So often, we find inspiration from the things around us: a friend says something random, which, in turn, leads to your next rockstar marketing campaign; you’re out eating ice cream and the sugar rush fuels your website’s new visual design; or, you read an article from someone brilliant in your industry and what they say makes so much sense, you build on that idea and turn it not only into marketing gold, but actual gold.
Hey, it could happen.
But, who should you follow to get that inspiration? Well, we’ve put together a list to help get you started.
Search Engine Land
Why we like it: Get the latest news about search engines, search engine marketing, and search engine optimization. Basically, it’s our go-to resource for anything search engine-related, including changes and tests.
Marketing Land
Why we like it: Just like the other “land”, this site provides a recap of all the happenings in online marketing on any given day. We like it for its digestible content and research to back it up.
MOZ
Why we like it: Whiteboard Friday! – do we need another reason? Moz offers great tips, research, and results on SEO from an industry leader whose name rhymes with “brand”. Coincidence? We think not.
Think with Google
Why we like it: Digital marketing research and insights from the experts at Google.
Google Webmaster Central Blog
Why we like it: This blog provides updates & announcements on organic search from Google to stay on top of changes.
Google Inside AdWords
Why we like it: This one helps us stay on top of changes for paid search.
Google Analytics Solutions
Why we like it: Probably the one we go to the most, it provides insights on analytics from Google to help us stay on top of changes.
Marketing Profs
Why we like it:Great roundup of diverse digital marketing topics from various leaders/organizations. Plus, their Chief Content Officer, Ann Handley, is our work crush.
Ann Handley
Why we like it: Mostly, because it’s Ann Handley (see above). But, also, if you want to talk content marketing or content writing with flare, she’s your girl.
WordStream
Why we like it: This is a great resource on paid search – often sharing data-driven collective research/tests from across industries/accounts.
Marketing Dive
Why we like it: Marketing Dive provides digital marketing news and analysis for marketing executives. We really like their 5 top news stories in our inbox every day.
Marketo Blog
Why we like it: We couldn’t call ourselves marketing automation experts without following one of the best marketing automation platforms out there!
Kentico Blog
Why we like it: Their blog features industry-specific information from the content management system point of view.
Sidebar IO
Why we like it: This is an email that you can sign up for that delivers the 5 most talked about things as of that morning in the design and tech space. It is a great way to get your brain going in the morning over coffee.
UX Design Collective
Why we like it: This a great collection of UX- and usability-based articles. They are always posting articles that dig into the psychology and data behind why certain UX practices perform better than others. They also have a lot of satire-type pieces, which is great because, if we were serious all the time, we would be a boring group of people.
InVision
Why we like it:Oh, Clark. We love getting his emails, because the InVision blog is absolutely amazing. Similar to the UX Collective, they have a great combination of satirical and serious articles, and they also offer a large range of topics specific to design and UX.
Kat Holmes
Why we like it: Kat Holmes led the development of Microsoft’s Inclusive design toolkit (which is amazing). She is such an advocate for inclusive design being incorporated into web design, and incorporates her hands-on experience and applies it to mass-scale consumer technology, which makes her stand out from the rest of the inclusive design experts.
David Meerman Scott
Why we like it: David Meerman Scott is a social media and marketing trailblazer and strategist and writes about how as marketers you can earn attention online by creating something interesting and publishing it for free. Scott combines his rule-breaking ideas with real-time technology tools and strategies to influence people and build business.
Neil Patel
Why we like it: Well, for one, he’s Neil Patel. An entrepreneur through and through, this guy has done a lot. From developing Crazy Egg to Kissmetrics to other software companies, his self-titled website is filled with practical digital marketing resources.