Best Digital Marketing Blogs to Follow

Alliance  ·  April 10, 2021

If you’re starting a digital marketing blog or looking for great examples of digital marketing blogs we’ve selected 16 of the best to follow.

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Let’s say you’re a new business owner looking to generate some extra revenue online. You understand that, before anyone will buy from you, there is a level of trust that needs to be established between a visitor and your business. You also understand that to grow your business online, you need to continue generating new traffic from search engines. One great way to accomplish both of these goals is through content marketing, which can be done by starting a business blog on your website. In this article, we will discuss why you should consider starting an online blog for your business, as well as share some of our top choices for great existing blogs to serve as inspiration for your posts.

Blog marketing is a content creation strategy that strives to establish customer loyalty through information provided through free online content that usually relates to your business and industry. A blog is a relatively inexpensive way to reach your target audience and provide information and industry updates, as well as draw in new business from search engines. Blogs used to be separate from business websites, but more recently it has become a great content marketing strategy as it can be frequently updated at a relatively low cost.

A business blog is also a great way to showcase all the places where you have been featured both on and offline, which can serve as great self promotion for your business.

Blogging is also a valuable way to draw in new leads, as well as keep current customers engaged on your website for longer periods of time. Updating your website with new content is actually a ranking signal on search engines as it shows your website provides a great user experience and is updated on a regular basis. 

Your blog content should not be solely focused on self promotion, however, as it should serve as a way to build credibility for your business. To accomplish this, your blog content should be a combination of information, entertainment, and education. 

The pros of a marketing blog include:

  • Relatively inexpensive to start and update
  • Easy to use- extensive technical background not necessary
  • Builds brand awareness through information, education, and entertaining content
  • Helps establish trust and credibility in your brand as a leader within your industry
  • Is an easy way to engage your target audience
  • Can help drive new traffic through improved search engine rankings
  • Can help your business generate revenue through advertising and product promotion 

While this brand recognition is great for your business, you want to make sure you capitalize on it by including certain features on your blog, or all your marketing efforts may go to waste. 

A few key features of a great digital marketing blog include:

Call to Action Areas – By including areas within your online blog that encourage visitors to further engage with your business, you can easily identify new sales opportunities and keep them up to date through email communication. Some ways to include CTAs within an online blog include an ask to sign up for your newsletter for regular updates, or inclusion of a short business bio and contact information at the end of a blog post.

Highlights from Well-known Media Coverage – Your marketing blog is also a great space to promote your business, so be sure to include some promotional posts within your blog to help establish credibility with your online visitors. Some great examples for these types of posts include highlighting any awards received or promotion of your business from any well known media outlets.

Internal Linking – Internal linking within your posts are a great way to optimize your blog for search engines, which will help drive traffic to your website. You can internally link specific keywords within your blog posts to other relevant pages within your website. Doing this will help search engines identify what type of content your blog posts contain that will help them rank according to these specific keywords. Internal linking also helps with visitor engagement on your website, as clicking these links will bring them to other content and help them learn more about your business.

Contact information for your media/marketing team – You want to offer a way for your visitors or other businesses to get in touch with your marketing team in case there is a promotional opportunity such as an advertising or media coverage. Without this information, you might miss out on some promotional opportunities for your business so be sure to include contact information on your blog page.

Ability to Filter Blog Content by Topic and Date – When visitors come to your online blog, they might have interest in specific topics. By giving them the ability to search your blog for specific content, you can give them the opportunity to further engage with your website, which will build more trust in your brand. Your blog content should also be displayed in order of relevancy, with the newer posts appearing towards the top of the page.

Content that Informs, Educates, and Entertains your Target Audience – While inclusion of promotional content is important, it should not be the sole focus of your online blog. Blogs serve as a way to educate and entertain your audience about topics that are relevant to your business, which will help in establishing the trust and credibility necessary for making a purchasing decision in the future.

Inclusion of Visual Content such as Video or Imagery – Your blog posts should not solely be text based. For a better user experience, you will want to include other visual elements such as relevant imagery or online video as a way to make your blog posts more entertaining and informative. 

Attention Grabbing Headline – Your headlines for your blog posts are especially important, as that is what will grab your visitors attention and cause them to click on a post. Make sure your blog headlines are straightforward yet attention grabbing through the right word choices that resonate with your target audience.

