Category: Digital Marketing

Top 20 Digital Marketing Agencies in California

Digital Marketing has evolved a lot.

There was a time when brands would try to best each other with creative billboard or television advertisements.

For instance, take the billboard advertisement for Pond’s anti-bacterial facial scrub.

It features a woman hiding her face on what appears to be a part of the printing material. The metal frame of the billboard is visible, giving the ad a very authentic touch.

These are the types of ads that make you stand and look. Unfortunately, these are also the types of ads that force motorists to rubberneck and cause accidents. (But that’s a topic for another day)

Billboards are pretty much still in demand. But it’s a space that’s being dominated by the big boys.

Big boys here refer to big, multi-national brands. Smaller brands and local mom-pop stores don’t have the resources to compete with these big boys.

But there is one space where they have a chance if they play their cards right.

The Internet.

Advertising in the Internet Era

The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow.

This quote by the co-founder of Microsoft Corporation, Bill Gates, could mean a lot of things. But in terms of marketing, it means one thing.

More and more people are coming online.

Anyone who fails to take advantage of this is going to lag behind. And it’s a dog-eat-dog world. No one is going to mourn when a business fails. Because there’s always a couple (or more!) businesses that are ready to take its place.

Only those who have their advertising game on point will survive in this world. There’s no point in focusing on quality if there’s no one to buy your product.

But that doesn’t mean you should ignore product quality and dump everything into marketing.

What I’m trying to say here is that businesses should spread their resources evenly across all departments. (Like spreading peanut butter all over the bread. Yum!!!)

Some businesses, mostly small ones, may find it hard to stand up with bigger brands in their field of expertise.

But the internet levels the playing field, thanks to digital marketing.

What is Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing is the practice of using the internet as a medium to promote a brand’s products and services. It also goes by the name “online marketing.”

Digital marketing has taken the marketing world by storm, with brands coming up with unique (and controversial) methods to garner attention.

No matter what the technique is, the objective of digital marketing is the same as that of traditional marketing. It’s either brand/product awareness or an increase in sales.

And in an age where the attention span is going down as you read this, ignoring digital marketing is akin to your business committing suicide.

Don’t get me wrong, some traditional marketing methods still work.

Say, for instance, that your clothing store is running a Thanksgiving sale. A few advertisements outside your store will do the trick for those who’re passing by.

But what about those who’re at home or those who pass by your store and miss your ad for some reason?

These people don’t know that there’s a sale going on. These are valuable customers you miss.

But a Facebook or Instagram post on your store’s page is not just a hundred times more effective, it also costs nothing.

This is the power of the internet. Or, to be more precise, this is the power of digital marketing.

Benefits of Digital Marketing

The advantages of digital marketing, when done with the assistance of a digital marketing agency, make it a worthy investment.

Here are some pros of digital marketing for modern day businesses.

· Cost Effective

This is the first pro of digital marketing, and for a very good reason.

Cost is the most crucial factor when it comes to marketing strategies.

Traditional marketing methods, like billboards or television ads, are expensive. This alone drives brands, especially smaller ones, away from them.

But that’s not the case with digital marketing.

The techniques are affordable. Some of them, like regularly posting on social media websites, are completely free.

This makes digital marketing techniques, especially those strategized by experienced digital marketing companies, an investment with bountiful rewards.

Relevant Statistic: In the year 2021, digital marketing techniques had an average ROI of 122%.

· Easy to Measure

I am going to draw a comparison between digital marketing and traditional marketing methods (Yet again!)

Trying to measure the effectiveness of traditional marketing methods, like billboards or newspaper ads, takes time. And by the time one gets their hands on this data, the ad might’ve already become old news. In other words, you’ve just flushed a large amount of money down the John.

But it’s a bit different with digital marketing.

The strategies implemented by the best digital marketing agencies are measurable. This means all the data you need about a specific campaign is readily available.

A group finds a section of the ad offensive. Great! Now you know more about your target customer base. You now have the data to plan future marketing campaigns.

This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Digital marketing offers the convenience of viewing how your campaign is faring. This information is handy for making changes as and when required.

Relevant Statistic: Two out of three marketers say that they make decisions based on data available.

· Focused Strategies

Here’s another comparison of digital marketing with traditional marketing methods. (You may see this more)

Traditional marketing methods involve putting up a billboard ad and hoping everyone will see it. This includes those for whom the ad was intended and those outside of it. Your chances of success are 50/50.

But that’s not the case with digital marketing.

The services of a digital marketing agency allow businesses to strategize based on their target customer base’s needs, wants, and other characteristics.

Like, you could focus on pages that talk about fashion or sneakers, if you’re looking to promote your new line of vegan leather sneakers. This yields better results rather than spamming the same ad everywhere.

Relevant Statistic: 89% of marketers say that they get a positive ROI when marketing strategies are personalized to user requirements.

· Audience Engagement

Audience engagement is crucial for businesses. How a brand/business interacts with their customers, especially while receiving negative feedback, decides its future.

There’s something called the Buyer’s Journey. It has three stages.

Awareness Stage
Consideration Stage
Decision Stage

A potential customer will go through each stage before moving on to the next.

With digital marketing, it’s easy for businesses to monitor which stage a potential customer is currently in.

There is another advantage to audience engagement. This one is solely for smaller businesses. Some business owners take pride when they hear positive feedback from their customers.

· Adaptable

Digital marketing offers plenty of wiggle room when it comes to adaptability.

Certain shortcomings during the strategizing stage can create unnecessary complications, either for the product/service or the brand itself.

Like, for instance, an ad idea that was supposed to be creative could come off as offensive or in poor taste to a specific group of people. This could prove disastrous in the long run.

