Digital marketing changes constantly, so marketers must keep up with the latest consumer trends, marketing channels, digital tactics, and more.

Keeping up can sometimes be difficult, but we have you covered! Here are the biggest digital marketing challenges we anticipate in 2023 and strategies and tactics for meeting them.

1. Complying with Data and Privacy Restrictions

Digital advertisers currently rely heavily on third-party cookies to track users and effectively target ads. Most browsers will soon end support for third-party cookies. But an end to third party cookies doesn’t mean an end to targeted advertising.

Consider these alternative ways of targeting ads in 2023:

• Contextual Marketing delivers display ads that match the content a user is viewing, based on content, keywords, and topics on the page.
• Intent-Based Marketing applies to search advertising. This approach matches ads to searches, instead of obtaining possibly irrelevant data from third-party cookies. Delivered ads relate directly to what the user seeks in the market.
• Google’s Performance Max Campaigns utilize Google Ads machine learning across channels, creative, audiences, attribution, and more.

2. Staying Current with Google’s Algorithms

Google’s ever-evolving search algorithm and changes by other marketing channels have always challenged marketers. So far in 2022, we’ve adjusted to seven announced algorithm updates, and we’re sure to see as many, if not more, in 2023. Google never tires in its quest to make search results ever more relevant, helpful and personalized.

What are the biggest trends resulting from these updates?

In 2022, Google addressed everything from page experience and UX to product reviews and helpful content. No one can be sure what Google will do next, but we do know that user experience, rich content and product reviews will remain at the forefront of what Google values in websites. In 2023, it will be critical to focus on creating content that aligns with the needs and wants of your customers throughout their buying journey and to optimize that content for the search algorithms.

3. Adopting a Data-Driven Marketing Strategy

With a possible recession looming, many marketers worry about potential budget cuts in the coming months. Combat those cuts by proving the results of your marketing campaigns through solid data.

Sustainable and successful marketing campaigns are based on data. A big change is imminent in the way we gather, interpret and present data. Google will end its venerable Universal Analytics in 2023 and shift  reporting to GA4. This dramatic move in website analytics will eventually be a blessing, but GA4 is complex. It could leave many marketers without a good way to measure success of their efforts as they struggle with the learning curve. This will be even more difficult, given the new quotas placed on accessing GA4 data and presenting it in data visualization reports.

So, it’s important to start your GA4 transition now if you haven’t already. Talk to a GA4 expert who can help you plan for your 2023 data and reporting needs. Get started at our GA4 Hub, where you can find out more about the new way of reporting and how you can get the most out of your data.

4. Creating Engaging Content

With so much content already at our fingertips, it can be difficult for marketers to imagine what to add in 2023. How can you make sure that the content you create engages with your audiences and prompts them to interact more frequently and deeply with your business?

Creating content just for the sake of creating content might keep you busy, but it won’t lead to success. Neither will chasing the latest social fad – TikTok is hot right now, but that doesn’t make it the right platform for your business – unless, of course, it is the right platform. How can you know?

To identify the right content and the right distribution channel for that content, you must first understand who you’re trying to reach. This is especially critical in the digital marketing realm, in which targeting is so specific.

Digital personas provide insight into the types of messaging that work best on each potential digital channel. They guide fine tuning of your digital marketing and website strategies to align them to the needs of your target audiences. Once you know your audience, you can craft the message, target it effectively and measure your results.

5. Acquiring Talented Marketing Team Members

Finding and retaining marketing professionals has been a big challenge in 2022 and will trouble us again in 2023. Demand for talent has risen in tandem with the growth of digital marketing. Small and mid-sized businesses typically seek unicorns with impossibly wide skill sets, while large firms tend toward talent with narrower but deeper skills. Either way, talent is hard to find.

Outsourcing, more and more, is becoming a viable option for many of the more technical digital marketing tasks, such as SEO, analytics and digital advertising. A close partnership with a digital agency can fill gaps in your marketing team’s abilities and keep that ROI demonstrably high during the coming year. There’s no need to run the 2023 marketing marathon alone!

If you’re looking for a digital BFF to help guide your digital marketing efforts or supplement your team in the new year and beyond, don’t hesitate to reach out!  

In 2023, it will be critical to focus on creating content that aligns with your customers' needs and wants throughout their buying journey and to optimize that content for search algorithms. https://nwsdigital.me/3HDmVxL @northwoods #digitalmarketing #digitalstrategy