Jul 12, 2016

11 Digital Marketing Blogs You Need To Bookmark

by Digital Marketing Institute

Most industries move at a modest pace, making books and magazines useful tools for staying up to date with tactics, techniques and new developments.

Digital marketing is, to put it lightly, a little different! From new advertising platforms to Google algorithm updates, changes and developments in the digital marketing industry happen at such a fast pace that the information you read one month is often out of date the next.

One of the best ways to keep up to date with news and developments in the digital marketing world is through industry blogs.

We’re big fans of continual self-education through high quality blogs. With thousands of digital marketing blogs to choose from, weeding out the good information from the bad can be an incredibly time-consuming process.

Last year, we published our six favorite digital marketing blogs. Recently, we’ve updated and expanded our list to include 11 digital marketing blogs that belong on your bookmark list. Ready to read? Pick any of the following and get ready to make some notes...

Marketing Land

Marketing Land

Marketing Land features daily updates about the latest developments in the digital marketing industry. The news published on Marketing Land ranges from announcements and business developments from the top marketing brands to helpful How-To guides.

Since Marketing Land publishes such a huge amount of content so frequently, it’s a fantastic one-stop-shop for keeping up to date with the digital marketing world. Most of the content here is “big picture” stuff - expect more posts on industry trends than step-by-step tutorials.

Because Marketing Land has such a huge reach, it often features content from digital marketing thought leaders and industry experts. If you’re looking for insightful commentary on recent news, this is the place to go.

It's super useful for:

Keeping up to date with the latest digital marketing industry news, upcoming launches, brand announcements and technology without having to visit multiple websites.

Content Marketing Institute

Content Marketing Institute

Content marketing is one of the digital marketing industry’s fastest growing channels, and the Content Marketing Institute is the ideal resource for staying up to date on the latest research, innovations and changes to the industry.

The Content Marketing Institute publishes important benchmarks, studies and other data that’s extremely valuable if you’re involved in content marketing. It also frequently publishes “how-to” content aimed at businesses looking to improve their results from content marketing.

If your business uses content to promote its products and services - whether via a company, white papers, email list or any other channel - the Content Marketing Institute blog is a great source of actionable advice and information on industry events.

It's super useful for:

Learning how to develop and grow your content marketing campaign, as well as how to track its performance.

Convince and Convert

Convince and Convert

Convince and Convert blends content marketing with conversion optimization to help you learn how to write, publish and promote content that achieves specific marketing goals.

Equal parts content and sales, Convince and Convert often covers topics like marketing funnel development and optimization, guest blogging and influencer marketing, social media, branding and reputation management.

Unlike other content marketing blogs, which often focus on the creative side of developing new content, Convince and Convert takes an analytical perspective and focuses on using content to achieve specific ROI goals.

It's super useful for:

Developing a content marketing strategy that produces real, quantifiable results like conversions and leads.

Social Media Examiner

Social Media Examiner

As its name suggests, Social Media Examiner is all about social media. From well-known social platforms like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to smaller communities like Reddit, Pinterest and Slideshare, you can find detailed and actionable guides to almost every social network here.

The content on Social Media Examiner includes “how-to” blog posts, interviews with marketing experts and thought leaders, data-driven posts and industry research, news and updates about the social media world and even podcasts and videos.

Social Media Examiner also publishes an annual Social Media Marketing Industry Report with data from over 5,000 marketers, which is available free for readers.

It's super useful for:

Learning how to improve and optimize your social media marketing results. It's also a fantastic resource for finding industry statistics, study data and trends.

Kissmetrics

Kissmetrics

In its own words, the Kissmetrics blog is all about “analytics, marketing and testing.” From A/B testing to improving your average customer lifetime value (CLV), Kissmetrics publishes content that’s focused on helping you improve your business’s quantifiable results.

Expect lots of data-driven content, from case studies on landing page optimization to large-scale marketing surveys and tests. Kissmetrics also publishes detailed infographics covering subjects ranging from customer retention to lead generation, marketing automation and analytics.

The best marketers read a mix of big picture and data-focused content. If you’re searching for a data-driven resource to help you improve your marketing ROI, Kissmetrics definitely deserve a place in your weekly “to read” list.

It's super useful for:

Learning how to optimize your marketing return on investment, increase conversion rates and do more with the data you already have.

