Most market estimates show that Google has over 4.2 billion users worldwide. And it’s no big wonder because most shoppers in the developed world search (and research) goods and services online before making a purchase — which, in many cases, they also do online.

Considering this, it’s easy to conclude that digital marketing agencies have become essential in reaching consumers. Any company that’s looking to boost its sales and increase its online visibility would do well to turn to professionals, especially if it doesn’t have the in-house capacity to handle the myriad tasks associated with digital marketing.

Speaking of which — just how does a digital marketing agency help its clients? We’ll cover the details of that right here, so read on!

What Does Digital Marketing Mean?

Before exploring the ins and outs of digital marketing agencies, we’ll answer a more basic question: what is digital marketing in the first place?

Simply put, digital marketing means marketing goods and services on the Internet. The phrase is an umbrella term that describes a wide range of strategies and techniques for marketing to online audiences, such as:

• PPC (Pay-per-click) advertising
• SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
• Content marketing
• Email marketing
• Web design
• Social media marketing

These approaches often involve the use of starkly different tools and technologies, but the thing they’ve all got in common is their focus on online advertising. In most cases, combining some or all of the digital marketing avenues we’ve mentioned is the best approach for companies that want to find and convert the biggest number of qualified leads.

Among other things, this involves tech-based monitoring of customer engagement and overall behavior — allowing you to easily track your campaigns and quickly see what’s working or what needs to be cut.

What Does a Digital Marketing Agency Do?

Considering all of the above, what could a digital marketing agency do for your business?

The answer to that question depends on a couple of things, like which online marketing channels you want to pursue, the time period in which you’d want to do so, and the budget you’re prepared to set aside for the work.

Once you know all of that, a full-service marketing agency can give you an estimate of the strategies they could implement to market your services or products online and propel your revenue and sales upwards as a result.

These might include stuff like optimizing your website for search engines, creating new and original content, managing your presence on social media, and more.

What’s The Advantage of Digital Marketing Agencies?

Digital marketing is an always-shifting field, where the newest marketing trends and the tools accompanying them are constantly in flux. Because of that, the agencies that are always up-to-date with the latest strategies and tools are extremely valuable partners for businesses that want to stand above their competition.

For instance, a full-service digital marketing agency can carefully analyze your business and your target audience before creating and implementing a tailor-made set of marketing strategies that will provide you with the best ROI (return on investment).

On top of that, agencies constantly track the progress of their campaigns and provide their clients with exhaustive reports. That way, businesses are always in the loop regarding the efficiency of their digital marketing efforts.

The data from those reports will also be used to identify the marketing avenues that are specifically well-suited for your business — and then your marketing agency will focus on those to drive more revenue and leads to your business.

At the end of the day, all marketing agencies want to do one thing: generate sales and leads. In terms of digital marketing, that means generating the most web traffic that also contains the biggest number of qualified leads — in other words, the leads that are the most likely to convert and make a purchase.

Naturally, many companies have their own internal digital marketing teams. However, that doesn’t mean they do not need external expertise. In practice, digital marketing agencies routinely serve as extensions for their clients’ internal marketing teams.

What To Look For In A Digital Marketing Agency

Much like any other service provider, your mileage may vary depending on the digital marketing agency you hire for your company’s needs. Considering that, here are a few things to remember while selecting one of the countless agencies available online.

First, you need an agency dedicated to constant and transparent communication with its clients. You want them to stay in contact with you frequently, at least while you’re actively working together. That means frequent and detailed progress updates and regular reports.

On top of that, if you already have a marketing team of your own, you want the external agency you hire to be comprised of team players. If they’re going to act like an extension of your team, they need to be prepared to cooperate with them.

And most importantly, you need a digital marketing agency that can support your vision; they can tweak it and insert their expertise when necessary, but your vision should always be priority #1 when they’re developing any marketing strategies.

If a digital marketing agency understands the vision and values that drive your business, it will be better positioned to come up with the custom strategies that will specifically work well for your business — and boost its engagement with customers online.