At a glance: comparing the top 12 ecommnerce marketing agencies

Agency Best for Clients
DTC ecommerce brands Disney, GNC, Ring
Retail, B2B, and financial brands Samsung, Adobe, Instacart
Amazon and marketplace sellers Olly, The Vitamin Shoppe, Liquid I.V.
Ecommerce brands of all sizes Nike, Microsoft, Honda
Lifestyle and apparel brands Callaway, Vans, Sony
Global enterprise brands Greenpeace, Swarovski, Netflix
Custom ecommerce website builds Dylan’s Candy Bar, Canon, Honeywell
Data-driven large enterprises Intuit, American Family Insurance, Drexel University
Silverback Strategies Established B2C brands LexisNexis, K12, Cornell University
SMBs, franchises, and multi-location brands Restoration 1, Qualis Roofing, Mosaic Pharmacy
Growing companies and startups Premium Paper Company, Dumpsters On Demand, Triumph
Enterprise customer experience Neutrogena, Royal Caribbean, Humana

It’s hard to imagine a world before online shopping, aka ecommerce.

Today, more than 300 million people shop online in the United States alone. And by 2029, that number is expected to jump to 333 million.

And with countless new ecommerce businesses entering the vast online marketplace every year, many are finding it hard to compete.

The answer? Partnering with a reputable ecommerce marketing agency.

Whether your focus is on content marketing or pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, this article will spotlight the top ecommerce marketing companies to help you increase your revenue potential.

Product package boxes and shopping bag in cart with laptop computer which web store shop on screen for online shopping and delivery concept

A comprehensive ecommerce marketing strategy will include paid ad campaigns as well as organic growth initiatives. (Image: Adobe)

How we evaluate ecommerce marketing agencies

Every agency on this list was evaluated against the same core criteria before being included:

  • Track record and tenure, from newer specialists to firms with over 20 years in ecommerce.
  • Documented results, backed by named case studies and measurable outcomes like ROAS, conversion lift, or cost reduction.
  • Platform certifications and partnerships, such as Google Premier Partner status or verified Meta and TikTok partnerships.
  • Vertical or channel fit, whether that’s B2B, ecommerce, Amazon, or social-first brands.

The top 12 ecommerce marketing agencies

When it comes to hiring the best ecommerce marketing company for your needs, it’s rarely one size fits all.

Some agencies provide a wide variety of services, while others may focus on one or two specific channels, such as ecommerce content marketing services, PPC, email marketing, social media marketing, or search engine optimization (SEO) strategies.

The key is finding the marketing agency that’s the best fit for your business, meaning they have the right team and the right resources to help you build a winning ecommerce marketing strategy based on your specific goals and needs.

We’ve put together a list of the top ecommerce marketing agencies below to help you get started.

1. MuteSix

image1
MuteSix specializes in full-funnel performance marketing for direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands.

It combines ecommerce marketing services — including a custom omnichannel strategy tailored to each client — and award-winning creative services.

Clients of MuteSix (including Disney, GNC, Ring, and nutribullet) praise the agency’s fast turnaround time, innovation and creativity, and availability.

MuteSix also maintains key partnerships with top-tier paid media platforms and ecommerce technology providers. They were one of the first agencies to advertise on TikTok.

Best for: Direct-to-consumer (DTC) ecommerce brands

Services:

  • Paid social (Meta, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Pinterest)
  • Paid search and YouTube advertising
  • Retail media (Amazon, Walmart, Target)
  • Programmatic advertising
  • Email and SMS marketing
  • Creative design, copywriting, and content production
  • Marketing science, audience development, and audits
  • SEO

Clients:

  • Disney
  • GNC
  • Ring
  • nutribullet

2. Wpromote

image2

As one of the largest independent digital marketing agencies in the country, Wpromote takes pride in being “not your average marketing agency.”

They offer three unique tiers of services designed to help their clients drive growth and stay ahead of the competition: paid media, earned and owned media, and digital intelligence.

