Digital Marketing Trends for 2024

Digital marketing trends for 2024 are loaded with interesting novelties and also significant consolidations of topics we have already discussed on different occasions.

Some Consolidating Trends

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Some trends that are consolidating are Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its use in various areas of marketing and communication, and of course, the massive use of Google Analytics 4.

Still Evolving

Others are still there evolving and have not yet exploded, such as voice marketing, virtual reality (VR), or augmented reality (AR).

Emerging Trends

And some others, emerging, we will see what they hold for us next year, such as NFT marketing, sustainability marketing, and even the famous marketing in the metaverse.

What is clear is that the year 2024 will be an important year for marketing and digital communication, and all companies will have to face a new paradigm.

They will have to research better and faster than ever, be more creative and efficient, and measure the data from their marketing campaigns as best as possible.

As every year, here is our bet for online marketing for the year 2024.

1. Consolidation of Google Analytics 4

We talked last year about the arrival of Google Analytics and for 2024 what we need to talk about is the consolidation of the quintessential tool for data measurement.

We already advanced in Google Analytics 4, differences with Universal Analytics, that Google Analytics 4 would represent a revolution within Google’s measurement environment, and so it has been.

Not only because its global market share is over 85%; but because the product truly convinces and wins, despite the path of improvements that lies ahead.

Its new data model is an improvement and a milestone that has come to stay, and we celebrate it.

The GA4 combo, Adwords, Shopping, Looker studio, Big Query, frankly, seems unbeatable in terms of integration between them and the low entry barrier they pose.

But not only does the link with these tools exist but with the entire Google suite, which makes it relatively simple and pleasant to get to work.

If you want to take a look at its interface, I recommend you take a look at this video:

2. Artificial Intelligence and Marketing

I don’t think I’ll tell you anything new if I say that this year artificial intelligences are going to play a fundamental role in digital marketing.

No, of course not.

Companies, data agencies, communication agencies, creatives, advertisers, analysts, everyone, have and we have integrated some of these tools into our day-to-day.

3. Yes, You Will Need a Marketing Agency to Grow

Not that I want to sweep for home, but the reality about marketing agencies is what you see in the graph below.

A constant interest of the user…, or will it be a need?

Google Trends

In other words, it is not possible to manage a serious digital business without the support of a qualified professional team.

I know that messages should be positive and not write words like “impossible”, “no”, or “complication”, but I am neither an Instagram guru selling smoke nor do I want to convey a romantic idea of data, the Internet, and the digital universe.

Selling on the internet is something exciting, but at the same time, extremely complex. Specialists in many disciplines are needed to achieve objectives (SEO, Paid, UX, Data, creatives…) and a dedicated investment in the project to make it viable.

As an agency, it is our duty to help our clients achieve sustainable growth through data and creativity, trends, tools, novelties, and hard work; but without making them believe that this path will be easy.

If this is not clear, I wrote content a while ago that I think might be useful: 5 reasons why you should not set up an online business.

4. Plugins to Enhance Artificial Intelligences like Chat GPT

It’s amazing how the world of plugins in artificial intelligences like Chat GPT has evolved.

There are plugins of all types and for all the disciplines you can think of, and they are clearly one of the applications in AI that can help us the most in our day-to-day as online marketing professionals.

At DDigitals, we have tested many of these add-ons, and we assure you they will become essential in your work.

These are the ones we liked the most and are already a marketing trend for 2024:

Bing web browsing plugin
Internet Search Plugin (KeyMate.IA.search)
Prompt Perfect Plugin
Show Me Plugin (show_me)
Speak Plugin

If you want to delve deeper, here you have content on Plugins for ChatGPT, and the video above is a guide to understand how to implement them, as there is a trick you must know to start using it.

5. Podcast Marketing Continues Its Expansion

Yes, podcasts are another trend that does not stop growing and will continue to grow next year.

More and more companies are using this channel to make themselves known, reach new audiences, and generate brand.

Podcast marketing will not stop growing because it is tremendously accessible to the user, who can listen to it while driving or while doing sports, and this constitutes a quite significant competitive advantage compared to other channels that require more concentration.

They work wonderfully well for specific niches and facilitate the transfer of users between digital and offline channels, besides they do not require a very large investment in production.

