Top Digital Marketing Agencies

What Is a Digital Marketing Agency?

A full-service digital marketing agency develops and executes marketing strategies based on online user behavior data and analytics on a variety of digital channels like websites, search engines, social media platforms, email and more.

Their services include: 

• Internet marketing and advertising
• Content marketing
• Social media marketing
• Search engine optimization
• Email marketing
• And more

Unlike traditional marketing and online advertising companies, full-service digital marketing agencies focus on producing measurable results like:

• On-site conversions
• Rankings on search engine results pages (SERPS)
• PPC lead generation
• Social media engagement
• Social-media-generated traffic and conversions
  And more

Digital marketing agencies are often confused with digital agencies.

While a full-service digital agency typically does provide digital marketing services, they tend to specialize in all things digital and, therefore, also provide web, app and software design and development in addition to other services that grow businesses online.

What Services Do Marketing Agencies Provide?

Digital marketing companies offer services as varied as the digital channels they specialize in.

To answer this question, let's take one step back and look at the engagement models, i.e. how these agencies deliver their services.

• Partnerships: Digital marketing outsourcing is one of the most common engagement models. Two-thirds of B2B companies outsource online marketing to professional agencies to be able to focus their in-house resources on revenue-generating work.
• Projects: One-time or other short-term engagements where a business outsources a particular campaign, strategy or another time-bound task to a specialized agency.

As for the services themselves, the best marketing companies often combine a number of techniques to promote your brand across channels and drive online business growth.

Some of these efforts include:

1. Internet Marketing & Advertising

Service marketing companies manage marketing and advertising across a wide variety of platforms. These tactics can include:

• Retargeting and remarketing
• Paid search
• Paid media
• Pay-per-click advertising (PPC)
• Native advertising
• And more

These initiatives can be executed on many platforms, including:

• Google
• Bing
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Email
• Other publications
• And more

2. Content & Social Media Marketing

Multimedia content and social media are steadily replacing outdated traditional advertising tactics, such as radio spots and expensive TV ads.

Full-service marketing companies can conceptualize, create and publish all sorts of content, such as:

• Blog posts
• Articles
• Brand videos
• Social media posts and content
• Infographics
• User-generated content campaigns
• Digital newsletters
• Whitepapers
• Webinars
• And more

According to Content Marketing Institute, 91% of B2B organizations use content marketing to attract and retain their audiences.

And the tasks they outsource the most include:

• Content creation (47%)
• Content promotion/distribution (23%)
• Content marketing measurement (11%)
• Content marketing strategy (9%)

3. Search Engine Optimization

Online marketing also encompasses search engine optimization (SEO).

This robust initiative is the act of optimizing your web design and corresponding content to
rank higher on relevant search results.

There are three types of SEO that you need to focus on for a well-rounded organic search strategy:

• Technical SEO
• On-page SEO
• Off-page SEO

Unsurprisingly, most companies optimize for Google since it dominates the search engine market and in May 2020 it maintained 92% of the total market share.

However, the engine uses more than 200 factors to rank websites.

And while some of them are clearer than others, top marketing agencies have both enough experience and data to develop effective SEO strategies that will increase your website traffic organically.

4. Additional Digital Marketing Services

There is a near-endless list of campaigns that can be implemented to grow your business.

Additional services offered by these specialized agencies are as varied as the many types of digital marketing:

• Email marketing
• Influencer marketing
• Video marketing
• Marketing automation
• Affiliate marketing
• Data and analytics
• Mobile marketing
• Inbound marketing
• Digital public relations
• Instant messaging marketing
• Conversion rate optimization
• And more

Check out this article for the 13 types of digital marketing your business should tap into.

Digital Marketing Firms vs. Digital Advertising Companies

The fields of online marketing and digital advertising tend to overlap often and to a degree that makes it difficult to set any clear boundaries between them.

A digital advertising agency develops and delivers advertising campaigns for online audiences. As such, digital advertising couples data and tech with creativity.

Some of the services that online advertisement companies offer are:

• Display ads: Data analysis, data-based campaign conceptualization, design, deployment, performance tracking and optimization.
• Social ads: Social media campaigns based on the target audience behavior.
• PPC and other forms of paid ads including social.

In reality, most marketing firms will include these advertising services in their offering.

Online marketing is usually viewed as a broader strategy that ties all the digital branding, lead generation and customer relationship building initiatives under its wing.

