Digital marketing has developed from two rapidly changing and developing spheres: technology and commerce. As such, it never stands still. Just when you think you have mastered it, it changes direction.
The best way to stay ahead of the curve in this industry, whether as a consultant or a client, is to check the facts and statistics regularly. One of the great benefits of digital marketing is its metrics: almost everything is recordable and measurable. Track the stats, and you can keep up with the trends.
As leaders in the field, we at WSI have collated all of this year's most important digital marketing trends. These up-to-date facts and figures will help you understand where the industry is moving, stay ahead of your competitors, boost traffic and conversions, and stay current with your target audience's preferences.
AI Consulting
Digital marketers quickly saw the possibilities artificial intelligence (AI) presented, but many individuals and businesses were slow to adopt the technology. Nonetheless, AI is transforming the industry and will soon be an essential tool (if it isn't already!).
Most businesses understand this, even if they don't quite know how to leverage the technology, which is why AI consulting has become an essential sub-discipline within digital marketing.
AI Adoption and Hesitation
Business owners and marketers are making their voices heard when it comes to AI:
- According to reports by IBM and Deloitte, the latest statistics show that only 35% of businesses have adopted AI technologies in their businesses.
- According to a survey by HubSpot, Nearly 75% of marketers believe AI will become commonplace in their work in the coming years.
- More than 50% of marketers feel they must adopt AI urgently or risk becoming irrelevant.
How AI Tools Are Being Used
According to the HubSpot survey, marketers are using AI in a variety of ways:
- Around 35% are using chatbots
- 25% are using AI CRM software
- About 23% use AI productivity tools
- 23% use visual AI tools
- About 22% use AI text generation tools
How AI Boosts Productivity
The HubSpot survey also discusses AI's productivity benefits. Marketers can assign specific routine tasks to AI tools, thus freeing up precious time in their workdays and increasing productivity.
- 44% of marketers trust AI for accurate data analysis
- 75% say they use AI to reduce the time they spend on manual tasks
- 86% say that AI saves them at least one hour per day
AI and Content Creation
Furthermore, marketers increasingly turn to AI to help them handle their workloads and meet deadlines.
- 46% of marketers use AI to write marketing copy
- 41% use AI to create content outlines
- 34% report that AI is a crucial research tool
- 34% use AI tools for brainstorming
Website Design
Web design is more critical to a business's online success than many people realize. These statistics stand as convincing proof of the importance of web design:
- Poor web design drives 38% of visitors away: If visitors reach a website and either don't find what they are looking for or find the UX generally unappealing, they simply click away.
- 50% of consumers base their impression of a business on web design. Yes, half of visitors to a website will give the company a pass if the website is not well designed, but businesses still risk losing half of their leads if they don't focus on excellent web design.
- 40% of website visitors value images more than other elements: Making a website look as appealing as possible, with a selection of powerful images, should take priority over other elements.
- 39% of users lose interest if a website takes too long to load. Slow loading and poor performance can drive away a considerable portion of leads. Retailers lose up to $2.6 billion in revenue annually just because of slow websites.
- Websites with responsive design achieve 11% higher conversion rates. Responsive design enables websites to adapt to different devices and screen sizes. Even a website with the best visual, content, and navigability will have only an 89% success rate. Responsive design could drive this up to 100%.
- 79% of users will leave a website if tasks take too long. Slow loading is one key pain point, as are frustrating navigation and slow task completion. If users find it difficult to use a website or it takes too long to do what they came for, most of them will just go elsewhere.
SEO
According to a recent HubSpot report on marketing strategies, the following fascinating trends have emerged this year in search engine optimization (SEO).
Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)
- Almost two-thirds of marketers report their average landing page conversion rate is less than 10%.
- The average website has a bounce rate of 37%.
- The average conversion rate across all eCommerce sites is 2%.
Organic Search
- 75% of marketers believe that AI-enabled search engines will yield better results for their content.
- 39% of marketers optimize on-page content based on keywords as their top SEO strategy.
- The current mobile search trends are 80% of Gen Z, 66% of Gen X, 35% of Boomers, and 52% of the general population access most of their online content via mobile search.
Voice Search
- According to TechReport, 41% of U.S. adults use voice search daily.
- More than a third of Americans own a smart speaker.
- Around 90% of Americans think voice search is faster and easier than conventional search.
PPC
Pay-per-click continues to be a popular and remarkably effective marketing tactic, as these statistics from WordStream demonstrate:
- PPC advertising is capable of yielding a 200% ROI with effective optimization.
- Across all industries, PPC has yielded the following average values:
- 6.11% CTR
- $4.22 cost per click
- 7.04% conversion rate
- $53.52 cost per lead
Social Media
HubSpot's report reveals some interesting facts about social media marketing:
- Facebook is the most popular social media platform for marketing, with marketers reporting a better ROI here than on any competing platform.
