Digital Marketing Checklist: 7 Considerations

In 2024, Americans spent an average of 508 minutes daily—approximately 8.5 hours—engaging with digital media. As people spend more time online, digital marketing has become one of the most effective ways to connect with customers. With a simple email or funny TikTok video, you can reach a wide audience, increase brand awareness, and drive sales.

However, digital marketing isn’t as simple as firing off the occasional email or posting randomly on social media. A successful campaign requires careful planning, the right tools, a thorough audience understanding, and working with an expert agency. 

After analyzing the reviews of 104,289 digital marketing companies, we found specific trends in working with an expert digital marketing team. The idea of “great project management” is mentioned over 10,500 times. 

We only recommend companies that deliver superior work and exceptional project management skills. Our reviews provide specific project details to help buyers like you vet potential providers and consider which company would be the best match.

View more detailed insights into the field of digital marketing & our downloadable checklist. 

The top trends with our vetted digital marketing agencies are:

Other noted trends include being proactive, hardworking, flexible, and providing customized support based on client needs. 

Digital Marketing Services Businesses Should Invest In 

The internet offers countless ways to promote your business, from email campaigns to YouTube ads. Knowing where to focus your efforts can be tricky with so many options. You may wonder whether to invest in influencer partnerships, Facebook posts, your website, or all of the above.

Don’t worry — you don’t need to use every channel to get results. Prioritizing a few methods at a time will help you develop a consistent message and make the most of your resources. 

Here are four highly effective digital marketing services to consider:

SEO

According to a survey from Conductor, organic search produced 33% of overall website traffic across seven key industries in 2024.

Search engine optimization (SEO) increases the chance that your brand will appear at the top of these results, attracting more organic traffic. This process involves optimizing your website’s content and performance to improve visibility in search engine rankings. 

PPC 

The pay-per-click (PPC) advertising model allows businesses to pay a fee each time users click on one of their ads. Advertisers place bids to display their ads to targeted audiences, such as users searching for relevant keywords. Many platforms offer PPC advertising, including Amazon, Bing, Google, and Meta. 

Email Marketing

Email marketing lets you deliver promotional messages directly to your customers’ inboxes. Use this method to share discounts, company news, educational resources, and other valuable content. 

Social Media Marketing 

Social media marketing is one of the fastest-growing promotional channels. In 2020, businesses spent $132 billion on social media ads; by 2025, that number is expected to almost double to $256 billion. This approach lets you share meaningful content and engage with customers on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. 

No matter the project you’re looking to tackle, our digital marketing checklist covers everything you need to launch your next campaign and achieve your goals.

7 Considerations for a Digital Marketing Project

Developing a winning campaign doesn’t have to be stressful. Consider the following before getting started: 

1. Create a list of goals
2. Audit your current digital presence
3. Identify your target audience
4. Craft content plans
5. Consider paid options
6. Prepare for monitoring & tracking
7. Hire an expert digital marketing agency

1. Create a List of Goals 

Like any journey, planning a digital marketing campaign works best when you have a destination in mind. 

Colby Flood, Founder of Brighter Click, believes that planning a digital marketing strategy starts with understanding a company’s core marketing goals and customer voice. 

“Based on these two things, you can determine the channel mix, and the content strategy for each channel,” said Flood. 

Use the SMART framework to set goals that are: 

• Specific: Be clear and descriptive. “Use SEO to increase web traffic by 25%” is better than “make my website more visible."
• Measurable: You should be able to use metrics to track your progress.
• Achievable: While it’s good to challenge yourself, the goal should be feasible based on your existing resources.
• Realistic: The marketing goal should fit your long-term business goals and values.
• Timely: Set appropriate deadlines.

For example, you might aim to grow your email list by 25% this quarter or boost sales by 10% in two months. Once you’ve established your goals, you can create a marketing campaign to help you achieve them. To gain more email subscribers, you could target social media ads or offer exclusive content for sign-ups. To boost sales, an influencer partnership or improved SEO could do the trick.

One trend that popped up in many of the reviews of digital marketing agencies was the idea of being “results-oriented.” Work with a company that can do its best to achieve your goals. 

2. Audit Your Current Digital Presence

Sometimes, how customers perceive your brand doesn’t align with your vision, or you may not understand why your current campaigns aren’t delivering the desired results. Auditing your online presence helps you pinpoint strengths and areas for improvement. 

Start by assessing your website. When you search for relevant keywords, does your site appear in the search engine results pages? If not, you might need to invest in SEO. Also, explore your website from the user’s perspective. Can you easily navigate between pages and products? Can you access it on a mobile device? Note any pain points you encounter. 

Pay attention to your social media presence, too. Do your posts consistently reflect your brand's voice and values? Are they relevant to your audience? How do users engage with your content and discuss your brand across platforms? Answering these questions will deepen your understanding of your digital presence and identify opportunities to improve it through your marketing campaign. 

3. Identify Your Target Audience

Tailoring your campaign for a specific audience allows you to create the most impactful and relevant content. Start by researching your current customers or analyzing your competitors to learn about their audiences. 

Sean Grabowski, Managing Director and PPC Marketing Consultant at Keepers Digital, says that a strong digital marketing strategy starts with understanding your audience and their changing needs. 

“When planning a digital marketing strategy, you should always review the nuances of what makes your business unique, including who you sell to, what you sell, the consumer behavior that your ideal customer typically has, do you sell B2B or B2C, and are you selling to mass audiences or for a specific niche need?” said Grabowski. “Once you have these items identified clearly, you will need to think about where your customers spend time, what types of marketing allow you to hit the right audiences well, and what type of messaging highlights the value you offer to these customers.”