Here you have a post where we explain step by step how to make a corporate podcast to promote your company.

6. Forever SEO: Because SEO Has Not Died and Will Not Die

And it will not die because the entire scoring and ranking system that Google uses to classify its results feeds on it, and for AI to end with the original content creators, the truth is that there is still a lot.

So no, SEO is not dead nor will it die, it simply evolves.

And it has a lot left!

SEO has changed a lot in recent years (and will change), but behind it hides the same essence: to offer the consumer an answer to their question at the right time and with the precise content.

I think this change will have a lot to do with Artificial Intelligence and what Google has called SGE (Search Generative Experience), which seems to me a trend in itself that I will talk about later.

What to do with SEO in 2024? Work on it as

always, pay close attention to it, and develop a good SEO content strategy.

By the way, Google updated the guidelines on October 13, 2022, and it had been 20 years since they had done so. You can read here the new SEO guidelines from Google.

7. Search Generative Experience on Google

Google SGE is an innovative search tool that uses artificial intelligence to process questions formulated in natural language.

It provides summaries, suggestions, and relevant links. It combines a chatbot with traditional searches, offering answers in a conversational and contextual format.

The tool verifies data through reliable sources and facilitates additional questions to refine the search or, well, at least that’s what it promises.

Unlike traditional search engines, Google SGE delivers direct information, thus influencing local searches, e-commerce, and SEO, and adapting to new modes of interaction and information search.

If SEO is going anywhere, it will be here. Watch out, because it also has a very interesting advertising impact that we have already explained in content dedicated exclusively to this trend.

8. Affiliate Marketing Will Continue to Be a Trend for the Year 2024

Awin report 2022

Affiliate marketing continues to grow because it works. I mentioned it in 2023, but it will happen the same for the year 2024.

In the end, it has many advantages for the advertiser and that will never go out of style.

The advertiser only pays for what they sell (we discussed in the previous point that brands are going to performance).

The brand can achieve a distribution that would otherwise be very costly.

It kills two birds with one stone: it does branding and, in addition, manages to sell.

Affiliate marketing is a multibillion-dollar business that is increasingly weighing more in the budgets of brands, which invest less in brand notoriety and go for the final sale.

9. The Explosion of TikTok for the Year Will There Be TikTok Shop?

@tiktok

The truth is that this social network is quite cool.

Its algorithm manages to capture attention much more than those of Meta, and the content is fresher, more interesting, and fun.

In just 5 years of life, TikTok has positioned itself in the sixth position of social networks with the most active users worldwide. I leave you here the ranking (I took it from here).

USA: 116.5 million

Indonesia: 113 million

Brazil: 84.1 million

Mexico: 62.4 million

Russia: 51.2 million

Vietnam: 50.6 million

Philippines: 41.4 million

Thailand: 41.1 million

Turkey: 31 million

Saudi Arabia: 28.4 million

Its success, in addition to what I have already mentioned, revolves around the evolution of its audience. What started as a social network for Generation Z has become the new network of the moment for all audiences and ages.

It doesn’t matter what category we talk about or what discipline, as it covers practically all of them, although it is true that, as always, entertainment plays another league compared to the rest.

CategoryPopularity by tag searchEntertainment535 billionDance181 billionJoke79 billionFitness / Sports57 billionHome renovation / DIY39 billionBeauty / Skin care33 billionFashion27 billionRecipes / Cooking18 billionLife hacks / Tips13 billionPets10 billionOutdoors2 billionsource: https://www.doofinder.com/es/blog/estadisticas-tiktok

In fact, there is a perception (not a reality or at least not a complete one) that Google is losing users in terms of search. That is, users are leaving Google for TikTok when it comes to asking questions.

You might be interested in: How to do SEO on TikTok?

One of the most important novelties (in Spain) could be TikTok Shop, which is available in other countries and unleashes all the potential that this social network has to sell.

So we will be attentive.

10. Native Ads

It’s not that native ads are new on the Internet, but they will be boosted by the need to reach users within their own contexts.

Additionally, according to a HootSuite report, it is estimated that 37% of users worldwide use some tool to block ads, in Spain, by the way, this figure is at 38%.