Wpromote won Ad Age Performance Agency of the Year and Agency of the Year awards, as well as awards for Best Search Campaign (Digiday Awards) and Most Effective Use of Data (The Drum Digital Advertising Awards USA).

They also won a Google Premier Partner Award for Brand Awareness.

Standout clients of Wpromote include Adobe, KitchenAid, Instacart, and Samsung.

Best for: Retail, B2B, financial services, travel, and health and wellness brands

Services:

  • Paid media
  • Earned and owned media
  • Creative
  • Data, measurement, and analytics
  • AI search and generative engine optimization (GEO)
  • Lifecycle marketing
  • Brand and growth strategy
  • Polaris IQ marketing intelligence platform

Clients:

  • Samsung
  • Adobe
  • Instacart
  • KitchenAid
  • Athletic Brewing Company

3. Tinuiti

image5
With billions of dollars in media managed, Tinuiti has the results to back its claim of being “the largest independent performance marketing firm across Streaming TV and the Triopoly of Google, Facebook, Amazon.”

The agency’s client list includes popular brands such as Olly, The Vitamin Shoppe, Liquid I.V., and e.l.f. Cosmetics, and a robust collection of case studies can be found on the Results page of their website.

Tinuiti leverages a proprietary technology suite called Mobius to unify all performance marketing data in a single location so that clients can instantly see and respond to changing metrics — allowing them to optimize in real time so they can increase brand awareness and drive growth.

Best for: Consumer brands selling on Amazon and other retail marketplaces

Services:

  • Amazon and retail media management
  • Paid search and shoppable media
  • AI SEO
  • Paid social (Meta, TikTok)
  • Streaming TV, audio, and display advertising
  • Affiliate and influencer marketing
  • Email and SMS marketing
  • Conversion rate optimization (CRO)
  • Creative services
  • Media mix modeling and incrementality testing

Clients:

  • Olly
  • The Vitamin Shoppe
  • Liquid I.V.
  • e.l.f. Cosmetics
  • The Honest Company

4. HawkSEM

image13

HawkSEM has spent over two decades in the industry helping clients of all sizes improve their marketing performance. In fact, we’re among the top 3% of search engine marketing agencies according to Google.

The results speak for themselves: HawkSEM’s team has helped businesses achieve incredible results, like boosting SEM revenue 5X year-over-year and skyrocketing ROAS by over 300% for apparel client 686.

We believe that even the best online marketing can be better.

As a full-service ecommerce marketing agency, HawkSEM is made up of experts in multiple digital channels.

These include (but aren’t limited to) ecommerce SEO, PPC management (including Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, and Facebook Ads), conversion rate optimization (CRO), and content marketing.

With 20 years of experience as industry leaders and a team of exclusively senior-level digital marketing experts, we have the tools and the resources to help your ecommerce sales soar.

But don’t just take our word for it. Check out these impressive results from happy clients across dozens of industries.

Best for: Ecommerce brands of all sizes, from growing online stores to established retailers

Services:

  • Shopping campaign management
  • Merchant Center setup, verification, and compliance
  • Product feed setup and feed quality management (warnings and disapprovals)
  • Bidding management and optimization
  • PPC management (Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, Facebook Ads)
  • Dynamic remarketing (display)
  • Ecommerce SEO (on-page, off-page, and site architecture analysis)
  • SEO content topics, keyword implementation, and competitor gaps
  • Content creation and development
  • Conversion rate optimization and UX web optimization
  • Conversion tracking setup and custom reporting

Clients:

  • Thriftbooks
  • Mommy’s Bliss
  • Nike
  • Microsoft
  • Honda

5. Cuker

image8
Cuker does it all, from digital marketing and branding to UX design services and content creation.

In fact, if content is where you’d like to direct your marketing efforts, Cuker has you covered with video, photography, animation, illustration, and copywriting.

They’ve been the recipient of more than 180 awards and the creative minds behind the brand campaigns of Callaway, Vans, Vuori, Sony, and Oakley.

The full-service digital agency specializes in ecommerce growth and offers an impressive list of services, including the creation of high-performance ecommerce platforms to drive online sales.

