It’s getting more and more difficult to know which sources to trust online. This helps explain why lists such as this one are consistently some of the most read and shared: people want (no, need) to know that the content they’re reading is reliable and trustworthy.
When it comes to determining the "top 50" of anything, there are any number of variables that can come into play. Some of the ones I considered for this list included:
- Usefulness and reliability of blog and social-media posts
- Advanced knowledge in one or more areas of online marketing
- Size of audience
- Level of engagement on their blog or social media
- Ability to create and sustain a sense of community with their audience
- Awards received
- Books written
I’m absolutely certain I’ve left some amazingly successful online marketers off this list. If I’ve forgotten you or someone you know, please leave a comment at the end of this post.
The following are my 50 favorite online-marketing influencers of 2014:
1. Neil Patel is a web analytics and conversion expert, and founder ofCrazy Egg, Kissmetrics and Quick Sprout.
2. Matt Cutts doesn’t normally make it onto these lists, but there’s no doubt he’s near the top in terms of online influence. He's the star ofGoogle’s Webmaster videos and current head of Google’s Webspam team.
3. John Rampton is president at Adogy, editor at large of Search Engine Journal and a frequent contributor to Entrepreneur.com and Huffington Post.
4. Tim Ferris, a productivity expert, wrote the must-read 4-Hour Workweek.
5. Rand Fishkin is the founder of Moz.com (formerly SEOMoz), speaker and expert on search-engine optimization, marketing and entrepreneurship.
6. Danny Sullivan, an SEO expert, is founding editor of Search Engine Land.
7. Larry Kim is a pay-per click and SEO expert, and founder and CTO ofWordStream, an industry leader in keyword research and PPC tools.
8. Seth Godin wrote many bestselling marketing books, includingPermission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends and Friends into Customers. He also founded squidoo.com and was an inductee into the Direct Marketing Hall of Fame.
9. Drew Hendricks is a social-media strategist and freelance writer published on Huffington Post and Entrepreneur.com, among others.
10. Sean Gardner, ranked as number one on Forbes’ Top 50 Social Media Power Influencers in 2013, is a social-media consultant and regular contributor to Huffington Post and Social Media Week.
12. Jeff Bullas is an online-marketing blogger, author of Blogging the Smart Way – How to Create and Market a Killer Blog with Social Media, and number eight on Forbes’ World’s Top 40 Social Marketing Talent.
13. Mari Smith is a Facebook-marketing expert and author of The New Relationship Marketing.
14. Chris Brogan is a New York Times bestselling author, business strategist and online marketing expert. According to his bio, his consulting is “business strategy meets powerful personal development.”
15. Gary Vaynerchuck, the author of Crush It!, is a professional storyteller and CEO of VaynerMedia, a social-media brand-consulting agency.
16. John Boitnott, a journalist and digital consultant, has worked at TV, newspapers, radio and Internet companies in California for 20 years. He has written for NBC, Entrepreneur, USA Today and Venturebeat, among others. He now invests in startups and works primarily with tech entrepreneurs to scale their businesses.
17. Aaron Lee founded Ask Aaron Lee and is number five on Forbes Top 50 Social Media Power Influencers 2013. He is perhaps best known for his strong presence on Twitter.
18. Sandi Krakowski is a Facebook-marketing expert and one of Forbes’ 20 Women Social Media Influencers. She also writes forEntrepreneur.com.
19. Heidi Cohen, a marketing expert who focuses on providing practical, actionable online marketing advice for business owners, is on Social Media Examiner’s list of Top 10 Social Media Blogs.
20. Jay Baer is author of New York Times-bestselling book Youtility: Why Smart Marketing is About Help, Not Hype, speaker, marketing coach and founder of digital marketing consulting agency and blog,Convince & Convert.
21. Amy Porterfield, a social-media strategist, is co-author of Facebook for Dummies and creator of the FBInfluence 2.0 training program.
