E-commerce Marketing Specialist

About Course

Launch price: R1,100 until 30 November 2026. From 1 December 2026 the price is R1,250.

Most online stores in South Africa do not fail because of bad products. They fail because nobody is running the numbers, the traffic is expensive, shoppers do not trust the site, and first-time buyers never come back. This course teaches you to do the full job of an e-commerce marketer, the way it is done in South Africa in 2026.

You start with the money: contribution margin, break-even ROAS, CAC and lifetime value, so every rand of ad spend has a limit. Then you build a store South Africans trust, with the right payment options, delivery promises and the information ECTA and the Consumer Protection Act require (taught as practical compliance guidance, not legal advice). You learn to win buyers through Google Shopping and Performance Max, Meta Advantage+ catalogue ads, TikTok and Instagram, creators and affiliates, and decide when Takealot, Amazon.co.za or Makro make sense alongside your own store. You set up POPIA-compliant email, SMS and WhatsApp flows, track everything properly in GA4, and plan trading around payday, Back to School and Black Friday.

Every module ends with a practical assignment, and the course closes with a 90-day growth plan you can show a client or employer. No income guarantees, no fluff: just the skills to grow online sales profitably.

How this course works

7 modules and 39 written lessons. Every lesson has a worked South African example, common mistakes to avoid and a practical exercise. Each module ends with a quiz, a quiz review and a practical assignment that becomes part of your portfolio, and the course finishes with a capstone project.

Recognised certifications to take next

This course prepares you for these official certifications and courses from the platform providers. They are issued by those providers, not by Digital Marketing Guide. Check the current cost and requirements on each provider’s page.

Google Analytics Certification (Google (Skillshop)) – Free
Shopping ads Certification (Google (Skillshop)) – Free
Search Engine Optimization with Shopify (Shopify Academy) – Free
eCommerce Marketing (HubSpot Academy) – Free
How to personalize your campaigns with Advantage+ catalog ads (Meta Blueprint) – Free

Calculate contribution margin, break-even ROAS, maximum CPA and LTV for any online store
Set up SA payment, delivery and returns options and audit a store against ECTA and CPA requirements
Rewrite product pages and fix trust gaps that stop South African shoppers from buying
Launch and optimise Google Shopping or Performance Max campaigns from a clean Merchant Center feed
Run Meta Advantage+ sales campaigns with catalogue ads and test product creative systematically
Model Takealot and Amazon.co.za fees and decide each channel's role alongside your own store
Build POPIA-compliant email, SMS and WhatsApp flows that drive repeat purchases
Track e-commerce with GA4 events, report honestly on profit, and plan around the SA retail calendar

Course Content

Module 1: The Numbers That Run an Online Store
Before spending a rand on traffic, learn the unit economics that decide whether an e-commerce business makes money: the revenue formula, contribution margin, break-even ROAS, CAC and LTV.

LESSON 1.1 – The Revenue Formula: Sessions x Conversion Rate x AOV
LESSON 1.2 – Contribution Margin per Order: Where the Money Actually Goes
LESSON 1.3 – Break-even ROAS and Target CPA: Setting Ad Limits Before You Spend
LESSON 1.4 – CAC, LTV and Payback Period: Can You Afford to Buy a Customer?
LESSON 1.5 – Building a Weekly Store KPI Sheet in Google Sheets
Module 1 Quiz – The Numbers That Run an Online Store
Module 1 Quiz review – answers explained
Module 1 Assignment – Unit Economics Model for a Real or Hypothetical SA Store

Module 2: A Store South Africans Trust and Buy From
Set up the commercial foundations of an online store for South African shoppers: platform, payments, delivery, returns, legal compliance and product pages that convert on mobile.

LESSON 2.1 – Shopify, WooCommerce or Marketplace-First: Choosing the Right Platform
LESSON 2.2 – Payments at Checkout: Cards, Instant EFT, Wallets and BNPL
LESSON 2.3 – Delivery Options and the Free-Delivery Threshold
LESSON 2.4 – Legal Must-Haves: ECTA Section 43, Cooling-Off and CPA Returns
LESSON 2.5 – Product Pages That Sell: Copy, Photos and Specs
LESSON 2.6 – Trust Signals for a New South African Store
Module 2 Quiz – Store Foundations
Module 2 Quiz review – answers explained
Module 2 Assignment – Store Readiness Audit

Module 3: Google Search, Merchant Center and Shopping Ads
Win high-intent shoppers on Google with SEO for category and product pages, a clean Merchant Center product feed, and Shopping or Performance Max campaigns judged against break-even ROAS.