But more than an ecommerce content marketing company, the team of strategists at Cuker can also help online businesses with paid search and paid social media marketing campaigns, influencer marketing, SEO strategies, email and SMS marketing, as well as data science and analytics.

Best for: Lifestyle, apparel, and consumer retail brands

Services:

  • Ecommerce website design and development
  • Branding and UX design
  • Content creation (video, photography, animation, illustration, copywriting)
  • Paid search and paid social
  • Influencer marketing
  • SEO
  • Email and SMS marketing
  • Data science and analytics

Clients:

  • Callaway
  • Vans
  • Vuori
  • Sony
  • Oakley

6. Jellyfish

image7

Jellyfish homepage (Screengrab)

London-based agency Jellyfish specializes in “giving brands a platform to perform.”

Its proprietary J+ media suites bring together all aspects of digital marketing, from graphic design and content creation to building and managing paid advertising campaigns, tracking and analyzing data, and accelerating growth on leading ecommerce platforms.

Perhaps most notably, Jellyfish worked with Greenpeace to create a compelling creative campaign to tackle the problem of food poverty in France. It resulted in two million impressions across social media, earned seven industry awards, and ultimately received 22,000 petition signatures.

The campaign has been archived in the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris, where it will be part of a future exhibition.

Best for: Global enterprise brands operating across multiple markets

Services:

  • Media planning, buying, and bid optimization
  • Creative concept development and content production
  • AI-powered asset creation and testing (Pencil)
  • Data and performance measurement
  • Strategic planning and consumer insights
  • AI search brand visibility tracking (Share of Model)
  • Localization in more than 150 languages
  • Marketing training programs

Clients:

  • Greenpeace
  • Bissell
  • Swarovski
  • Oatly
  • Netflix

7. Lounge Lizard

image11
Making our way back across the pond, New York-based Lounge Lizard is a multi-channel digital marketing agency.

Its team delivers a full-spectrum digital marketing service platform, along with brand storytelling, app development, and ecommerce site design, development, and maintenance.

Lounge Lizard has an unmistakably fun vibe, and their team of “brandtenders” and “marketing mixologists” has served up some notable case studies.

The iconic New York City sweet shop Dylan’s Candy Bar saw an “unprecedented increase in conversion rates, lower customer acquisition cost, and impressive ROI” after Lounge Lizard built them a new Shopify ecommerce website.

Best for: Brands that need a custom ecommerce website backed by ongoing digital marketing

Services:

  • Ecommerce website design and development (Shopify, Magento, WordPress)
  • UI/UX design
  • Branding
  • SEO and AEO/GEO
  • PPC advertising
  • Social media marketing
  • Content and email marketing
  • Conversion optimization
  • Website maintenance and support

Clients:

  • Dylan’s Candy Bar
  • Canon
  • Nikon
  • Honeywell
  • McLaren

8. Seer Interactive

image10Seer Interactive is a data-driven ecommerce marketing agency that focuses on three key elements to help clients overcome their challenges and achieve their goals:

  • Uncover (market intelligence and consumer insights)
  • Build (creative, paid media, and SEO services)
  • Improve (analytics and conversion rate optimization)

Their interactive, cloud-based data platform, Supernova, integrates data from both paid traffic campaigns and organic search efforts to provide an at-your-fingertips view of how their clients’ campaigns are performing so they can confidently move forward or rethink their current digital marketing strategies.

Best for: Large enterprises with data-driven marketing programs

Services:

  • Search engine optimization (SEO)
  • Generative engine optimization (GEO)
  • Paid media
  • Analytics
  • Conversion rate optimization (CRO)
  • Creative services
  • AI consulting (SeerAdvance)
  • Market intelligence and consumer insights

Clients:

  • American Family Insurance (AmFam)
  • Intuit
  • Time
  • Drexel University

9. Silverback Strategies

image9
Virginia-based Silverback Strategies is a full-service digital marketing agency that specializes in delivering custom-built solutions that drive growth.

