Digital Marketing FAQ
Clear answers to the most important questions about digital marketing, GEO, Google Ads, websites and social media.
Digital Marketing Basics
What is digital marketing and which channels does it include?
Digital marketing covers all marketing activities carried out through digital channels. These include: search engine optimisation (SEO), paid search ads (SEA/Google Ads), social media marketing (Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok), email marketing, content marketing and – more recently – GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) for AI search systems.
How much budget should an SME set aside for digital marketing?
A common rule of thumb is 5–15% of revenue for marketing, with a growing share going digital. For a small business with €500,000 annual revenue that means roughly €2,500–€7,500 per month. What matters more than the absolute number is measurability – every euro should be tied to a trackable KPI.
What is the difference between organic and paid traffic?
Organic traffic comes without paying per click – through SEO rankings, social media posts or GEO visibility in AI search. Paid traffic (e.g. Google Ads, Meta Ads) comes from ads where you pay per click or per 1,000 impressions. Organic traffic is more sustainable and cheaper long-term; paid traffic delivers results faster.
What is conversion rate and how do you improve it?
Conversion rate shows what percentage of website visitors take a desired action (e.g. purchase, contact form, call). Formula: (conversions ÷ visitors) × 100. Improvements come from: clearer calls-to-action, faster load times, better mobile experience, social proof (reviews, case studies) and A/B testing.
What is the difference between SEO and SEA?
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) optimises content and technical setup so a website ranks high in organic Google results – no cost per click. SEA (Search Engine Advertising) refers to paid search ads like Google Ads. SEO takes time (3–6 months for first results), SEA is immediate (24–48 hours). The ideal approach combines both.
GEO – Generative Engine Optimisation
What is GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation)?
GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimisation – optimising websites and content for AI-based search systems like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Microsoft Copilot. The goal is for these systems to recognise a business as a competent, citable source and recommend it in their answers.
How does GEO differ from traditional SEO?
Traditional SEO optimises for search engine rankings (Google search result pages). GEO optimises for AI systems to cite content as trustworthy. While SEO focuses on keywords and backlinks, GEO centres on structured facts, FAQ content, Schema.org markup, named entities and E-E-A-T signals. Both disciplines complement each other.
Which AI search systems matter for GEO?
The most important systems today: ChatGPT (OpenAI) with browsing capability, Perplexity AI, Google AI Overviews (formerly SGE), Microsoft Copilot (Bing-based) and Google Gemini. Together they influence an estimated 20–30% of all search queries according to current research.
What are E-E-A-T signals and why do they matter for GEO?
E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness – originally a Google quality criterion. AI systems use similar signals: mentions in industry media and directories, clearly structured author information, consistent business data (name, address, phone) and demonstrable expertise in a field all increase the likelihood of being recommended by AI.
What is a llms.txt file and should my website have one?
A llms.txt file (similar to robots.txt) sits in the root directory of a website and provides AI crawlers with structured information about the company: services, FAQs, key pages and contact details – in a format that LLMs can read directly. For GEO optimisation: yes, absolutely recommended.
How do I measure the success of GEO activities?
GEO success can be measured through: manual queries to ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini ("Which performance marketing agencies are there in [city]?"), brand monitoring tools (e.g. Mention, Brand24), tracking referral traffic from AI systems in GA4, and the frequency of brand mentions in industry articles.
Google Ads & Performance Marketing
What are Google Ads and how do they work?
Google Ads (formerly AdWords) is Google's advertising system. Advertisers bid on search terms (keywords) – when someone searches for that term, the ad is shown. Payment is usually per click (cost-per-click, CPC). Ad ranking is determined by bid × quality score (relevance, landing page quality, expected click-through rate).
What is ROAS and what counts as a good value?
ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) shows how much revenue is generated per euro of ad spend. Formula: revenue ÷ ad spend. A ROAS of 4 means €4 revenue per €1 of advertising budget. What counts as "good" depends on margins – at a 30% margin, a ROAS below 3.3 is unprofitable. In e-commerce, 4–6 is generally considered solid.
What is the difference between Search Ads and Display Ads on Google?
