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What does the future hold for digital marketing?

11/05/2018 - Digital Marketing

Might traditional digital marketing be dead? Well that’s what Jono Alderson, SEO expert at Yoast BV, hints at in a blog article for TheInbounder.com.

Alderson says a re-evaluation of the relationship between marketing and audiences is necessary. It’s all about context. Purchase decisions don’t always happen on your website, so it’s all about spreading your company’s ethos and influencing customer thinking in the right places.

Alderson is right in saying that promoting your brand in the right places – some of which aren’t as traditional as say your company website – is a great tactic moving forwards. But in the short to medium term, there are plenty of tried and tested ways companies can enhance their marketing and boost their profile.

Additionally, having concrete evidence of successful digital marketing campaigns makes progress more digestible and obvious for many CEOs. But which tactics are proving to be continually successful? And what’s the best way for companies to take advantage of these without overstretching?

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Upwards with automation

At Un.titled, we’re continuing to see businesses look towards marketing automation as a way of gathering leads and enhancing the content they share. Knowing what to push, when to push it, and where to push it can help companies make significant gains.

But successfully adopting marketing automation tactics is easier said than done. Jumping in too early and reaching out to the wrong people or not enough people can render it ineffective. It’s also easy to get the setup of your automated marketing practices wrong.

You need insight and expertise in the field to get the most from marketing automation. If that’s not something you possess within the four walls of your business, outsourcing is a viable and positive option to look into. The most successful examples of embedding automation are when it is done in close collaboration and carefully overseen by a knowledgeable team, for example in the implementation of some of the automation on offer within Google Adwords. It’s at its best when managed closely by a certified specialist who also has a strong commercial understanding of the client.

Sophisticated SEO

Search engine optimisation (SEO) is a term you hear a lot about, but getting it right isn’t as straightforward as it once was. The increased complexity of the SEO space means that simply cramming as many relevant keywords as you can onto your website isn’t going to guarantee results.

We’re seeing a change in the way SEO works, and have our finger on the pulse at Un.titled. Voice search, artificial intelligence and mobile-first indexing are all shaping the scene, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Pushing PPC

Pay-per-click (PPC) is also proving to be a particularly effective way of getting your name out there. This only looks to be moving in an upwards direction.

As with any developing sector however, PPC is consistently changing. Trends likely to develop and expand in 2018 include display advertising, which has seen an exponential growth in terms of the amount of money companies are throwing at this form of promotion according to a December 2017 report from eMarketer.

PPC dedicated to mobile platforms is another element that is likely to grow given the changes in the way people are interacting with content and media. This is reshaping how companies approach PPC and changing their areas of focus.

Google is also dedicating more space to paid search on its first page, but the algorithms that Google uses however can be tricky to keep up with.

That’s why outsourcing to certified and trained PPC experts is a good idea, allowing you to get the most out of the money you put in.

Optimising your conversion rates

Once people are on your site, you need to do what you can to turn site visitors into customers. This is where delivering a best-in-class customer experience, high-quality landing page that resonates and appeals strongly with visitors, and optimised usability from start to finish are of paramount importance.

But having the internal resources to ensure this is continuously the case isn’t always possible. And if you’re website isn’t set up in the best way, potential customers will quickly look elsewhere. It’s therefore in your interest to find the best way of ticking all these boxes.

What now?

What Alderson says about influence is a must. You want your business to be seen in a positive way wherever potential customers encounter it, and you can’t rely on that just being solely on your website.

But don’t lose sight of the here and now. Tried and trusted ways of boosting your brand will continue to be effective, and though the world of digital marketing will naturally adapt and develop, you want to feel you’re in the best position to move your business forward.

At Un.titled, we specialise in helping businesses grow online. We can handle all your digital marketing requirements, from search engine optimisation to conversion rate optimisation to pay-per-click.

We are a Google Premier Partner and we know how to get consistent results month in, month out. Get in touch with us, tell us what you want to do, and we’ll find the best ways of helping you meet your goals.