2017 online marketing influencers

Online marketing is more important now in 2017 than ever before, yes this is said every year but the cliche reflects the raw truth. Software continues to eat the world and digital natives are representing an even greater portion of your market. Follow these top 15 online marketing influencers, stay on top of the latest marketing trends and start implementing the best strategies for your business.

Neil Patel

Who is Neil Patel?

Neil’s a digital marketing savant and agency CEO. He’s been helping fortune 500 and small businesses alike connect online since he was 16. After being burned by a traditional marketing firm he decided to take it upon himself to become one of the world’s leading online marketing gurus. Since then he’s been listed as the #1 marketer in the world by Entrepreneur Magazine. He’s started 4 multi-millionaire businesses and has partnered with top companies like Google, Viacom, and General Motors. He’s a wizard and loves helping small businesses improve their online marketing.

Neil Patel
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Most popular articles by Neil Patel

This Is What I Watch On TV To Become A Better Entrepreneur
TV is just a simulation of what’s currently going on in the world. You can watch it to veg out, but it’s also one of the top tools at your disposal to deconstructing the psychology of the global market.
33 Things to Learn from 33 Top Marketing Blogs
Neil’s curation of where to find incredible marketing insights from his preferred sources.
The Advanced Guide To SEO
Not for beginners, but an easy to follow well designed guide to over performing SEO.
The Ultimate Guide to Writing Blog Posts That Rank in Google’s Top 10
Another guide to boosting the page ranking on your next blog post.
You Just Published A Blog Post Here Are The 14 Things You Need To Do Next
An excellent follow up to the previous article to get even more out of your blogging.

Brian Dean

Who is Brian Dean?

Brian is the Founder of Backlinko and a formative SEO expert. Brian specialises in traffic strategies for entrepreneurs and marketing pros. Since February of 2010, he’s been building his business while traveling the globe. Follow Brian’s advice to master the art of Backlinking.

Brian Dean
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Most popular articles from Brian Dean

The Definitive Guide to Keyword Research (Updated)
Brian’s latest guide to understanding how keywords function and how to use them best in 2017.

How to Get 260.7% More Organic Traffic In 14 Days (New Strategy + Case Study)
Brian shares a ridiculously obvious secret to grabbing a free uptick in traffic with this case study.

17 Untapped Backlink Sources (Updated)
He’s the backlink expert for a reason, here’s his kungfu style tips that you won’t find anywhere else.

Google’s 200 Ranking Factors: The Complete List
If you’re a nerd for Google rankings and just need to understand why you’re getting the results you are (for better or worse) check out this exhaustive list from Brian.

On-Page SEO: Anatomy of a Perfectly Optimized Page (2016 Update)
Warning: These are not your grandpa’s SEO tips.

Matthew Barby

Who is Matthew Barby?

Matthew Barby is the Global Head of Growth and SEO at HubSpot, award winning blogger, speaker, startup advisor and lecturer. Hubspot in case you’ve been under a rock for the since 2006, is the top online marketing platform for CRM.  Matthew offers his expertise on SEO and growth through his blog, speaking, and consulting services.

Matthew Barby
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Most popular articles by Matthew Barby

19 Actionable SEO Tips to Increase Organic Traffic

Not all SEO tip lists are created equal, Matthew’s actually gets you results.

Growing a Social Following from Nothing: My Social Media Strategy

How to grow your social following when you don’t already have an established brands or other developed channels to piggyback off of.

How to Rank Number One in Google: A Study of 1 Million Pages

Matthew harnesses the insights from a ridiculous amount of data to give you the definitive answer to being number one on Google.

An Advanced Guide to Building an Email List

A master class on increasing signups to your list and keeping them.

Scraping Online Communities for your Outreach Campaigns

Matthew shares a devious technique to maximize your campaigns with data from online communities.

Mari Smith

Who is Mari Smith?

Mari Smith, she’s been called “The Queen of Facebook,” and her expertise makes her worthy of the title. She a leading advocate and teacher for small businesses looking to get the most out of their social and online game. She’s been on the scene for over a decade and has a track record to match. If you’re a small business owner or not sure what to do with Facebook for your business, follow Mari for the best tips.

