6 Top Digital Marketing Mistakes – And Their Solutions

You're pouring your heart into your business, working tirelessly, but your digital marketing feels like a black hole, right?

You're posting, you're trying, but… nothing.

What if you could pinpoint the exact reasons your online efforts are falling flat and get simple, actionable fixes that could bring in more customers by next week? No more wasted time, no more wasted money. Just clear steps to get real results.

Many business owners make common digital marketing mistakes without even realizing it. These aren't just minor hiccups; they’re credibility crushers, customer repellents, and serious money pits.

Imagine finally understanding why your amazing website isn’t bringing in leads, or why your social media posts feel like they’re shouting into the void. It’s frustrating, and it can truly sabotage your growth. But here’s the good news: once you know these mistakes, fixing them is much simpler than you think.

Let's dive into the six most common digital marketing mistakes and how you can fix them.

The Problem:

No Clear Direction

You're trying to reach customers, but do you truly know who they are?

What are their hopes, their challenges, and their needs?

How much do they know about your product or service?

Are they experienced or novices?

Without understanding your ideal customer, you’re just guessing.

For example, if you're creating content about repairing holes in a wall, knowing if your audience is a complete newbie or somewhat familiar with home repairs dictates how or even if you explain terms like "sheetrock" or "drywall."

If your content starts with no definitions for industry terms for a novice, you’ll lose them immediately. Conversely, for someone already familiar with home repairs, defining those terms would be overkill, and your content would fall flat. Knowing who you are talking to and their understanding of the topic is essential.

No Plan: 

You’re running campaigns without clear goals. It’s like hopping in a car and driving without a destination – you’ll get somewhere, but probably not where you want to be.

Missing the Customer Journey:

You’re hoping customers will magically find you and buy from you. That’s NOT marketing; that’s “wizardry”! 

You must understand how a customer goes from learning about you to becoming a loyal fan.

Very few customers see an ad and then buy from one interaction; most customers need 5-15 interactions with your brand before they buy.

Where are these interactions happening?

Where do they hang out online?

Are they searching on YouTube for answers?

Or reading forum posts on Quora or Reddit?

The Fix:

Define Your Dream Customer

Create a simple profile of your ideal customer. What are their demographics (married/single, kids/no kids, household income, education)? What problems do they need solved? What do they need to hear to become a customer? What sorts of things are deal killers?

Set Clear, Realistic Goals

What do you want each marketing action to achieve? More website visits? More sign-ups? More sales? Be clear about the goal.

Map Their Journey

Think about every step a customer takes. How do they first hear about you? What information do they need before they’re ready to buy? What things are deal killers? This helps you know when and how to connect with them.

The Problem:

Not Mobile-Friendly:

Most people are on their phones constantly. If your website looks terrible or doesn’t work well on a phone, you're pushing potential customers away.

Slow and Hidden:

Does your website take forever to load? Are search engines struggling to "read" it? Technical issues like slow loading speeds or confusing site structure can hide your business from people searching online. Almost all the websites I look at initially have images that are way too big – are yours? You should be able to reduce images size to under 50kb if not smaller. (read my related posts for a deeper dive on improving mobile site speed and how to optimize images for SEO). You can see how your site speed is doing from Google's perspective with its free tool, page speed insights. 

No Internal GPS:

If your website content isn't interlinked (related post on internal linking strategies), search engines can miss your quality content, and your visitors might miss out on valuable information you’ve already created. Make sure you are internally linking to other pages and posts in a strategic way. Internal linking is an essential SEO tactic, and it helps your customers, too.

The Fix:

Go Mobile First:

Make sure your website looks and works great on all devices, especially phones. You can use free online tools to check this.

Speed Up Your Site:

Ask your web developer to ensure your site loads quickly. This isn't just good for search engines; it’s great for your customers! 

Connect Your Content:

Link related pages and blog posts on your website. It’s like creating a helpful roadmap for both visitors and search engines. This essential SEO tactic can have a massive impact on your website’s SEO. 

The Problem:

Boring or Salesy Content:

Are you just trying to sell, sell, sell?

Or is your content dull and unhelpful?

People tune out quickly if they don’t get value. It is all too common when I evaluate a website that the content was written for search engines – this is a huge mistake.

Write for humans first, then consider search engines.

Text-Only Tunnel Vision:

The world is moving to video and images! 

If you’re only writing blog posts, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to connect with people where they spend their time. So many businesses just do not set up processes to incorporate video and images into their marketing.

Consider that people watch more than 1 billion hours of YouTube on TV screens every single day – Connected TV is growing exponentially, as evidenced by Google Trends data showing significant growth in interest related to Connected TV.

Connected TVs are smart TVs that have access to the internet and can search and stream online content. If you don’t have video content, reaching those people is challenging.

And consider Google Lens, which allows users to search using images taken from their phone – visual image searches have grown 65% year over year, with more than 100 billion searches already in half a year.

