101 Of The Best Sites Online Right Now (Part 3)
Welcome to Part Three of the 101 Best Sites Online Right Now Series!
I have been so SO excited to share this next edition with you. As for parts 4 and 5? Well, they just get even better. It’s so encouraging to hear that these sites are adding people to their community and even better that you’re learning so much from them. So thank you so much for following along with this series.
First up, we had Creativity. Second was Marketing. Today, we dig into the world of the top 20 sites in Digital Marketing. So let’s get going!
PSST… You can find parts one and two of the series right here - just click on each image link below.
First up, we’ve got Cat Crawford. This lovely lady specialises in explaining all there is to know about digital marketing to beginners – a girl after my own heart. Here’s what she thinks makes her site unique:
"I created my blog to help people better understand digital marketing so that I could give them the power to be in control of every aspect of creating an online space. When I was first getting started in digital, there were so many blog posts around digital marketing and SEO that were overcomplicated and hard to understand, so I wanted to create easy to follow guides for people like me who just wanted the 'how to's' without all the bravado."
Three Of Her Best Posts:
- How To Create A Captivating Pinterest Account That Actually Drives Traffic To Your Website
- The Anatomy Of A Perfect Facebook Post
- 5 Ways A Reader Survey Can Make You A Better Blogger
Where She Is On Social Media:
Search Engine Journal is your go-to place to find out everything there is to know about succeeding in the digital marketing industry, from best-in-industry guides to great information. You’ll be able to find all the marketing news you want and more right here. Here’s what Kelsey, the Executive Editor has to say:
“One thing that differentiates us from the competition is the fact that we have a focus on ingenuity and how it fits into our editorial strategy and process. Our ongoing dedication to new content initiatives, like our SEJ Summit conference series, the Marketing Nerds podcast, and our Marketing ThinkTank webinar series ensures that no matter how our audience learns best, they can find something they like on SEJ.”
Three Of Their Best Posts:
- 6 Absolutely Free Ways to Build a Community Around Your Blog
- 4 Things to Consider Before You Add Live Social Streaming to Your Strategy
- 10 New “Must Have” Skills for Digital Marketers
Where They Are On Social Media:
Search Engine Land publishes many articles every day about the search marketing industry. This is your website to check daily for industry trends, breaking news, announcements and anything else that affects our industry. If you’re only just learning about the ins and outs of the digital marketing industry, this is one of the websites you need to keep track of on your reading list.
Three Of Their Best Posts:
- YouTube Ranking Factors: Getting Ranked In The Second Largest Search Engine
- Planting The Seeds For An Evergreen Content Strategy
- Post-Mobilegeddon Update: Is The Impact As Catastrophic As Predicted?
Where They Are On Social Media:
Moz is one of the best blogs on the web. That’s why it’s included in this list! They cover so much great information and so thoroughly too. You NEED to watch their Whiteboard Friday videos – you’ll learn so much cool stuff that you never even knew existed. They have their own software, host their own conference and their blog is the tip of the iceberg. Plus, they’re always experimenting and releasing case studies, and their results are amazing.
Three Of Their Best Posts:
- The Absolute Beginner's Guide to Google Analytics
- Brainstorm and Execute Killer Content Ideas Your Audience Will Love
- Why Good Unique Content Needs to Die - Whiteboard Friday
Where They Are On Social Media:
CoSchedule is becoming a HUGE player in the digital marketing world. Not only is their blog one of the best ones on the web (with over 30,000 subscribers), they’ve also got their own editorial software that always gets killer reviews. Plus, they host their own Twitter chat called #CoChat that’s always full of really great insights. I was very grateful to receive this quote from Nathan, the Content Marketing Lead:
“CoSchedule is a marketing calendar that helps the "doers" out there create and publish consistent content better than ever. That's why the blog focuses on actionable advice with super helpful and immediate takeaways to help our readers blog smarter, market more efficiently, get more traffic from their social media, and generally just kick butt at publishing and sharing content. No fluff here—just deep, in-depth content to help you grow.”
Three Of Their Best Posts:
- How To Plan A Marketing Calendar That Actually Works
- How To Make Personal Branding Work For You
- How To Create A Social Media Strategy (With 3 Steps And A Template)
Where They Are On Social Media:
If content what you love about online marketing the most, Contently is the website for you – in particular, their blog, The Content Strategist.
“Our mission is to build a better media world—for creatives who live to tell stories and tell stories to live, for businesses that want better ways to connect with consumers, and for everyday people who rely on stories to understand the world better.”
Three Of Their Best Posts:
- Why Every Content Creator Needs a Taylor Swift
- 5 Stats That Prove Great Content Is the Key to Great SEO
- 5 Tools That’ll Make You an Amazing Headline Writer
Where They Are On Social Media:
Darren Rowse, the superman behind ProBlogger is a full-time blogger making a living from his blogs. This guy is a true story of how it can be done. ProBlogger helps you to learn how you can start to add an income stream to your blog by learning the skills, sharing experiences and promoting the world of blogging. It’s got everything you need to know – plus a book that nearly every blogger I know has read.
