Digital Marketing Trends and Predictions for 2024

Struggling to keep pace with the latest digital marketing trends? Curious about what's on the horizon for 2024? Discover our predictions and the actionable steps you can take to stay ahead in the upcoming year.

More AI. But Put to Better Use.

AI technology may still be in its infancy, but social skepticism and resistance are long gone. In 2024, we expect to see wider adoption of AI-powered tools.
Some marketing agencies will advance slowly with their adoption of AI, perhaps stumbling along the way. Here at WISE Digital, though, we’re already exploring ways AI-powered tools can power what we do.
Our design team, for example, often turns to generative AI for quick edits and creative inspiration. What used to consume hours can now be accomplished in minutes. This time-saving step allows us to showcase initial design options to clients more quickly. It also means our skilled designers have more time to hone in on/refine the options our clients connect with.

We’re also using AI to help our clients grow their businesses. From complex data analysis and insights to optimizing search engine performance and so much more, there’s a lot AI can do.

And we’re looking beyond streamlining simple tasks to determining how AI tools can be used to anticipate customers’ needs, bring in more business, and ultimately build on the successes we’ve already created for our clients.

A Renewed Focus on SEO

People say SEO is dead. Yet we continue to show that a well-honed SEO strategy increases visibility and traffic, builds credibility, and ensures you target and convert high-quality leads while maximizing ROI.
Let’s use our own agency as an example.
In 2019, we started building our SEO strategy from scratch. We were a new agency, which means WISE had zero page-one rankings on Google. In 2020, we refined our approach, then doubled down on our efforts in 2021-2023. The results speak for themselves:

We went from zero to ranking for nearly 150 target keywords on the first page of Google in 2024.
While this was only one piece of the puzzle, this strategy played a pivotal role in our remarkable 500% growth. Without SEO, that massive leap wouldn’t have been possible.
It can take several months to a year (sometimes longer) before you begin to see ranking improvements and spikes in organic traffic. When it comes to SEO, time and patience are critical. Don’t make the mistake of abandoning your efforts prematurely.

“SEO is always changing, so some of the tactics used the year before no longer work, and it can seem like we’re starting over every year or every other year,” says Dwayne Deziel, Sr. SEO Specialist at WISE Digital Partners. “What started as pages that needed 5,000 words, a specific keyword density, backlinks, and content that sounded incredibly unnatural has now brought us to 2024, where SEO can now be summarized as PR, or maybe we should call it SEPRO (Search Engine Public Relations Optimization. That means you need an optimized website, engagement across multiple social platforms, backlinks (still important), and brand mentions. Then you tie it all together with structured data.”

“2024 does bring the additional challenge of the public release of Gemini, certainly one of the biggest changes to Google Search, if not the biggest,” he adds. “But no matter how many changes Google implements, the foundation will always remain the same. Users use Google because they have an informational need. That informational need is fulfilled by a system that has been around since 1945. So, like everything else, SEO has and will continue to evolve, and we will adapt to those changes even if it’s only for a year.”

A Renewed Interest in Yelp Advertising

Most of the business owners we talk to have mixed feelings about Yelp. Some rave that the platform has helped catapult their business and reach a broader audience. Others wish they had more control over it and say negative or false customer reviews have hurt their business.

No matter how you feel about the platform, the numbers don’t lie—Yelp matters:

• Online reviews make up one-quarter of Google’s local search algorithm
• A one-star Yelp rating boost can grow business revenue by 5-9%
• Displaying testimonials on your site can increase conversion rates by 34%

As Yelp Advertising Partners, we help clients leverage this tool and grow their business. That means increased page optimization, cost-effective campaigns, detailed reporting, exclusive tools, and free ad boosting.
This is part of our ongoing strategy and will only improve in 2024.

Google is Retiring Third-Party Cookies

In January, Google officially initiated the process of phasing out third-party cookies, making tracking and targeting customers harder.

In tandem with the phase-out, Google introduced a new feature called Tracking Protection in Chrome, which restricts the use of third-party cookies by default. This feature started rolling out to 1% of Chrome users on January 4, 2024.
We suspect this shift may pose challenges for other agencies in targeting and tracking users with the same precision as before. However, WISE has already started preparing for the complete retirement of third-party cookies, a move expected to happen in the latter half of 2024. Our team is committed to finding innovative solutions and alternative methods to ensure our clients continue to receive effective and privacy-compliant advertising services.

Buckling Down on Privacy & ADA Compliance

Since the beginning of 2023, six state legislatures have enacted comprehensive data privacy laws. Others have followed suit. While these bills remain inactive in some states, consumer privacy laws in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Virginia, Indiana, Tennessee, Delaware, Iowa, Texas, Montana, and Oregon are primed to go into effect by 2026.

In 2024, we’re working with business leaders to help them prepare, adapt, and align their practices to ensure they are compliant.
And while we’re on the subject, 2024 is also a good time to ensure your website meets the tenets of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). Since 2015, we’ve seen an uptick in ADA compliance lawsuits, with California being one of the hardest-hit markets.

This year, we will continue to offer clients a free website audit for ADA compliance. We can also help you get free money through a $5,000 tax credit to ensure your website is ADA-compliant.

Bite-Sized Content

It’s an information-saturated world, and like all of us, your audience is drowning in content. It’s time to give audiences what they want—clear, concise, and skimmable content that delivers a key message or value proposition.
In 2024, our expert copywriting team is working harder to create tighter, more compelling messaging that appeals to shorter attention spans. To make an even bigger impact, we continue to back all our content with a winning SEO strategy that improves your search engine rankings and ensures your content gets found.

New Year. New Marketing Strategy. It’s Time to Get WISE.

Partner with WISE Digital, California’s premier digital marketing agency. We’re here to help your company thrive and achieve accelerated growth. We’ll ensure your success with our practical, profitable, and measurable strategies.