Are you interested in the state of digital marketing in 2021? Then look no further.
We’ve curated and categorized a list of the most up-to-date digital marketing statistics you’ll find anywhere online. You can use these statistics to inform where and how you spend marketing dollars.
You can use the links below to jump to a specific category of statistics:
Content Marketing Stats
Content plays a key role in the success of digital marketing. These content marketing statistics show what works now with content marketing.
Takeaway:
Content marketing is, and will continue to be, a major driver of leads and sales for online businesses. Most B2C and B2B companies are actively investing in content , and will continue to invest more in the future.
As the buyer becomes more empowered to research online and make informed buying decisions before ever speaking to sales reps, all companies need to think strategically about the types of content they are using to target each stage of the buyer journey. This isn’t just restricted to topical selection, but also the formats – videos, whitepapers etc.
Finally, with so much content being published across different channels, it’s critical that companies consider other secondary factors outside of traffic, leads and sales. For example, more attention needs to be given to brand and , as this could be a differentiator in a red ocean of content.
Creative Marketing Statistics
From branding strategies, to creative hiring and compliance, to new and fresh ideas for engaging your audience, here’s what to pay attention to.
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Takeaway:
Copy is no longer enough. Agencies and brands need to leverage visual assets and creative marketing strategies in order to stand out from the competition. However, creative assets often require more resources, from planning and creation to review and approvals.
This review and approval process becomes a bottleneck for many agencies and brands. As a result, it’s important that businesses are investing in technologies such as to help streamline the intake and review and approval process. This will help ensure shorter time-to-market, less edits, and the elimination of potential compliance risks.
Despite the need for better content workflows, marketing leaders still use inefficient methods: ():
The fact that so many companies are still using PDF markups and email to manage the review and approval process shows that there is ample opportunity to streamline and improve creative content operations, and the companies that do so will create a competitive advantage in this area.
Video Marketing Statistics
With video becoming more and more popular, it’s important to pay attention to the right video marketing statistics to learn how to better use this content type to reach, inform, and nurture your audience.
Takeaway:
If you’re still not using video as a marketing tool, you’re missing out on the opportunity to increase user understanding of your products which makes for more sales. With an already available audience for you to tap into, YouTube is a great place to .
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Statistics
When done right, search engine optimization (SEO) is a strategic investment that delivers passive compounding results – rankings, traffic, leads and sales – for years to come. Here’s what you should know about SEO in 2021:
Takeaway:
Search engine optimization is an important acquisition channel for most businesses. Failing to rank on the first page of Google means that you are losing a lot of potential customers to the competition. Therefore, its critical that your business invests in a well-rounded SEO strategy that factors in keywords, content type and quality, links, engagement, and cross-device user experience.
It’s also important to keep in mind that SEO should be seen as a longer term investment, with meaningful results sometimes taking a year or more to show, especially for newer sites with no established content footprint.
Email Marketing Statistics
Email marketing remains one of the highest ROI marketing channels. These email marketing statistics show how businesses are using email to drive results.
Takeaway:
Email marketing is one of the most effective channels for lead nurturing, customer acquisition and retention. Failing to incorporate this channel into your digital marketing mix is a missed opportunity for most businesses.
Before you send that broadcast, be sure to segment your list and personalize the messaging to your subscriber. If you don’t already have a welcome or thank you email series setup, now is the time to do it. Don’t forget to optimize for mobile and test for deliverability before you hit send.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Statistics
While SEO involves getting more qualified organic traffic to your website, SEM involves paid search marketing tactics, such as Google and Bing Ads.
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Takeaway:
Since most consumers and businesses research a product or service on a search engine before making a purchase, you should consider investing in paid search ads as a viable acquisition channel.
While Google has most of the market share, also consider other ad networks that are crawling with your target audience, such as Bing and Amazon. And, considering that over half of all paid traffic now comes through mobile devices, pay close attention to the landing page experience (make sure it is responsive), and ensure the call-to-action is properly aligned. i.e. Does a phone call vs form fill CTA make more sense for mobile users?
Conversion Rate Optimization Statistics
Driving traffic is just the first step in the digital marketing equation. The next step is to get this traffic to take action. Here are some of our favorite conversion rate optimization stats this year.
Takeaway:
While conversion rate optimization provides an opportunity to get more value from the traffic you are already receiving, only a small number of companies are investing time and money into it. Before you start creating more content and buying more ads, look at your existing digital marketing assets – landing pages, CTAs etc – and see if there are opportunities to get some quick wins.
Page speed, excessive form fields, hidden costs, and requesting sensitive data like age can have negative impacts on conversion rate. Abandoned cart recovery and automated welcome emails are good strategies to have in your arsenal.
Social Media Marketing Statistics
Despite the fact that search engines deliver better leads, the role of social media cannot be ignored.
Takeaway:
While Facebook will most likely deliver the biggest reach thanks to their massive audience, don’t discount the effect investing in other social media platforms can bring. For example, Instagram is said to yield the best ROI for marketers, and LinkedIn provides great organic reach, especially for video content and B2B audiences.
Mobile Marketing Statistics
Mobile traffic has now surpassed desktop, and it’s not going to slow down. These marketing stats show us what to expect with mobile marketing.
Takeaway:
Mobile device targeting and user experience should be a core focus of any digital marketing strategy. This includes everything from ad targeting and creative assets to website UX and landing page optimization. Not optimizing for the mobile user is akin to neglecting around 50% of your potential customer base.
eCommerce Marketing Statistics
If you have an online store or are planning on creating one, you’ll find these eCommerce marketing statistics useful for improving sales:
Takeaway:
Most companies are losing a lot of customers at checkout. To reduce abandonment, keep costs like shipping and taxes transparent from the start, allow guest checkout, and implement search and easy navigation (Amazon’s key strength) on your store.
B2B Marketing Statistics
What works for business-to-business marketing can differ for business-to-consumer.
Takeaway:
The B2B buyer journey is complex; made up of multiple touchpoints and decision makers.
B2B companies need to create numerous content assets to accommodate each stage of the funnel. This content should be repurposed into different formats suitable for key channels such as LinkedIn and YouTube. This will require a lot of time and resources to execute properly, so consider outsourcing part or all of the content creation and distribution.
Marketing Automation Statistics
Automation has become one of the most important aspects of digital marketing and for good reason. It can help deliver better personalization and minimize low-value overhead. Here are the newest marketing automation stats to guide your decisions.
Takeaway:
It’s become essential for modern marketers to invest in marketing automation technologies. Companies that do so will be able to save time, better optimize ad spend in real-time, scale campaigns, and more accurately measure success across multi-channel campaigns.
Final Thoughts
These new digital marketing statistics should guide you to decisions that drive results for your business. Whether it’s in Content marketing, Video, SEO, SEM, Email, or even , use this new data to shape your digital marketing strategy into 2021 and beyond.
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