In such cases, digital marketing offers the convenience of making the necessary changes on the fly.

Additionally, if a campaign isn’t producing the expected results, it’s comparatively easy to make modifications that may yield a positive reaction. This is extremely difficult or downright impossible in traditional marketing methods.

Outsourcing vs. DIY

You might have already come across terms like digital marketing company or digital marketing agency. Rest assured, it wasn’t a mistake.

There is a reason why I have introduced the concept of outsourcing in digital marketing.

Because, let’s be real here, you’re a business owner and a very busy person.

You have bills to deal with and salaries to pay.

And most important of all, loved ones to look after and check in on.

It’s not practical to try and squeeze in developing a marketing strategy amidst all this.

Getting your hands dirty and learning the ropes can be a fun and rewarding ride. But bills don’t understand the concept of waiting. When the new month comes, you will have bills to pay, regardless of whether you have mastered whatever you were trying to master.

In times like this, rather than learning stuff from scratch and doing everything on your own, you’d rather outsource the digital marketing part of your business.

For example, link building is not something that you can do by yourself, as there are lots going on in the background, like blogger outreach and content writing. In such situations, enlisting the services of a link building agencies is the recommended option.

Outsourcing your needs to a digital marketing agency has tons of benefits. They are listed below.

· You Save Time

Time is important for entrepreneurs. Whether your business is big or small, you will not have enough time to deal with all the challenges that arise from running a business.

Hell, some days, you’ll wish that you have 26 hours. That’s how tight the average entrepreneur’s day is.

You don’t have to bother about spending time strategizing when you hire a digital marketing company. There will be an initial discussion to know more about your requirements and expectations. Once that is done, you can just kick back and relax while the experts at the digital marketing agency manage everything related to your business’s marketing campaigns.

· You Save Money

Yes, the digital marketing agency isn’t going to work for free. But that doesn’t mean you have to break the bank for a marketing strategy.

What I mean by saving money here is, hiring a digital marketing team, training them, and paying them a livable wage. These are things business owners must take into consideration before hiring an in-house team.

The point I’m trying to make here is that hiring an in-house team is way more expensive than opting for an experienced digital marketing company.

This is particularly true when it comes to link building. Instead of going through the cost of hiring a freelance writer and performing blogger outreach all by yourself, you could hire a link building agency. You’d save a lot of time and money.

· You Get Results

This is one advantage that makes choosing a digital marketing agency all the more worthwhile.

When you avail yourself of the services of experts, you’re assured of results. That’s mainly because the experts at these agencies know what they’re doing, know what works, and know what the latest updates are.

This is something that business owners will get wrong, no matter how hard they try. There are increased chances that your strategy may not work. All the time and money you spent on learning the ropes and implementing them goes down the drain.

· You Get Access to Tools

Digital marketing involves taking advantage of a host of tools. Some of these tools, like the ones provided by Ahrefs, are free to use. But there’s a catch.

Free tools can only do so much. You need paid versions for efficiency and access to more data related to your campaigns. This is an area in which a business owner may fail.

A digital marketing agency, on the other hand, will have access to all the latest tools related to running and managing campaigns. This, combined with their expertise, makes these digital marketing agencies reliable partners for building businesses.

· You Have Smaller Room for Errors

Digital marketing is something that has a rather steep learning curve. While you’re busy learning how and what, your competitor is busy reaping the rewards of outsourcing their campaigns that they have outsourced to a digital marketing agency.

The situation goes from bad to worse if there are issues, either with the strategy or how they’re implemented. And when this happens, you’ll have to go back to the drawing board, doing everything once again and hoping it doesn’t as go bad as last time.

Choosing the Best Digital Marketing Agency

Congratulations on making it down this far.

You’ve read what digital marketing is, what the benefits of digital marketing are, and why you should focus on hiring a digital marketing agency or a link building agency rather than getting your hands dirty.

I’ll go a step further and help you choose the ideal digital marketing company your business needs, especially for those of you in California.

The sections below list the top 20 digital marketing companies in California. I have mentioned all the essential information related to these agencies and provided a link to their websites as well.

There are some link building agencies in the list as well. On top of SEO, these digital marketing agencies are experts in link building and blogger outreach.

Take your time to go through the list and choose one (or maybe the first) that meets your needs.

Here we go.

The list of top 20 Digital Marketing Agencies in California

1. Orange Outreach

A subsidiary of Orange Digital Marketing, Orange Outreach wears multiple hats in the world of digital marketing. Whether you’re looking for a link building agency, or a digital marketing company, or one that’s mastered SEO, Orange Outreach is your choice.

The firm’s strength lies in its extraordinary collection of guest-posting sites. From low-DR blogs to premium, high-DR blogs, you can expect to find all types of blogs across a range of niches.

There’s another unique reason Orange Outreach is mentioned here. The variety of packs Orange Outreach has and the unbeatable price it offers make it the best link building agency in California.

Orange Outreach has also stamped its authority on the US digital marketing scene. From SEO to website development to content marketing and PPC, Orange Outreach is the reliable partner for your business.

The SEO experts at Orange Outreach work tirelessly to ensure that you meet your business requirements and goals. With Orange Outreach by your side, businesses can boost their brand awareness and get more traffic, paving the way for more leads.

Orange Outreach has been helping businesses grow since 2019.

URL: https://orangeoutreach.com/

Expertise: Link Building, Guest Posting, Blogger Outreach, Budget-Friendly Packs, Local SEO, Enterprise SEO

Location: Folsom, CA

Contact E-mail: [email protected]

Sister Concerns: Guest Post Solutions

Major Services:

Digital Marketing Services

Link Building Services

Blogger Outreach

2nd Tier Links

Google News Approved Blogs

SEO Keyword Ranking Services

2. Redefine Marketing Group

Next on our list of the top 20 digital marketing agencies in California is Redefine Marketing Group.

