The digital marketing influencers you follow shape how you think, test, and grow. Algorithms shift, buyer behavior changes, and the tactics that worked last quarter may not work today. The right voices keep you sharp and can help you select the right marketing tools and adopt the best practices. These are the influencers worth your attention.
Top 29 Digital Marketing Influencers
Below are the profiles of the top digital marketing influencers, covering who they are and the impact they've made in this space.
Rand Fishkin
CEO & Co-founder at SparkToro
Focus area:
#Audience research#Zero-click marketing#SEO#Marketing strategy#Content distribution
Rand Fishkin is CEO and co-founder of SparkToro, the audience research company, and previously co-founded Moz. He is also the author of Lost and Founder and a longtime marketing speaker.
Fishkin's work…
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Andy Crestodina
Co-Founder & CMO at Orbit Media Studios
Chicago, United States
Focus area:
#Content marketing#SEO#Analytics#Conversion optimization#Web strategy
Andy Crestodina is co-founder and CMO of Orbit Media Studios, where he leads marketing and web strategy. He is also the author of Content Chemistry and a longtime digital marketing educator.
Crestodina…
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Ann Handley
Content Marketing Author & Educator
Boston, United States
Focus area:
#Content marketing#Marketing writing#Email marketing#Brand voice#Marketing education
Ann Handley is a partner at MarketingProfs, bestselling author of Everybody Writes, keynote speaker, and entrepreneur who co-founded ClickZ and helped build MarketingProfs into a major resource.
Handley has made better writing…
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Ross Simmonds
Founder & CEO at Foundation
Nova Scotia, Canada
Focus area:
#Content marketing#Content distribution#B2B marketing#SaaS marketing#AI workflows
Ross Simmonds is the founder and CEO of B2B content marketing agency Foundation. He also built Distribution.ai.
Simmonds is especially associated with the idea that creating strong content is only half the…
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Aleyda Solís
Founder at Orainti
Focus area:
#International SEO#AI search#Technical SEO#Ecommerce SEO#Search strategy
Aleyda Solís is an international SEO and AI search consultant and founder of Orainti. She also created SEOFOMO, LearningSEO.io, and Crawling Mondays, and is an author and frequent industry speaker.
Solís pairs…
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Lily Ray
VP, SEO & AI Search at Amsive
Focus area:
#SEO#AI search#Google algorithms#Technical SEO#Search visibility
Lily Ray is Vice President, SEO and AI Search at Amsive, where she leads strategy for agency SEO programs. Her career in search began in 2010 and spans technical SEO, ecommerce, B2B,…
Connect with Lily:
Kipp Bodnar
Chief Marketing Officer at HubSpot
Focus area:
#B2B marketing#Demand generation#Marketing strategy#AI marketing#Social media
Kipp Bodnar is Chief Marketing Officer at HubSpot, where he leads global marketing strategy. He previously ran worldwide demand generation and helped build its marketing teams across multiple regions.
Bodnar works at…
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Amanda Natividad
Chief Evangelist at SparkToro
Focus area:
#Zero-click marketing#Audience research#Organic marketing#Content strategy#Content distribution
Amanda Natividad is Chief Evangelist at SparkToro and co-author of Zero Click Marketing. A former journalist and marketer, she led marketing at Growth Machine and helped build Fitbit's B2B team.
Natividad explores…
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Michael Stelzner
Founder & CEO at Social Media Examiner
United States
Focus area:
#Social media marketing#Marketing education#AI marketing#Podcasting#Content strategy
Michael Stelzner is founder and CEO of Social Media Examiner and creator of Social Media Marketing World. He hosts the Social Media Marketing and AI Explored podcasts and has authored two books.