Three Of His Best Posts:
- Ask Yourself: How Do Readers See Your Blog?
- 3 Steps to Saving Time by Writing Social Media Updates in Batches
- Four Blogging Tools to Make your Content Go Further
Where He Is On Social Media:
VentureBeat called Copyblogger “the bible of content marketing”. If that doesn’t make you want to race to the website right now, nothing will. Since 2006, Copyblogger has been teaching people how to create killer online content – content that attracts attention, drives traffic and builds your brand online. Now, that’s known as content marketing.
“Copyblogger started as a simple one-man blog. Today, Copyblogger Media is a digital commerce company with more than 185,000 unique customers — and it’s all done with useful content, smart copywriting, and exceptional products and services.”
Copyblogger pride themselves on knowing that everything is always a bigger picture. And they give you everything away for free.
Three Of Their Best Posts:
- Pro Tips on Building an Audience That Will Stick with You
- The Minimum Viable Paradox: How Doing Less Leads to More
- What Makes the Difference Between Success and Failure Online?
Where They Are On Social Media:
“Neil helped us to grow to 500 million pageviews a month.” That’s a pretty impressive testimonial, right? There’s more where that came from on Quick Sprout, run by Neil Patel. His posts all revolve around one thing – how to get you more traffic. He writes intensive guides, case studies and knows everything there is to know about building a strong online presence. No wonder he’s one of the most successful entrepreneurs of all time.
Three Of His Best Posts:
- How to Cut Your Bounce Rate in Half with Interactive Content
- From Beginner to Pro: A Complete Guide to Tripling Your Email Conversion Rate
- The 5 Stages of Blog Growth: How Your Traffic Tactics Should Change as You Grow
Where He Is On Social Media:
When Ramsay (the blogger behind Blog Tyrant) was in his early 20’s, he sold one of his fitness blogs for around $20,000. Now, he works from home and makes a living blogging. Blog Tyrant is about helping you dominate your blog and your niche. He’s even written a 9,000 word guide on starting a blog – can you beat that?
Three Of His Best Posts:
- What is Your Biggest Blogging Battle?
- 5 Realistic Benchmarks for Your First Year of Blogging
- How to Ensure Your Next Post Gets Seen by Thousands of People
Where He Is On Social Media:
Joanna and Lance are the team behind CopyHackers. They believe you can start to see real results when you start to write better copy. Copy is their passion – they know the written word is what’s important and they stay true to that. I got in touch with Jo to find out more:
“CopyHackers.com is where startups learn to convert like mofo's. We turn what we learn from split-tests, academic studies and pure, lovely observation into lessons - or simply questions for consideration - that you can apply quickly to help improve your copy.”
Three Of Their Best Posts:
- Do These 7 Tragic Mistakes on Your ‘About’ Page Chase Customers Away?
- The Ultimate Copywriting Crash Course, as Taught by Mad Men (Infographic)
- If You Want To Measure Your Copy So You Can Improve It, Give Every Element 1 Job To Do (Infographic)
Where They Are On Social Media:
Distilled is an online marketing agency. They believe in a few principles: work smarter, don’t be afraid to hustle, keep calm and communicate, and become the best place to work. The Distilled team love to share knowledge about the online marketing world about SEO, mobile, social and more. They’ve got guides, training, conferences and everything you need to gain a real insight into life as a digital marketer.
Three Of Their Best Posts:
- Finding Your Brand’s Voice
- Taylor Swift’s Seven Marketing Lessons
- Five Productivity Hacks You Need to Be Using in 2015
Where They Are On Social Media:
53. Digital Marketing Magazine
Digital Marketing Magazine has everything you need to know about digital marketing. It was one of the first websites I came across when I started in the industry. From typography to customer engagement, it covers every topic. Check it daily because new stories are uploaded every day.
Three Of Their Best Posts:
- 10 Actionable Tips to Drive More Traffic to Your Blog
- Why Branding Matters!
- Top Tips: How To Make Your Content Stand Out In The Crowd
Where They Are On Social Media:
HubSpot believe that they are the middle man between how people live, work, shop and buy, compared to business who haven’t adapted to these changes. They say, “there’s a fundamental mismatch between how organizations are marketing and selling their offerings — and the way that people actually want to shop and buy.” HubSpot is here to close that gap.
Three Of Their Best Posts:
- So Your Ebook Didn't Generate Leads? You Could Be Making These Rookie Mistakes
- Quality vs. Quantity: A 6-Month Analysis of the Age-Old Blogging Debate
- Facebook, Apple, YouTube & More: What 9 Famous Sites Used to Look Like [Infographic]
Where They Are On Social Media:
If SEO makes your head go a bit fuzzy, Search Engine Watch will help you out. They’re here to provide you with tips and tricks about searching the web, how search engines work and what site owners can do to be sure they get found in search engines. It’s as simple as that.
