The most common question at our Dehradun demo classes is not "which institute?" — it is "3 months or 6 months?" Both of Hashtag Academy's flagship programs are part of our digital marketing course in Dehradun, both run in the Nehru Colony classroom and live online, and both start a new batch every Monday. They are built for different people, though, and picking the wrong one costs you either three months or a chunk of fee.
This guide puts the two side by side so you can decide in five minutes.
The two programs in one table
| Performance Marketing (3 months) | Professional Digital Marketing (6 months) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A focused course on paid advertising: Meta Ads, Google Ads, landing pages, tracking | A complete diploma: websites, SEO, content, social media, ads, analytics, AI tools, freelancing, career prep |
| Modules | 6 | 12 |
| Batch size | 10–15 students | Small batches, limited seats |
| Internship | 1-month internship opportunity | 3-month internship program |
| Capstone | Portfolio of real campaign results | Capstone project with a real client |
| Best for | People who already know they want to run ads, business owners, freelancers adding a service | Freshers building a full career foundation, career switchers, anyone unsure which skill to specialise in |
| Fee | See the fees page | See the fees page |
Both end with a Hashtag Academy certificate, placement assistance (resume, LinkedIn, mock interviews, referrals — never a job guarantee) and EMI options.
What the 3-month Performance Marketing course covers
Six modules, all pointed at one outcome: campaigns that bring leads and sales.
- Performance marketing basics — the funnel, KPIs, ROI and ROAS, so you can read a campaign report and know what it means.
- Meta Ads — Business Manager, Pixel and event tracking, audiences, creatives, lead and sales campaigns on Facebook and Instagram.
- Google Ads — Search, Display, YouTube, Shopping and Performance Max.
- Landing page optimisation — page structure, copy, A/B testing.
- Analytics and tracking — Google Analytics 4, Tag Manager, attribution.
- Scaling — budget scaling, advanced retargeting, automation rules, cutting cost per lead.
You run live campaigns on real ad accounts during training. By month three you have a portfolio of actual results, which is what an agency hiring for a paid-ads role asks to see.
Pick this if: you run a business and want to stop paying an agency every month; you freelance and want to add paid ads; you are a marketer who wants the one skill agencies hire for first; or you have limited time and want the fastest route to a billable skill.
What the 6-month Professional Digital Marketing diploma covers
Twelve modules that walk the whole funnel, from putting a website live to getting hired or signing clients.
- Website and landing page launch kit
- Digital marketing starter blueprint (research, funnels, positioning)
- Content and copy conversion
- SEO mastery (on-page, off-page, technical, local)
- Google Ads and PPC
- Social media organic growth
- Paid social (Meta Ads)
- Analytics, tracking and conversion optimisation
- AI marketing automation and productivity stack
- WhatsApp marketing, CRM and lead-to-sale automation
- Freelancing, client acquisition and agency execution
- Career accelerator: resume, portfolio, LinkedIn, mock interviews
It is 90% practical, with real client projects, a capstone, and a 3-month internship program after the classroom phase.
Pick this if: you are a 12th pass student or fresher and want a full career foundation; you are switching careers and need depth across SEO, content and ads rather than one skill; or you want to freelance and need to offer the whole package to clients.
Five questions that decide it
1. Do you already know which skill you want? If "paid ads" is the clear answer, take the 3-month course. If you are not sure whether you prefer SEO, content, social or ads, take the 6-month diploma — it lets you find out before you specialise.
2. Do you have work history? Freshers with no experience benefit most from the longer program and its 3-month internship: it fills the "experience" gap on a resume. Working professionals adding a skill usually do not need that.
3. How much time can you give each week? Both run as weekday batches (a weekend batch opens on request once enough learners sign up). The diploma needs a longer commitment and more practice time outside class.
4. Are you learning for your own business? Most business owners get what they need from the 3-month course: Meta and Google ads, landing pages and tracking are where the money is spent. Owners who also want to handle their own SEO, content and WhatsApp automation go for the diploma.
5. What is the budget? The diploma costs more but covers roughly twice the ground; per module it is comparable. Both have EMI. Check the current fee for each on the fees page rather than relying on any third-party listing — several still show out-of-date numbers.
The honest trade-offs
- Depth vs speed. The 3-month course goes deeper into ads than the diploma's two ads modules do. The diploma goes wider. If you want to be the best paid-ads person in the room, three months of nothing but ads beats six months of everything.
- Portfolio shape. After the 3-month course your portfolio is campaign screenshots and results. After the diploma it is a website you launched, pages you ranked, campaigns you ran and a client capstone. Different interviewers want different things.
- Switching later. You can start with the 3-month program and move to the diploma afterwards; the ads modules overlap, so you do not repeat them. Ask at the demo.
What students in Dehradun usually choose
From our batches at Nehru Colony: freshers straight out of college or 12th mostly choose the 6-month diploma; business owners, freelancers and working marketers mostly choose the 3-month Performance Marketing course. Both groups sit the same free demo class first, and that demo is the fastest way to settle the question — you see the trainer, the live project style and the pace, then decide.
Book a free demo class, or WhatsApp +91 76840 58405 and tell us which of the five questions above you are stuck on.