Thus, native ads constitute an exceptional alternative to impact consumers. They also have interesting advantages for marketers, they have higher CTRs than other types of formats and always appear contextualized, that is, they are not intrusive.

A clear trend for the next year.

11. Influencer Marketing Will Grow in 2024

Yes, influencers are in luck, as the year 2024 will be a fantastic year for them, they will not lack work.

According to https://www.digitaldoughnut.com/, next year more than 16 trillion dollars will be spent on this type of marketing, and it fits.

Many brands rely on influencer marketing to promote their products, generate brand impact, and gain credibility.

In fact, in recent years, influencer agencies have burst onto the online marketing scene and, of course, they have come to stay.

Even tools have been created that promise to automate processes related to this not so new communication channel, such as, for example, Fuel Your Brands.

However, many question allocating budget to these actions or to this type of channel, since, compared to others, it is clearly a less measurable and efficient channel.

I recommend reading this post by the master Avinash, in which he reflects with data on this channel.

Either way, influencer marketing will continue to grow in the coming years.

12. Gemini, Google’s New Artificial Intelligence

As has been recently commented, Google has launched its new artificial intelligence that promises to revolutionize the world of AI.

In fact, Google Spain’s own Country Manager announced the news on LinkedIn:

This new artificial intelligence promises to be a multimodal language (text, photo, video) with a “capacity not seen until now” and as its CEO says it is thought to improve the world.

If you want to delve deeper into Gemini, I recommend its official website.

13. Blockchain and Its Applications to Marketing

It’s clear that this technology is here to stay.

Currently, it’s on everyone’s lips, but it has existed for many years.

This technology (summarizing a lot) guarantees transactions (money, goods, intangibles) in a secure manner without intermediaries; because the whole process happens in a decentralized way.

This decentralization is precisely what avoids errors and gives it an added layer of security.

Additionally, as it always occurs in the digital environment, logically it has applications in the discipline of marketing, particularly in online marketing.

Some of these applications are:

Improvement of security in Internet payments.
Avoid buying or exchanging counterfeits.
Decentralize advertising markets.
Decentralize moderation in Social Media.
Decentralize search engines.
Real control of consumer data by consumers.

As you can see, there’s a whole path to be explored within marketing.

Phygital Experience

As its name suggests, it’s about the union of the digital world with the physical.

The goal is to create a memorable, different, and enriching customer experience.

This marketing trend is clearly related to virtual reality, the Metaverse, e-commerce, and everything that has to do with the contribution of digital value to the physical and vice versa.

Smart fitting rooms, visits in the Metaverse to a product or service (before hiring it), or RFID technology are a good example of this.

15. Visual Search

Did you know that 90% of the information transmitted to the human brain is through images?

If we add to this fact that the visual search market will reach 56.5 trillion dollars by 2025, it seems interesting to consider it as a marketing trend.

You just need to use Google Lens a couple of times to understand the potential of visual searches. To optimize these searches, it is convenient to pay attention to the following points:

Add photographs to the site’s sitemap.
Logically, that titles and alternative texts are SEO friendly.
That the weight is fully optimized.

16. SEO on TikTok

SEO is not just about Google.

As I mentioned earlier, the social network of the moment also has its own rules to achieve the desired visibility.

You need to know where to place keywords, hashtags, analyze engagement well, and optimize the title of the publications, as Google indexes TikTok.

If you are interested in delving into this marketing trend, I recommend you read SEO on TikTok and set up a good strategy.

17. Content Generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Image generated by DALL-E

The image you see right above this text is an image that has been generated by artificial intelligence.

In fact, we wrote: “A robot on top of a chair with the word SEO in colors.”

Of course, these tools not only exist to generate visual elements but also texts and even music. Regarding written content, the most famous and currently on everyone’s lips is ChatGPT.

Warning to SEOs, Google considers the use of AI applied to content as a punishable practice, so be very careful with the massive generation of content.

In any case, we have already incorporated ChatGPT into the agency’s processes, I recommend you read the post How to improve your website’s SEO with ChatGPT? so you can also integrate it into your day-to-day.

I don’t know what the exact journey and impact that AI will have on marketing and digital marketing, but I’m sure it will not leave us indifferent.