Search Ads appear in Google search results when someone actively searches for a term (high purchase intent). Display Ads are image or banner adverts on millions of partner websites in the Google Display Network (broad reach, good for branding and remarketing). Search Ads typically have higher conversion rates; Display Ads have lower CPCs.
What is remarketing and when is it worth using?
Remarketing (or retargeting) shows ads specifically to people who have already visited a website. Worth using for: shops with long purchase decisions, high-value services, abandoned carts and seasonal offers. Typical click-through rates for remarketing are 2–3× higher than standard display campaigns.
How long does it take for Google Ads to become profitable?
First clicks arrive within 24–48 hours of campaign launch. First conversions and data for optimisation: after 1–2 weeks. Consistently optimised cost per lead: after 4–6 weeks. Sustainable ROAS scaling: from month 2–3. Google Ads algorithms need roughly 50 conversions per campaign to learn efficiently.
Websites & Static Sites
What are static sites and why are they faster than WordPress?
Static sites are pre-built HTML files delivered directly from the server – without database queries or server-side rendering on each visit. WordPress renders pages dynamically on every visit. The result: static sites typically load 5–10× faster, are cheaper to host (CDN costs vs. server costs) and significantly more secure (no attack surface from database exploits).
What are Core Web Vitals and why do they matter for SEO?
Core Web Vitals are three Google metrics for user experience: LCP (Largest Contentful Paint – load time of the largest element, target: < 2.5 s), INP (Interaction to Next Paint – response time to interactions, target: < 200 ms) and CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift – layout stability, target: < 0.1). Since 2021, Core Web Vitals are an official Google ranking factor.
What is Astro and why is it suited for marketing websites?
Astro is a modern web framework that ships zero JavaScript by default. Pages are built as static HTML – interactive components (e.g. forms, animations) are only loaded when needed. The result: extremely high Lighthouse scores, fast Core Web Vitals and low hosting costs. Ideal for marketing websites that prioritise performance and SEO.
What does mobile-first mean in web design?
Mobile-first means the design is developed for smartphone screens first – then expanded for tablet and desktop (not the other way round). Reason: over 60% of global web traffic comes from mobile devices. Google indexes websites primarily in their mobile version (Mobile-First Indexing). Mobile-first is standard in modern frameworks like Tailwind CSS.
What is a Content Delivery Network (CDN) and do I need one?
A CDN is a global network of servers that deliver website files from a location geographically close to the visitor. Instead of loading everything from a server in Germany, a visitor in Japan loads from a CDN server in Tokyo. Result: shorter load times, higher availability and protection against DDoS attacks. For static sites on Netlify or Vercel, a CDN is included automatically.
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Social Media Marketing
Which social media platforms are worth it for SMEs?
Instagram: visually strong products, local service providers, B2C. LinkedIn: B2B, consulting, recruiting, thought leadership. TikTok: younger audiences, entertainment, trends – growing potential for SMEs. Facebook: declining organic reach but strong ads system (Meta Ads). The best platform depends on target audience and product – it's better to do one platform well than three half-heartedly.
What is the difference between organic reach and paid advertising on social media?
Organic reach is free – generated through posts, reels and stories – but limited by algorithms (posts typically reach only 2–10% of your own followers). Paid advertising (Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads) enables precise targeting by age, interests, behaviour and lookalike audiences – with controllable reach and measurable ROI.
What is UGC (User Generated Content) and how is it used in marketing?
UGC is content created by customers or users – photos, videos, reviews, stories. UGC is especially credible because it doesn't come from the company itself. In marketing: customer testimonials as reels, unboxing videos, reviews as story highlights. UGC used as paid ads (whitelisting) often achieves 30–50% higher click-through rates than traditional ad videos.
How often should a business post on social media?
Quality beats quantity. Guidelines: Instagram: 3–5× per week (mix of feed posts and reels). LinkedIn: 2–3× per week (longer texts, industry insights). TikTok: daily or near-daily (the algorithm strongly rewards consistency). More important than frequency: a consistent visual identity, a clear message and genuine interaction with the community.