Three Of Their Best Posts:
- 5 Content Marketing Myths To Correct Now
- Instagram Brings Search to Desktop
- Social and SEO Work Better Together
Where They Are On Social Media:
Launch & Hustle is a great all-rounder for a digital marketing blog. If you’re in need of the best training and resources available to improve your knowledge, of tips for how to create your own full digital marketing strategy, they have everything you need. Plus, the found, Brett Relander is a Top 100 Social media Power Influencer 2015 – if anyone knows what they’re talking about, it’s him. I’ve also started writing for this blog recently and I’m having the best time… (not that I’m biased or anything!)
Three Of Their Best Posts:
- 16 Bite-Sized Social Media Tips You Need Right Now
- Guest-Blogging the Right Way – a Three-Step Guide
- What You’re Doing Right and Wrong with Hashtags
Where They Are On Social Media:
57. Content Marketing Institute
If you’re wondering what content marketing is or how you can use it whether you’re a beginner or a pro, the Content Marketing Institute has got everything covered for you. Their mission is “to advance the practice of content marketing.” Not only do they have practical, how-to guides, but they’ve also got insights from experts and a great community. Their About page is a great place to get started.
Three Of Their Best Posts:
- 4 Businesses That Are Doing Content Marketing Like a Boss (and How You Can Do It Too)
- How to Turn 1 Idea into 2 Months of Content Marketing (and More)
- Ninja Guide to Content Creation: Top 10 Writing Tools
Where They Are On Social Media:
I only came across Allison’s blog recently and after sharing a few emails, I feel like we’re friends already. So instead of me doing all the talking, I thought it would be perfect for Allison to tell you all about Painted Summers instead:
"PaintedSummers.com is a creative hub for new and aspiring bloggers + biz owners who are ready to ditch society's lame standards and start their own creative adventures. Everything I create is focused on giving you the knowledge and motivation you need to take action on your boldest ideas and dreams and create a successful blog + biz you're passionate and excited about.
It only takes one small step out of your comfort zone to start a whole new journey. And that's exactly what living adventurously is all about. You don't have to jump out of an airplane or dive off a cliff to add adventure into your life. You do it by being curious. By choosing to embrace the new and see where it takes you.
Now I know how scary this can be, believe me. I know exactly what it's like to be completely frozen by fear, self-doubt, and overwhelm. But you cannot let those things hold you back. Face them head on, wrestle them to the ground, and show 'em who's boss! You have to take ACTION and you can start TODAY. I'm here to help you do that."
Three Of Her Best Posts:
- 3 Must-Dos To Create A Strong Foundation For Your Blog
- June 2015 Traffic Report And Blog + Biz Goals For July
- Surefire Methods For Growing Your Email List + A Bonus Freebie
Where She Is On Social Media:
The best thing about doing this series is hearing from all the great people who run these websites. Abagail’s is one that will set your insides on fire. Here’s what Think Creative is all about:
“Whether you are a total newbie or established business owner, we have one thing in common - we have dreams of a life and business powered with passion and purpose. At Think Creative, I offer small businesses, entrepreneurs and other creatives design, branding and marketing services because:
- I believe you have dreams that are worth achieving.
- I believe you should wake up every day empowered to do and be your best.
- I believe your branding and marketing should attract your ideal client or customer in every way.
- I believe you are 100% capable.
- I want you to go after a business and life that you will love.
At Think Creative, it is so much more than just design. It is about helping businesses become brands that make a difference. My goal is to grow your business, simplify your social media and streamline your life.
Make Ideas Happen!”
Three Of Her Best Posts:
- How to Double Your Blog Traffic Month Over Month (BONUS: Blogging Boost Printable)
- Quadruple Your Instagram Following: Part 3 – Follow Frenzy (BONUS: My Secret to Exponential Growth)
- 11 NEW SEO Practices to Get Your Business Noticed, Gain Followers & Increase Engagement
Where She Is On Social Media:
Lisa’s blog is one I’ve been reading since I started my own blogging journey. She covers everything in a straightforward, no-nonsense way:
“Ultimately, my work is about helping you get your website together, whether that’s a blog for your creative passion or a site for your creative business. We all have big dreams, and I believe change begins with your website. Make it simple, say it straight, and put it out there so you can be awesome online.”
Three Of Her Best Posts:
- How To Share Your Work Without The “Ick” Factor
- What’s The Difference: Brand Design, Web Design, and Web Development
- What Do Your Site Analytics Really Mean?
Where She Is On Social Media:
There we have Part 3! Watch this space for the next chapter of great sites - the next group will be revealed in the next part. If you have any recommendations, feel free to send them my way. Stay tuned to this series for a FREE bonus when it's complete!
Which of these sites do you already enjoy? Will you be checking out the ones you don't know? Let me know in the comments
Wondering how to be found online?