So, these agencies develop expertise in a few particular branches of online marketing. Some even develop industry-specific expertise.

As a result, these companies’ offerings will differ and the right outsourcing partner will specialize in just the type of services you need.

How Much Do the Best Marketing Companies Charge for Their Services?

Local digital marketing agencies usually price their services based on hourly rates. In the U.S., the hourly rates for range between $100 and $175.

However, if you choose to partner with an overseas company, rates per hour can drop to as low as $40.

Many organizations also hire top specialists on a monthly retainer contract, meaning that the internet marketing company acts as an expert consultant that advises your business.

Depending on the type of project, monthly retainer fees for US-based companies range from $1,000 to $3,000 or more.

Meanwhile, those companies located overseas have less expensive monthly retainers that hover around $700 per month.

Other pricing structures include fees per project or results-based. 

Why Should You Hire a Top Marketing Agency?

Nowadays, the benefits of digital marketing are immense for businesses of all types. Compared to laborious, slow-paced traditional marketing, online marketing allows brands to reach new customers globally and expand across borders fast through effective targeting campaigns at much lower costs. 

Here are the top five advantages of partnering with a marketing firm:

1. Staying relevant in your industry

Your partner agency will develop an in-depth understanding of your industry and business environment which matters in the success of your business growth efforts as these are some of the key factors that will improve your strategy. 

2. Being on top of the latest trends

Digital marketing specialists will also keep you on top of the emerging trends in online marketing and the latest market-tested tactics to help you reach your goals.

3. Having access to premium marketing tools

The top marketing studios use expensive tools that automate their strategies, provide analytical insight and help with day-to-day online marketing management efforts.

4. Generating more quality leads

With their tactics and tools in motion, you will get a deeper insight into your target market behavior and help you identify better buyer personas, thus driving qualified leads.

5. Getting analytical reports

These experts will also provide you with useful data on your audience, competitors and brand which can help you improve your online marketing strategies.

How To Choose the Right Internet Marketing Company for Your Business

By now, you have probably observed that each global and local digital marketing agency in our directory is unique in its focus, expertise, cost and experience.

As such, each company will have something unique to contribute to your business. Some are crafty wordsmiths, design wizards and brand whisperers, others excel in designing and developing your online spaces, as well as using the latest tech to create memorable user experiences.

To find the best marketing and design company for your business, take these steps:

Step #1: Ask About Their Experts

One of the main reasons why businesses choose to outsource their digital marketing entirely is to tap into the expertise these agencies foster.

In other words, people stand as their most important resource. Try to meet the experts who will work on your account or project to ensure they have enough experience and the right skills to lead you to success.

Step #2: Identify Their Area(s) Of Expertise

Know your business goals and understand exactly what you want to achieve by hiring a marketing firm. 

Online marketing encompasses many strategies and campaigns across dozens of platforms. And investigating these agencies' core competencies will give you an insight into their skills, qualifications and relevant experience.

Step #3: Understand Their Processes To Learn How They Deliver Results

The best marketing companies have clearly defined and streamlined processes that help them optimize client engagement as well as results.

Ask your shortlisted candidates to share with you:

• How they would interact with your in-house team to obtain insights and approvals
• How they manage internal and client communication
• How they devise and deliver strategies
• How they ensure transparency over the entire process

Step #4: View Their Professional Portfolio

The top marketing agencies have detailed portfolios full of successful projects.

Do your own research and learn what you can about an agency’s prior campaigns. Then, ask the agency detailed questions about these projects, such as:

• Why was it successful?
• Did it go according to plan – why or why not?
• What did you learn from the project?

Plus, don’t forget to ask these experts about their missteps, too. They will recognize projects that didn’t meet expectations and will tell you what they learned and how they plan to avoid that in the future.

Asking yourself these questions will also help you find the right partner:

• To onshore or offshore:
  • How important is the agency’s physical proximity to your offices?
  • How important is the time zone overlap?
  • How important is it to outsource to a US-based agency and why?
• Project scope:
  • What type of digital marketing services do you need?
  • Will your project expand over time? If so, which new tasks do you expect to outsource to the agency you partner with?
• Budget:
  • How much are you looking to invest in your project?

