The 20 Best Online Digital Marketing Agencies Ranked By Effectiveness
Making Magic: The Necessity of Marketing in a Digital World
Gone are the days of optional marketing budgets, quick-shot promotions, and bland TV advertisements (though some of these persist like the stubborn remnants of a species fastly approaching extinction). Truth is that every business is fighting tooth and nail to get their product into the public eye. We live in an age of billion dollar marketing budgets where a triple A blockbuster movie might cost $500 million to make in its entirety, but the marketing budget will double that figure.
Sure you can ignore these demands and seek alternatives, but there is no denying that marketing has become standard for any industry that benefits from consumer attention. This has placed marketers into an enviable position. They are the gatekeepers to going viral, building brands, and multiplying customer bases. A good marketer is the key to unlocking the upper tiers of success in the modern day.
And in the case of marketers, two is better than one; and only established marketing agencies land the best contracts–agencies who can tackle even the most titanic of budgets. These agencies are responsible for the catchy advertisement that you can’t get out of your head, the one-liner that made you follow a company’s social media account, and the reason why you find yourself gravitating toward one product over another. The best marketing agencies shift the tides of entire industries like Moses splitting the Red Sea and their accomplishments are no less miraculous
So let’s take a look at the best marketing agencies around and figure out what kind of secret sauce they use to make magic happen. We’ve ranked these agencies by effectiveness defined as follows:
Team Size: < 40
Client Size: All Sizes
Focus: B2B & B2C
Team Size: < 25
Client Size: Small and Large
Focus: B2B & B2C
Team Size: > 100
Client Size: Mostly Large
Focus: B2B & B2C
Team Size: > 100
Client Size: Mostly Large
Focus: B2B & B2C
Team Size: > 50
Client Size: All Sizes
Focus: B2B & B2C
Team Size: > 150
Client Size: Budgets over $10k
Focus: B2B & B2C
Team Size: < 500
Client Size: All Sizes
Focus: B2B & B2C
Team Size: > 400
Client Size: Budgets over $100k
Focus: B2B & B2C
Team Size: < 50
Client Size: Small to Large
Focus: B2B & B2C
- Industry clout: The most successful marketing agencies have demonstrated their skill with their own brand and have succeeded in marketing their own brand. The marketing agencies with most industry clout are those whose name every marketer knows.
- Achievement: In the case of marketing, certain achievements speak for themselves. Some agencies, for instance, have taken small local brands and built them into international titans of industry. These kinds of achievements were our primary interest.
- Reputation: It is a hard thing to finagle high end corporate success while maintaining a good reputation. The marketing agencies that have pulled this off certainly deserve recognition.
- Cool Factor: If it’s cool, it sells. Sometimes a marketing campaign sticks with you because it’s truly original. Old Spice and Red Bull both had marketing campaigns that have become the backbone of the products themselves. We looked for marketing agencies–big and small–who made success look cool.
The 20 Best Marketing Agencies
Distilled – Seattle, WA

- SEO
- Digital PR Strategy
- E-Commerce
- Content Marketing
- Experimentation
Straight North – Chicago, IL

- SEO
- PPC Management
- Email Marketing
- Graphic Design
- Custom Web Design
Disruptive Advertising – Lindon, UT

- Paid Search (Google, Bing)
- Paid Social
- Email Marketing
- Audio Ads
- Conversion Rates, Analytics
Seer Interactive – San Diego, CA

- PPC
- Paid Social
- SEO
- Creative
- Conversion Rates, Analytics
Klientboost – Costa Mesa, CA

- PPC
- Landing Pages
- SEO
- Paid Search Marketing
- Ad Words (Google, Bing
Fractl – Delray Beach, FL

- Organic Search
- Content Marketing
- SEO
- Marketing
- Digital PR
SEO Inc – Carlsbad, CA

- PPC Advertising
- Social Account Management
- SEO Copy
- Mobile Optimization
- Web Accessibility
Amp Agency – Boston, MA

- UI/UX Design
- Paid Social
- SEO
- Mobile Optimization and Installation
- Digital Product Promotion
Infront Webworks – Colorado Springs, CO

- PPC
- Search Engine Marketing
- SEO
- Website Development
- E-Commerce
McGary Bowen – Chicago, IL
Team Size: 600 Client Size: Mostly Large Focus: B2B & B2C- Brand & Design
- Innovation
- SEO
- Production
- Conversion Rates, Analytics
SKDKnickerbocker – Washington DC
Team Size: > 100 Client Size: Mostly Large Focus: B2B & B2C- Crisis Communications
- PR Management
- SEO
- Direct Mail
- Market Research, Analytics
Web Mechanix – Columbia, MD
Team Size: < 50 Client Size: Budgets over $10k Focus: B2B & B2C- PPC
- Web Development
- SEO
- UI/UX Design
- Conversion Rate Optimization
Silverback Strategists – Alexandria, VA
Team Size: > 50 Client Size: Budgets over $10k Focus: B2B & B2C- Google Analytics
- Ad Words
- SEO Strategy
- Social Media Marketing
- Content Marketing
Avalaunch Media – Lehi, UT
Team Size: >50 Client Size: Budgets over $1k Focus: B2B & B2C- Web Design
- PPC
- SEO
- Creative Strategy
- Content Marketing
SEO Works – Sheffield, United Kingdom
Team Size: < 50 Client Size: Budgets over $1k Focus: B2B & B2C- PPC & Paid Social
- Web Design
- SEO
- Ad Words (Google, Bing)
- Brand Management
Coalition Technologies – Culver City, California
Team Size: > 100 Client Size: Budgets over $1k Focus: B2B & B2C- WordPress Development
- PPC
- SEO
- E-Commerce Development
- Web Design
Directive – Irvine, California
Team Size: < 75 Client Size: Budgets over $5k Focus: B2B & B2C- PPC
- Content Marketing
- SEO
- Social Media Marketing
- Conversion Rate Optimization
- Fruition – Denver, CO
- Web Development & Design
- Social Media Marketing
- SEO
- UX/UI Design
- Digital Design
Infographic World – Great Neck, New York
Team Size: 50 Client Size: Budgets over $5k Focus: B2B & B2C- CRO
- Social Media Marketing
- SEO
- Graphic Design
- Visual Content Production
PBJ Marketing – Washington D.C
Team Size: < 20 Client Size: Budgets over $5k Focus: B2B & B2C- PPC Advertising
- Digital Strategy
- SEO
- Social Media Marketing
- Marketing Analytics