The digital marketing company was founded by three specialists working in the same team. They worked together for four years before moving on to start an agency of their own.

As a female- and minority-owned digital marketing company, Redefine Marketing Group focuses on giving back to the community and its diverse workplace. It is also considered one of the top link building agencies in California.

Redefine Marketing Group focuses on mid-sized and enterprise companies.

URL: https://www.redefineyourmarketing.com/

Expertise: SEO, Social Media, Link Building, Content Marketing

Location: Covina, CA

Sister Concerns: None

3. The Spectrum Group Online

Based out of the Silicon Valley, Spectrum Group Online is a digital marketing agency that has been helping B2B and B2C companies grow to their potential.

Not just digital marketing professionals, The Spectrum Group Online is made of media personnel, data scientists, and expert content marketers who strategize and deliver for businesses.

With transparency, integrity, and quality as their core values, The Spectrum Group Online continues to help businesses prosper through its SEO and link building services.

URL: https://online-sales-marketing.com/

Expertise: SEO, PPC, WordPress Websites, Content Marketing

Location: San Jose, CA

Sister Concerns: None

4. Empathy First Media

Empathy First Media comes fourth in our list of the top 20 digital marketing agencies.

This digital marketing agency is a hub of professionals from different fields like healthcare, sciences, engineering, and marketing. The firm employs a data-driven mindset, striving to meet client demands efficiently.

Empathy First Media, a California-based digital marketing agency, looks at client requirements from a completely new angle, and takes the assistance of experts to produce immaculate results.

URL: https://empathyfirstmedia.com/

Expertise: SEO, SEM, Web Development, UX Design

Location: Hermosa Beach, CA

Sister Concerns: None

5. Real Connection Media Inc.

Real Connection Media Inc. is next on our list.

The founders of Real Connection Media Inc. believe that entrepreneurs start a business not just as a stream of revenue but also because of their passion.

Started by a software engineering manager, this digital marketing agency aims to use the power of technology and social media to help businesses connect with their customers.

Real Connection Media Inc. pays special attention to small businesses, helping them grow and flourish.

URL: https://www.realconnectionmedia.com/

Expertise: SEO, Web Design, Social Media Marketing

Location: Colfax, CA

Sister Concerns: None

6. WK Online Marketing

WK Online Marketing is one of the numerous businesses that popped up after the pandemic. With COVID ruining their family business, the team at WK Online Marketing shifted their focus towards internet marketing. This led to the birth of WK Online Marketing, a full-service digital marketing agency.

In addition to improving online visibility, WK Online Marketing pays special attention to website development as well.

Like some of the other digital marketing companies on this list, WK Online Marketing has small businesses as their primary clientele. It appears on the sixth position in the list of the top 20 digital marketing agencies.

URL: https://wkonlinemarketing.com/

Expertise: SEO, Google Ads, Web Design

Location: Mountain View, CA

Sister Concerns: None

7. ROCK Marketing, LLC

The experts at 7 Rock Marketing, LLC, have just one thing in mind: to boost their clientele’s online presence and increase their ROI.

The 7 Rock Marketing team is dedicated on this. With experts from diverse backgrounds putting their best, this customer-focused digital marketing agency churns out exceptional results.

7 Rock Marketing, LLC, prides itself on offering 24/7 support. Not just that, they also employ Artificial Intelligence-based tools to yield the best results for their clients.

7 Rock Marketing, LLC, appears at the seventh spot in the list of the top 20 digital marketing agencies in California.

URL: https://www.7rockmarketing.com/

Expertise: Content Marketing, SEO, Email Marketing, Website Development

Location: Los Angeles

Sister Concerns: None

8. Intrepid Digital

With clients across North America, Intrepid Digital offers personalized digital marketing solutions to enable businesses achieve targets.

Their unique approach involves removing the account manager between the client and team. Instead, they let their clientele talk directly with the dedicated subject-matter expert related to their service. This information allows the digital marketing experts at Intrepid Digital to prepare a comprehensive strategy.

Intrepid Digital boasts a fully remote workforce, with experts working from across five continents. It also appears in the list of top link building agencies.

URL: https://www.intrepidonline.com/

Expertise: SEO, CRO, Content Writing and Auditing, Performance Marketing

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Sister Concerns: None

9. NextLeft

NextLeft is ninth on the list of the top 20 digital marketing agencies in California.

Nextleft is a harmonious combination of the top SEO experts who didn’t like the unethical digital marketing methods they witnessed throughout their careers. Hence, they got together and formed Nextleft, a digital marketing company that helps clients achieve their business goals through time-tested techniques.

With company values like “no unnecessary stress,” “ever-improve,” and “community of care,” the Nextleft team helps businesses boost ROI and beat the competition.

URL: https://nextleft.com/

Expertise: Local SEO, Enterprise SEO, Content Marketing, PPC Management Services

Location: La Jolla, CA

Sister Concerns: None

10. Digital Results

Serving businesses of all sizes, Digital Results is a California-based digital marketing company that has helped businesses of all sizes, from small three-member companies to huge Fortune 500 companies.

Digital Results offers all kinds of services to boost a company’s online presence. This digital marketing company takes care of all aspects of a business’ online presence. This includes detailed audits, drafting creative content, and well-thought-out SEO strategies.

Digital Results appears tenth in the list of the top 20 digital marketing companies in California.