22. Danny Brown co-authored Influence Marketing: How to Create, Manage and Measure Brand Influencers in Social Media Marketing. He was voted one of Social Media Examiner’s Top 10 Social Media Blogs in 2011, 2013 and 2014.
23. Lewis Howes, a podcaster and blogger at LewisHowes.com (also published on Entrepreneur.com), was named one of Details magazine’s "5 Internet Gurus Who Can Make You Rich."
24. Andrea Vahl, co-author of Facebook Marketing All-in-One for Dummies, is former community manger at Social Media Examiner and a social-media speaker and strategist.
27. Brian Clark is founder of CopyBlogger, the web’s premier source of content marketing and copywriting info, and host of New Rainmaker, a weekly marketing audio broadcast.
28. Kim Garst, an expert on leveraging social media for business, is owner of Boom Social and one of Forbes Top 50 Social Media Power Influencers.
29. Brian Solis is a digital analyst and author of What’s the Future for Business: Changing the Way Businesses Create Experiences.
30. David Airey is an author and graphic designer who blogs about visual identity, marketing and branding.
31. Kristi Hines, a prolific freelance digital-marketing writer, founded Kikolani, a site about blog marketing.
32. Chris Ducker is a "new business" marketing strategist and blogger, podcaster and author of Virtual Freedom: How to Work with Virtual Staff to Buy More Time, Become More Productive and Build Your Dream Business.
33. Derek Halpern founded Social Triggers, a blog, podcast and online video series dedicated to the art of online persuasion.
34. Bryan Eisenberg is an authority on online conversion and persona marketing and author of Call to Action: Secret Formulas to Improve Online Results.
35. Matthew Barby, a digital marketing consultant, is a popular columnist and lecturer at the Digital Marketing Institute.
36. Sam McRoberts is a SEO auditing specialist, social-media consultant, guest lecturer and owner of VUDU Marketing.
38. Michael Hyatt, author of Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World, was voted one of Forbes’ Top 10 Marketing Experts to Follow in 2014.
39. Yaro Starak founded Entrepreneurs-Journey, a site that focuses on earning a full-time income through blogging.
40. Pam Moore, lovingly referred to as The Marketing Nut, she is a specialist in conversion optimization and social branding and is a Forbes Top 5 Women In Social Media Influencer.
41. Murray Newlands is an Internet-marketing expert, prolific blogger, advisor, teacher and author. He is also a columnist at Search Engine Journal, Entrepreneur.com, and more.
42. Ann Handley, chief content officer at MarketingProfs, is a regular contributor to Entrepreneur magazine and co-author of Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blog Posts, Podcasts, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business.
43. James Schramko offers expert advice on how to start and grow an online business on his blog SuperFastBusiness.
44. Matthew Woodward blogs about SEO and affiliate marketing. His site is ranked as one of Technorati’s top 100 Business Blogs.
45. Pat Flynn, an affiliate marketer extraordinaire who is known for his regular online earnings reports, is also a blogger and podcaster atSmart Passive Income.
46. Yanik Silver is a serial entrepreneur and founder of multiple seven-figure businesses. His story is the classic "rags-to-riches" tale.
47. John Lee Dumas is a podcasting guru at Podcasters’ Paradise and host of Entrepreneur on Fire, which provides daily interviews with inspiring entrepreneurs.
48. Frank Kern is an Internet-marketing expert best known for his enormously successful subscription-based marketing strategies.
49. Pam Dyer, an expert on using social media to increase sales and improve branding, is on Forbes’ list of Top 20 Women Social Media Influencers.
50. Howard Jacobson is founder of Ask Howie, co-founder of Vitruvian Marketing and co-author of Google AdWords for Dummies.
If you’re looking for help with your online marketing strategy, refer to these experts. If you’re interested in my advice, grab my eBook, The Definitive Guide to Marketing Your Business Online.
Who would you add to this list? Leave a comment below!
Related: 67 Tools That Will Help You Grow Your Email Listhttp://www.entrepreneur.com/article/236661
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