14 Common Digital Marketing Myths in 2023

Congratulations! You’ve launched your new website and are eager to showcase it to the world. To achieve this, you want to implement an effective digital marketing strategy, but where do you begin? With so many options available in digital marketing, each having its own advantages and disadvantages, it’s crucial to be wary of common myths and misconceptions.

To help you get started on your digital marketing journey, let’s explore some of these myths and misconceptions, so you can build a solid foundation for your online success.

1. I’ve built my website so there’s no need to update it

This is never the case. Search algorithms and new ways to create content are constantly being updated throughout the internet, it’s easy for your website to become lost and forgotten in the vastness of the world wide web. Google loves new content and is always on the lookout for fresh updates.

As you would always want to update the look and feel of your website, remember to always keep up to date with what’s happening behind the scenes of it too. SEO is paramount to any websites’ success and without it, you can expect yours to rank poorly on search engines. Constantly updating and optimising your pages with great SEO will help your website attract the organic traffic it deserves.

Doing this will also help you to stay in the know with the ever-changing algorithms Google likes to bestow upon us, so you can then perform regular tests for trending and relatable search terms, new quality content, better target audience and more. This is all very beneficial for your website’s ranking and business as a whole. Keep updating, it will ultimately help your website stand the test of time.

2. Receiving negative comments on social media is never good

There is a lot of stigma about receiving negative comments on social media but if and when you do, it is an opportunity you should grab with both hands. Although it’s not the engagement you were hoping for, you can turn it into a positive by simply addressing the situation with an informative and thoughtful reply. Include an option for them to contact you alternatively by calling you or emailing you. You’d be surprised how different someone can be when speaking to a real person.

Your business is your pride and joy and you want to show that to your audience. Users tend to respond more positively when they are recognised. This will help show the transparency and efficiency of your business and ultimately help build the loyalty of your brand.

Keep in mind all engagement on social media is good engagement, it all depends on how you deal with it.

3. SEO is dead

Quite the opposite. SEO is very much alive and continuously evolving. In 2019 93% of online experiences started with a search engine and 70-80% of users ignore paid ads with organic links getting 70% of all clicks. SEO is now more important, and more complex than ever before.

Some older practices such as simple keyword optimisation have become lost in the long list of tasks surrounding it today. In 2019 and onwards, it’s good to get your head around the many new options available to you and your business.

Building a great SEO strategy is paramount to your websites’ success. With the right time and effort put in, you will see the benefits SEO can provide for your online presence. 

Get started by setting up your business on Google My Business (GMB).

4. I can get quicker results without digital marketing

Digital marketing is a labour of love and with the many options available to use (Social Media, PPC, Google Ads, SEO, etc.) along with the work involved for each, it’s easy to think why you’d get quicker results without it.

From 2020 onwards the use of services such as Google Ads, Google Shopping, PCC campaigns and more are very quick to set up and have the potential in bringing you a good source of revenue. This revenue can then be spent on long term tactics, such as SEO optimisation, Social Media campaigns, etc… We can help you set those up in the best way possible.

Alternatively, paid online adverts can be an effective and quick way to generate results online, whether that’s through social media, email marketing or elsewhere.

Although it does take time to generate results through digital marketing be sure to keep up to date with the latest Digital Marketing statistics to know whats going to work best. The end results will be extremely beneficial to you and your business. 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine and with more users online than ever before it’s time to get your business noticed in the right places.

5. Customers do not convert through mobile

Customers will convert through mobile if you make it so they can. 2021 saw Google index mobile websites first meaning that you now need a well optimised and responsive website in 2022 to succeed. When building a website or webpage, it’s in your best interests to think “mobile first” – are your CTAs easy to tap? are they easy to find? (without too much scrolling) Getting the UI and UX correct on mobile is a big difference between someone converting or not on mobile in 2022.

It’s unlikely a user will fill in the small fields for a desktop form on their mobile device. Try creating a more simplified mobile form or introducing a cross-device ‘add to basket’ integration through a sign-up system. Google has recently introduced a lead form extension allowing users to provide contact information directly through your advert in the SERPs, eliminating the need for users to visit your mobile site to convert.

If you have an eCommerce store, it’s in your best interests to streamline this process as much as possible. Fewer form or payment fields and obvious spaces for the user to input their vital information will keep the level of customer experience where you want it. Put yourself in their shoes. Make that payment as simple as possible!

6. Content isn’t important

In 1996, Bill Gates wrote an essay called ‘Content is King’ and digital marketers have been focused on content ever since. Content is vital to ranking well in the search results, increasing visibility and creating a website that your users will find useful, so saying it isn’t important and ignoring it will do your business more harm than good. Content also isn’t just blogs. It’s videos, social media posts, web pages, and more. Ignoring content will inevitably affect your rankings, which could have a ripple effect on your sales and enquiries.

This applies to all aspects of digital marketing (SEO, PPC, etc). After all, if your landing page for your advertising campaign doesn’t tell your users relevant information about the product or service, then your ad rank could be hindered, and your conversion rate could also drop. Additionally, the content of your ads is crucial to ensuring your click-through rate (CTR) is good, so having relevant content is extremely important in 2022.