URL: https://getdigitalresults.com/

Expertise: SEO, Email Marketing, Backlink Audit, Social Media Marketing

Location: Costa Mesa, CA

Sister Concerns: None

11. Seibert Consulting Group

Seibert Consulting Group appears in the 11th spot on our list of the top 20 digital marketing companies in California.

With a three-step strategy, Seibert Consulting Group, or SCG in short, helps organizations transform their digital marketing game and meet business goals.

Their personalized plans provide organizations the boost they need to edge past the competition and get better results, be it ROI or sales.

Not just that, SCG also has a reputation for delivering exceptional results through their Facebook and Instagram campaigns.

URL: https://seibertconsulting.com/

Expertise: Digital Marketing, eCommerce, Digital Transformation

Location: Carlsbad, CA

Sister Concerns: None

12. Top Notch Dezigns

Top Notch Dezigns is a branding agency that has many feathers in its cap. On top of being a creative branding agency, Top Notch Dezigns is also a digital marketing company that creates customized strategies for clients to meet their business goals.

Transparency is the mantra of Top Notch Dezigns, as their experts focus on being straightforward with clients when it comes to challenges, project progress, and other relevant elements.

Top Notch Dezigns is also one of the very few companies in this list that can be categorized as a link building agency.

URL: https://www.topnotchdezigns.com/

Expertise: SEO, Content Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Email Marketing

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Sister Concerns: None

13. 2POINT Agency

Next on our list of the top 20 digital marketing agencies is 2POINT Agency.

As a full-service digital marketing agency, 2POINT Agency has stamped its authority on every aspect you can think of, right from SEO to animated websites to quality backlinks. The clientele the SEO/link building agency focuses on includes domestic and international businesses.

In addition to helping businesses improve their online presence, 2POINT Agency also focuses on developing highly creative animated websites and effective e-mail marketing strategies.

URL: https://www.2pointagency.com/

Expertise: SEO, Branding, Website Development, Social Media

Location: San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose

Sister Concerns: None

14. Webserv

Webserv started as a two-person digital marketing agency, by two friends who shared a similar passion for online marketing.

From two employees, Webserv now has over 30 digital marketing experts, helping brands boost their online awareness. Although Webserv are specialists when it comes to the healthcare industry, they have made a name for themselves in other industries as well.

As a data-driven agency, Webserv relies on open communication and collaboration to meet client expectations.

Webserve is 14^th in our list of the top 20 digital marketing agencies in California.

URL: https://webserv.io/

Expertise: SEO, Digital PR, Web Development, CRO

Location: Irvine, CA

Sister Concerns: None

15. EnlightWorks

A website is the face of a brand. The team at EnlightWorks knows this. That’s why their experts pay special attention to creating websites for their clients.

Not just websites, this digital marketing company also helps businesses devise well-researched SEO strategies to improve brand awareness. Giving equal importance to keyword research, content creation, and other techniques like link building, the team at EnlightWorks leaves no stone unturned when it comes to helping businesses thrive.

URL: https://www.enlightworks.com/

Expertise: Custom Web Design, SEO

Location: Benicia, CA

Sister Concerns: None

16. SEMbyotic

SEMbyotic is another San Jose-based agency that appears in our list of the top 20 digital marketing agencies.

The experts at SEMbyotic live and breathe online exposure. They take advantage of innovative tools at their disposal and their specialist knowledge to help businesses breeze past the competition.

Their efficient SEO and SEM strategies aid businesses to reach and interact with their target audience.

The experience SEMbyotic has in different domains, including SaaS, tech, and hospitality, puts them in a strong position to serve all types of clients with the same level of efficiency.

URL: https://sembyotic.com/

Expertise: SEO, PPC Management, Web Design, SEM

Location: San Jose, CA

Sister Concerns: None

17. Avita Digital

Avita Digital appears next in our list of the top 20 digital marketing agencies in California.

With transparency and measurable results as their unique selling points, Avita Digital pushes businesses to reach their full potential, helping them grow and reach their target audience.

Avita Group follows a one-of-a-kind seven-step method that involves

Market research
Digital operating system
360-degree vision
Deployment
Strategic objective
Implementation and scaling
Summit

This 7-step strategy allows the experts at Avita Group to meet any unique challenge thrown at them.

URL: https://avitagroup.com/

Expertise: Organic SEO, PPC, Content Creation, Online Reputation Management

Location: Calabasas, CA

Sister Concerns: None

18. Royal Reef Media

A full-service digital marketing agency, Royal Reef Media focuses on all elements of digital marketing to aid in the long-term growth of a business. It was started by two brothers who shared a passion for digital marketing.

This privately-owned agency helps clients expand their reach by focusing on website development, SEO, and social media marketing strategies. Royal Reef Media has helped clients in the following industries:

Healthcare
Manufacturing
Locksmithing
Plumbers
Landscaping
Garage Door Repair
Real Estate
Construction
Roofing
Flooring

URL: https://www.royalreefmedia.com/

Expertise: Local SEO, Technical SEO, CRO

Location: Newport Beach, CA

Sister Concerns: None

19. Partywave

A Los-Angeles based digital marketing company, Partywave brings together the best of creative branding and launch strategies to promote brands.

The firm’s small but hard-working team pays special attention to detail to any project, regardless of its size and challenges. The prime blend of specialists in the firm makes Partywave a great partner for businesses of all sizes.

Additionally, Partywave offers convenient 6- and 12-month packages for businesses to get consistent results.

URL: https://www.partywave.studio/

Expertise: SEO, Branding, Website Design

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Sister Concerns: None

20. Streamline Results

The last digital marketing company on our list of the top 20 digital marketing agencies is Streamline Results.