If you’re starting a digital marketing blog or looking for great examples of digital marketing blogs we’ve selected 17 of the best to follow:

1

Etsy Blog

Features: 

  • Ability to filter blog content by topic such as weddings, creativity, occasions, home and living, etc.
  • Blog posts appear in order from newest to oldest
  • Ability to comment and share blog posts
  • Engaging headlines with creative ideas tailored to the target audience of artists, home decorators, etc.
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2

Hubspot Blog

Features:

  • Content centered around providing free information for digital marketing to engage target audience 
  • Call to action area at the top of the blog for free trial of Hubspot software and to subscribe to their email newsletter
  • Inclusion of relevant visuals within each post
  • Ability to filter content by topic such as email marketing, customer experience SEO, and sales process
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3

Shopify Blog

Features:

  • Call to action areas for email newsletter signup and free trial of Shopify software
  • Content centered around business ideas for startups (target audience) such as starting an online store, product updates, and creative ideas
  • Inclusion of relevant imagery and infographics within blog posts
  • Ability to comment on posts and share on social media
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4

Google Ads Blog

Features:

  • Call to action areas to follow Google social media channels
  • Blog content appears in order of relevancy on latest topics and newest posts
  • Inclusion of author of posts, which are written by Google corporate executives
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5

Yoast Blog

Features:

  • Website has three different blogs based on major topics within the organization including travel and sustainability within the wildlife community
  • Inclusion of a search bar to find specific posts
  • Suggestion of different topics as a way to filter blog posts
  • Call to action areas to subscribe to post notifications and follow them on social media
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6

Referral Candy Blog

Features: 

  • Call to action areas for newsletter signup, online donations, and to follow the PACT social media accounts
  • Ability to filter content by location (they are a worldwide organization), date, and topic
  • Engaging online content featuring success  stories of specific families they have helped 
  • Inclusion of relevant imagery within the posts of families that have been impacted by PACT’s work

 

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7

Toast Blog

Features:

  • Inclusion of different types of content such as articles, how to guides and other resources, personal success stories using Toast products, and podcasts 
  • Inclusion of a COVID-19 section for relevant news and updates 
  • Sidebar featuring suggested posts and topics 
  • CTA for newsletter sign up
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8

Mapbox Blog

Features:

  • Ability to filter blog content by latest post or relevant topics such as aviation and automotive GPS technology
  • Inclusion of relevant visuals above each post relating to GPS technology
  • Featured article at the top of the blog page
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9

SEM Rush Blog

Features:

  • Inclusion of search bar and topic suggestions at the top of the blog page
  • Full product bar to promote features, tools, and pricing of their SEO products
  • Section of top picked articles from SEMRush editors
  • Inclusion of approximate read time for each article to give an idea of the length of each post
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10

HotJar Blog

Features:

  • Large search bar to find articles target audience might be most interested in
  • Chat functionality for topic suggestions and helping visitors online find relevant the information they need
  • Inclusion of a call to action area to demo a HotJar product
  • Large featured article at the top of the page
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11

Moz Blog

Features:

  • Ability to filter content by category
  • Inclusion of informative free content such as SEO training guides
  • Topic bar with Moz product information and features
  • Ability to comment on blog posts
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12

Alliance Interactive Blog

Features:

  • Featured article at the top of  the page
  • Inclusion of relevant imagery within each blog post
  • Internal links within posts to external service pages on the Alliance Interactive website
  • Inclusion of contact information to get in touch with a digital marketing expert
  • Search bar allows visitors to filter content by specific topics they have interest in learning more about
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13

Seth’s Blog Blog

Features:

  • Personalized content told in a storytelling format
  • Ability to filter content by top picks, popular posts, and story of the week
  • Ability to share posts via social media
  • Ability to click to next relevant article, or generate a random new post to further engage online visitors
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14

Gaps Blog

Features:

  • Inclusion of call to action area for newsletter signup
  • Short testimonials featuring short quotes from satisfied customers that have used the Gaps products for their business
  • Inclusion of statistics of total blog subscribers
  • Content focused on education and resources for target audience of entrepreneurs
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15

Ahrefs Blog

Features:

  • Inclusion of search bar to filter blog content
  • Call to action to subscribe to online newsletter
  • Content suggestions by popular topics such keyword research, SEO basics and website traffic
  • Inclusion of business related content and what’s new at their organization
16

Instapage Blog

Features:

  • Inclusion of call to action areas such as a free performance report and signup link
  • Blog posts tagged by popular topics such as conversion optimization, google ads and more
  • Inclusion of relevant imagery above each post
  • Inclusion of statics on blog readership
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Need help with your Digital Marketing? Alliance Interactive is a full-service Washington, DC based digital agency and a leader in online content strategy and SEO.