A Look at the History of Digital Marketing

When you think about the world of promotion, the digital era has perhaps been the most transformative time in its overarching history. While the world used to run off billboards, radio promotions and TV spots, things have changed significantly. Yes, those things are still relevant, but with some studies estimating that adults spend more than three-quarters of their waking life online, digital screens are the new crusade. Looking at the history of digital marketing is a fascinating way to determine how we landed in our present.

This blog will explore how the Mad Men days of old have evolved into the work of the modern digital marketing agency, hitting the most important stops along the way.

The foundations of digital marketing, 1970-1991

The first step of what would become digital marketing came in 1971, with Ray Tomlinson sending the first email, something that we now know clogs our inboxes from companies long since unsubscribed to. What followed moved fast:. 

1970s-1980s. In this decade, companies started building customer databases, allowing for more segmented and personalised direct marketing campaigns. Then came platforms like CompuServe, which offered basic online adverts like static banners and board posts. 

1990-1991. This is when the term digital marketing was coined, with the commercial ban on internet use lifted, opening a world of digital business.

The dawn of the internet, 1991-early 2000s

In 1994, everything changed, with the first clickable banner ad sold to AT&T, with a 44% click-through rate, unheard of in today’s landscape. This year also saw the introduction of Yahoo as a web directory. The existence of search engines was followed by the early stages of SEO, with companies learning to optimise their results for search terms. 

1998-2000. Google was founded. This changed search forever, emphasising relevance and quality rather, setting the foundation for content as we know it today. This was quickly followed by the first keyword auctions, with businesses bidding on keywords to rank on search engines. This was also the first introduction to Google AdWords, which we now know as Google Ads.

2000-2002. The Dot-Com Bubble Burst, with many low-rent internet companies falling under, cleared the way for better business models. 

The early stages of social media, mid-200s to early 2010s

In 2002, LinkedIn was launched, providing new avenues for B2B marketing and recruitment. This set the tone for many other platforms. 

• 2003 ushered in MySpace and WordPress
• 2004 saw Facebook’s initial launch
• 2005 was the birth of YouTube and Google Analytics
• 2006 introduced the world the Twitter
• 2007 was the iPhone’s inaugural year, and the era of the smartphone began
• 2007 was also the start of marketing automation for emails and social posts
• 2010, the start of Google real-time search results and mobile domination
• 2011 saw Google penalising low-quality SEO

As you can see, the 21st century was defined by an ever-increasing speed of evolution.

The era of data and personalisation, 2010s-early 2020s

As the 2010s started  to move forward, Google began to take SEO content ever more seriously, targeting manipulative link-building and increasing the need for quality content. 2012 also saw mobile internet use surpass desktop for the first time, denoting the importance of mobile-first designs and responsiveness. 

2013. This was the year that digital marketing experts started taking data a lot more seriously, with cookies and other collection methods used to create hyper-personalised marketing campaigns. 

2015-2020. This was the birth of influencer marketing, with social media users leveraging their audiences to market goods and services. This was compounded by the increased uptake in live streaming, capped by the introduction of TikTok in 2017. As time moved on, these channels only became more and more relevant.

The era of AI and immersion, 2020s-present

And here we are. Channels of digital marketing have changed significantly throughout the history of the medium, with the world landing in a place where content production and influencer campaigns are the norm. What are the 2020s showing us so far? Digital marketing channels overhauled with the introduction of AI, increased immersion and further personalisation. Things that we’re seeing in droves include: 

• Hyper-segmentation for content delivery
• Predictive analytics of customer behaviour and market trends
• Chatbots and conversational AI
• Automated content creation and delivery
• AI-optimised ad campaigns (bidding and budget allocation)
• Voice search optimisation
• AR and VR experiences
• Working around a data privacy focus
• Seamless cross-platform and device use
• Ever-expanding social platform features

The history of digital marketing has led us to a place far from banner ads and early-stage click-throughs. Being dynamic has never been more important, which defines everything we do at Digital Next. We keep our ear to the ground as a digital marketing company, constantly striving to be a step ahead of trends. If you’re interested in learning more about our approach to performance digital marketing, get in touch with us today – let’s figure out how to achieve your goals together.