A digital marketing agency is a company that specializes in developing and implementing promotional strategies through various online channels. It analyzes user behavior data to create and launch campaigns for the following: 

• Websites
• Email
• Content
• PPC advertising
• Conversion rate optimization (CRO)
• Video marketing
• Search engine optimization (SEO)
• Social media
• And more 

In terms of service delivery, these are the two engagement models that digital marketing firms typically follow:  

• Partnerships: Digital marketing outsourcing is one of the most common engagement models. It enables businesses to focus their in-house resources on revenue-generating core functions.  
• Projects: These are one-time or short-term engagements where a business outsources a particular campaign, strategy, or other time-bound tasks to a specialized agency. 

A digital marketing company integrates various marketing strategies across a variety of channels to provide holistic business growth for its clients. It analyzes clients’ online presence, identifies gaps and areas of improvement, and outlines a comprehensive strategy based on the most relevant digital opportunities. Its goal is to provide qualified leads and new business for clients.  

The best internet marketing companies often combine different strategies to promote brands across channels and drive online business growth. That said, their main services are: 

Internet Marketing and Advertising 

This includes retargeting and remarketing, paid search, paid media, pay-per-click advertising, and native advertising. These initiatives can be executed on Google, Bing, Facebook, LinkedIn, email, and other publications. 

Content Marketing  

This includes conceptualizing, crafting, and publishing all content types, like blog posts, articles, brand videos, social media posts, infographics, user-generated content (UGC), digital newsletters, whitepapers, and webinars. 

The Content Marketing Institute reports that 91% of B2B organizations use content marketing to attract and retain their audiences, typically outsourcing: 

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

Social Media Marketing (SMM) 

This includes promoting businesses and their products or services on various social networking platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and others. It aims to connect them with their intended audiences, increase brand awareness, and drive traffic and sales. 

Some of the services covered in SMM are social media strategy development, content creation, social media management, social media advertising, community management, analytics and reporting, and more. 

Email Marketing 

This includes sending promotional messages, announcements, newsletters, and other content types via email to a targeted list of subscribers. Email marketing campaigns can vary in complexity, from simple one-off emails to complex automated sequences that are triggered by specific consumer actions or behaviors. Success is typically measured by open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates. 

SEO 

This includes optimizing your website and content to rank higher on relevant search results. A well-rounded organic search strategy encompasses technical SEO, on-page SEO, and off-page SEO. 

Maintaining a total market share of 91.55% in October er 2023 [Global Stats], Google is inarguably the most prominent search engine. Thus, businesses tend to concentrate their optimization and search engine marketing efforts on Google. 

The platform uses 200+ factors to rank websites [Backlinko], so it’s critical for top digital marketing agencies to have the experience and in-depth know-how to navigate it. 

Others 

Other digital marketing services are: 

• Marketing automation  
• Affiliate marketing  
• Data monitoring and analytics  
• Inbound marketing  
• Digital public relations  
• Conversion rate optimization (CRO)  
• Influencer marketing 
• Video marketing 
• Mobile marketing 
• Content syndication 
• Web design and web development 
• And more 

The difference between a digital marketing company and a digital advertising company lies in the scope of work, approach, and strategies. 

A digital marketing firm provides a broader strategy that ties digital branding, lead generation, and customer relationship-building initiatives under its wing. It includes: 

• Marketing plans: Short and long-term action plans with targets and objectives 
• Branding collaterals: Logo and brand messaging frameworks 
• Website content: Press releases, blog articles, white papers, and case studies 
• Social media content: Engaging reels and videos for social media audiences 

While digital marketing agencies may also provide online advertising services, a digital advertising agency focuses on: 

• Display ads: Data-based campaign conceptualization, design, deployment, performance tracking, and optimization, plus data analysis 
• Social ads: Social media campaigns based on the target audience’s behavior  
• PPC: Paid online advertising model on search engines and socials

Digital marketing agencies charge between $80 and $200 per hour, on average. The top 50 digital marketing agencies on DesignRush charge an average of $100/hour. 

The average agency fees per digital marketing service type are as follows: 

Here are the five pricing models to consider when calculating digital marketing costs: 

• Packaged pricing: Many digital marketing agencies offer packaged services with predetermined prices. This pricing model is transparent, and clients can choose a package that fits their budget. 
• Public pricing: Some agencies prefer to price their services individually. This model enables clients to select the specific services they need without filling out a detailed contact form. 
• Price quote calculator: This combines public and packaged pricing models. Clients can select services from a list with set prices, building their packages using the calculator. This approach is ideal for clients with a specific budget and want a customized quote for their chosen services. 
• Hourly pricing: Agencies may charge based on the number of hours rendered. 
• Flat project-based pricing: Certain SEO projects, such as recovering from Google penalties, are one-time projects, whereas other tasks, like content audits and keyword research, are recurring. Flat-fee pricing is best suited for one-time tasks, like SEO projects, content audits, keyword research, and PPC. 