…
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John Jantsch
Founder & CIO at Duct Tape Marketing
Focus area:
#Marketing strategy#Small business marketing#Customer journeys#Referral marketing#Marketing systems
John Jantsch is founder and CIO of Duct Tape Marketing, creator of its marketing system and consultant network, host of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, and author of the book Duct Tape…
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Paul Roetzer
Founder & CEO at Marketing AI Institute & SmarterX
Focus area:
#Marketing AI#AI transformation#Marketing strategy#AI education#Responsible AI
Paul Roetzer is founder and CEO of Marketing AI Institute and SmarterX, co-author of Marketing Artificial Intelligence, host of The Artificial Intelligence Show, and creator of the MAICON conference.
Roetzer has focused…
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Brian Dean
Co-Founder & CEO at Exploding Topics
Focus area:
#SEO#Content marketing#Trend research#Organic growth#Digital strategy
Brian Dean is co-founder and CEO of Exploding Topics, a trend-spotting platform acquired by Semrush. He previously built Backlinko into a widely read resource for practical SEO and content marketing.
Dean built…
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Neal Schaffer
Digital Marketing Author & Fractional CMO
Irvine, United States
Focus area:
#Social media marketing#Influencer marketing#Content marketing#Personal branding#Digital strategy
Neal Schaffer is a fractional CMO, digital marketing consultant, educator, speaker, and author whose books include The Age of Influence, Digital Threads, and Maximizing LinkedIn for Business Growth.
Schaffer's work connects social…
Connect with Neal:
Tom Orbach
Director of Growth Marketing at Wiz
Focus area:
#Growth marketing#Social media#Viral marketing#Behavioral psychology#B2B marketing
Tom Orbach is Director of Growth Marketing at Wiz and publishes MarketingIdeas.com. He is a growth marketer known for creative digital campaign ideas and for creating the Viral Post Generator.
Orbach specializes…
Connect with Tom:
Avinash Kaushik
Chief Strategy Officer at Human Made Machine
New York, United States
Focus area:
#Marketing analytics#Digital strategy#Measurement#AI#Marketing transformation
Avinash Kaushik is Chief Strategy Officer at Human Made Machine, a marketing transformation consultant, and author of Web Analytics 2.0 and Web Analytics: An Hour a Day. He spent 16 years at…
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Seth Godin
Marketing Author & Entrepreneur
Focus area:
#Marketing strategy#Permission marketing#Branding#Idea diffusion#Creative work
Seth Godin is an author, entrepreneur, and longtime marketing thinker whose books include This Is Marketing and This Is Strategy. He founded Akimbo, home of the altMBA, and publishes a daily blog.
…
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Ryan Deiss
Founder & CEO at The Scalable Company
Focus area:
#Digital marketing#Customer acquisition#Marketing funnels#Business growth#Marketing systems
Ryan Deiss is founder and CEO of The Scalable Company and founder of DigitalMarketer. He created the Traffic & Conversion Summit and co-authored Digital Marketing For Dummies in its second edition.
Deiss…
Connect with Ryan:
Olivia Mae Hanlon
Founder at Girls in Marketing
Focus area:
#Digital marketing#Marketing education#Community building#Brand strategy#Organic marketing
Olivia Mae Hanlon is founder of Girls in Marketing, a community-led education business for women in marketing. She is also a speaker, startup marketing advisor, podcast host, presenter, and mentor.
Hanlon combines…
Connect with Olivia:
Larry Kim
Founder & CEO at Customers.ai
Focus area:
#Paid media#Remarketing#Conversion optimization#AI marketing#Customer acquisition
Larry Kim is founder and CEO of Customers.ai and the founder and former CTO of WordStream, which was acquired by Gannett. He writes and speaks on paid media, remarketing, conversion, AI, and…
Connect with Larry:
Garrett Sussman
Marketing Director at iPullRank
Focus area:
#SEO#AI search#Content marketing#Search behavior#Digital strategy
Garrett Sussman is Marketing Director at iPullRank, host of The SEO Weekly, and an industry speaker. His work spans SEO, content, AI search, audience behavior, and the changing mechanics of discovery.