LESSON 3.1 – Keyword Research for Category and Product Pages
LESSON 3.2 – On-Page and Technical SEO for Stores
LESSON 3.3 – Merchant Center Setup and Product Feed Quality
LESSON 3.4 – Standard Shopping vs Performance Max: Choosing and Structuring Campaigns
LESSON 3.5 – Optimising Shopping Results Week by Week
Module 3 Quiz – Google Search and Shopping
Module 3 Quiz review – answers explained
Module 3 Assignment – Google Shopping Launch Plan

Module 4: Social Commerce, Creators and Affiliates
Drive demand on Meta, Instagram and TikTok with catalogue-powered ads and scroll-stopping product creative, and add influencer and affiliate partnerships that pay for themselves.

LESSON 4.1 – Meta Catalogue, Pixel and Commerce Manager: The Set-Up That Makes Ads Work
LESSON 4.2 – Advantage+ Sales Campaigns and Advantage+ Catalog Ads
LESSON 4.3 – Product Creative That Stops the Scroll
LESSON 4.4 – TikTok and Instagram: Organic Content and Paid Amplification
LESSON 4.5 – Influencer Seeding and Affiliate Programmes That Pay Back
Module 4 Quiz – Social Commerce, Creators and Affiliates
Module 4 Quiz review – answers explained
Module 4 Assignment – Paid Social Launch Pack

Module 5: Marketplaces – Takealot, Amazon.co.za and Makro
Decide when to sell on marketplaces, model their fees honestly, optimise listings, and run marketplaces alongside your own store without channel conflict or stock-outs.

LESSON 5.1 – Marketplace or Own Store? The Channel Decision
LESSON 5.2 – Takealot Marketplace: Fees, Fulfilment and Profit Maths
LESSON 5.3 – Amazon.co.za: Seller Central, FBA and Listing Quality
LESSON 5.4 – Marketplace Listing Optimisation and Marketplace Ads
LESSON 5.5 – Running Multichannel Without Chaos: Pricing, Stock and Conflict
Module 5 Quiz – Marketplaces
Module 5 Quiz review – answers explained
Module 5 Assignment – Marketplace Entry Business Case

Module 6: Retention – Email, SMS and WhatsApp With POPIA Consent
Turn one-time buyers into repeat customers with consent-based email, SMS and WhatsApp flows that make money while respecting POPIA.

LESSON 6.1 – POPIA Section 69: Consent and the Existing-Customer Rule
LESSON 6.2 – Growing a List That Buys: Pop-ups, Offers and Platform Set-Up
LESSON 6.3 – Welcome and Abandoned Cart Flows
LESSON 6.4 – Post-Purchase, Review and Replenishment Flows
LESSON 6.5 – Segmentation and Win-Back Using RFM
LESSON 6.6 – WhatsApp and SMS for Commerce
Module 6 Quiz – Retention and POPIA Consent
Module 6 Quiz review – answers explained
Module 6 Assignment – Retention Flow Blueprint

Module 7: Measure, Optimise and Plan the Sales Calendar
Track the full funnel accurately, improve conversion with disciplined testing, report like a manager, and plan trading around South Africa's retail calendar and payday cycles.

LESSON 7.1 – GA4 E-commerce Tracking: Events, Parameters and Reports
LESSON 7.2 – Meta Pixel, Conversions API and UTM Discipline
LESSON 7.3 – Store CRO Audit: Finding Where Buyers Drop Off
LESSON 7.4 – Testing With Low Traffic: Prioritising and Running Experiments
LESSON 7.5 – Monthly Reporting and Attribution Reality Checks
LESSON 7.6 – South Africa’s Retail Calendar and Payday Cycles
LESSON 7.7 – The Black Friday Playbook: Offers, Stock, Margin and Execution
Module 7 Quiz – Measure, Optimise and Plan
Module 7 Quiz review – answers explained
Module 7 Assignment – Measurement and Peak-Season Plan

Capstone Project
Bring the whole course together in one client-ready project.

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About Course

How this course works

Recognised certifications to take next

What Will You Learn?

Course Content

Module 1: The Numbers That Run an Online Store Before spending a rand on traffic, learn the unit economics that decide whether an e-commerce business makes money: the revenue formula, contribution margin, break-even ROAS, CAC and LTV.

LESSON 1.1 – The Revenue Formula: Sessions x Conversion Rate x AOV

LESSON 1.2 – Contribution Margin per Order: Where the Money Actually Goes

LESSON 1.3 – Break-even ROAS and Target CPA: Setting Ad Limits Before You Spend

LESSON 1.4 – CAC, LTV and Payback Period: Can You Afford to Buy a Customer?

LESSON 1.5 – Building a Weekly Store KPI Sheet in Google Sheets

Module 1 Quiz – The Numbers That Run an Online Store

Module 1 Quiz review – answers explained

Module 1 Assignment – Unit Economics Model for a Real or Hypothetical SA Store

Module 2: A Store South Africans Trust and Buy From Set up the commercial foundations of an online store for South African shoppers: platform, payments, delivery, returns, legal compliance and product pages that convert on mobile.

