What Hasn’t Changed in Digital Marketing in the Last 11 Years?

Chasing Trends vs. Mastering the Fundamentals

Digital marketing is an industry obsessed with change. It never stays still. Every few months (or hours?), there’s a new must-have tool, algorithm update, or trend that promises to revolutionise everything.

Right now, it’s AI.

Before that, it was voice search, TikTok, and Web2, 3 or whatever else.

But here’s the thing that doesn’t change so much: while the tactics and technologies evolve, the core principles of digital marketing remain the same.

It’s been over 11 years since I went full time in digital marketing after doing some side work prior to that, and being involved in it with previous roles.

After recently going through more than a decade’s worth of my own presentations, talks, workshops and previous client reviews while cleaning out an office, the thoughts of what I feared were real—so many of the same issues still exist, and the ones we found in the early days of doing reviews and roadmaps, are generally still the same ones we find now – the same challenges, the same missed opportunities, and the same fundamental mistakes that hold businesses back.

(as you can see by the image used for this article, whilst AI generated images are amazing, they still struggle with written text!)

So before you get caught up in the next shiny object, ask yourself: Are you getting the most out of what you already have?

If you’re not consistently optimising the essentials, no amount of quickly churned out AI-generated content, short-form video, or new ad format is going to save you. The fundamentals matter just as much today as they did a decade ago.

Let’s go through what’s still crucial in 2025.

1. Local SEO Still Drives Traffic (Google Business Profile Matters More Than Ever)

For businesses with a physical location or service area, local SEO remains one of the highest ROI marketing activities you can invest in.

Then (2014):

Google Places, then Google My Business, and now Google Business Profile was already a major driver of local search traffic. Businesses that optimised their listings with accurate details, reviews, and updates saw significant gains.

Now (2025):

Google Business Profile has only become more important. Mobile searches like “near me” have exploded, and GBP listings often appear before organic search results…but still after Google Ads…yet, many businesses still fail to fully optimise their profile, leaving money on the table.

What You Should Be Doing:

• Keep your information updated – hours, services, address, contact details.
• Post regularly – Google loves fresh content.
• Encourage and respond to reviews – social proof and engagement help rankings.
• Use UTM tracking on GBP links – measure how much traffic it actually drives.

If your local SEO isn’t in order, don’t waste time worrying about AI-generated content strategies—fix what’s right in front of you first as it’s relatively easy and quick.

2. Your Website is Still Your Most Valuable Digital Asset

A decade ago, some people may have been starting to focus on social and potentially focusing more on that than their website. That was bad advice then, and it’s even worse now.

Then (2014):

SEO basics mattered—title tags, meta descriptions, image optimisation, site speed, content structure. Businesses that got these right ranked better, converted more, and spent less on paid ads.

Now (2025):

Nothing has changed. Your website is still the foundation of everything you do online. Everything else outside of email is typically marketing on ‘rented’ platforms. Social media platforms rise and fall, but your website is the one thing you control.

What You Should Be Doing:

• Title Tags & Meta Descriptions: Still a major ranking factor—optimise them.
• Website Speed: Google prioritises fast sites; slow ones lose rankings and conversions.
• Content: High-quality, useful content is more valuable than ever.
• Mobile Optimisation: Google is mobile-first. If your site isn’t, you’re losing traffic.

No matter how much AI advances, it can’t fix the basics for you. A well-optimised website is still non-negotiable.

There’s little doubt that AI chat engines and platforms will start to eat into organic search traffic referrals, but to get answers, the AI platforms still read your content long before they decide whether to present it and use it as a source. Even the big search engines are starting to steal your traffic by giving answers within search results.

Ensure your content is answering the questions your potential customers have, and ensure any new web projects don’t put you backwards.

3. If You Can’t Track It, You Can’t Improve It

Digital marketing is unique because it’s measurable. That was true 11 years ago, and it’s even more critical now.

Then (2014):

Google Analytics just took Universal Analytics out of beta after “Classic’ Google Analytics and conversion tracking was still important, but often poorly set up. Many businesses had no idea which marketing channels were actually driving revenue.