10 Questions To Ask A Marketing Services Company

Ask these questions to find the best digital marketing creative agency for your next project easily:

1. Who would be working on our account? What qualifies them for this role?
2. What are some of the high-level suggestions you have for our online presence and why?
3. What is your process, i.e. how would you approach our project?
4. How would you engage our in-house team during this process?
5. How often would we meet to review progress and results?
6. How will you measure our results?
7. What tools, programs or resources do you use and why?
8. What experience do you have in our industry?
9. What experience do you have solving business growth or marketing problems that are similar to ours?
10. What digital marketing services are included in your fee? Are there any services, programs, etc. that may cost extra?

How to Develop a Digital Marketing Strategy

Digital marketing agencies specialize in developing well-thought-out strategies to help their clients reach a broader market, increase brand awareness, capture more leads and boost conversions.

However, knowing for yourself what a digital marketing strategy entails will help you better understand the steps of their strategic planning process.

Doing your research beforehand can also help evaluate these agencies’ capabilities in devising a tailored marketing plan that addresses your business goals and gets you the desired results.

So, without further ado, learn how to develop a digital marketing strategy in six steps:

Step #1: Create a Buyer Persona

Knowing the types of people who are interested in your product or service is the cornerstone of every digital marketing effort. You need to understand to whom you market to run targeted campaigns and increase conversion rates.

A buyer persona is a marketing term used for pinning down your ideal customer that can be defined by studying and contacting your target audience.

Step #2: Know Your Goals

It’s key to identify and define your goals as clearly as possible. Whether you want to increase brand visibility, drive more website traffic or increase your conversion rates, these need to be outlined precisely and tracked and measured accordingly.

For every successful digital marketing strategy, you should set SMART goals. This acronym stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely, which works like a goal map that will help you achieve your marketing objectives.

Step #3: Create Quality Content

Delivering quality content that informs and educates your audience about your business is another key component of any digital marketing strategy.

Regularly writing SEO-optimized blog posts that match your customers’ search intent will help your website rank on search engines, increase your online visibility and generate more traffic. You will also use your business website as a platform for your online marketing, advertising, and social media campaigns.

Step #4: Have a Mobile Optimized Website

Your website is your central marketing tool. This should be fully optimized in a way that it’s responsive, functional, and SEO-driven for mobile devices like smartphones or tablets.

According to Statista, in the first half of 2022, the number of global smartphone users exceeded 6 billion, and it’s projected to grow by several hundred million in the upcoming years. We live in a mobile-first era, so delivering a great mobile experience to your customers is non-negotiable.

Step #5: Decide on the Most Effective Digital Marketing Channels

Make an audit of your current digital channels and assess their performance. Figure out which ones are effective and bring results. These may include your website and blog, social media platforms, paid advertising, and others.

Eliminate the inefficient digital marketing channels and focus on those proven to be more effective in achieving tangible results. Integrating too many elements into your strategy may divert you from your primary goal map, leaving behind half-baked results. Zero in on the high-priority goals first, then add more channels along the way.

Step #5: Leverage Marketing Automation Tools

Nowadays, most companies are using specialized tools to automate their marketing. These can be extremely effective for various activities such as lead generation, email marketing, collecting customer data, etc.

Digital marketing companies usually have access to expensive, premium marketing automation tools that help them tweak and refine campaigns to provide the desired results. Apart from paid marketing automation software, you can find free versions with plenty of features and capabilities to choose from.

Step #6: Track Performance

The only way to gauge if your digital marketing strategy pays off is by constantly monitoring your campaigns. This process includes various tasks, variables, and tools that can be overwhelming even for the most equipped digital marketers.

If you want to eliminate trial-and-error methods and see results, employing the services of a digital marketing agency is worth investing in. They have the required skills and tools to measure campaign results, track progress and tweak your campaigns to the tiniest details to improve them and get the results you’re looking for.

Takeaways on Digital Marketing Agencies

Digital marketing agencies develop strategies that foster business growth online.

They offer various pricing plans with the fee per hour as their most common, which ranges between $100-$175. 

The best digital marketing companies in the world share key qualities that prove that can help brands grow online successfully:

• The ability to understand and adapt to any brand
• Strong company leadership and highly skilled teams
• Access to top tools and resources that give them better management capabilities and access to real-time data
• Experience in your industry and solving similar business growth problems to yours
• Expertise in the online marketing areas you’re looking to implement
• A collaborative culture that will work with your brand
• The ability to create a clear and organized roadmap to success – and stick to it
• A history of successful marketing campaigns, strategies and initiatives

To find the right internet marketing company for your business, follow these easy steps:

• Get to know their team
• Determine their service focus
• Explore their portfolios
• Understand their processes

Best of luck!

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