Question 3 of 5
A common healthy LTV : CAC ratio is about:
Question 4 of 5
A persona describes:
Question 5 of 5
Marketing ROI is best measured using:
Final Exam
🏆 14-Question Final Exam
Questions from every lesson in this course. Pick an answer for each one, then hit Check My Answers.
0 / 14
💪 Keep practicing — go back through the lessons and retake the quiz!
Q1 · The Funnel & Customer Journey
A site has 10,000 visitors and 250 sales. The conversion rate is:
Q2 · The Funnel & Customer Journey
A loyalty programme mainly supports which funnel stage?
Q3 · Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
“how to remove a coffee stain” has which search intent?
Q4 · Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Which is part of technical SEO?
Q5 · Paid Advertising (PPC & Social Ads)
$500 spent, 1,000 clicks, 25 sales. The CPA is:
Q6 · Paid Advertising (PPC & Social Ads)
With a 25% profit margin, the break-even ROAS is:
Q7 · Social Media & Content Marketing
A post reached 2,000 people and got 80 engagements. Engagement rate is:
Q8 · Social Media & Content Marketing
Which is a vanity metric?
Q9 · Email Marketing
9,000 delivered, 270 clicks. Click rate is:
Q10 · Email Marketing
An email to people who have not bought in 6 months is a:
Q11 · Analytics & A/B Testing
Version A converts at 2%, B at 3%. B’s relative uplift is:
Q12 · Analytics & A/B Testing
utm_source tells you:
Q13 · Strategy, Budgets & ROI
Spend $3,000, 60 new customers. CAC is:
Q14 · Strategy, Budgets & ROI
Campaign cost $400, profit from it $1,000. ROI is: