A brand new year is an exciting time. After taking stock at the end of the previous year, this is a chance to work towards new goals, set new objectives and in the case of search marketing, embrace a whole flurry of new trends.

Luckily for us 2024 promises to be a great year for marketers and brands alike. We reckon these could be the most interesting trends we see, shaping how brands scale in the 12 months ahead.

We’ll say goodbye to cookies – and hello to data

Back in May 2023, Google confirmed that cookies would begin to deprecate for some Chrome users from the first quarter of 2024, with the intention of deprecating for all users from the middle of the year. A cookie less world is therefore upon us. Given how brands have relied on cookies in years past, it will be interesting to see how marketers balance the use of privacy-first technologies with the need to measure performance and gather marketing insight.

We expect to see owned data becoming ever more important, with brands investing in analytics and data dashboards to ensure the effectiveness of ad campaigns and marketing strategies moving forwards.

Personalisation will become a conversion no-brainer

Today’s consumers expect brands to provide personalised experiences. A failure to do so is highly likely to send that consumer running towards a rival offering. McKinsey research tells us this is a far bigger deal than you may first think, with 71% of consumers expecting a personalised service. That’s only half the story though – because 76% admit to becoming frustrated if their experiences with brand aren’t tailored.

Consequently, we expect to see personalisation efforts very much at the fore in 2024. This encompasses a wide variety of marketing channels, with brands needing to ensure they understand their customer, know what they want, and when the want it – and then deliver on that knowledge across several touch points.

Content will take many different formats

Content is no longer a byword for blog posts and articles. In 2024, the content umbrella will cover a huge range of formats. What’s more, we expect to see more brands experimenting with formats which may be new to them, in order to connect with larger portions of their target audience.

In addition to articles, content could cover webinars, virtual events, eBooks, videos, podcasts, charts and infographics, and livestreams.

AI automation

AI has a role to play across a multitude of marketing functions. It’s both a time saver and a game changer, and in 2024, it could be more widespread than ever. That means we could see it used in everything from customer service and analytics to content creation and creative.

If you’re ready to scale up, get in touch to learn more about working with us in 2024.