Their three primary service tiers include paid media, SEO and content, and strategy and analytics.

Silverback takes pride in being a people-driven agency, recognized by both Ad Age and Inc. magazine for their workplace culture. They believe success has its foundations in collaborative client relationships, and they strive to be “an extension of your marketing team.”

LexisNexis Digital Marketing Manager Nancy Weaver said, “I’ve worked with a lot of agencies over my 21 years in digital, and Silverback is fantastic. We’ve seen phenomenal growth.”

Best for: Established B2C brands with lean in-house marketing teams

Services:

  • Paid search
  • Paid social
  • Programmatic advertising
  • Performance creative
  • SEO and AI search optimization
  • Content marketing
  • Media mix modeling and incrementality testing
  • Conversion rate optimization (CRO)
  • Data intelligence and reporting

Clients:

  • LexisNexis
  • K12
  • Cornell University
  • Apple Federal Credit Union
  • Ocean Conservancy

10. Thrive Agency

image6

Boasting hundreds of 5-star reviews on Google, Clutch, and UpCity, Thrive is a results-driven B2B and B2C web marketing agency with an impressive track record.

The recipient of numerous industry awards, many of them for their expertise in SEO, the team at Thrive handles virtually all aspects of online marketing and brand building.

Thrive has also earned multiple certifications, including Google Premier Partner status, and has been featured in numerous industry publications.

Best for: Small businesses, franchises, multi-location brands, and Amazon sellers

Services:

  • SEO and generative engine optimization (GEO)
  • PPC and Google Ads management
  • Social media advertising and management
  • Amazon, Walmart, and Target Plus marketplace marketing
  • Ecommerce and Shopify web design and development
  • Conversion rate optimization (CRO)
  • Content writing, digital PR, and link building
  • Email marketing
  • Reputation management
  • Video production and product photography

Clients:

  • Qualis Roofing
  • Restoration 1
  • Brazos Higher Education
  • Mosaic Pharmacy
  • Farah Law Firm

11. Lead Horse

image3
Founded in 2012, Lead Horse is an all-in-one digital ecommerce marketing agency based in Atlanta that delivers “big brand expertise to growing companies and savvy start-ups.”

The agency specializes in paid search, paid social, SEO, Google Shopping, Amazon Ads (they are an Amazon Ads Verified Partner), real estate marketing, and website design.

In one case study, the team at Lead Horse helped an online bedding retailer increase their revenue by a whopping 273% with just a 21% increase in ad spend. As a result, the client saw a 200% return on investment (ROI).

Best for: Growing companies and startups, especially Google Shopping and Amazon sellers

Services:

  • Paid search (PPC) management
  • Google Shopping campaigns
  • Amazon Ads and Amazon DSP
  • Paid social advertising
  • SEO
  • Website design and development
  • Real estate marketing

Clients:

  • Premium Paper Company
  • Dumpsters On Demand
  • DQMC
  • Haste
  • Triumph

12. Merkle

image4
Merkle is a leading customer experience management company that does business in more than 30 different countries worldwide.

With employees across the globe, their list of awards and achievements is as broad as their reach.

Clients include highly recognizable brands such as Neutrogena, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Royal Caribbean, Humana, Citibank, and Nestlé.

Merkle’s services run the gamut from digital marketing to data solutions to promotions and gamification.

Best for: Enterprise brands focused on customer data, loyalty, and customer experience

Services:

  • Consulting and business operations
  • Customer experience and product innovation
  • Engagement and loyalty programs (LoyaltyPlus)
  • Marketing platforms and engineering
  • Analytics and insights
  • Identity resolution (Merkury)
  • AI consulting and implementation

Clients:

  • Neutrogena
  • Royal Caribbean
  • Humana
  • Citibank
  • Nestlé

What is an ecommerce marketing agency?

An ecommerce marketing agency is a professional team of marketers who help online businesses promote their products and online store through various digital marketing strategies, such as paid search, search engine optimization (SEO), email marketing, content marketing, and social media marketing.