Mari Smith
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Most popular articles from Mari Smith

The Rise of the Facebook Queen: How Mari Smith Went From $50 in Her Pocket to 500K Followers

She’s the Queen of Facebook, learn how she earned the throne.

Create a Facebook AD checklist, align content marketing with social media & more

How to keep Facebook integrated with the rest of your social marketing routine.

Facebook apps for marketers: what you need to know

Other Facebook marketers are crushing it with these tools, step up to the competition.

Facebook celebrates 3 million advertisers, launches your business story video tool

The latest in Facebook’s marketing innovations and how to use it for your business.

10 Facebook Marketing Tips for the Holiday Season

Don’t lose out on valuable Facebook revenues during the last quarter of the year.

Rand Fishkin

Who is Rand Fishkin?

Rand Fishkin is the founder of Moz, a SAAS company for SEO and marketing experts. He is a serial entrepreneur, serial traveler, and serial blogger! He still blogs from Moz.com and regularly hosts his whiteboard Fridays from there as well. The internet you use today would not be close to the place it is without Rand’s contributions.

Rand Fishkin
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Most popular articles from Rand Fishkin

What Are the Most Powerful, Mind-Expanding Ads You’ve Seen?

Rand understands that creativity is powerful, especially in online content. Check out these brilliant ads before you craft your own.

How to Build a Company and a Content Strategy Based on Values: Inside Rand Fishkin’s Journey With Moz

Rand’s values and zeal for building an authentic start-up, explored.

How to Choose a Good SEO Company for Your Business or Website – Whiteboard Friday

Check out this Whiteboard Friday edition that breaks down how to put SEO companies to the test.

How to Craft a Remarkable SEO Strategy for 2017 – Whiteboard Friday

Another Whiteboard Friday, this one with Rand’s take on creating your own SEO strategy for 2017.

How to Cheat at Creating Great Presentations for Tech & Marketing Audiences

Be loved by audiences everywhere at your next presentation, Tech / Marketing people take note!

Pam Moore

Who is Pam Moore?

Pam Moore is one of the most influential voices on social media today, she’s the founder of Marketing Nutz a full service agency, a keynote speaker, and consultant to Fortune 50 brands. She describes herself as 50% marketing 50% geek, and her content speaks to her dynamism.

Pam Moore
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Most popular articles from Pam Moore

Social Media Success Requires a Marriage, Not a One Night Stand

Pam’s wisdom on how to build real relationships on social.

7 Top Personal Branding Goals To Develop Your Social Brand Strategy
A short to the point podcast focusing on how to develop your social brand.

How to Build Thought Leadership Using Social Media Without Bragging About Yourself 24/7

More thought leadership, less self-promotion and still build your following.

Humanize It: 10 Tips to Make Your Tweets More Human

How to be a real person again online, but be optimized for success like a superhuman.

10 Time Hacks to Design Your Dream Life and Business

Pam’s thoughts on carving out time to have the business and life you’ve been dreaming of.

Melinda Emerson

Who is Melinda Emerson?

Melinda Emerson was rated the #1 Influential Woman Entrepreneur. That accolade should be enough for you to understand why you need to follow her, but she’s also a columnist for the New York Times focusing on her favourite topic of small business. And the icing on the cake, if you needed any, is that she’s the host of #SmallBizChat the longest running live twitter chat for small businesses owners.

Melinda Emerson
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Most popular articles from Melinda Emerson

Step Out of Your Comfort Zone Into Success

Pure inspiration in the form of a conversation between Melinda and AndyM.

Seven Ways to be More Profitable in Your Small Business

Key advice on how to keep your small business profitable and running smooth.

6 Tips for Managing Small Business Finances

Don’t lose the forest for the trees, keep a lock on finances in your small business.

10 Ways to Grow Your Small Business With Instagram
Melinda’s take on engaging with Instagram.

How to Get Over the Fear of Starting a New Business

Tackle fear and don’t let it stop you from conquering the world..err starting that new business.