LESSON 2.1 – Shopify, WooCommerce or Marketplace-First: Choosing the Right Platform

LESSON 2.2 – Payments at Checkout: Cards, Instant EFT, Wallets and BNPL

LESSON 2.3 – Delivery Options and the Free-Delivery Threshold

LESSON 2.4 – Legal Must-Haves: ECTA Section 43, Cooling-Off and CPA Returns

LESSON 2.5 – Product Pages That Sell: Copy, Photos and Specs

LESSON 2.6 – Trust Signals for a New South African Store

Module 2 Quiz – Store Foundations

Module 2 Quiz review – answers explained

Module 2 Assignment – Store Readiness Audit

Module 3: Google Search, Merchant Center and Shopping Ads Win high-intent shoppers on Google with SEO for category and product pages, a clean Merchant Center product feed, and Shopping or Performance Max campaigns judged against break-even ROAS.

LESSON 3.1 – Keyword Research for Category and Product Pages

LESSON 3.2 – On-Page and Technical SEO for Stores

LESSON 3.3 – Merchant Center Setup and Product Feed Quality

LESSON 3.4 – Standard Shopping vs Performance Max: Choosing and Structuring Campaigns

LESSON 3.5 – Optimising Shopping Results Week by Week

Module 3 Quiz – Google Search and Shopping

Module 3 Quiz review – answers explained

Module 3 Assignment – Google Shopping Launch Plan

Module 4: Social Commerce, Creators and Affiliates Drive demand on Meta, Instagram and TikTok with catalogue-powered ads and scroll-stopping product creative, and add influencer and affiliate partnerships that pay for themselves.

LESSON 4.1 – Meta Catalogue, Pixel and Commerce Manager: The Set-Up That Makes Ads Work

LESSON 4.2 – Advantage+ Sales Campaigns and Advantage+ Catalog Ads

LESSON 4.3 – Product Creative That Stops the Scroll

LESSON 4.4 – TikTok and Instagram: Organic Content and Paid Amplification

LESSON 4.5 – Influencer Seeding and Affiliate Programmes That Pay Back

Module 4 Quiz – Social Commerce, Creators and Affiliates

Module 4 Quiz review – answers explained

Module 4 Assignment – Paid Social Launch Pack

Module 5: Marketplaces – Takealot, Amazon.co.za and Makro Decide when to sell on marketplaces, model their fees honestly, optimise listings, and run marketplaces alongside your own store without channel conflict or stock-outs.

LESSON 5.1 – Marketplace or Own Store? The Channel Decision

LESSON 5.2 – Takealot Marketplace: Fees, Fulfilment and Profit Maths

LESSON 5.3 – Amazon.co.za: Seller Central, FBA and Listing Quality

LESSON 5.4 – Marketplace Listing Optimisation and Marketplace Ads

LESSON 5.5 – Running Multichannel Without Chaos: Pricing, Stock and Conflict

Module 5 Quiz – Marketplaces

Module 5 Quiz review – answers explained

Module 5 Assignment – Marketplace Entry Business Case

Module 6: Retention – Email, SMS and WhatsApp With POPIA Consent Turn one-time buyers into repeat customers with consent-based email, SMS and WhatsApp flows that make money while respecting POPIA.

LESSON 6.1 – POPIA Section 69: Consent and the Existing-Customer Rule

LESSON 6.2 – Growing a List That Buys: Pop-ups, Offers and Platform Set-Up

LESSON 6.3 – Welcome and Abandoned Cart Flows

LESSON 6.4 – Post-Purchase, Review and Replenishment Flows

LESSON 6.5 – Segmentation and Win-Back Using RFM

LESSON 6.6 – WhatsApp and SMS for Commerce

Module 6 Quiz – Retention and POPIA Consent

Module 6 Quiz review – answers explained

Module 6 Assignment – Retention Flow Blueprint

Module 7: Measure, Optimise and Plan the Sales Calendar Track the full funnel accurately, improve conversion with disciplined testing, report like a manager, and plan trading around South Africa's retail calendar and payday cycles.

LESSON 7.1 – GA4 E-commerce Tracking: Events, Parameters and Reports

LESSON 7.2 – Meta Pixel, Conversions API and UTM Discipline

LESSON 7.3 – Store CRO Audit: Finding Where Buyers Drop Off

LESSON 7.4 – Testing With Low Traffic: Prioritising and Running Experiments

LESSON 7.5 – Monthly Reporting and Attribution Reality Checks

LESSON 7.6 – South Africa’s Retail Calendar and Payday Cycles

LESSON 7.7 – The Black Friday Playbook: Offers, Stock, Margin and Execution

Module 7 Quiz – Measure, Optimise and Plan

Module 7 Quiz review – answers explained

Module 7 Assignment – Measurement and Peak-Season Plan

Capstone Project Bring the whole course together in one client-ready project.

Capstone: 90-Day Growth Plan for a South African Online Store

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