The Best Digital Marketing Agencies in Canada 2024

Technology moves at such a rapid pace today that you might find it's becoming harder than ever before to stay one step ahead of your business' digital marketing. Yet, it's vitally important because without effective digital marketing, businesses lay themselves wide open to being left behind.

Consumers today have so much choice that it's easy to switch from one brand to another – especially when the other brand's digital marketing strategy is so effective, it's hard to ignore. Even with a strong marketing team at the helm of a business, there's often need for outside consultants in Canada, with a combination of digital technology expertise and marketing genius to bring a different angle to businesses.

More business leaders are looking to either completely outsource their digital marketing needs or to bring onboard an outside digital marketing agency to complement their in-house team. However, making the right decision is crucial, especially if a business is looking to completely overhaul their digital marketing approach. Making an ill-informed decision could lead to disastrous results for the future of your business; loss of loyal clients, lack of visibility both on and offline – not to mention leave a hole in the marketing budget!

So how do you rate agencies in Canada when it comes to outsourcing your digital marketing? This piece will help you to decide how you rate digital agencies, so you make a sound decision.

Before you start looking for a digital marketing agency in Canada, you should think about your goals. Your overall business strategy will no doubt include your marketing targets and your entire team need to understand what it is you want to achieve. Next, it's all about how you're going to achieve those goals. In terms of digital marketing strategy, there are a lot of ingredients to help deliver success – and all of those ingredients should be provided by any top digital marketing agency. So what should your strategy target?

It's always a good idea to review your website periodically, compare it to your competitors websites an consider whether it's responding to your customers requirements. Essential elements of an effective website include a responsive website that functions according to today's needs. It should be easy to update and intuitive too. Today's websites aren't static. If you can engage your customer through an interactive website, it will serve you better. A professional digital marketing agency in Canada should be able to tell you what your website needs to do to perform – and if they can't, then they won't be right for you.

Within your website review, you should think about your SEO strategy (search engine optimization). Obviously, there's no way that your website will be visible for every single search term a customer might use! However, you can target customers for your most important search terms and SEO needs to be woven into your content, applied to blogs and articles, and the back end of your website to get you seen. Revisit your SEO strategy at least quarterly to check it's performing to the optimum. While it might sound daunting, a professional local digital marketing agency in Canada will understand exactly what's needed to make sure you are visible online for key search terms and if they can't do that, then they won't be a good fit.

In terms of digital advertising in Canada there are so many avenues you can take. There are web banners, pop-ups and Pay Per Click, more “traditional" forms of advertising online. You can advertise on your own website too – and allow trusted third-parties to advertise on your website, therefore generating additional revenue. These are all routes you might want to explore if you're not exploring them already.

As for Pay Per Click, there's real beauty in this form of online advertising because it guarantees a place at the top of search results on Google, so you do get visibility plus PPC actually targets your exact customer when it's done properly, even down to when they search online and at what time! It's a highly effective digital marketing strategy that doesn't involve a contract either, so you can pause it, change it or stop it altogether whenever you want. A reputable digital marketing agency in Canada should be able to do all of this and more on your behalf and you should base your decision making on whether or not they will be able to craft an effective PPC and advertising campaign for you.

Every single business in Canada should have some form of social media presence. Without it, you definitely risk losing out and with more than 4.62 billion social media users worldwide, if you're not using it you are without doubt, missing out. Not only is social media a proven method of attracting and engaging with customers but it's another way to get your business or brand in front of your perfect customer. You can also advertise on social media and use various models of PPC. Then of course, there's social media influencing and perhaps your industry sector could benefit from an influencer? An expert digital agency in Canada should be able to guide you on influencing.

The trouble is understanding which social media network is right for you. There's no point in opening up an account on every single social media platform if you don't know what platforms your customers use. A reputable digital marketing agency will be able to advise what the best networks are according to your demographics, set your social media up and maintain it for you. Rate your shortlist on their social media expertise.

There's a lot to think about – but you do need to consider other essential factors too – such as what your budget is! Unless your project is charity, no agency in Canada will take on your digital marketing for zero and if they do offer to do it for a low cost, they probably won't deliver the results you want. So what should you expect to pay?

Good question and there's no one-size-fits-all answer! You know what your budget is and if your budget isn't large then you need to prioritize what's important to you. It might be to get your website up-to-scratch to cope with today's technology. Or it could be that you want to get to the top of Google for a few products or services? Perhaps you want to increase your social media presence? Think about what you want to happen in the long-term and your priorities to get there and take this information to different digital agencies along with your budget. See what they suggest and what they believe they can do for you for what you can spend.

Most digital agencies in Canada will work within your budget and may suggest either a fixed price contract or a monthly retainer but how do you want to work? Some businesses pay a fixed retainer with a percentage on results and others prefer a flat fee. Don't be afraid of negotiating – after all, you're in business and digital agencies are certainly used to the question.

If you've defined your goals, listed your priorities and you know your budget the next stage is to find the right digital marketing partner. There are a few things you should look out for and some questions worth asking before you make the final decision and sign on the dotted line.

• Don't be railroaded into choosing an agency, a push agency won't be the right partner for you. Of course, every digital agency will be trying to sell you their services but if you feel pressure now, imagine what that will be like in the future!

• Ask to see examples of how they've performed in the past, with genuine case studies and contact some of the companies to see if they were happy with the work done. If their reputation precedes them, it will become very clear when you talk to someone who's used their services.

• Check their website. Do they have any credentials or certifications? Look at their social media presence too, if they promise to grow your social media presence but they don't do much on their own social media or have few followers or little engagement then that should raise a red flag.

• Do they speak your language? We're not talking about English or French or German – we're talking about how they explain what they can do. There are plenty of digital agencies that throw out a load of technical jargon that sounds good – but what does it actually mean? You need an agency on your level, who you can clearly understand and who doesn't try to blind you with technical science.

• Can you do a trial run? Tying yourself into a 12-month contract is quite a big responsibility especially if you're paying a lot of money. Some agencies might offer you a trial 3-month period. It's always worth asking. The long-term ideal is that you build rapport and trust, and therefore a lasting relationship.

• How well do they know your market? There's no point in choosing an agency who doesn't specialise in your area or at least understand your area. There are agencies that specialise in finance or e-commerce, or education, choose one that works in your sector.

• What services do they offer? If you want an agency to focus on a few areas, check that they cover what you need. There's no point in contracting a digital marketing agency to focus on your SEO if you want them to overhaul your website too. It's better to select an agency who can cover a variety of services, so you don't have to look elsewhere in a few months.

• How do they measure results? You want results obviously so ask how your agency is going to measure your results and how often. What will the key performance indicators (LPIs) be? What will the results be measured against? Will they send weekly reports or monthly reports? How will they format the reports and ask to see examples to make sure you can read them.

Final words

As with an overall business strategy, digital marketing needs to be examined very regularly to make sure that it is working. Likewise, if you are employing some methods that aren't performing for your business, rather than discarding them, it's worth spending some time to find out why. Perhaps they're not being implemented as well as they could be? A top-performing digital marketing agency in Canada will also look at everything you do as a company and make their own suggestions. Along with your own digital marketing strategy and their initiative and ideas, if you choose a really strong, professional agency you should see a sizable shift in results fairly quickly. Based on all of the above points, if you're struggling to select a digital agency in Canada, rate them on each digital marketing area to help you assess which will work best for your needs.