A person can claim to have been in their career for a long time. When I hear this, I think in terms of 20-25 years. But in digital marketing, though the industry technically spans that long, it has undergone seismic technological shifts, forcing practitioners to continuously retrain and adapt their strategies.
To deliver unmatched expertise in any field, especially digital marketing, one must understand its evolution. Looking back, I see the 1990 desktop publishing revolution, which transformed anyone with a computer into a graphic designer and reshaped the printing industry. At that time, I was a print broker, and I witnessed an explosion of new businesses, from Kinko’s and AlphaGraphics to independent designers and firms providing full-service print solutions.
By 1997, there were barely over a million websites. Then, the 2000s arrived, bringing an explosion of technological advancements that redefined how we communicate, market, and consume information. Consider these statistics:
(Source: Forrester Research, CTIA, Radicati Group, Technorati, Wikipedia, Google, and Microsoft)
The world changed drastically in the first decade of the 2000s. By 2010, with smartphones placing all of this technology into our hands, digital marketing truly took root. I launched gotcha! in 2011, eager to carve out my role in this digital revolution.
Fast forward to 2025. Over the last 15 years, digital marketing has matured, but no single dominant force has emerged. Agencies know their job: driving traffic and conversions. gotcha! has spent the last decade and a half refining what works, innovating, and adapting to technological shifts.
Early on, we learned the power of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). In 2011, when we built websites, we quickly realized that visually stunning designs often performed poorly online. This led us down the SEO rabbit hole, where we immersed ourselves in research, analytics, and testing. We tried every tool available, seeking to understand not just the data but the logic behind it.
In today’s landscape, SEO is often misunderstood. Everyone—designers, developers, marketers, even my 82-year-old father—claims to know SEO. But in a sea of self-proclaimed experts, how do we separate effective strategies from outdated tactics?
At gotcha!, we rely on data. Over the years, we’ve expanded beyond web development into hosting, change management, content marketing, and an advanced platform with powerful SEO tools. Through this, we’ve discovered a fundamental truth: keywords are dead.
Before you panic, let me clarify. Keywords still play a role in ad targeting, search insights, and content structuring. However, optimizing websites solely around keywords is outdated, small-minded thinking. The digital world has expanded beyond this simplistic approach. At gotcha!, our philosophy is “Expand Your World.”
Consider this analogy: If you were starting a business in an unfamiliar industry, how would you learn? Imagine a world where only one library exists. You visit and search for books on your industry. Among a sea of pamphlets and brochures, you find one comprehensive book covering everything—the industry’s history, key players, trends, and business strategies. Which book would you check out? The most authoritative one.
Your website is your book. Google is the library. Among millions of websites in your industry, how does your site measure up?
Success in SEO today isn’t about targeting the “right” keywords; it’s about structuring content comprehensively and authoritatively. Google prioritizes relevance and expertise, rewarding sites that answer questions and provide deep, valuable content. This is how giants like WebMD and Wikipedia dominate search results.
If you take a step back and analyze your industry, market knowledge, competitors, company history, leadership, and offerings, you’ll likely find many more pages your website should have. Map it all out in a structured site plan. The more comprehensive and authoritative your site, the stronger its SEO foundation.
But it doesn’t end with launching a well-structured website. A robust content strategy must follow—publishing articles, updates, new developments, and continuously adding value to your audience.
This, my friends, is business in 2025.
Chris Jenkin is the visionary CEO of gotcha!, bringing over a decade of expertise in digital marketing and technology innovation. His leadership has driven gotcha! to become a leader in cutting-edge marketing solutions, helping businesses grow through creative, data-driven strategies. Chris is passionate about empowering companies to thrive in the ever-evolving digital landscape.
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