Definition of digital marketing:
Digital marketing is the promotion and selling of products or services using digital technologies, primarily through the internet. This includess utilizing online channels like websites, search engines, social media, email, and mobile apps to reach and engage wiith customers.
Basically… What Is It?
So, exactly what is digital marketing? Simply put, it’s just marketing, but on the internet. That’s it.
Like when your mom sees an ad for an air fryer on Facebook and buys it? That’s online marketing in action. When you search “best headphones 2026” and click on the first result? Someone planned for that to happen as part of a digital marketing strategy.
In other words, it’s basically any way a business tries to reach people through digital channels — websites, social media, email, Google, apps, all that stuff.
Back in the day, companies would put up billboards and run TV commercials and just hope for the best. Now, they can actually see who’s clicking what and how many people bought something because of an ad. It’s way more trackable which is why everyone went crazy over it.
The Main Types of Digital Marketing (There’s a lot, honestly)
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
This stands for Search Engine Optimization. Basically, making your website show up higher on Google without paying for it. It’s free but it takes forever. Like, months. Sometimes longer. I’ve seen people wait a year to see real results. Most businesses can’t wait that long honestly.
PPC (Pay-Per-Click Advertising)
The opposite of SEO basically. You pay Google or Facebook and your ad shows up immediately to your target audience. You pay every time someone clicks. It works fast but it costs money. Like, real money. I know a guy who burnt through $5,000 in two days because he didn’t set his digital advertising budget right, so yeah be careful with this one.
Social Media Marketing
Posting on Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn whatever. Everyone thinks this is just “making pretty posts” but social media marketing is actually way more than that. There’s strategy behind when you post, what you post, and who you’re targeting. It’s not just throwing stuff at the wall.
Email Marketing
Yeah I know everyone hates marketing emails. But guess what? It still works. Like really well actually. Some studies show email marketing has the highest ROI out of everything. I unsubscribed from like 30 newsletters last month but the ones I stayed on? I actually buy stuff from them sometimes. So there’s that.
Content Marketing
Writing blogs, making videos, podcasts. Basically creating stuff that people actually want to read or watch. This one takes the longest to see results from but it builds trust over time. The blog you’re reading right now? Technically content marketing lol.
Why is Digital Marketing Important?
Okay so here’s the thing. People spend a STUPID amount of time online. Like the average person spends around 7 hours a day on their phone or something ridiculous like that. So if your business isn’t showing up where people are spending their time… where are you showing up?
Also, digital marketing is way cheaper than traditional marketing. A small business can’t afford a billboard in Times Square, but they can absolutely run a $20-a-day digital advertising campaign and reach thousands of people in their exact target area. That’s kind of insane when you think about it.
The Thing Most People Get Wrong
I see this all the time. People think online marketing is like a magic button. You set up some ads and money just starts flowing in. That’s not how it works at all. Like not even close.
You have to understand your audience. You have to know what they want. You have to test things. A lot of things will fail. Like seriously most of your first attempts will probably not work. And that’s normal. The businesses that succeed are the ones that keep trying and tweaking their digital marketing strategy.
I remember when I first started running Facebook ads for a client. I was SO confident it was gonna crush. Spent two weeks setting everything up perfectly. Launched it and… nothing. Like $300 gone and maybe 2 leads. I wanted to quit. But I kept adjusting and eventually it started working. Took like 3 weeks of testing. Nobody talks about that part.
Do you need to do ALL of it?
No. Please don’t.
I see small businesses try to do SEO, PPC, email, social media, and content all at once, and they end up doing none of it well. It’s better to pick one or two digital channels and actually commit to them.
- If you sell B2B software? Probably focus on LinkedIn and Google Ads.
- If you sell clothes? Instagram and TikTok make more sense.
- If you’re a local restaurant? Google Business Profile and local Facebook ads.
Quick summary i guess
- What is digital marketing? It = marketing on the internet.erything at once.
- There’s lots of types (SEO, PPC, Social, Email, Content).
- It works better than traditional marketing for most small businesses.
- It’s not a magic button it takes time and testing.
- Don’t try to do everything at once.
That’s pretty much it. I could go way deeper on each of these but this is already getting long and honestly, I need to go make dinner. If you have questions about any of this stuff feel free to leave a comment or whatever.
Also, if anyone knows how to explain digital marketing to your uncle at a party in under 30 seconds PLEASE tell me, because I still haven’t figured that out..
[Leave a comment below if you agree, or tell me what digital marketing channel you’re struggling with right now!]