Now (2025):

Analytics tools are more powerful, but the problem remains the same—many businesses still don’t track correctly. Some business spent the best part of ten years possibly getting good tracking in place, then along came Google Analytics 4 (GA4) … with many people completely botching up their good analytics implementations. GA4 is arguably more complex than its predecessor, and definitely had a more confusing rollout, and cookie changes are making attribution trickier. But the need to track performance hasn’t changed.

What You Should Be Doing:

• Ensure GA4 is properly configured – many businesses still have broken tracking.
• Use UTM parameters – don’t rely on vague “Direct” traffic sources.
• Track conversions, not just traffic – visits don’t pay the bills; conversions do.
• Integrate Google Ads with Analytics – without this, you’re flying blind.

AI won’t help if you don’t know what’s working and it won’t set up your conversion tracking accurately… yet. Data is still king to feed the algorithms.

Would you believe in the last 6 months we reviewed at least 4 Google Ad accounts that were either not tracking and reporting revenue, or double counting results and overreporting?

The good news is when you do a correct setup, it hardly needs to be changed unless you make fundamental changes to your online presence – just ongoing updates if you want to track specifics and look at the right story behind your data.

4. Google Ads Us Usually Still The Highest Return on Paid Media

There’s loads of paid media channels to use and they keep expanding. From new social channels, third party platforms that sell space to other media sites and don’t get us started about how many different ad formats and sizes – that is definitely something that get’s more complicated and demanding.

But in the last 11 years, for many businesses Google Ads is still the channel that is the most targeted, and most likely to give you the highest returns.  The big difference?

Then (2014):

Far simpler, far less competition and not nearly so many campaign types.

Now (2025):

It’s far easier to follow some wizards but you have to ensure you are not just boosting Google’s share price with your ad spend.

Have a good think about what types of campaign to run (from video, Shopping, Display and Search and lots inbetween), how you will split out your budgets and what creatives you need.

Feeding the algorithm’s the right conversion data is crucial to your success so you can take advantage of their behind the scenes AI algorithms.

Don’t get us wrong – a cohesive paid media strategy across multiple channels is important, but don’t blindly go down Facebook route without making a plan. For sure, other channels may give you stellar results but ensure you start at the right place for your business and don’t just start something and decide it doesn’t work for the wrong reasons.

5. User Experience and Conversion Rates (UX and CRO) Can Still be the Difference Between Success and Failure

People expect websites and digital experiences to work flawlessly. That was true in 2014, and it’s even more true now.

Then (2014):

Bad UX meant slow websites, confusing navigation, and poor mobile experiences. The businesses that prioritised usability and cared about conversion rates won.

Now (2025):

UX is a ranking factor in Google Search and a major conversion driver. Yet, many businesses still have sites that frustrate users.

What You Should Be Doing:

• Fast load times – 3 seconds or less, or people leave.
• Clear navigation – don’t make visitors hunt for information.
• Easy conversion paths – simple, frictionless checkout or lead forms.
• Mobile-first design – for many (but not all) most traffic is mobile; your site should reflect that.

A great user experience increases conversions and lowers ad costs. It can also mean the difference between making it easy or hard to get in touch with you.

What’s the Lesson Here?

Marketing technology will always evolve, but the fundamentals don’t change. If you’re not getting the most out of what you already have, chasing the next big thing won’t help.

Instead of:

• Worrying about AI-generated blog content…
• Obsessing over every new social media platform…
• Trying to crack the latest Google algorithm change…

Focus on:

✅ Getting your local SEO right (Google Business Profile, reviews, tracking).
✅ Optimising your website (title tags, speed, mobile usability).
✅ Tracking everything (so you know what’s actually working).
✅ Ensuring a great user experience (fast, easy-to-use, conversion-focused).

If you haven’t mastered these fundamentals, consider if you have the right priorities.

Of course you should stay on top of new technologies – AI is moving ridiculously fast and we’re experimenting with some automated phone answering which can be amazing and cost and time saving… and of course we’re using AI regularly but before you get distracted by the next trend, take a step back and ask yourself: Are you making the most of what you already have?

Final Thoughts

If you feel like you’re constantly chasing the latest marketing trends but aren’t seeing better results, it’s probably time to focus on the basics. AI, automation, and new platforms will come and go, but the core principles of digital marketing remain the same.

What are you doing today to optimise what you already have?

As I write this we’re just putting the final touches on our second annual review of hundreds of businesses online and you may be surprised with the difference between this year and last.