Looking towards 2025: What has changed in the world of digital marketing so far in 2024?

The digital marketing landscape is forever changing. It may be a tired cliche, but if you are standing still, you are being left behind. Before looking at what to expect in 2025, here is a quick round up of the major digital marketing changes and trends that have been prevalent so far in 2024.

A move towards a cookieless future

Cookies have always been a source of contention for some internet users. The purpose of cookies is to provide invaluable information to marketing teams keen to understand the behaviours of their website visitors. However, some users find this tracking a violation of their privacy as cookies can also be used for unwanted surveillance.

Google has been actively working to remove cookies since 2019 as part of their Privacy Sandbox initiative, with a key goal being to remove third-party cookies. Early on in 2024, Google began the roll out of Tracking Protection, a new feature that sought to limit cross-site tracking of third-party cookies.

However, in July 2024, Google announced that "instead of deprecating third-party cookies, we (Google) would introduce a new experience in Chrome that lets people make an informed choice that applies across their web browsing".

Whilst third-party cookies might be staying around for the foreseeable future, we encourage marketers to future proof their analytics by exploring first-party data collection. Within the Concrete CMS websites we build is a built-in analytics centre that remains compliant with all stringent data privacy guidelines, whilst also providing marketers with the insights they need to plan and analyse their web content.

Remaining compliant with cookie regulations isn’t just a best practice, it is the law. The ICO provides detailed guidelines on the use of cookies for organisations . The basic rules regarding cookies are covered in regulation 6, stating that you must:

• Tell people the cookies are there
• Explain what the cookies are doing and why
• Get the person’s consent to store a cookie on their device

For further information regarding cookie compliance, please visit the ICO.

Google algorithm updates

Sticking with Google, the search engine giant introduced a significant update in March 2024 that aimed to tackle the prevalent issue of search engine spam. This rollout targeted three malicious blackhat SEO tactics, these being:

• Exploitation of expired domains
• Scaled content spamming
• Abusing site reputation

Scaled content refers to the generation of a large volume of pages for the primary purpose of manipulating search rankings, rather than providing helpful information to users. Scraped content pulled together by copying and republishing content from other sites is a primary example of this practice, even if citing the original source as this is deemed to not provide added value.

Keeping up with the regular Google Search updates is hard enough for professional SEOs, let alone business owners trying to DIY. If your site has unexpectedly taken a hit in terms of traffic, chances are it may have been hit by an update to the google algorithms. If you believe this to be the case, book a call with one of our SEO experts who may be able to help diagnose the issue and get your website traffic back on track.

Accessibility Guidelines

The European Accessibility Act and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2 updates were introduced in 2024. Both updates sought to set the standards for digital content accessibility. Ensuring your website is accessible isn’t just about staying compliant, it is about making sure everyone can access and enjoy your website.

The EEA, whilst introduced in 2024, will be enforced from June 2025. The guidelines set out the regulations that must be met, and applies to a broad range of digital content including:

• E-Commerce stores that sell to anyone within the EU
• Hardware and software products introduced after June 2025
• Devices such as computers, phones and e-readers
• Whole industries such as banking, telecommunications and transport
• Electronic communication and media services

Penalties for non-compliance include financial and legal damages. We’ve previously put together a guide to the five best web accessibility tools that can help you to stay compliant and widen your audience base.

Trends to look out for

Generative AI

ChatGPT and similar AI tools have transformed digital marketing. Whilst most marketers have realised that using ChatGPT to generate articles isn’t the way forward, it is still a vital tool for many tasks ranging from content planning through to code debugging.  Google itself has introduced an experimental Search Generative Experience, which uses generative AI to provide answers to queries. This has provided a new challenge for digital marketers who have to prioritise a focus on how to get AI tools to recommend their content, as opposed to conventional keyword rankings techniques.

User-generated content

In response to generative AI has been a resurgence in the importance of user-generated content across your digital marketing channels. E-Commerce brands are sharing video reviews from happy customers, charity websites are prominently displaying personal stories and experiences and many other industries are using UGC to gain online traction in search results and social media.

Further personalisation

Consumers in certain industries are starting to expect a tailored online experience, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach to marketing and website building. Whether this be through personalised product recommendations, email journeys triggered by online activity or incorporation of custom chatbots to offer round-the-clock customer support, adding personalisation into your marketing can help to boost conversion rates and customer loyalty.
 

Future-proof your marketing

Staying on top of the latest marketing developments can be a gruelling task, but failing to do so could leave you behind, or even worse knock you backwards in your marketing. Luckily, we stay on top of trends so you don’t have to. We offer a free consultation service with one of our team, who will happily help you to understand the opportunities and threats that your marketing might face.