Experts in ROI-driven marketing methods, Streamline Results chucks the plan format and, instead, goes with a personalized approach to digital marketing. The firm also boasts a client retention rate of over 90%.

Streamline Results clientele includes small, local businesses to Fortune 500 organizations. The 10+ member firm serves the following industries:

Healthcare
Legal
Finance
Home Services
Insurance
Real Estate
Automotive
Industrial
Construction
Roofing

URL: https://streamlineresults.com/

Expertise: SEO, PPC Management, Web Design

Location: Thousand Oaks, CA

Sister Concerns: None

Wrapping Things Up

Digital marketing is becoming more relevant by the day. The number of businesses that’s allocating funds in the budget for online marketing is increasing by the day.

As important as digital marketing is, there is something to be wary of. For starters, digital marketing strategies, be it link building or SEO, are a slow process. You aren’t going to get results overnight.

Some impatient business owners often try to take shortcuts to get quick results. The effects of this can be counterintuitive.

Also, some marketers may promise instant results. They employ questionable strategies (aka black hat) that will be easily flagged by Google. In the end, your website will be in a much worse position than it initially was.

This is the purpose of this writeup. The digital marketing agencies listed in this article are done so after rigorous research. Make sure you get in touch with one before hiring them.

Clear communication is essential, whether you’re looking for link building agencies or digital marketing companies. So make sure you’re constantly in touch with them, before and after hiring.

Also Look for: Top 10 Link Building Agencies of 2024

12 Link Building Strategies You Should Stay Away From

Back in 1996, Sergey Brin and Larry Page of Google introduced the idea of PageRank. As a hierarchical algorithm, PageRank’s role was to find out a website’s authority based on the number of backlinks.

From 1996 to 2023, backlinks have come a long way. It has gone through countless updates to keep up with the ever-changing search trends.

Considering the important and indispensable role backlinking plays in SEO, it was only a matter of time before someone came up with shortcuts.

And it’s about these shortcuts that we’re going to discuss today. We’ll share 12 link building techniques that will get you into trouble.

Paying for Links

I am starting things off with paying for links since this is usually a mistake new link builders make.

Paying for links is exactly what it sounds like. You pay a specific amount to a site owner, who, in turn, will place your link on their website.

Google openly states in its Webmaster Guidelines that buying or selling links counts as a link scheme and will happily devalue websites that engage in this practice.

Irrelevant Links

Relevance is a huge thing when it comes to link building. If your website gets too many backlinks from websites outside your niche, Google will quickly flag it down.

Say, for example, that if you have a website about pet care and receive too many inbound links from tech sites, this is a case of unnatural links. You may be liable for manual action, and you should disavow these links immediately.

Content Marketing Links

The ethical practice of content marketing involves producing informative content on one’s own website, gaining authority, and, in turn, building resources that generate links via goodwill.

The sketchy version involves hiring a writer who will publish the written article on a third-party site with a link back to the client’s website. (The client here is the party that pays the writer.)

This isn’t link building; it’s advertising. And it violates FTC guidelines, which state that paid advertisements must be disclosed, and if they cannot be disclosed, then such ads shouldn’t exist.

Low-Quality Guest Posts

Guest posts are a great way to generate backlinks and are generally one of the most recommended white-hat link building strategies.

Usually, guest posting involves a blogger who publishes an informative article on a third-party website. This article is written for the reader, and the keywords don’t stand out or interfere with readability.

Low-quality guest posts, on the other hand, are written with the aim of getting a better search ranking. As a result, these articles are usually poorly rephrased versions of the original article and are stuffed with keywords that greatly reduce readability.

For reasons like this, it is recommended to approach a guest posting agency. If you can’t find one, try looking for an SEO agency that offers high-quality guest posting service.

Sponsor Links

Sponsored links are those that use the rel=”sponsored” attribute. Google introduced this attribute to distinguish paid links from the rest.

Sponsored links aren’t bad by themself. But they become problematic when the site you’re sponsoring isn’t related to your niche; those links won’t contribute to your rank.

And if Google finds out, you may be liable for action from their web spam team.

Scholarship Links

Scholarship link building involves creating a scholarship and developing all the necessary content to promote it.

Once that is done, you approach educational institutions, asking for links to your scholarship page or website since Google considers .edu links as high authority.

However, scholarship link building is considered equivalent to paying for links, and that could lead to a manual link penalty. Also, the fact that you have links from domains with irrelevant niches could also damage your backlinking profile.

Badges for Links

In the Badges for Links trick, an SEO will create an award and hand it over to a website. The recipient’s website displays the award badge proudly, claiming to be the winner of a random award.

When handing over the badge, the SEO will sneak in a code that has links back to the website.

This link building trick is unethical because it involves the exchange of something of value in return for a link. Google considers this a method to manipulate links and a violation of its guidelines.

Developing Websites

Not only is this link building trick scammy, but it’s also time-consuming. This method involves creating a brand-new website with the sole purpose of including a link to your main website.

The created sites can be more in number, depending on how desperate the link builder is.

When Google finds out that your website is part of a link wheel (another name for this trick), you get slapped with a Google penalty for violating the Webmaster’s Guidelines.

Forum Spamming

Some people sign up for forums with the intent of promoting their links. It generally goes like this. The link builder adds a couple of “me too!” posts and includes their links, saying that the site has more information on it.

Forum administrators and moderators know this and will happily delete such posts. As an added benefit, businesses that follow this trick will have a reputation for being spammy. This is why it is always a good idea to consult a link building agency to create quality backlinks.

Private Blogging Networks (PBNs)

Some SEOs use PBNs to build a backlink profile. It goes like this. The SEO buys old domains with decent authority and posts content to those websites. Those posts will have links to the website they’d like to boost.

