Effective online marketing blogs run the gamut of topics and approaches, and the word “effective” is subjective: a blog that is spot on for you may bomb with someone else. But the best blogs all share common elements – they’re easy to understand, crafted by experts and make you want to come back for more.
Ten of the most popular and effective marketing blogs include names both new and familiar.
Marketing Blogs that Cover the Big Picture
1. Inbound
Make your first stop at the first name in inbound marketing: HubSpot. This site’s marketing blog covers the gamut of categories – from site design to lead generation, landing page strategy and tons more. And because HubSpot is so well known, the blogs attract plenty of comments, which may provide you with extra insight from people going through the same challenges that you are.
2. Social Media Marketing
Sherpa chose its effective online marketing blogs for 2012, naming individual blogs according to marketing categories. Their choice for social media marketing: Blue Focus Marketing. Whether you’re looking for tips on tweets or recommendation on optimization, these blogs attract C-level guest bloggers who explain their topics in easy-to-understand terms.
3. Trends
The familiar Mashable blog is a huge repository of news and trends from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the other giants of social media. Where else, for instance, would you learn that Puppy Bowl was among the 20 most social TV shows of its week? Or that Facebook is all a-twitter (so to speak) over the anti-loneliness Ramen bowl? Blogs like these can give you great insight into what kind of content gets liked, shared and commented upon.
4. B2B
If you can look past its long-scrolling, narrow column of content, Webbiquity offers plenty to enjoy. This B2B blog “focuses mainly on online tactics and front-end website traffic and lead generation (rather than, say, lead nurturing),” as the site’s president, Tom Pick, told Marketing Sherpa. “So it’s most valuable for tips on areas like SEO, SEM, social media marketing, content strategy, blogging and media relations – tactics that are used to expand a company’s Web presence, attract relevant visitors to a website and then convert them into leads.”
5. SEO
The name SEOmoz is synonymous with the search engine optimization community, so it stands to reason that its daily blog is full of actionable advice, such as using links and content to reach business goals and making the most of local search. And did you know there were 96 ways to gain SEO “wins” that contribute to your brand strength?
Blogs that cover the particulars
5. PPC
Pay-per-click (PPC) marketing takes a special kind of strategy to realize ROI. Many industry blogs focus attention on SEO, but generally overlook PPC. But now you can visit PPC Hero blog to find content that addresses this information gap. Checklists, display tactics and A/B testing are all covered from the PPC point-of-view in this informative blog.
6. Design
Beyond its targeted messaging and remarkable content, good design is a make-or-break aspect of your website. Gnome Flash is a fun design blog where you’ll find examples of some of the coolest looks on the web. A place to get idea-starters on everything from fonts to photos, courtesy of today’s Picassos of the pixel.
7. Ecommerce
The Invesp site has a Blog Rank that … well, ranks blogs. And for e-commerce blogs, Invesp crowned Get Elastic as its highest ranker. With such a wide-open subject to cover, Get Elastic gets particularly detailed on trending and tactical topics. Recent posts included an interesting look at the rise of brick-and-mortar “pop-up shops” based on e-commerce sites like Etsy; and advice on how to handle negative reviews.
8. Public Relations
Never underestimate the power of a good press release – even in a crowded web environment, a newsworthy story will attract attention. But are you doing right by your PR? No less a source than PR Web lists several “essential” blogs, headed by PR Squared. This blog works with Shift Communications to provide text and video to address questions like “Can public relations affect SEO?” And pieces like “50 most overused press release words” make the subject more fun.
9.Email
Everyone uses email for online marketing, so a good email marketing blog is worth your time to visit regularly. One of the best, says Marketing Sherpa, is the tip-packed blog from AWeber Communications. This blog created for small-business needs can teach you to sell without “selling,” create moods with color, and repurpose content like a pro.
10. Technology/Art/Culture
The Verge is a fun, hip blog that covers the intersection of technology, science, art, and culture. It offers a range of reporting and feature stories, breaking news coverage, product information, and community content. Check out their “90 Seconds on the Verge” video (found on their home page) to get a sense of their content.
Have a blog to add to the list? Let us know!
