by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, (November 03, 2017)

Performics, Merkle, 360i, And iProspect led the list of Forrester’s Search Marketing Agencies Wave, which the research firm released earlier this week.

The sixth Wave uses 25 factors to evaluate search marketing agencies, identifying the 12 most significant agencies in the 2017 report. 360i, acronym, Catalyst, Forward3D, iCrossing, iProspect, Merkle, Mirum, neo@Ogilvy, Performics, rise interactive, and Wpromote made the list.

The analysis details how each agency measures up and helps business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing professionals make the correct choices.

Forrester Analyst Collin Colburn — the lead writer for the analysis — and a team suggest that agencies differentiate themselves by supporting discovery beyond Google. The analysis looked more closely at each agency’s reasons for supporting other biddable media such as display and social advertising.

“Agencies that intentionally support display and social to elevate their search marketing offering fared better,” according to the report.

When evaluating each agency’s SEO offering, Forrester examined how they create a strategy across both traditional and non-traditional search engines and the tools they use to optimize in both places. ‘

The analysis also considered the agency’s approach to non-traditional search engines such as Amazon and Pinterest. Forrester gave the agencies a boost in their rating if they managed clients across these two engines.

The analysis also considered the agencies current offerings, strategy and market presence.

MediaPost.com: Search Marketing Daily

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