What is digital marketing?
Digital marketing is the use of the internet and other digital channels to communicate with customers and promote a business. It includes search, websites, social media, email and online advertising. The right mix depends on who you need to reach and what you want them to do.
Choosing marketing for a business starts with three different situations: customers already search for your service, you need to introduce a new offer, or visits arrive without turning into enquiries. Below, compare the channels, work through illustrative examples and choose a practical first step.
What makes digital marketing different?
Compared with traditional marketing, digital channels offer several practical advantages:
More precise targeting: A business can reach groups defined by location, age, interests, demographics or behaviour.
Measurable results: It can see how many people viewed an ad, clicked a link, visited its website or made a purchase.
Real-time interaction: Customers can respond immediately by clicking, commenting, sharing or buying.
Flexible costs: Many digital activities can cost less than traditional advertising, especially when a business starts with a focused test.
Digital marketing channels: what they do and when to use them
SEO, advertising, social media and email address different situations. Start by asking where customers look for an answer and what they still need before deciding.
SEO: when customers actively search for a solution
Search engine optimisation helps make page content accessible and understandable in search. It is relevant when people already search for your service or product. Start with an indexable website, a useful page for a specific need and relevant internal links. Monitor queries, impressions, clicks and subsequent enquiries.
PPC advertising: when you want to test a specific offer
Search advertising can reach people making a relevant query. PPC means paying per click; not every online ad uses that pricing model. Prepare a clear offer, a suitable landing page and enquiry or order measurement before launching. A click is not yet a business outcome.
Content: when customers need an explanation or evidence
An article, guide or case study can answer a question before a decision. A comparison of two options may be more useful than a general list of benefits. Content marketing is an approach that can support search, social media and email.
Social media: when you need to show your work and build contact
Project examples, a process explanation or answers to customer questions can make an offer easier to understand. Choose a platform for its audience and formats you can produce consistently. Social media content design should connect the brand identity with what people find after clicking through.
For help with direction and the agreed scope of work, explore our social media service.
Email: when you already have a relevant contact
Email can continue a useful conversation with customers and subscribers you have permission or another appropriate basis to contact. It can introduce a product, explain how to use it or follow up on previous interest. Review clicks and subsequent website actions alongside opens.
Other options include influencer marketing, native advertising, online PR and affiliate marketing. Automation and conversion rate optimisation (CRO) support the channels and customer journey; you do not need to launch everything at once.
How can digital marketing help your business?
1. It helps more people discover your brand
Digital advertising can introduce a brand to people who have not encountered it before or remind previous visitors about an offer. Its value depends on the audience, message and destination page. Evaluate it against a defined goal, such as relevant enquiries or orders.
2. It reaches customers on mobile devices
A visitor on a phone needs an offer that is just as clear as it is on a desktop. Check readable text, usable buttons and a straightforward way to enquire or buy. Even a relevant campaign can lose potential customers if the page makes the next step difficult.
Social media gives a business space to show its work, answer questions and stay in touch with customers. The content should match what people find after clicking through to the website. Read reach and engagement alongside visits to relevant pages and subsequent enquiries.
3. It builds trust through useful content
A useful blog answers questions customers ask before making a decision. Specific guides and examples can support trust and earn natural links to a website. Accuracy, freshness and a clear connection to the business offer matter more than publishing to a fixed quota.
Where to start: three illustrative business examples
A local service needs more relevant enquiries
Imagine a business whose service people already search for in a particular town. A clear service page, accessible contact details and an up-to-date Google Business Profile may be the first step. It can then test relevant search traffic or advertising. Measure suitable enquiries, their source and how many become customers.
A new product needs to explain its value
If the audience does not yet know a product, search alone may not create enough interest. A demonstration, comparison or answer to a specific concern can help. Social content or a relevant creator partnership should lead to a page where people can understand the details and take the next step.
A website gets visits but few enquiries or orders
Check the offer, evidence, form and purchase journey on a phone before spending more on traffic. More visits may not help if people cannot decide or contact you. Use our five signs your website needs improvement as a starting point.
A website audit can review the agreed pages and help prioritise the changes before you invest in more traffic.
These examples illustrate a decision process, not results from specific clients. Choose one goal and a primary channel with a clear path towards it. Add other activity according to what you learn.
How to create a digital marketing strategy
One of the strengths of digital marketing is that you can adjust a campaign as you learn. If a strategy is not producing the expected results, you can test another approach. These seven steps provide a useful starting point:
If your offer, audience or main message still needs clarifying, brand strategy provides a shared direction before you choose channels.
Set clear goals: Decide what you want to achieve, such as more website visits, qualified enquiries, a 20% sales increase or a successful product launch.
Define your audience: Consider location, age, interests and behaviour. For B2B marketing, company size and industry may matter too.
Choose the right channels: Match channels to the goal and audience. A B2B company trying to reach marketing managers may find LinkedIn more useful than TikTok.
Set KPIs: Choose measures that show whether the work is moving toward the goal, such as relevant traffic, conversion rate, enquiries or email clicks.
Build a campaign plan: Assign the people, resources and tasks needed. A marketing calendar can keep the work coordinated.
Review the results: Check whether ads lead to sales, whether useful traffic is growing and whether pages appear for relevant searches.
Improve the strategy: Test different ads, headlines, search terms, landing pages or email subject lines when the evidence points to a problem.
How to set a digital marketing budget
Digital marketing belongs in a company’s overall marketing budget. The right amount depends on its industry, audience, size and strategy. Smaller businesses can work through four practical steps:
Connect spending to the strategy: Put money into the channels most likely to reach the intended audience and support the business goal.
Review current costs: Understand what the company already spends each month, quarter and year.
Measure what the spend achieves: Track return on investment and the relevant KPIs for each channel.
Cut waste: Pause campaigns with weak results or a negative return. Review supplier costs and expenses that no longer serve the plan.
The aim is a budget guided by evidence. Invest more where results justify it, and adjust campaigns as new data comes in.
Marketing automation
Marketing automation uses software to handle repeatable tasks. That gives marketers more time for strategy, creative work and decisions that need human judgement. Examples include:
Social media scheduling: Prepare posts in advance and organise routine responses.
Automated reporting: Connect platforms and bring key results into a regular report.
Email automation: Send timely, relevant messages, segment customers and follow up on abandoned baskets.
Generative AI: Adapt a core email for different audiences, with a person reviewing the final message.
Automated ad bidding: Platforms such as Google Ads can adjust bids and targeting in response to campaign signals.
Sales and CRM workflows: Alert a sales team to new leads and keep customer records up to date.
Good digital marketing helps a business reach the right people, measure progress, build relationships and increase sales. Success does not require every available channel. It requires a sensible selection that fits the company’s goals, customers and budget.
How to tell whether the channel is working
Before launching, record the goal, starting point, budget and evaluation period. For customer acquisition, review relevant enquiries and orders alongside costs. Reach and visits explain only part of that journey.
For search, separate two rates: CTR = clicks ÷ impressions × 100 measures how often a result earns a click. Conversion rate = desired actions ÷ visits × 100 measures the next step on the website. Compare the same definition of a visit and an action, comparable periods and the same channel. A good click-through rate does not guarantee orders.
Want a clearer direction for your digital marketing?
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