Why Digital Marketing Agencies Have it Tough in 2023 | 5-Minute Whiteboard

3 months ago, a dear friend’s agency closed for good. 2 months ago, another close friend had a round of layoffs at their firm. And in just the last two weeks, I talked to four agency owners who reported their first revenue-declining year in the last five. It’s rough out there for a lot of digital marketing agency owners. My…

Why the Worst Search Marketers Start Content Strategy with “SEO Keywords” — 5-Minute Whiteboard

I’m worried. Worried that thousands of agencies, in-house practitioners, and even marketing leaders who should know better are STILL prioritizing their content efforts based primarily or entirely on keywords for search. I get it. 10 years ago, that practice worked. It still technically works in a number of fields. Prioritize keywords, create content, publish, get links and ranking signals, earn…
Advertising Agencies Marketing

What Should Digital Marketing Agencies Focus on in the Year Ahead?

A few weeks ago, I received a lovely email with an important question: what should digital marketing agencies focus on in 2021 and beyond? Via Sebastián Cardozo of Noventaynueve Wait… Why me? I don’t run an agency, and haven’t for more than a decade. Well, SparkToro has used a lot of agency help, we’ve got more than two hundred agency…