PBNs are considered to be black hat since they use manipulative tactics to earn links rather than creating high-quality content that is of some use to the visitor.

Links From Automatic Link Building Applications

Have you come across tools like GSA Search Engine Ranker, Scrape Box, XRunner, or SEnuke?

These link building tools are good at generating backlinks, and that too a lot of them. The problem is that the generated links aren’t very effective.

Automating isn’t inherently a bad thing, but Google values links that point to websites with rich, relevant content. Something automation isn’t capable of.

Too Much Link Exchanges

Link exchange is when two parties, preferably webmasters, agree to link each other.

This technique is exactly black hat or shady. The problem arises when webmasters overdo it. And when that happens, it pretty much becomes a link scheme.

These are some of the most common practices that link builders should stay away from. Some of the techniques mentioned in the article can be quite effective when used in moderation, but they are frowned upon by the SEO community.

Google is regularly making changes to how search works, and there’s a high possibility that more tricks may come up in the near future.

This is why it is essential to always stay updated with the current happenings in the SEO world. You’ll get a heads-up when some drastic change is coming, and you’ll be better prepared to tackle it.

Another go-to option is to outsource your link building. Outsourcing frees up your schedule and resources, and on top of that, you get positive, quantifiable results.

Backlinks Black hat link building Link Building Link building metrics Link building strategy second-tier links SEO tiered linking White hat link building

Second-Tier Links. The Black Sheep of Link Building

Have you ever tried tiered linking?

For the uninitiated, tiered linking is when you share content that has links to a post with links to your website.

That sounds a bit confusing, isn’t it?

Say, for example, that A has links to your client’s website. You create a social media post, B, with links to A. You then go on to make another post with links to B.

Link Building is a valid strategy to increase authority, whereas tiered linking may have its problems.

This isn’t to say that tiered links don’t deliver. They absolutely do. But if you don’t take care, things can quickly go south.

Guest post on industry blogs and include 1-2 relevant links in the author bio. Make sure the content provides value for readers.
Sponsor or donate to a responsible gambling charity and get a link in return.
Comment on forums and articles in your niche, offering useful insights along with a site link. Don’t spam.
Get interviewed as an expert on gambling sites and podcasts. Mention your site contextually if asked.
Create social media profiles and engage regularly with valuable info. Include site link in bio.
Publish and promote an ebook, research or stats on the industry with 1-2 attribution links.
Start an ethical affiliate program and have partners link to your site from theirs.
Reach out to local casinos and gambling venues to be listed as a recommended responsible site.

The focus should be on building reputation by providing genuine value to users first rather than just seeking links. Links should occur naturally and ethically as part of that process. Aggressive/manipulative link building tactics should be avoided.

In this article, I have only discussed second-tier links because you run the risk of getting penalized by Google if you go above second-tier linking.

What Are Second-Tier Links?

As said earlier, tiered linking is when you create posts or websites with the intention of linking to posts that have links to your actual website.

First-tier links are the links you find in posts (social media or blogs) that redirect the visitor to your website.

Second-tier links boost first-tier links. These are the links that point to pages with links to your website, aka first-tier links.

You can find second-tier links in just about anything, from social media posts, articles, and emails to directories and forums.

So, what benefit do second-tier links provide?

The main advantage of second-tier links is that they improve your website’s backlink profile. A better backlink profile increases the authoritativeness of your website. The more domain authority your website has, the better its search ranking.

And finally, a better search ranking means more visibility, which means increased traffic.

This is why you shouldn’t ignore second-tier links when building a backlink profile.

Tiered linking follows the concept of link equity, which is explained below.

Link Equity

When one webpage links to another, some of the first page’s authority is passed on to the second page. This is called link equity.

In simple terms, when page A links to page B, page B gets some of page A’s authority.

This is why marketers go after websites with high domain authority (DA) to build a website’s backlink profile.

Another name for link equity is “link juice,” since the DA flows from one page to another, improving the rankings of everything along the way.

With that out of the way, let’s discuss the ideal spots to place second-tier links.

Guest Posts

Guest posts are created for two reasons alone: one, to post your links, and two, to educate visitors on a certain topic.

Guest posts are the most commonly used tools when it comes to link building. You find a website relevant to your niche, request that they post an article with a link to your website, and, if they agree, post an article with a link back to your website.

You can also promote your guest posts this way. Just create additional posts that link back to your original guest post with a link to your website.

Secondary Website

You can place links to your main website on your secondary website(s). In other words, just create a blog post on your secondary website and include a link to your primary website.

You must also make sure that the websites that link to your primary website belong to the same niche, as Google will find it fishy if your website has multiple backlinks from sites that are irrelevant to your niche.

Social Bookmark Links

Social bookmarking is a phenomenon where websites have dedicated, organized forums for discussions and resource sharing. Social bookmarking sites allow visitors to engage with people with similar interests or professions.

Social bookmarking websites are great for sharing your second-tier links, considering the exorbitant number of people who use them.

Social Media

Just a heads up, social media links are nofollow, meaning they don’t contribute anything in terms of SEO.

But links in social media posts are great for one thing, exposure. They’re great at promoting guest posts with first- and second-tier links.

And, on top of that, social media links also help Google index content better.

Link Exchanges

It is exactly what it sounds like. Link exchanges are when two websites agree to link to each other with the objective of improving SEO rankings.

Google guidelines have given the green light for link exchanges, but only to a certain extent.

The link exchange strategy is great for second-tier links since you won’t directly link your website but to a post with the link, considerably reducing the chances of a Google penalty.