One in five Lens searches shows commercial intent – meaning they want to buy. Google Trends data clearly shows the growth in interest in Google Lens. It’s time to expand beyond textual content.

"Build It and They Will Come" Mentality:

You create fantastic content, hit publish, and… nothing.

Creating content is only half the battle; you need to promote it!

If you’re implementing SEO, submit your new website content to Google Search Console to get it indexed and found by Google’s bot sooner. Then, break that content up into bite-sized pieces and make social posts, send a link out to the content in an email to clients, post a link to it from your Google Business Profile – you have to promote your content.

The Fix

Be Helpful & Entertaining:

Create content – text, video, images – that teaches, entertains, or solves a problem for your audience. Think "edutainment"!

Embrace Video:

You just saw the stats I mentioned. Start experimenting with short videos for social media, YouTube, or your website.

It doesn't have to be perfect, just authentic. And don’t forget, YouTube is the second largest search engine behind Google – you’re missing out on a massive audience if you’re not leveraging video.

Plus, when you have video for one channel, repurpose that content into your other social channels and embed it on your website.

 For deeper dives, explore resources like "The Ultimate Video SEO Guide for Small Businesses" and "Unlock Explosive SEO Growth with The Evergreen Video and YouTube Shorts Powerhouse."

Promote, Promote, Promote:

Share your content on social media, send it to your email list, and even consider running small ads to get it in front of more eyes.

The Problem

Ignoring Your Email List:

Your email list is one of your most valuable assets! It's a direct line to people who are interested in your business. Not building one is like leaving money on the table. (read my related post on Unstoppable Lead Generation).

Using Social Media for Self-Promotion Only:

If you’re just posting about yourself, you’re missing the point of social media. It’s about building relationships and engaging with your audience.

One-Size-Fits-All Messaging:

Sending the same email to everyone? Your customers are unique, and your messages should be too!

The Fix

Start Your Email List NOW:

Put signup forms on your website and offer something valuable in exchange for an email address (like a free guide or a discount).

Engage on Social Media:

Ask questions, respond to comments, share valuable content from others, and participate in the conversation.

Personalize Your Messages:

Group your email subscribers by their interests or how they interact with your business – this can be done using marketing automation. Then, send them messages that truly resonate.

The Problem

No Tracking:

If you’re not tracking your website visits, how many people click your ads, how many clicks are converting to leads, and how many new customers you’re getting, you have no idea what’s working and what’s not. You’re just guessing. Make sure you use tools like Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, Google Search Console – both free – to track metrics.

Changing Too Soon:

Constantly tweaking your ads before they’ve had a chance to gather enough data will only confuse you and lead to poor results. Ads all go through a learning phase – if you change too often or stop, you’ll never know what worked and what didn’t, and your ads will never realize their potential.

No Clear "Next Step":

You create great content, but then what? If you don’t tell people what to do next – whether it’s "buy now," "sign up," or "learn more" – they won’t do anything! Include calls to action (CTAs).

The Fix:

Use Analytics:

Set up free tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console to see where your website visitors come from and what they do on your site. If you’re running Google or Meta ads, make sure you’re using conversion tracking. Be sure to check out my two posts, "Google Ads Conversion Tracking - Don’t run Without It" and "Unlock Maximum Profit Potential Hidden Inside Your Google And Facebook Campaigns" for guidance.

Be Patient, Then Adjust:

Give your campaigns time to run and gather meaningful data before making significant changes.

Always Have a Clear Call to Action (CTA):

On every piece of content, every page, tell people exactly what you want them to do next. Use strong, precise verbs for calls to action!

The Problem

Marketing Avoidance:

It’s easy to put marketing on the back burner, especially when business is good. But marketing has a "lag time" – results don't happen overnight. Waiting until things are slow is often too late.

Only Using a Few Channels:

Relying on just one or two marketing channels (like only Facebook or your website) limits your reach in a competitive world.

Skimping on SEO:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) might seem technical, but it’s crucial for getting found online. Ignoring it now will cost you more later. Yes, AI Overviews (AIO) have changed the SEO game from what it was over the last two decades, but SEO is still critical if you want to be mentioned in search results. And local SEO and Google Maps SEO are critical for people wanting to find local brick and mortar businesses. 

The Fix

Start NOW & Be Consistent:

Digital marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll see results. Consistency is key!

Diversify Your Efforts:

Explore different marketing channels – email, social media, local SEO, content marketing, and even paid ads. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. 

Invest in SEO:

Make sure your website is optimized for search engines. It's a long-term investment that pays off big time. Check out local SEO video series for more insights.

You now have a clear roadmap to fix the most common digital marketing mistakes. Pick one mistake that resonates most with you and commit to fixing it this week. Which of these mistakes hit home for you the most? Share in the comments below! Let's start a conversation and help each other grow.

If you feel overwhelmed, remember, you don't have to do it alone. Sometimes, getting an expert eye on your marketing can make all the difference.