In 2024, the digital marketing landscape experienced major shifts, reshaping strategies, budgets, and expectations across every channel. These changes weren’t just hypothetical—they unfolded in real-time, directly impacting the brands we work with every day. At NetElixir, we collaborated with hundreds of businesses to navigate these challenges, uncovering key lessons and new opportunities in the process.
We learned a lot in 2024. From understanding the true impact of ad spend to optimizing strategies for emerging AI technologies, we’ve compiled a guide to help you not just survive but thrive in the ever-changing world of digital marketing.
Here’s a closer look at what we learned in 2024—and how those lessons can empower your growth in 2025.
Growth in 2024: A Steep Climb Amid Rising Costs
Growth was elusive for many businesses in 2024, especially as ad spend efficiency came under intense scrutiny. Across Google, Meta, and Amazon, we saw CPCs for branded keywords rise by 50% over the past 18 months.
What We Learned:
- Incrementality is Key: Successful brands implemented rigorous experimental frameworks to test the true impact of their ad spend. Our proprietary tool, LXRInsights, played a pivotal role in helping clients understand incrementality.
- Adaptability Drives ROI: Clients who balanced branded keyword investments with diversified campaigns on other platforms saw steadier results despite rising costs.
AI Campaigns: A New Normal
AI-driven campaigns like Google’s Performance Max (PMax) and Meta’s Advantage+ stabilized in 2024, but their adoption wasn’t uniform across businesses. Small and mid-sized businesses often faced anxiety over PMax’s replacement of familiar ad formats, while larger enterprises adapted more quickly, leaning into full-funnel strategies.
What We Learned:
- Meta Outshines Google for Smaller Budgets: Many of our clients saw stronger ROAS with Meta’s Advantage+ campaigns compared to PMax, particularly when adopting a full-funnel strategy.
- AI Campaigns Demand Trust and Tweaks: While these campaigns are here to stay, our experience showed that customizing feeds and audience strategies to align with AI algorithms was critical for success.
Measurement and Analytics: A Trust Gap
Despite the promise of GA4, many businesses were left grappling with its shortcomings, particularly around usability and accurate customer data tracking. This led to reliance on multiple data sources, including Shopify analytics and platform-specific reporting tools.
What We Learned:
- Clients Demand Clarity: Businesses that leaned into alternate analytics solutions gained better visibility, allowing them to make more informed decisions.
- Actionable Insights Matter: Through hands-on collaboration, we guided clients to integrate diverse data sources for a more holistic view of their campaigns.
Top-Line Growth vs. Profitability
While many sellers on Amazon experienced rapid top-line growth, profitability remained elusive. Rising fulfillment costs and marketplace fees squeezed margins.
What We Learned:
- DTC for Long-Term Wins: Brands that diversified into Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) channels balanced Amazon’s reach with better margins and stronger customer relationships.
- Efficiency Over Scale: By leveraging LXRInsights, our clients optimized ad targeting and inventory management to maintain profitability even in a high-cost environment.
SEO and Content Strategy: Adapting to the AI Era
Google’s dominance in search continues to face competition from emerging AI-driven search engines like Perplexity and SearchGPT. This shift demands a new approach to content strategy—one that prioritizes conversational tones and authoritative insights.
What We Learned:
- Authority Is Everything: From proper citations to robust internal linking structures, the most successful content strategies positioned brands as industry authorities.
- Top-of-Funnel is Critical: Many clients struggled with declining top-of-funnel traffic. By capturing user questions and creating conversational content, brands retained visibility across traditional and AI-driven search engines.
Paid Social: Meta and Beyond
Meta remains the dominant force in paid social, with tools like Advantage+ Shopping delivering unmatched performance for full-funnel strategies. However, platforms like YouTube and Pinterest emerged as critical growth channels for niche industries and larger brands.
What We Learned:
- Creative Volume Drives Success: For Meta campaigns, we saw that deploying 10+ creatives significantly improved campaign efficiency.
- Diversification Wins: Clients who diversified their ad spend across platforms like YouTube, Pinterest, and TikTok captured untapped audiences while mitigating risk.
Looking Ahead: What Businesses Must Do in 2025
If 2024 makes one thing clear—success in 2025 will belong to businesses that embrace change.
- Invest in Experimentation: Build robust testing frameworks to understand incrementality and optimize spending.
- Master AI Campaigns: Trust AI tools while customizing your strategy to complement their algorithms.
- Prioritize Content Authority: Focus on creating authoritative, conversational content that serves user needs and adapts to AI search formats.
- Balance Growth and Profitability: Whether on Amazon or other platforms, profitability must be a strategic priority.
- Diversify and Innovate: Don’t rely on one platform or strategy—expand your reach while staying true to your brand identity.
Partner with NetElixir to Thrive in 2025
The digital marketing landscape is complex, but it’s navigable with the right expertise and tools. Let us guide you through the challenges and opportunities of 2025. Speak to one of our experts today and discover how we can revolutionize your digital marketing strategy.