- 76% of small businesses use Facebook as their primary social media platform, followed by Instagram (63%) and LinkedIn (43%).
- Despite Facebook's extensive user base, Instagram posts generate 23% more engagement.
- X (formerly Twitter) is declining in popularity among marketers. In 2023, 66% said they would keep marketing on X. 71% reported spending less time on the platform, and 67% said they were exploring other alternatives.
- Only 40% of B2B marketers have reported that LinkedIn is the most effective platform for their marketing.
- 90% of marketers say building an active online community is essential to success in social media marketing.
- 80% of social media marketers report that consumers buy products directly from social apps rather than on brands' websites or third-party sellers.
Marketing Automation
Marketing automation is steadily growing in 2024:
- According to Backlinko, marketing automation industry revenue grew by 286% from $4.79 billion to $13.71 billion between 2021 and 2024.
- About 61% of marketers predict that their budget for marketing automation will increase in the upcoming year.
- Where do most marketers use marketing automation? According to the same Backlinko report, most marketers (63%) use this technology in email marketing. The second largest group - 50% - use it for social media marketing. The rest of the list is made up as follows:
- Paid ads (40%)
- Content management (35%)
- Landing pages (29%)
- SMS marketing (28%)
- Campaign tracking (26%)
- Account-based marketing (24%)
- Push notifications (22%)
- Live chat (21%)
- Workflows/ visualization (20%)
- SEO efforts (18%)
- Sales funnel communication (16%)
- Dynamic web forms (16%)
- Lead scoring (14%)
Competitive Analysis
According to Evalueserve, many companies quickly realize the benefits of dedicated competitive analysis.
- 56% of executives actively use intelligence gathered from competitive analysis to monitor their competition and make essential business decisions.
- Data analytics reportedly speeds decision-making fivefold, which is why so many businesses use it to drive their strategies.
- 74% of businesses report that they know their competitors are using data analysis to follow industry trends and improve their performance.
- 94% of businesses plan to invest or increase their competitive analysis investments.
- Companies analyze only an average of 12% of the data they collect. This means that 88% of challenges and opportunities go unnoticed. Thus, there are enormous opportunities to increase the accuracy and efficacy of competitive analysis.
- 81% of marketers expect to compete primarily based on customer experience in the next two years.
eCommerce
A recent report from Forbes includes some of the following key e-commerce statistics:
- eCommerce revenue has grown from $5.3 trillion to $6.3 trillion since 2022 and is projected to rise to $7.9 trillion by 2027.
- eCommerce's growth relative to brick-and-mortar trading is slow but steady. By 2027, it is predicted that 23% of global retail purchases will occur online, as opposed to 20% in 2024.
- Amazon still has the highest eCommerce market share, with 37.6% of global sales through the platform.
- An interesting observation regarding the behavior of online shoppers is that 25% of them abandon their carts if they are expected to open an account.
- 34% of shoppers shop online at least once a week.
- The shopping cart abandonment rate is as high as 70%.
- Social media eCommerce is growing rapidly and is expected to reach $8.5 trillion annually by 2030.
- 91% of online shoppers make their purchases on a mobile device.
- By 2027, mobile eCommerce sales are expected to make up 62% of all retail sales.
Content Marketing
Content marketing is an essential tool in any marketer's toolbox. However, the effectiveness of this tactic depends on a clear understanding of how it works and how it impacts your target market. Here are some current statistics from HubSpot that will help you decide which techniques work best for your business and market.
- 29% of marketers will actively use content marketing in 2024.
- Blog posts are the most common format used by nine out of ten marketers.
- Blogs are influential lead-generation tools. Businesses that use them get 67% more monthly leads than those that don't.
- The average length of blog posts has grown. In 2014, it was less than 500 words. In 2024, it is just under 1,500 - a difference of about 70%.
- Video content is growing in popularity. 91% of businesses currently use video as a marketing tool.
- Audio content is less popular. Only 25% of companies make use of podcasts and other audio content.
- 96% of marketers agree that the most effective marketing videos are less than 10 minutes long.
- One-third of media planners say that content marketing is their most important tactic.
In conclusion, digital marketing is an ever-evolving field driven by technological advancements and consumer behavior shifts. Staying informed about the latest trends, from AI integration and web design to SEO and social media strategies, is crucial for maintaining a competitive edge. Businesses can enhance their online presence and drive growth by leveraging data analytics, marketing automation, and content marketing. As the landscape changes, embracing these insights will be vital to success in the digital marketplace.
Contact WSI today to learn more about the latest digital marketing trends and how to leverage them to maximum effect in your marketing strategies.