Tamar Weinberg

Who is Tamar Weinberg?

Tamar Weinberg is an out of the box thinker, and maverick when it’s comes to the digital marketing world. She was an early hire to Mashable and was instrumental in the company’s growth, she then brought her skillset over to Namecheap’s social and sales efforts. Customer relations is her game and she does it with strategy and smart technology.

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Most popular articles by Tamar Weinberg

I’m not Dooce (and why influence is a dangerous thing)

A counterintuitive take on how influence isn’t the superpower you may think it is.

On approachability

Why you should take a receptive and inviting stance towards your social media usage.

Does social media impact sales at tobacco and adult themed stores?

An analysis of how social impacts net sales at brick and mortars with proper tracking.

Build relationships – not numbers

How to be real and stop measuring, especially where it doesn’t count.

PR pros: You’re still doing it wrong, even if you have a six figure income

The secret is efficiency, but how? Read this article.

Missy Ward

Who is Missy Ward?

Missy Ward doesn’t mess around when it comes to Affiliate Marketing, she’s been in the game since 1999. Yes, that long. She founded Affiliate Summit Corporation on a $400 investment, now a multi-millionaire dollar holding. Her success may have to be attributed to her rock star style and undying love for AC/DC.

Missy Ward
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Most popular articles from Missy Ward

Of Golf and Affiliate Marketing

It’s all about who your influences are.

Missy Ward Interview – Co-Founder of Affiliate Summit, FeedFront Magazine and GeekCast.fm

Read more about Missy’s story as she started from the bottom to the top.

4 Ways to Create Blog Posts that Convert Visitors into Customers

Don’t let them leave your site without becoming customers first.

The Next Uber: What’s the Next Industry Ripe for Revolution?

Innovation is right in front of you, realise how to see it.

Mind the Gap: 7 Essential LinkedIn Do’s and Don’ts

How to be authentic and efficient on LinkedIn.

Matthew Woodward

Who is Matthew Woodward?

Matthew Woodward is well known for his affiliate marketing know-how. He is an award winning business and internet marketing blogger plus he’s an international keynote speaker who teaches you how to achieve your online goals. He’s followed by 238,000 readers monthly. He writes in a step-by-step style, that’s easy to understand for newbies to the online business world.

Matthew Woodward
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Most popular articles from Matthew Woodward

How To Start A Blog With An Award Winning Blogger Step By Step

If you’re wondering how to start a blog but don’t know where to start, done, fixed, here’s your starter kit.

Become A Blogger Today With These 41 Tutorials

More resources for the budding blogger.

My Monthly Blog Income Report List Reveals My 6 Figure Secrets

Matthew breaks down his blog’s income over the last several year so you can see how the sausage gets made.

How To Sell Your Amazon Affiliate Website for $190,000

Make more money from your Amazon Affiliate site with these tips.

Matthew Woodward – Ungagged Interview

Matthew speaks to Ungagged and dives deep on the changing landscape of SEO and online conversion.

Shelly Kramar

Who is Shelly Kramar?

Shelly Kramer is the Founder and CEO of V3*Broadsuite, an all around content and social expert with a focus on the cloud, mobile, and big data. Her firm specialises in integrated marketing for both B2B and B2C clients as well as brand strategy. Additional she’s a frequent speaker and corporate trainer for Fortune 500 firms.

Shelly Kramar
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Most popular articles from Shelly Kramar

How Leveraging Mobile + Social Advertising Drives Engagement [and Sales]

Don’t slip on Mobile, it’s where your customer are. (More than PCs in 2017)

Instagram’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy: What People and Brands Need to Know

The Ins and Outs of the privacy debates on Instagram and how they effect your brand.

Looking at Hybrid Cloud and Security? Welcome to the Matrix

A deep dive on cloud and data security for the data wonks among us.

Facebook Metrics: What To Know And What To Measure

An easy-to-follow glossary of what Facebook metric really mean.

Why Long Form Blog Content is a Smart Content Strategy

Long form content, long form content, long form content. Embrace it.

Brian Solis

Who is Brian Solis?

