Study reveals the 20 most influential people in digital marketing | Digital

In second place comes John Rampton, a serial entrepreneur and founder of the online payments company Due and productivity company Calendar. The study found Rampton had the highest number of Twitter followers, at a staggering 1,257,792.

In third place was Pam Moore, founder of digital marketing agency, Marketing Nutz, who had the highest number of Tweets in the study. Sharing her 25+ years’ experience with the world, Moore has composed 134,776 tweets, giving advice and industry views to her 285,548 followers.

Two more influential females in SEO appear in the top 10, including founder of Zen Media Shama Hyder who comes in ninth place, and International SEO consultant and founder of Orainti, Aleya Solis. Hyder is most popular on Linkedin with an incredible 615,959 followers, while Aleyda Solis has a higher number of Twitter followers (125,110).

Google is one of only two companies to feature twice in the top 20, the other being Moz, the SEO software company. Google’s very own public liason officer, Danny Sullivan, is in the top five thanks to his impressive number of tweets (78,888) and Twitter followers (533,000). In addition, Google’s Search advocate, John Mueller, known in the SEO industry for sharing tips and dropping hints about what to expect next from Google, features in 10th place on the list with the most Twitter mentions; it’s clear his followers are keen to get his advice and opinions on the latest industry trends.

It’s no surprise that both Rand Fishkin and Neil Patel also made the list. Fishkin is famously the founder of Moz while Patel is the founder of Kissmetrics. Both figures are extremely popular on social media, especially Twitter, where they both have over 400,000 followers. When it comes to Linkedin Neil Patel has a substantially higher number of followers (453,000) while Rand Fishkin has 128,000.

The study is published at a time when the digital marketing industry is rapidly evolving. The global market is estimated to be worth $786.2 billion by 2026, with the SEO industry worth currently worth $80 billion alone.

And, as the industry grows, so does the interest in careers, as Google Trends data shows a 76% increase in global searches for ‘SEO jobs’ in the last 12 months.

A spokesperson from Rock The Rankings commented on the findings: “Within the SEO industry, there is a lot of conversation on social media, and for those who are new to the industry, it’s vital to connect with the right people. This study aims to help those who want to stay up to date with the latest trends by taking a close look the industry’s most knowledgeable figures who are sharing content on social media.

“There is so much talent in the industry, and as it continues to grow, there will no doubt be new influencers cropping up in the near future, however, we are incredibly lucky to get such incredible insights from our current top 20.”