Naturally, this new ecosystem (accessible to everyone) opens an interesting debate regarding original content and, of course, intellectual property rights, since this intelligence feeds, among other things, on what is already created on the Internet in a completely original way.

18. LinkedIn Shifts Towards More Personal Content

You may have noticed that LinkedIn lately mixes a lot of personal with professional.

And it’s happening.

A few years ago, it was unthinkable to see a personal discourse on this social network, it was limited to purely professional matters and reflections.

Perhaps the pandemic, as happened in offline life, has greatly blurred the boundaries between professional and personal, and LinkedIn has taken note of this.

In fact, currently, you can build stories similar to those of Instagram, videos, or make a survey.

Sounds familiar, right?

Its algorithm also rewards this type of content, so if you want to increase your engagement on LinkedIn, consider a new digital marketing strategy based on these new parameters.

19. ChatGPT, Artificial Intelligence, and SEO

The million-dollar question: Will SEO disappear because of these types of tools? Personally, I don’t think so, but SEOs will have to adapt and take advantage of new trends in artificial intelligence to improve our work.

It’s a very interesting topic, and I recommend you read the post ChatGPT and SEO that we have prepared to try to explain what this trend consists of and what it may lead to.

For now, ChatGPT is called to be one of the star tools in 2024, and therefore I must advise you to start exploring its possibilities.

20. Bing and Artificial Intelligence

There are many questions regarding Microsoft’s move with Bing and the incorporation of ChatGPT into its search engine.

There is no doubt that it could constitute a change in the search model we have known until now.

So much so, that Google had to move and advance the release of its artificial intelligence Bard, as they tell in their own statement.

There is something very interesting within that statement that has not gone unnoticed by me, they say textually:

Initially, we will launch it with the reduced LaMDA model. This model —much smaller— has the advantage of requiring much less computing power. With this, it will be able to reach more users, thus allowing more feedback. We will combine this external feedback with our own internal tests to adjust Bard’s responses, so that they offer a high level of quality, safety, and are based on real-world information.
source: google.es

“Information based on the real world”. Currently, ChatGPT does not connect to the Internet, and that is a clear disadvantage compared to a search engine, which is why Microsoft will integrate it into its proposal.

Where will this end? Will it lead to a transfer of users from Google to Microsoft? Will it affect Google’s advertising model?

We will see.

What is certain is that you will have to be very aware of all the news and integrate them into your strategy as a value proposition to be able to compete.

21. CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization)

The cost of acquiring users has skyrocketed by 30% in the last 3 years, making advertising investment increasingly complicated for brands that do not have financial lung.

One way to compete is through the optimization of a website’s conversion rate, that is, through the application of CRO.

As its name suggests, it is about applying techniques through scientific methodologies to increase the conversions of a site (in the video above we explain how we do it at DDigitals).

In 2024, CRO will experience an upward trend and, clearly, will be one of the most profitable strategies for companies that already have notable traffic on their websites.

Basically, the methodology is divided into three phases:

Analysis.
Testing.
Implementation.

If you are interested, I recommend our video on What is CRO and how can it improve my website?.

22. TikTok Keyword Insights

TikTok has released a new toy, its ad keyword analysis tool.

Yes, that’s right, for ads, that is, for paid content (although logically it will help a lot with organic positioning on TikTok).

It is a tool with great segmentation power with which to analyze the competition and understand consumer behavior based on different factors, such as popularity.

We have prepared exclusive content

for the TikTok keyword analysis tool that we hope will be very interesting to you.

23. More Branded Entertainment and New Creative Formats

You know that user attention is inversely proportional to the advertising saturation that exists in the market.

For this reason, it’s time to be creative and look for new formats and channels to impact the audience.

Branded entertainment is not a new discipline (not by a long shot); but it has evolved faster since the pandemic.

When a brand creates products based on the search to entertain the user, we are facing a case of branded entertainment, not to be confused, please, with product placement.

Nothing to do with it.

In that sense, a brand can create movies, documentaries, books, videos, and everything that is susceptible to entertaining its audience.

Some examples: Lego: The Movie or the Dove brand’s storytelling based on the “real beauty” discourse.