Moz

Moz blog

The Moz Blog, which publishes a mix of content from Moz employees and user generated SEO content on YouMoz, is all about search engine optimization. Moz is one of the oldest companies in the SEO software industry, and its blog is packed with actionable SEO advice.

From "how-to" guides for beginners to link building and on-page optimization advice for experts in SEO, the Moz blog is a great resource for developing your SEO strategy and staying up to date with the latest developments in the world of search engine optimization.

If you need a once-weekly SEO update, make sure to check out Moz’s Whiteboard Friday video content, which covers a different aspect of online marketing every Friday.

It's super useful for:

Staying up to date with the latest Google algorithm updates, link building techniques and other white hat SEO information.

Ahrefs

Ahrefs

While Moz offers big picture SEO news and analysis, the Ahrefs blog is packed with information on the technical side of SEO. Ahrefs’ blog content is detailed, data-driven and huge in scale, like its latest analysis of on-page SEO (which covers more than two million keywords).

In addition to analysis, Ahrefs publishes actionable guides to link building, viral content creation, keyword research and competitor analysis. Expect lots of long, detailed posts that blend insights with real SEO data.

One of the biggest strengths of the Ahrefs blog is that the writers have access to Ahrefs’ index of backlink data. This means that the blog is light on theories and speculation and heavy on real on-page and off-page ranking data pulled from live websites.

It's super useful for:

Learning about what helps websites rank in Google search, with plenty of data-driven examples and case studies.

Backlinko

Backlinko

Although it’s recently branched out into on-page SEO, Backlinko started its life as a blog 100% focused on backlink building. Famous for coining the “Skyscraper Technique,” SEO whiz Brian Dean publishes detailed posts on how to earn high-value backlinks the white hat way.

Like Ahrefs, Backlinko publishes a lot of data-driven content, with SEO case studies and useful guides popping up on a monthly basis. The content isn’t groundbreaking, but it covers off-page SEO in a level of detail that’s just as suitable for experts as it is for first-timers.

Whether you’re new to SEO or you’re an experienced marketer searching for new ways to build links and strengthen your website’s rankings, Backlinko is a great resource for developing a link building strategy that works.

It's super useful for:

Discovering effective, proven strategies for earning links from bloggers, webmasters and news outlets.

ViperChill

ViperChill blog

SEO and viral marketing master Glen Allsopp is an expert at cutting through marketing industry hype and delivering insightful, helpful content. ViperChill, his blog, is packed with long, detailed posts (his most recent took 60 hours) that are almost 100% fluff free.

Glen takes an objective approach to SEO, preferring to focus on what works instead of what the industry says works. If you’re the type of marketer that prefers results-driven data to speculation and direct response to branding, you’ll find a lot of value in ViperChill.

In addition to SEO advice, ViperChill occasionally publishes insightful content on how rethinking your marketing strategy can produce a huge increase in traffic, like this insightful guide to timely content and its effect on website traffic.

It's super useful for:

Delivering well-researched, no-nonsense advice on the best ways to improve rankings and drive more search and social traffic.

Occam's Razor

Occam's Razor blog

Occam’s Razor, written and maintained by Avinash Kaushik, focuses on teaching readers how to get more from Google Analytics. Avinash, who has published two bestselling books on web analytics, focuses on topics like competitive intelligence analysis and digital metrics.

Since Google Analytics is such an important tool in determining your website’s major points of improvement, Occam’s Razor is an invaluable asset for any marketer. With a once-weekly read, you’ll discover new ways to use Analytics data to improve your results and drive digital revenue.

It's super useful for:

Learning the ins and outs of Google Analytics, from measuring your website or ad campaign's performance to discovering new opportunities to drive traffic and conversions.

Unbounce

Unbounce blog

Landing page and conversion optimization blog Unbounce covers a wide range of topics related to lead generation, Pay-Per-Click marketing and growing your online business through platforms like AdWords, Facebook Ads and display advertising.

Posts on Unbounce range from specialized tutorials on specific aspects of landing page design or copywriting to big picture posts on campaign strategy and branding. If you want to continually improve your conversion rate, Unbounce is a great weekly read.

It's super useful for:

Finding new ways to increase your conversion rate and generating more leads from your PPC advertising efforts.

Refreshing your digital content needs

You can also stay informed by subscribing to the Digital Marketing Institute's own blog, Trends & Insight. We publish articles on a twice-weekly basis, covering a variety of digital specialisms, from content and social media marketing, to search and analytics.

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