The best ecommerce marketing agencies prioritize driving sales to online storefronts.

The bottom line

If your ecommerce brand lacks a clear marketing strategy, has poor web design, or low-quality content, it’s time to partner with a marketing agency that specializes in working with ecommerce clients.

At HawkSEM, our in-house team of PPC, SEO, and paid social media marketing experts has years of experience with ecommerce stores and increasing their profitability online.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur or an established online store, our team is versed in effective ecommerce development.

Ready to take your business to the next level? Reach out today.

FAQs

What is an ecommerce marketing agency?

An ecommerce marketing agency is a team of specialists who plan and run the marketing that drives traffic, conversions, and revenue for an online store, typically covering paid search and social, SEO, email, conversion rate optimization, and content.

Rather than handling one channel in isolation, an ecommerce marketing agency connects those channels around a single goal: turning store visitors into repeat customers. Most ecommerce brands bring one in when growth has stalled, the in-house team is stretched thin, or the store needs expertise in a specific channel.

Why hire an ecommerce marketing agency instead of building an in-house team?

An agency gives an ecommerce brand access to specialists across paid media, SEO, and CRO immediately, rather than the months it takes to hire, train, and retain that same range of expertise in-house.

It also brings benchmarks and tested playbooks from other ecommerce accounts, so new campaigns start from what already works rather than trial and error. For many growing stores, that makes an agency the faster and more cost-effective path to the same outcome as building a team from scratch.

How much does it cost to hire an ecommerce marketing agency?

Ecommerce marketing agency pricing varies with total ad spend, the number of channels involved, and whether the engagement covers SEO or content in addition to paid media, so there is no single industry-standard rate.

Most agencies build a custom plan after reviewing the brand’s current spend, goals, and platforms rather than publishing a flat price. Getting quotes from two or three agencies against the same scope is the most reliable way to see where a given quote lands.

How is an ecommerce marketing agency different from a general digital marketing agency?

A general digital marketing agency spreads its expertise across business types, while an ecommerce marketing agency builds its playbooks specifically around online stores: shopping feeds, cart abandonment, and platform-specific tools.

That focus tends to show up as faster setup and fewer platform-specific mistakes, since the benchmarks come from other ecommerce accounts rather than a mixed client base. For a brand whose whole business is the online store, that specialization is usually worth the trade-off against a generalist’s broader service list.

What does HawkSEM’s ecommerce marketing service include?

HawkSEM’s ecommerce services span shopping campaign management, Google Merchant Center setup and compliance, SEO and site architecture, and conversion rate optimization, delivered by a senior-level team with experience across all facets of digital marketing.

How long does it take to see results from ecommerce marketing?

Paid channels like shopping campaigns typically show early signals within the first few weeks, while SEO and content usually need three to six months to build meaningful traction, since organic rankings and site authority grow gradually rather than overnight.

Most ecommerce brands see paid and organic performance compound after the first two full quarters, once campaigns have enough data to optimize against. Timelines vary by starting point, so a brand-new store and an established one with existing traffic and reviews should expect different curves.

What should I look for when choosing an ecommerce marketing agency?

Look for an agency with a track record specifically in ecommerce, meaning it can show ecommerce client results rather than only general digital marketing wins, familiarity with the platform the store runs on, and a reporting cadence tied to revenue rather than clicks or impressions.

Ask how the agency’s team is structured (dedicated specialists versus one generalist account manager) and how long its average client relationship lasts, since retention is one of the more honest signals of results. Comparing three to five agencies on the same criteria gives a clearer picture than researching one at a time.

HawkSEM, the agency that publishes this guide, is included in the ranking above and was evaluated against the same criteria as every other agency on this list.

This article has been updated and was originally published in May 2024.

Josie Rojewski

Josie Rojewski

Josie is a content marketing writer with more than 7 years of digital marketing, content writing, and editing experience. She uses her linguistics and teaching background to compose in-depth articles, how-to guides, and other SEO-friendly content to help marketing leaders succeed. She loves reading, baking, and searching for the perfect pen.