Brian Solis is a disruptive technologist, speaker, and author. He’s already living in the future and helping you understand it today. His annual industry reports will give your business an edge in today’s fast evolving market place. Start with his Conversation Prism – a visual map of the social media landscape and then prepare for an immersive deep dive into his content.

Brian Solis
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Most popular articles by Brian Solis

The Key To Creativity And Innovation Is Empathy

What’s the human ability behind what’s improving our world today? Empathy.

Level Up: An Introduction To The 5 Different Levels Of Self-Driving Cars

A deep dive case study into the most disruptive innovation coming this decade.

What Is Influence 2.0 And Why Is It Important In The Future Of CX?

What most people and companies miss about Influence.

Sharing A Personal Story – A Rare Glimpse Into What Inspires Me And How I Got Here

Brian’s personal story of business success.

Which Blog Platforms Power The Top 100 Blogs?

A data driven breakdown of the top 100 Blogs

Chad Pollitt

Who is Chad Pollitt

Chad Pollitt is an Adjunct Professor of Internet Marketing at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business and an Adjunct Instructor of Content Marketing at the Rutgers University Business School. He’s also a former Army Commander, runs his own agency and has author several book on inbound marketing. He’s a consistent pick on top 100 influencer lists, so naturally he makes ours too.

Chad Pollitt
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Most popular articles by Chad Pollitt

2016 Native Advertising Trends For Publishers

What to look for if you’re a media buyer.

Stop interrupting! How to grab customers’ attention in the Social Age

How to decide between a focus on Outbound or Inbound marketing tactics.

Help Your Owned Media Hit its Goals: Combine Earned and Paid Promotion

An analysis of what’s effective in Paid and Earned media.

Introducing the Content Promotion Ecosystem

Chad’s take on Content Distribution

Everything You Need To Know About Sponsored Content

A masterclass on Sponsored Content.

Peter Shankman

Who is Peter Shankman?

Peter Shankman is a self-described ADHD adventurer who notably founded the new media PR service HARO (help a reporter out). He’s a long time thought leader, motivator, investor, and now an advisor to NASA.

Peter Shankman
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Most popular articles by Peter Shankman

How I gained 4,000 new real Instagram followers in four months

Connect with real accounts not robots by acting like a real account.

My only employee thinks I’m an asshole of a boss – and he’s right

How to do self-employment right. (Hint: Peter’s not actually an ahole.)

Facebook and email are not distractions, but necessities

Integrate social into your life and let your networks thrive.

Hi. My name is peter, and I’m an alcoholic

A very personal share from Peter.

Dear “I don’t have the time” people: You actually have plenty of time. You just choose to use it differently.

Become self aware about where you are committing your resources to.

David Meerman Scott

Who is David Meerman Scott?

David Meerman Scott is world-known strategist who focuses on marketing and PR techniques that work for people and organisations large and small. He is an advisor to Hubspot as well as a select portfolio of other innovative companies and nonprofits including the Grateful Dead Archives. He’s authored multiple best sellers including Newsjacking which details how entrepreneurs can make the media work for them.

David Meerman Scott
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Most popular articles from David Meerman Scott

No Excuses For Not Being At The Top Of Your Game

A treatise on Resilience and being a Top Performer no matter what.

Your Content History Should Live Forever

Another easy but under the radar way to keep up in the content game.

Marketing Basics: How to Create Great Content to Reach your Buyers

A solid but short content strategy that can fit in your pocket.

It’s Just Marketing

Don’t be mystified by Mobile, it’s just marketing.

Own Your Marketing Assets Instead of Renting Them

Create content that creates space, don’t just rent it.

So there you have it, our top 15 online marketing influencers in 2017. There’s a lot of marketing and general business tips you can pick up from these people. Start following their accounts, improve your marketing knowledge and start implementing the advice you receive for your business.

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Ian is the founder of Opportunity Marketing marketing, with over 18 years of experience in successfully setting up marketing departments, creating marketing strategies and implementing these strategies across a wide number of SME companies in both the B2B and B2C sectors through a variety of channels.