The main digital marketing channels
- Search engine optimization (SEO): ranking in the unpaid search results.
- Paid search: ads on Google and Bing, usually paid per click.
- Content marketing: useful articles, guides, videos and tools that attract customers.
- Social media marketing: organic posts and paid ads on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok.
- Email marketing: newsletters and automated emails to people who signed up.
- Display and video advertising: banner and video ads across websites, apps and YouTube.
- Affiliate and influencer marketing: partners who promote you for a commission or a fee.
How to build a digital marketing strategy
- Set clear business goals, such as leads, sales or bookings.
- Understand your customers and how they search and decide.
- Choose the channels where they are, with the right mix of short-term work (ads) and long-term work (SEO and content).
- Build a website that turns visitors into customers.
- Track results with analytics and conversion tracking, and move budget towards what works.
Measuring digital marketing
Look beyond traffic and clicks to leads, sales, cost per acquisition, return on ad spend and customer lifetime value. Those numbers show which channels actually grow the business.