While there is a long-held belief that small businesses have struggled to with the adaptation of digital marketing, this is part of a wider issue in the modern age.

In fact, small businesses are struggling with digital technology as a whole, particularly when it comes to adapting their culture and determining who should manage the implementation process. This is causing them to miss out on a wealth of opportunities in the modern age, particularly when it comes to reaching consumers and targeting the Millennial demographic.

In this article, we will take a look at the reasons why digital marketing is so important to customers, and evaluate the impact that this can have on their bottom line:

1. People Find Businesses Through Search Engines, and Particularly Google

In the digital age, we have seen significant changes to the way in which customers find and interact with businesses. More specifically, today’s generation of consumes are increasingly inclined to search for potential service providers online, while they also utilise social media to reference product data and gain referrals.

The rise of Google and Facebook having played a pivotal role in this. Google has established itself as the main search engine in the UK, for example, accounting for 85.74% of all searches conducted online. It has also created number of sophisticated algorithms that help to rank websites and content in a way that improves the consumer experience, providing businesses with a guideline to help them increase their online visibility.

Optimising your content is an excellent way of getting higher on Google in the modern age, with factors such as the length of content and the presence of inbound links correlating directly with higher rankings.

Sites such as Google have driven significant change in consumer behaviour in the digital age, and businesses that fail to keep pace with this are likely to fall behind. The deployment of high quality content can serve as a cost-effective tactic that helps your business to rank well, however, while improving your marketing ROI in the process.

2. The Google AdWords and Google Display Network is Huge

While not everything that Google touches turns to gold, it has built a huge infrastructure that enables businesses to target their various audiences.

Take the Google Display Network, for example, which works through AdWords and allows brands to connect with customers through a variety of digital ad format. This virtual network includes a staggering two million websites, while it is estimated that they reach in excess of 90% of people online. It’s main benefit is that it allows customers to access your site while they are performing various ad-hoc tasks, such as browsing search engine results, viewing YouTube videos and checking emails.

3. Sites That Are Optimised for Mobile Perform Better Than Those That Are Not

As part of Google’s continued quest to improve the online experience for customers, the mobile platform has become increasingly prominent. To this end, the search engine giant rolled out an updated version of its mobile-friendly update last May, boosting the underlying algorithm and optimising the associated ranking signal.

This algorithm update is a direct response to the increased influence of mobile, with nearly 60% of online searches now completed through a smartphone or tablet. According to date from BI Intelligence, it is also estimated that m-commerce will account for 45% of all online purchases by the year 2020, so the need for businesses to build their mobile presence will grow more pressing with every passing year.

There is no doubt that small businesses in particular need to optimise their website for mobile, as this means that they can benefit from responsive design and compete more aggressively with larger brands.

This can translate into a larger market share, and enable SMEs to engage a larger audience in the digital age.