7. The only thing I need to do is create content

There is more to digital marketing than content. In terms of SEO, you will also need to look at technical aspects of your website, such as page speeds and Core Web Vitals performance.

Additionally, when it comes to content creation, the content needs to be high-quality and give users the information they need. That means that the content you produce should be thoughtful, detailed and carefully planned.

Rather than producing three short blogs a week, you should consider producing one longer piece of content that answers your audience’s question in an appropriate amount of detail and shows off your expertise of the subject. This will help you gain high-quality backlinks to your website, which, along with your high-quality content, will help you rank more highly in the search results.

8. Digital marketing isn’t important for physical sales

Digital marketing will lead to physical sales. In fact, 75% of local searches lead to in-store visits, which means that having a good online presence is vital for any business, including those that operate in a specific area. And there are many SEOs who specialise in optimising local businesses’ profiles, citations and websites for local searches, which is a practice called local SEO. Local SEO optimises your business for local searches, putting your business on the map. “Near me” searches are becoming increasingly popular in 2022 – make sure your business appears when someone searches in you area.

9. Email marketing is dead

Email marketing is a great way of keeping an audience that has already expressed an interest in your business, products or services up to date with what’s happening, whether that’s new content, products or sales.

Email marketing is often seen as spammy, but if done correctly can keep customers loyal and remind them that your products exist when they might be considering buying something. If your email copy resonates with your customers, then there’s no reason not to continue doing email marketing campaigns, as this can increase sales and leads from people who you know are already interested in purchasing from your business.

10. My competition isn’t doing digital marketing, so why should I?

Just because your competition isn’t doing digital marketing doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have value. If you’re the first business in your niche to start doing digital marketing, then you’ve got a leg-up on every other business in that niche.

You’ll find that digital marketing increases brand awareness because more people see your brand, but you’ll be able to expand your audience, capture new customers or even find a new way to expand and grow your business.

All of this means that you can increase sales and leads ahead of your competitors if you invest in digital marketing first. You’ll outrank them, meaning you’ll capture more traffic which will be more relevant, which will increase your revenue.

11. Audiences are too broad

Yes, there are many more people on the internet than in your local area, but an effective digital marketing strategy will ensure that you only capture relevant traffic. This is true of both PPC and SEO campaigns, as you show ads and try and rank pages for keywords or to specific audiences. This means that you can ensure that the traffic coming to your website is only interested in the kinds of products or services you offer. 

12. More traffic = more money

Not always, as digital marketing is about getting the right kind of traffic as much as it is about increasing traffic. Having a smaller amount of high-quality traffic that converts is far more important than having lots of traffic that bounces, or leaves your website quickly. What’s important is that the traffic converts into sales or leads, so it’s important to target the right keywords and produce the right content. This means you need to target your advertising or SEO efforts to gain the high-quality traffic that will increase your revenue.

13. Remarketing is creepy

Remarketing can be creepy if you don’t follow the best practices. However, when done correctly, remarketing is a great way to ensure your business stays in the forefront of a users mind when they might be looking for your service or product. Used correctly and efficiently, remarketing can help increase sales and leads, and helping with the users journey, even after they have left your website.

14. AI will take my job, so why try?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being used in various industries, but it does not necessarily mean that it will take over all human jobs. In fact, AI is designed to enhance and augment human work, not replace it. Here are some reasons why AI will not take your job:

1. AI lacks creativity and empathy: While AI is capable of handling repetitive tasks and large amounts of data, it lacks the ability to think outside the box and understand human emotions. This makes it difficult for AI to perform tasks that require creativity and emotional intelligence, such as customer service and relationship building.
2. AI requires human supervision: AI algorithms and systems need to be trained and monitored by humans to ensure they are functioning correctly and making ethical decisions. This means that AI can only be as effective as the humans who oversee it.
3. AI is not versatile: AI is best suited for tasks that involve a high degree of pattern recognition and data analysis, but it is not yet capable of handling a wide range of tasks and situations. As a result, there will still be a need for human workers with diverse skill sets and experience.
4. AI may create new jobs: As AI becomes more widespread, it is likely to create new job opportunities in areas such as AI development, maintenance, and regulation. This means that even as AI automates some tasks, it will also create new demand for human labor.

In conclusion, while AI has the potential to transform the way we work in digital marketing, it is unlikely to replace all human jobs. Instead, AI will likely continue to augment and enhance the work we produce, leading to increased productivity and improved job satisfaction.

Always be aware of these common digital marketing myths

The digital marketing myths we have mentioned in this article only scrape the surface. There are countless marketing misconceptions that get shrouded with false information, so it’s always best to make sure you do your research before you start your digital marketing journey.

Digital marketing can be confusing but extremely rewarding. Algorithms and search engines are continuously updating creating a list of challenges, so always be aware.

Embrace these challenges and always look deeper into so-called digital marketing myths, as they aren’t always what they seem! In 2022 it’s never been more important for your business to make its mark online.

Not everything you hear is true, if you would like some expert digital marketing advice on SEO, PPC, social media, and more, please don’t hesitate to contact us here at Tillison Consulting.