Sussman…
Connect with Garrett:
Lee Odden
CEO at TopRank Marketing
Focus area:
#B2B marketing#Content marketing#Influencer marketing#SEO#AI search
Lee Odden is founder, owner, and CEO of TopRank Marketing, a B2B agency integrating search, content, and influencer marketing. He is also the author of Optimize and host of Beyond B2B Marketing.
…
Connect with Lee:
Matt Diggity
Founder & CEO at Diggity Marketing
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Focus area:
#SEO#Affiliate marketing#Search testing#Link building#AI search
Matt Diggity is founder and CEO of Diggity Marketing and an SEO entrepreneur behind The Search Initiative, LeadSpring, and the Chiang Mai SEO Conference. His work centers on test-backed SEO strategy.
Diggity…
Connect with Matt:
Carrie Rose
Founder & CEO at Rise at Seven
Focus area:
#Digital PR#Creative SEO#Content marketing#Search strategy#Cross-channel campaigns
Carrie Rose is founder and CEO of Rise at Seven, where she leads the agency across the UK and US. Her background spans SEO, digital PR, copywriting, content strategy, and cross-channel campaigns.
…
Connect with Carrie:
Heidi Cohen
Chief Content Officer at Actionable Marketing Guide
Focus area:
#Content marketing#Social media#Marketing strategy#Brand marketing#Marketing education
Heidi Cohen is Chief Content Officer of Actionable Marketing Guide and president of Riverside Marketing Strategies. Her career includes brand marketing, consulting, teaching, writing, and speaking.
Cohen translates broad marketing concepts into…
Connect with Heidi:
Oli Gardner
Conversion Optimization Expert & Unbounce Co-founder
Focus area:
#Conversion optimization#Landing pages#Digital experience#Copywriting#Experimentation
Oli Gardner is a co-founder of Unbounce and creator of Conversion-Centered Design, a framework for building higher-converting campaigns. He has taught marketers about landing pages, testing, and UX.
Gardner helped make landing-page…
Connect with Oli:
Sujan Patel
Managing Partner at Ramp Ventures
Focus area:
#SaaS marketing#Growth marketing#Customer acquisition#Content marketing#Entrepreneurship
Sujan Patel is managing partner at Ramp Ventures and a longtime SaaS marketing operator. His work includes building and growing sales and marketing software businesses such as Mailshake and Voila.
Patel's work…
Connect with Sujan:
Jay Baer
Marketing & Customer Experience Author
Focus area:
#Marketing strategy#Customer experience#Content marketing#Word of mouth#Audience engagement
Jay Baer is a marketing and customer experience author, speaker, and entrepreneur who has written seven books. He is also co-founder of Slingshot and co-founder and editor of The Tequila Report.
Baer's…
Connect with Jay:
Peg Fitzpatrick
Social Media Author & Marketer
Focus area:
#Social media marketing#Small business marketing#Content strategy#Pinterest#Visual marketing
Peg Fitzpatrick is a social media author and marketer focused on helping small businesses grow online. She co-authored The Art of Social Media and served as Canva's first Head of Social Strategy.
…
Connect with Peg:
Ruben Hassid
AI Content Creator & EasyGen Founder
Focus area:
#AI content#LinkedIn growth#Personal branding#Content creation#Generative AI
Ruben Hassid is the creator of EasyGen, an AI writing tool built for LinkedIn, and a creator who teaches professionals to use AI for content. His work combines social growth, writing, and…
Connect with Ruben:
Selection Methodology
I selected the leaders on this list based on their relevance, demonstrated expertise and impact, professional credibility, and ongoing contributions to the field.
I look for evidence such as leading meaningful initiatives or delivering notable results within their organizations, developing influential ideas or practices, publishing research or educational resources, speaking or teaching, and other contributions that demonstrate impact within their work or the broader field.
Further Reading
Explore our roundup of top content marketing experts for more insights and perspectives on effective content strategy.
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