Forums

Forums are private, heavily moderated, and come with their own set of rules. The reason I say this is because if you’re directly promoting a post with your link, the moderators will flag you. Even if the moderators miss it, the members will report you.

At times like this, second-tier links are a lifesaver. Because, you’re not directly linking your website.

Another thing to keep in mind when posting in forums is relevance. Post your second-tier links on relevant forums, as most forums have strict rules against spamming and self-promotion.

Now that you’ve read what you can (or should) do, here are a few things you shouldn’t do.

Link Schemes

A Link Scheme is a strategy where marketers create websites, relationships, and processes for backlinking.

This is problematic because the websites that link to your pages don’t have any other purpose. They’re there only to post your links.

Also, Google penalizes websites that are involved in link schemes.

Relevance

Although Domain Authority (DA) and Domain Rating (DR) are important factors to measure the strength of a website’s backlinks, you can’t ignore relevance.

Google will find out if your website has multiple links from websites that are outside your niche. And when that happens, your website will be handed a Google Manual Penalty.

Spamming

Spamming is, was, and will never be a good strategy for anything, especially SEO. That’s why it’s recommended to include links to your original post just once in your secondary post.

Take the case of email. You’re using an email for second-tier link building and have mentioned the links twice; Gmail will happily group your email under the promotions tab.

To wrap things up, link building is a viable strategy for SEO. Not only does it contribute to better website traffic, but it also improves your page and domain authority.

Just like every other thing, there are ways to speed up the process for quick results. But their consequences make them not worth it.

Second-tier links are something like that. Use it just the right amount, and you’re fine. Abuse it and face the consequences.

When executed correctly, second-tier links can do a world of good for your primary website, both in terms of traffic and ranking.

Backlinks Link Building Link building metrics Link building strategy second-tier links SEO tiered linking White hat link building

How We Will Help You Impress Your Clients

Hello reader! Hope you are doing well.

This blog is to inform you of the birth of Orange Outreach – a link-building mastermind

We have been in the link-building business for over 10 years under a different name. Recently, we decided to rebrand.

Why? Well, why not? It’s 2023, and AI tools are taking over everything. So, why not a makeover?

A look at our homepage

Link-building seems to be the most efficient and effective way to boost a website’s ranking in Google’s SERP, even in 2023.

The first result in Google’s SERP has 3.8 times more backlinks than the other results. This stat alone states the importance of link-building.

The problem with link-building is that it is not easy at all. In fact, over 65% of marketers say that link-building is the hardest SEO challenge for them.

But why do they find it hard? Well, because it is not easy🙃(Hope you laughed).

Actually, there are a lot of reasons why link-building is hard. Here are some common link-building challenges every digital marketer faces:

Blog outreach
Finding relevant blogs (Niche relevant blogs)
Writing compelling content
Too many low-quality blogs
Heavily time-consuming
Anchor texts
You can buy two Titanics for the price of building quality backlinks

But why are we talking about link-building challenges instead of the new site? Because these are the challenges we can solve!

With our rebranding, we have carefully added many new features, packages, and blogs to make link-building easier for digital marketing agencies and solve their problems forever.

How We Will Help You Tackle Your Challenges

🍊 The first challenge is blog outreach. Well, we have a great database already, and we are adding blogs to our database every day, so it is not even a challenge.

A peek at our blog database. Visit our deals page to see our other features 😉

🍊 Niche relevant blogs. Come on! Do you have any actual challenges? We have niche-relevant blogs in our database for all the top industries that use digital marketing.

🍊 Writing compelling content. As a part of our rebranding, we created a partnership with more than 50 writers and recruited 6 proofreaders to create compelling content for our clients.

🍊 Too many low-quality blogs. All the blogs will go through a 13-step quality analysis before being accepted.

🍊 Anchor texts. We will use a mixture of natural anchor texts, branded anchor texts, and exact-match anchor texts. Our writers can place all these types of anchor texts in a natural and compelling way.

🍊 Price. No one can deny that link-building is expensive. But we are confident that we offer the lowest price among the competition.

Our prices and services we offer for the same

So, think we covered all the common challenges. We can offer custom solutions to your custom problems too.

In the above image, you can see the service features we offer. You won’t get these services from most link-building agencies. At least, not at our price.

Our Process

So, what is our magic process to boost your client’s website?

Well, our process doesn’t involve magic, but the results will be magical.

Once you place your order, we will start working on anchor texts and article titles. Yes, we will provide anchor texts and article titles.

You can provide your own anchors too. But why the extra work?

Once the article titles and anchor texts are approved by you, we will start with the next process.

We will give you access to our blog tools and allow you to choose any blogs that you like. We will also give you blog suggestions that we believe will be the best fit for your requirements.

Once you select and approve the blogs, we start publishing. Obviously, we skip the outreach step since we have all the blogs in our database. Our outreach process is a constant one. Meaning we will be outreaching every day.

We do this because we don’t want to consume too much of your time with outreach. Because we cut outreach time, our process is instant.

Voila! Now your client links are on top-notch, niche-relevant blogs.

We are reseller friendly, so you can flex to your client that you placed their links on amazing blogs in no time.

In addition to other services, we also do competitor analysis for your client.

Final Thoughts

Link-building is a great way to boost a website, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to build quality links. Luckily, we are here to help you. We can help you build quality links for your clients at a fraction of our competitor’s price.
Hope you had fun reading about our new site. While we believe we are a great link-building agency, our goal is to be number one. We are confident that we will get there very soon. We welcome you to wander around our website and see all the lovely pages we have created. If you think we can make some changes, contact us by mail or fill out our contact form.

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How To Create A Viral Crowdfunding Video Campaign

Numbers don’t lie. Statistics at Kickstarter show that crowdfunding video campaigns have a higher than average success rate of getting funded.

