I’m turning 40 this month!
Which means I’ve officially spent multiple decades being a nerd on the internet.
I’ve lived through dial-up, Geocities, the birth of Facebook, the rise (and fall) of countless internet trends, and more Google algorithm updates than I can count.
Some things age gracefully.
Other things… not so much.
So, in honour of my birthday, here are a few digital marketing practices that are also getting old. No worries, I’ll tell you what small businesses should be doing instead!
Outdated: Desktop-First Website Design
Do This Instead: Mobile-First Design
If your website still feels like it was designed mainly for a desktop computer, it’s time for an update.
As of July 2025, mobile accounts for 60.5% of global web traffic, compared to 39.5% for desktop. Retail and e-commerce sites often see 70–80% of traffic from mobile, and those numbers are still growing.
You can write the most helpful content in the world… but if your page loads slowly or the layout breaks on mobile, people will leave.
A modern website should:
- Load quickly
- Be easy to navigate on a phone
- Have functional buttons and forms
- Display content clearly on small screens
If your site looks great on a laptop but frustrating on a phone, you’re losing customers before they even read a word.
Outdated: Generic Email Blasts
Do This Instead: Smart Segmentation and Automation
Sending the same email to your entire list is one of the fastest ways to lose subscribers. Sure, “Hi [First Name]” is technically personalization… but your audience knows better. In 2026, effective email marketing is driven by behaviour and segmentation, not mass sends.
Segment your audience by:
- Customer behaviour
- Product or service interest
- Purchase history
- Lifecycle stage
- Engagement level
Automation should respond to what people do.
If someone buys from you and you keep nurturing them like they haven’t… you’re not automating… you might just be annoying.
Further reading:
https://insiderone.com/email-marketing-best-practices/
https://www.ai-bees.io/post/email-marketing-trends
Outdated: Running Ads Without a Landing Page
Do This Instead: Treat Your Landing Page as Part of the Ad
Many businesses spend money on ads… and then just send people to their homepage.
Please don’t do that.
A landing page is a dedicated webpage designed for one specific offer. Not having one is like inviting people to a birthday party… and then refusing to open the door.
In 2026, a strong ad campaign includes:
- A dedicated landing page
- Messaging that matches the ad
- Visuals that match the ad
- Simple navigation
- One focused call-to-action
To be effective, your ad and landing page should work together as one conversion system.
Check out Landing Pages for Google Ads for more info on this topic!
Outdated: Obsessing Over Vanity Metrics
Do This Instead: Focus on Conversions and Community
A big follower count looks nice.
But it doesn’t necessarily mean your marketing is working.
Likes, impressions, and follows are just vanity metrics. They can make a brand look popular without actually generating sales or leads. Follower counts don’t even significantly impact content distribution anymore.
In 2026, focus on:
- Leads
- Email subscribers
- Booked consultations
- Sales
- Repeat customers
And beyond metrics, focus on community. Brands that educate, entertain, and provide real value will always outperform those that just sell.
Outdated: Chasing Every Trend
Do This Instead: Create Evergreen Content
We’ve all seen brands awkwardly jump on a TikTok trend.
Sometimes it works.
Most of the time… It’s just, as the kids say, “cringe”.
Trend-chasing content on social media or as blog content can create a short-term spike in attention, but it rarely builds long-term visibility or trust. In both cases, the most valuable content for small businesses is evergreen content.
This includes:
- How-to guides
- Educational blogs
- FAQs
- Expert insights
- Helpful explainers
Content that solves real problems and brings the viewer REAL VALUE is what keeps bringing traffic months or even years after you publish it.
Outdated: Keyword Stuffing
Do This Instead: SEO and AEO Working Together
For years, SEO advice focused heavily on incorporating exact keywords into your website content. In 2026, that approach is fading fast.
Search behaviour is changing. Tools like ChatGPT, Google’s AI Overviews, and Perplexity are reshaping how people find information. ChatGPT alone has grown to 800 million weekly users, with many people now asking full questions instead of typing keywords.
AEO focuses on structuring your content so AI tools can:
- Understand it
- Trust it
- Reference it
In simple terms:
SEO helps people find your website. AEO helps your website become the answer. Optimizing your content for both SEO and AEO is essential for visibility.
Read our previous blog, AEO Explained, for more info on this topic!
Outdated: Buying Backlinks
Do This Instead: Build Real Authority
Buying backlinks and participating in link farms used to be common SEO shortcuts, but nowadays they’re far more likely to hurt your rankings than help.
Practices like link spam will result in lower visibility or even removal from search altogether. Google’s spam-detection systems are designed to identify low-quality or manipulative tactics, including unnatural linking patterns, making these outdated strategies both risky and ineffective.
Today, authority comes from:
- High-quality content
- Mentions from reputable sites
- Partnerships
- Industry features
- Real community engagement
There’s no shortcut here.
Authority must be gradually built, not bought.
Outdated: Throwing AI at Everything
Do This Instead: Use AI With Strategy
AI tools are everywhere right now.
And to be clear, I love them. I like to talk to the robots and I use automation tools every day in my work. But there’s a growing problem in digital marketing: over-automation without a clear strategy.
More than 70% of marketers now use AI to streamline tasks, which makes sense. When used correctly, automation can save time, improve efficiency, and help businesses scale.
But throwing AI at every problem doesn’t automatically make your marketing or work processes smarter.
AI doesn’t have judgment, context, or common sense. Its results depend entirely on the quality of your strategy, your data, and your oversight. When businesses rely too heavily on automation without supervision, problems start to appear.
But automation itself isn’t the problem.
When used strategically, automation can actually create huge benefits.
It can:
- Reduce repetitive administrative work
- Speed up processes and workflows
- Improve consistency and quality control
- Free up time for humans to focus on creativity and relationships
In other words, the goal shouldn’t be more automation.
The goal is smarter automation… dare I say, clever automation, even. (hurr, hurr)
Before adding AI tools to your marketing, start with a few simple questions:
- What are we trying to achieve?
- Where are we currently wasting time?
- Which tasks actually benefit from automation?
- Which tasks still need human judgment?
The best digital strategies in 2026 combine automation for efficiency and humans for insight. While the technology is powerful, the strategy behind it matters even more.
The Big Takeaway
Digital marketing changes constantly.
What worked five years ago can feel outdated today.
However, if you focus on:
- Helpful content
- Strong systems
- Real relationships
You’ll always stay ahead!
Final Birthday Thoughts From a 40-Year-Old Internet Nerd
Yes, I’m turning 40.
My knees crack, my coffee intake is concerning, and my eye bags are absolutely not optimized for SEO.
I was there before the internet was a household thing.
I used Ask Jeeves.
I learned to type on Mavis Beacon.
I built websites on GeoCities and Angelfire (with aggressive GIF usage).
I chatted on AOL.
I lived through MySpace, early Facebook, and 50-character tweets.
I remember Homestar Runner. (Strong Bad emails were a weekly event at my high school.)
I was there for icanhascheezburger.
I’m the same age as The Legend of Zelda, Castlevania, and the Atari 7800… and one year younger than Super Mario Bros.
So yes. I’m old.
But my marketing knowledge?
Always Fresh.
I’ve spent decades watching the internet evolve. And I keep learning, so you don’t have to keep up with every algorithm, platform update, or AI trend.
If your marketing strategy is starting to feel a little… outdated, hit me up!
👉 Book a discovery call: https://clevercalic.co/contact/
While I might be getting older,
My marketing strategies definitely aren’t.
