The term digital marketing was first used in the 1990s, when the digital era took off with the arrival of the Internet and the development of the Web 1.0 platform. This platform allowed users to find the information they wanted, but did not allow them to share this information over the web. Marketers used early SEO techniques such as keyword stuffing, over-tagging, and backlinks to generate high rankings. One successful company at the time, recognized for its aggressive marketing tactics, was Razorfish.
In 1991, Computer Literacy, a Silicon Valley bookstore, began selling books to local consumers over the Internet. Amazon quickly adopted the idea in 1995, with the slight change that they would sell books to people anywhere in the country, which would help create a modern e-commerce. With the launch of the first web browsers in the early 90s, personal use of the Internet skyrocketed. The sellers came in from the beginning.
Marketing automation helped companies segment customers, launch multi-channel marketing campaigns, and provide personalized information to customers. The progress of technology combined with the globalization of trade has led to the rise of digital marketing, or the practice of attracting consumers through a series of electronic platforms. The increase in mobile usage, as well as the AMP initiative, have made it essential to ensure that marketing campaigns are not only accessible on larger devices, but can also be viewed without noticeable visual or performance differences on smaller screens. Today, smartphones have surpassed personal computers as the main digital device for connecting online with daily time U.
The next big step in the evolution of digital marketing took shape at the beginning of the century with the popularization of social networks. This also allowed companies to create better business impact models to accurately measure marketing performance. Despite this, when marketers were asked about their roles within 30 years, 68% in the US and 61 per cent in the UK believe that their current digital function will definitely or probably continue to exist in its current form. Digital Marketing Activity Continues to Grow Worldwide According to Leading Global Marketing Index.
It is clear that digital marketing, technologies and the Internet have come a long way since 1990 and will continue to evolve every day with the rise of machine learning, automation, artificial intelligence and conversational marketing, to name just a few strategies.