According to Kickstarter’s numbers, campaigns that have videos are 85% more likely to hit their funding goals. But success is not just about having just any video. Your crowdfunding video campaign must be interesting and engaging enough to make people want to share it.

In short, to ensure your success your video campaign must go viral. And if you feel confident because you have a sizable network of trusted contacts, think again. Not everyone may relate or feel engaged with your video. You might not even get 20% of your network to share it.

But if your video campaign is well- produced, compelling and clearly addresses the needs and wants of a specific audience, it may gain traction from the contacts of the 20% who shared it. That’s how videos become viral; it picks up wave after wave of interest.

So how do you create a viral crowdfunding video campaign?

Here are 8 tips for you to consider

Be Yourself – For sure you’ve seen crowdfunding videos where the performers aren’t quite themselves. It feels like they’d rather be somewhere else than where they are in the video.

Unless you’re an actor, it’s easy to understand why people get nervous in front of the camera. With a crowdfunding video campaign, the stakes are quite high. There’s pressure to perform well. And maybe that is the problem; trying to perform. Don’t be an actor. Just be yourself. You’re sharing a business idea that came from a passion or advocacy. Live it. Own it. Be Yourself.

Have a Good Narrative – Everyone loves a good story. A compelling narrative places the listener in the shoes of the story- teller. You see and feel everything unfold.

The reason why storytelling works is that it creates empathy. When you’re creating a crowdfunding video, you want your audience to feel your purpose not just understand it. A good narrative strengthens the pitch for your product because the audience already becomes invested in you. They want to know how the story ends. And if you’re successful, they will help you re-write a happier ending with more funding support!

Create a Hook – A “hook” is something that will get people’s attention within the first few seconds on your video. It could be a thought- provoking question; one that would resonate with your viewers.

To find your hook, you should know the biggest concern of your market. You must be 100% confident your product or service can provide the best solution to their problem. An example of a good hook is in the Kickstarter video of “Coolest Cooler”. The video starts off with a traditional cooler being pulled out of the back of a pickup truck.

Then the hook comes in: “Hear that? That’s the sound of a cooler coming down from a shelf. It’s the sound of imminent fun. So why haven’t cooler designs changed in the last 50 years?”

Makes you think, “Hmmm…”, right?

Emphasize the Rewards – Of course, your audience has to know what makes your product special.

What differentiates it from everything else that is on the market? What will they get out of it as users and as investors? Why would people buy it?

You have to present your product as a game- changer by highlighting its innovative features.

Again, going back to the Coolest Cooler, the creator Ryan Grepper obviously gave his product much thought. It has everything you could ever want in a cooler: a wireless sound system, a blender, compartments for knives, plates and utensils and a bottle opener. No wonder, the Coolest Cooler remains Kickstarter’s most backed project of all time. With a goal of $50,000, Coolest Cooler raised more than $13 Million or 26,000% above target!

Align the Message with the Brand – Behind every marketing campaign is a message. If the message is not delivered with pinpoint, laser-like accuracy, the audience will not understand what your product is about.

The first step lies in the purpose of your product. Why did you come up with this particular of product? An example would be the Kickstarter video campaign for FitBark, an activity tracker for dogs.

Within the first 5 seconds of the video, you already know the creators of FitBark are dog lovers who want to do more for their beloved pets. The product was designed to keep dogs happy and healthy. The message clearly resonated with dog owners who felt the same way. The campaign asked for $35,000 and received total funding of $80,000!. Near the end of your video, drive home the message by stating your Call to Action. Make an appeal! Tell your audience what you want from them and how they can help you out.

Show People “It’s Happening” – It’s not enough to tell people your plans and goals for your product.

Show them.

Even if you have not received a single cent, show your audience that you are dead-set in seeing your product come to fruition. An effective strategy would be to include footage of design drawings or the production line in your video.

When the audience realizes how committed you are for this project to see the light of day, come hell- or- high water, they will get behind you. It also tells your audience that you are organized and have all the pieces in place to make this happen. Production creates a strong level of excitement. It screams, “It’s happening!” If your product successfully captures the imagination of an audience, they will gladly share your video with their network.

Work on the Quality and Content – You may have seen the Kickstarter video of a campaign to fund a gentleman’s love for Burritos.

It looks like it was shot with a mobile phone camera. But believe it or not, this crazy crowdfunding video campaign which asked for $8 actually raised $1,050!

But if you’re dead serious about asking an audience to invest money in your venture, you should likewise invest on the quality and content of your crowdfunding video campaign.

And while you’re at it, why not join a crowdfunding video campaign competition? There are organizations that set up these types of competitions for prospective startups.

These contests attract a large audience which include industry influencers, reputable companies and venture capitalists. It is a great way to have your video go viral and secure the funding you need for your project.

Keep it Short – For videos to go viral, they must be memorable. Unfortunately people have very short attention spans.

If you fail to grab their interest in the first 6 to 10 seconds, they will not see your video to the very end. Generally, studies show that the shorter the video the better. Videos that run under 1 minute have more viewership. But for crowdfunding videos, the ideal length is longer at 2 to 3 minutes because you have more material to cover.

When it comes to crowdfunding activities, there is no doubt that a video campaign is the way to go. It gets the job done because videos convey your message through sight, sound and at the same time has the ability to trigger powerful emotions that make people want to see your project come to life.

But take the time in planning your crowdfunding video campaign. Consider hiring the services of experienced video producers to ensure the quality and content of the finished product.

After all, a crowdfunding video campaign that goes viral can easily recover the cost of production.

digital marketing crowdfunding Video Campaign