Investigate your customers’ behaviors, preferences, and needs. There are many ways to gather relevant data, including: 

• Customer reviews
• Focus groups
• Surveys
• Transaction histories
• Website analytics tools 

Choose research methods related to your digital marketing goals. For example, you might survey customers about their favorite platforms to boost social media engagement. 

4. Craft Content Plans 

Every digital marketing campaign needs a steady stream of content to attract and engage the audience. Brainstorm new content that fits your goals and customers’ interests, such as: 

• Blog posts
• E-books
• Infographics
• Podcasts
• Social media posts
• White papers
• Videos 

You can also optimize existing content to better suit your new campaign. This might involve refreshing outdated blog posts with current keywords or repurposing a dense whitepaper into colorful infographics for social media.

Sagar Shah, CEO of Publicity Port, believes that the digital marketing content approach aligns with understanding your audience and having measurable goals. 

“...An omnichannel approach leverages platforms like social media, email, and paid ads, which helps with consistent messaging,” said Shah. 

As noted by Clutch reviews, clients are looking to work with digital marketing agencies that are “experimental” and “up-to-date with industry knowledge.” If you’re refreshing your digital marketing strategy, now is the time to experiment and try something new. 

5. Consider Paid Options

It is possible to develop an effective digital marketing campaign using free resources, such as Instagram posts and user-generated content. However, paid options might help you reach a wider audience and achieve your goals faster. 

Here are a few paid promotional strategies to explore: 

• Affiliate marketing
• Email marketing with a paid plan
• Influencer collaborations
• Search engine ads
• Social media ads 

While these strategies have upfront costs, they often have a significant return on investment (ROI) that makes them worth the expense. For instance, email marketing has an average ROI of $36 for every $1 spent. 

6. Prepare for Monitoring and Tracking 

It’s not always easy to tell if your marketing campaigns are getting the right results. Analytics tools will help you measure your performance and ensure you’re on track to reach your goals. 

According to Flood, working with a digital marketing agency that understands your process does wonders.

“If an agency only focuses on optimizing its own performance metrics without considering how its work integrates with your entire marketing ecosystem, you may end up with isolated results that don’t contribute meaningfully to your bottom line,” said Flood. 

Start by identifying KPIs that fit your overall objectives. For instance, you might track social media engagement and web traffic to raise brand awareness. Then, choose technologies that track these metrics, such as social media monitoring tools and web analytics platforms. 

7. Hiring an Expert Digital Marketing Agency

Completing this digital marketing checklist will give you a solid foundation for your campaign. However, plenty of work remains to do—from developing the content to collecting data and refining your strategy. Consider partnering with an experienced digital marketing agency to carry your project across the finish line. 

“When selecting a partner for any digital marketing need, clients should make sure they are working with a partner who follows a data-driven method in their execution,” said Grabowski. “If you boil down the true power of modern digital marketing, it is that everything is measurable, and can be optimized based on actual performance data.” 

Grabowski continues that good digital marketing experts shouldn’t have to guess their next move because the data tells the story for them. A great digital marketing partner excels at decision-making. 

Another thing to consider is their past clients and their performance with them. 

“A digital marketing agency's client retention rate tells you a lot about its reliability and performance. High retention often reflects strong communication, results-driven strategies, and adaptability. If their clients stick around, it's a sign their digital marketing partner is delivering value rather than just making promises,” said Shah. 

These specialists have the industry know-how and tools to make your vision a reality. They’ll handle all the details needed to execute your strategy and manage your campaign. Outsourcing these tasks saves time and frees your internal team to focus on other responsibilities.

Additional Reading: ‘Digital Marketing Services Guide’

How Digital Marketing Agencies on Clutch Stand Out 

Clutch’s extensive directory of digital marketing agencies will help you narrow your options and find the perfect fit. Our top marketing agencies are: 

• Excellent communicators: You can expect our providers to respond quickly and keep you in the loop throughout your project. They’ll also work closely with your internal team to learn your brand voice and create custom content for your audience.
• Marketing experts: We only list providers with a track record of delivering high-quality work — and the reviews to prove it. Many agencies also have unique expertise, such as a knack for video editing or in-depth healthcare industry knowledge.
• Seasoned project managers: Managing a complex digital marketing campaign takes discipline and skill. Our providers will proactively address issues and keep your project on a tight schedule.
• Focused on results: The best digital marketing agencies are dedicated to helping you achieve your goals and grow your business. 

We go above and beyond to vet providers so you can trust that you’re hiring a reliable partner.  Providers can opt into our verification process, which involves rigorous vetting and a business credit check for extra peace of mind.  

Kickstart Your Next Digital Marketing Campaign 

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to planning a digital marketing campaign. However, our checklist will help you create an effective strategy tailored to your goals and audience. 

Once you launch your campaign, use analytics tools to monitor your performance in real time. Don’t hesitate to adjust your tactics if your early attempts don’t quite resonate with your customers. With flexibility and patience, you’ll be well on your way to a successful campaign. 

Digital Marketing Checklist

About the Author

Anna Peck Content Marketing Manager at Clutch

Anna Peck is a content marketing manager at Clutch, where she crafts content on digital marketing, SEO, and public relations. In addition to editing and producing engaging B2B content, she plays a key role in Clutch’s awards program and contributed content efforts. Originally joining Clutch as part of the reviews team, she now focuses on developing SEO-driven content strategies that offer valuable insights to B2B buyers seeking the best service providers.

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