D098 surveys the main areas of digital marketing and shows how each one supports an organization's mission and business goals.
WGU's B.S. Marketing program guide describes the course as foundational knowledge in content marketing, digital advertising, search engine optimization, social media, web development and analysis, and marketing automation. Students also explore areas of specialization and how digital marketing fits within a firm's overall marketing strategy.
Every competency is worded around supporting the organization's goals. That is the main lesson: tactics only matter when they serve a clear business objective.
Course at a Glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| University | Western Governors University (WGU) |
| Code | D098 |
| Level | Undergraduate, B.S. Marketing |
| Competency units | 3 |
| Subject area | Digital marketing |
| Typical work | Concept study and applied scenarios (check your course page for the assessment format) |
What D098 Covers
| Competency area | What it means |
|---|---|
| Digital marketing strategy | Choosing digital approaches that support the mission and goals |
| Content marketing | Useful content that attracts and keeps customers |
| Social media marketing | Platforms, community and integration with wider goals |
| SEO and digital advertising | Earning and buying visibility in search and online |
| Web development and analysis | Websites as marketing assets, measured with analytics |
| Marketing automation | Software-driven, triggered communication at scale |
Key Concepts Explained
Owned, Earned and Paid Media
Owned media are channels you control, such as your website and email list. Earned media come from others: shares, reviews and press. Paid media are bought: search ads, social ads and display. A balanced strategy uses all three.
SEO Versus Paid Search
SEO improves organic rankings through relevant content, technical health and links; results build slowly but last. Paid search buys placement immediately, typically charged per click, and stops when spending stops.
Example: A new online plant shop runs paid search ads for "buy indoor plants" to get early sales, while writing care guides that target questions such as "how often to water a snake plant". Over months, the guides bring organic visitors and reduce reliance on paid clicks.
Key Metrics
Click-through rate is clicks divided by impressions. Conversion rate is conversions divided by visitors. Cost per acquisition is spend divided by customers gained.
Example: An ad campaign costs $2,000, earns 40,000 impressions and 800 clicks, and produces 40 sales. CTR = 800 / 40,000 = 2%. Conversion rate = 40 / 800 = 5%. Cost per acquisition = $2,000 / 40 = $50. If the average customer's first order brings $35 profit, the campaign only pays off with repeat purchases.
Marketing Automation and Analytics
Marketing automation sends messages triggered by customer behavior: a welcome series after sign-up, a reminder after an abandoned basket, a re-engagement email after months of inactivity. It lets small teams personalize at scale.
Web analysis closes the loop. Analytics tools show where visitors come from, which pages they view and where they leave. Those insights guide changes to content, ads and the website itself.
A useful way to frame both is the customer journey: awareness, consideration, purchase and loyalty. Each digital tool usually serves one or two stages best, and a strategy should cover the whole journey.
Typical Tasks and How to Approach Them
| Task type | What it tests | How to approach it |
|---|---|---|
| Channel strategy | Fit between tactics and goals | Start with the business goal, then choose channels and metrics |
| Content plan | Audience understanding | Match topics to customer questions at each journey stage |
| Metrics interpretation | Reading results | Calculate, compare to a target and recommend a change |
| Concept questions | Vocabulary | Learn terms with a real brand example |
Social Media and Content That Serve the Mission
The content and social media competencies both ask how activity supports the organization's mission. That shifts the question from "what should we post?" to "what should this audience know, feel or do?".
- Pick platforms by audience, not popularity: a B2B software firm may gain more from LinkedIn than from short-video apps.
- Plan content pillars: three or four recurring themes tied to the brand's expertise.
- Repurpose: one in-depth guide can become several posts, an email and a short video.
- Measure what matters: visits, sign-ups and sales attributed to each channel.
An answer that links a nonprofit's education mission to helpful how-to content, for example, shows the integration the course is looking for.
Where Students Get Stuck
- Tactics without goals. Always state which business goal a tactic supports.
- Vanity metrics. Likes and followers matter less than conversions and retention.
- Confusing SEO and paid search. One is earned over time, the other bought.
- Forgetting integration. Show how digital fits the firm's overall marketing strategy.
Study Tips for D098
- Follow one brand across its website, social media and emails and note how they connect.
- Memorize the main metric formulas and practice them.
- Look at free introductory material from major analytics and ad platforms.
- Link each topic back to the mission statement in your scenario.
How We Help with D098
Send the task, scenario and rubric. A marketing tutor can explain digital concepts, prepare a custom plan or analysis, or review your draft for strategy and accuracy.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Content marketing, digital advertising, search engine optimization, social media, web development and analysis, and marketing automation, all linked to business goals.
It appears in WGU's B.S. Marketing program guide as a 3-competency-unit course.
SEO earns organic search visibility; search engine marketing usually refers to paid search advertising.
Software that sends targeted messages automatically based on customer behavior or timing.
WGU uses objective assessments, performance assessments or both. Check your course page for the current format.
Yes. We can work through example metrics and explain what they mean for decisions.