The agency's location, expertise, and team size, as well as your project's complexity, timeframe, and services required, will also impact the total project cost. 

The average annual budget for digital marketing ranges between $175,000 to $250,000, including agency fees, technology, and ad spend. [Ascend Business Growth] 

According to Gartner, most companies spend an average of 9.5% of the total company revenue on digital marketing, and an average of 56% of the marketing budget on digital channels.  

SMBs typically spend between $2,000 and $6,000 on digital marketing services to accomplish their marketing goals. Companies with more ambitious objectives may invest between $10,000 and $20,000 per month. Large enterprises, on the other hand, may allocate well over $100,000 each month for their online marketing efforts, depending on their budget and goals. 

On DesignRush, roughly 14.4% of the digital marketing companies have a minimum budget of $1,000, while 1.7% have a $50,000+ minimum budget. 

Keep in mind that an effective digital marketing strategy isn’t a one-off solution, and it can change depending on your business needs and demands. After all, a successful campaign is meant to help your brand grow. 

The average return on investment (ROI) for digital marketing varies significantly depending on the channel used. A 5:1 ratio is generally considered good, meaning for every $1 spent, you receive $5 in return.  

However, the ROI can be much higher for specific channels:

Yes, it’s worth hiring a digital marketing company because it eliminates the need to recruit, train, and maintain an internal team, cutting down expenses over time. At the same time, you will gain new perspectives on how to improve your strategies for business growth through access to: 

• Expert knowledge: In-depth understanding of your industry and business environment 
• Industry tactics: Knowledge of the emerging trends in online marketing and the latest market-tested tactics 
• Data-based research: Better understanding of target market behavior to help identify well-defined buyer personas and drive qualified leads 
• Campaign performance monitoring, analytics, and reporting: Insights into your audience, competitors, and brand that help with day-to-day online marketing management efforts 
• Premium marketing tools: Software and platforms that automate strategies 

According to Invesp, a strong lead nurturing strategy can generate 50% more leads ready to make a purchase, all while reducing costs by 33%. This can be achieved by hiring a digital marketing company with proven expertise in implementing effective lead-generation strategies.  

One such case study is BigLeap’s collaboration with Avis Rent a Car, a global leader in the vehicle rental industry. The goal was to generate leads, outrank the competition, and expand its presence to reach more potential customers. 

With a strategy combining local SEO and over 300 pieces of original content, BigLeap generated 10,000 new leads for the client. The client also ranked for an additional 213 target keywords on the first page of the SERP. 

Select the best marketing agency following these steps: 

1. Determine your goals, requirements, budget, KPIs, and timeline. 
2. Research agencies’ websites and check their core competencies and relevant experience in your industry.  
3. Review their portfolios, campaign results, reviews, client references, and social media pages. 
4. Learn about their processes to understand how they deliver results and generate quality leads. 
5. See if they use top-of-the-line marketing tools to provide accurate insights. 
6. Shortlist potential candidates and submit a digital marketing request for proposal (RFP). 
7. Receive custom proposals and arrange interviews with 4-5 agencies to ask detailed questions and evaluate if they are a good fit for your brand. 
8. Schedule a follow-up meeting to discuss the proposal in detail. 
9. Ask if their experts have an in-depth knowledge of your niche – a key factor for growth and improvement of strategies. 
10. Inquire how they stay updated with the latest digital marketing trends. 
11. Choose the best agency that aligns with your expectations, budget, and company values. 

Need guidance in finding an agency partner for your business? Tell us about your project, and our Agency Team will curate a list of top agencies that match your needs. Visit the Marketplace to find out more.  

The critical questions you should ask before partnering with an online marketing agency are: 

Its Relevant Background 

1. What experience do you have working in our industry? 
2. Have you solved similar digital marketing challenges like ours? 
3. In which areas of expertise have you achieved the best results? 

Company Services and Processes 

1. What type of digital marketing services do you offer?  
2. What types and sizes of marketing budgets have you handled so far? What are the results generated for these projects? 
3. What is the cost of your services? What business model do you adopt? 
4. What services are included in your package and are there any services or programs that may cost extra? 

The Project 

1. What strategies will you develop to increase our online presence? 
2. What tools, programs, or resources do you use and why? 
3. How will you measure results? 
4. How often will we get progress reports? 
5. Who will be working on our account and what qualifies them for this role? 
6. involve our in-house team in the course of the project? 
7. When are you available to start our project? 

The best digital marketing agencies in the U.S. are:

Scroll up to learn more about these agencies and discover other top digital marketing providers selected based on industry reputation, successful projects, client testimonials, team expertise, and more. To further personalize your search, you can sort agencies by location, reviews, hourly rates, agency size, and budget.