The phrase “Digital Marketing” was first used in the 90s. The digital era began with the introduction of the internet and the creation of the Web 1.0 platform, which enabled users to find information but did not allow them to share it with others. Marketers across the globe were still apprehensive about the digital platform up until that point, unsure whether their strategies would succeed without the internet being globally distributed.
October 27, 1994, marked the beginning of the digital age of marketing when the first clickable banner appeared on Wired Magazine’s website, HotWired.
Online Marketing for Sydney Based businesses offers a fantastic opportunity to generate leads, build a loyal customer base and close more sales. But how much do you know about the evolution of digital marketing and the key turning points in history that turned it into the prosperous industry it has become today.
The Introduction Of Search Engines
Although the World Wide Web was founded in 1991, it was not very widely used until the first popular browser Netscape was released in 1994. As the 90s progressed and throughout the early 2000s, the internet gained popularity and the search engine Google also appeared on the scene.
Search engines function by indexing web pages and storing them for retrieval according to keywords entered into search bars. This gave rise to Search Engine Marketing (SEM), which is the practice of promoting blogs and websites by increasing their visibility through Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and paid advertising strategies.
The Dawn Of The Social Media Era
Facebook was founded in 2004 and had one million users by the end of the year. It established its first self-service advertising platform, as well as business page functionality in 2007, increasing its total ad income to $700 million in the same year.
Very soon, other social platforms appeared and evolved. This gave businesses the unique opportunity to reach global audiences where they were/ By utilising paid ad campaigns targeted towards general or more specific audiences, businesses were given the opportunity to connect with their audiences based on their interests and not only their intended searches.
As the years progressed, brands began collaborating with influencers and leveraging social platforms in creative and innovative ways. Today social media marketing became an industry all on its own, offering new career opportunities that were previously non-existent.
The Influence OF Smartphone Technology
Cell phones first arrived in the 1970s and continued to advance throughout the twentieth century and beyond. The BlackBerry is widely regarded as the first venture into the smartphone technology accessible for all. The innovation enabled users mobile access to email for the first time. Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007 and brought with it the dawn of the smartphone era.
Marketers saw this new trend as an opportunity to target their prospects and consumers more accurately, directly and for longer periods of time. With the smartphones came a surge in social media usage, which opened vast untapped marketing opportunities,
Mobile-First Marketing
In 2015 Google announced its Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) project, which made it necessary to focus on SEO optimisation for mobile websites sites. As a result, websites became more optimised towards faster loading times and a seamless User Experience (UX) on a mobile platform.
Mobile traffic accounts for over half of all online traffic globally. Mobile devices (excluding tablets) contributed 54.4 %of worldwide website traffic in the fourth quarter of 2021 (Statistica). The numbers remained constantly floating around the 50 % mark since the beginning of 2017, finally surpassing it in 2020 with a new surgeon online traffic brought on by social distancing.
With these numbers combined with the introduction of Google’s AMP project, it is vital for brands to ensure their digital marketing efforts are available on larger screens without a noticeable difference in performance on mobile devices.
Today digital marketing is one of the most important ways for businesses to connect with an audience on their terms. Sites optimised for mobile use rank higher on search engines, and Google has strict policies on ethical SEO practices that websites must adhere to.
Online Marketing Specialists
At One Stop Digital, We specialise in all areas of Search Engine Marketing with proven and innovative Digital Marketing Strategies.
Our professionals take the necessary steps to optimise your website and advertising campaigns. Keeping up with best practices for a strong presence in online marketing for Sydney Based businesses in this fast-evolving industry may be a time-consuming and complex process. But the professionals at One-stop Digital have spent time honing our skills, so you don’t have to. Spend more time building your business, and let us handle the digital marketing side. Get in touch today.