Something that could also fit here, although I’m not very sure, could be the 4-hour video that the Nissan brand has developed to promote Ariya.

24. Sustainability Marketing and Its Impact on Brands

In 2024, sustainability marketing is shaping up as a key trend.

This approach emphasizes business practices and marketing strategies that are environmentally responsible and socially conscious.

It focuses on creating a genuine connection with consumers concerned about the ecological and social impact of their purchases.

Brands that adopt this trend not only improve their public image but also attract a growing market that values environmental and social responsibility.

This approach requires transparency, authenticity, and a real commitment to sustainable practices in all company operations.

This concept hooks up with purpose-driven marketing, which is about making the world a better place and ensuring that the actions applied are sustainable.

I recommend you read our post, What is purpose-driven marketing? To expand more information.

25. Miravia as an Alternative to Amazon, Selling on Miravia Seller

Marketplaces are fantastic places to sell.

Amazon is saturated, and it’s always good to have alternatives to manage an e-commerce.

Selling on Miravia is something that will become a marketing trend for the coming years, as interest in the marketplace continues to grow.

For now, it is limited regarding promotion options, however, it is a channel that is estimated to grow in the future.

We have written content dedicated to Miravia Seller, in case it is of your interest.

26. NFT Marketing

NFT marketing (Non-Fungible Token) emerges as a revolutionary trend.

This strategy uses NFTs to create unique and personalized marketing campaigns.

Brands can offer exclusive experiences, digital products, or access to special events through NFTs.

This approach not only attracts a technologically advanced and cryptocurrency enthusiast audience but also allows for unparalleled authenticity and traceability is, in the end, a branch of blockchain marketing.

Companies venturing into NFT marketing can strengthen their digital presence and create a deeper and more meaningful connection with their audience.

In the end, it’s about putting NFT at the center and working with classic channels like email, influencers, content generation, or social media.

I found this guide on NFT marketing very interesting, and I think it is and will be a clear trend for the next year.

It is now available in our country, the new social network with which Meta wants to compete with X (old Twitter).

It is a microblogging network that has a native link with Instagram and that, in principle, allows the user to delve deeper into a specific topic of interest.

For now, Threads does not have advertising nor is it expected, the CEO of Meta said he first wanted to reach 100 million users.

Undoubtedly, a trend (we will see if it will perish or not) for the year 2024.

Google Consent Mode version 2 (v2) is an update of Google’s technology designed to help website owners manage how user data is collected and used in relation to cookies and other forms of local storage in the browser, especially in the context of compliance with privacy regulations such as the GDPR in Europe and similar laws in different parts of the world.

The original version of Google Consent Mode introduced a way for websites to adjust the behavior of Google tracking tools (such as Google Analytics and Google Ads) based on the user’s consent status for the use of cookies and data.

This allowed websites to continue collecting certain important data for analysis and ad optimization without infringing on users’ privacy preferences.

Version 2 of Google Consent Mode takes this a step further, offering improvements and new functionalities that allow for even more refined and flexible management of consent and data collection. Some of the features and improvements may include:

Improvements in consent accuracy: provides a more detailed and precise way for websites to configure how cookies and other data should be handled based on user consent, allowing for more granular customization.
Enhanced integration with the Google ecosystem: facilitates a smoother integration with other Google tools and platforms, ensuring that consent management is consistent across all Google services used by a website.
Expanded support for cookie-less measurement: introduces or improves techniques for collecting analytics and ad performance data without relying on cookies, which is crucial as the industry moves towards a cookie-less future.
Flexibility and control for website owners: offers website owners more options and controls over how data is collected and used, helping them comply with privacy regulations without sacrificing the ability to measure their site’s performance and their advertising campaigns.
Improvements in the user interface and developer experience: may include improved tools and documentation to facilitate the implementation and management of Consent Mode by developers and website owners.

It is important to note that Google Consent Mode v2 continues to be a tool to help websites navigate the complex landscape of data privacy, and its implementation should be considered as part of a broader privacy compliance strategy.

Regarding Google consent mode, we have written specific content on this topic, What is Google Consent Mode V2? in which we talk about what it is and how to implement it with Google Tag Manager and what its impact on Adwords is.