By Chris Forhan
In 2024, the landscape of content marketing has undergone a seismic shift, challenging traditional keyword-driven strategies and forcing marketers to adapt to a rapidly evolving digital ecosystem. As search engine dominance wanes and audience behaviors change, businesses must reimagine their approach to capturing attention and building trust in an increasingly fragmented online world.
Traditional keyword-based content marketing is facing significant challenges.
Today, only 30% of informational searches originate on search engines, down from 70% just a decade ago. This shift, along with the introduction of artificial intelligence and changing algorithms, makes it harder for small and mid-sized businesses to capture attention through conventional keyword-driven methods, especially as competition intensifies.
Additionally, growing distrust in social platforms due to “fake news” fears and data privacy concerns complicates the effectiveness of paid advertising. At the same time, many marketers are missing valuable opportunities because they are not set up to track how prospects discover their brands through other channels like podcasts, niche websites, newsletters and private groups.
To adapt, smart marketers are taking a holistic approach by first discovering exactly where their audiences are spending their time online and off, then finding ways to reach them there with educational content. By considering all channels, they can now build brand awareness and trust earlier in their customer journey — before they ever make their way to a search engine.
One way to accomplish this is to leverage niche or focused sites who have already aggregated the targeted audience a marketer is trying to build on their own. Look for sites that are audience focused and match your target. Measure the percentage of audience you want against the total audience reach. Are you overspending to reach a small piece of the total audience? This approach can save time and money as you slice away the non-relevant audience from a buy.
WHAT’S OUT
- Relying on search engines as the primary driver of traffic and leads.
- Crediting search engines for leads and sales that may have originated elsewhere.
- Paying to compete with large companies for organic SEO.
- Paying for keywords and traffic that are not related to your brand.
- The belief that every business needs to act like a publisher, leading to over investing in self-publishing content on your own channels.
- Gated websites that require subscriptions.
- Gated content requiring a form-fill for information access.
WHAT’S IN
- Holistic approaches that consider all channels used to reach and educate audiences.
- Paying for SEO or traffic that is directly related to your brand.
- Account Based Marketing improves lead-gen and customer relations.
- Discovering channels where your audience spends time gathering info or learning prior to web search.
- Using creative approaches to reach targeted audiences much earlier in the buyer journey.
- Forming partnerships with relevant channels to produce and deliver original content promoting expertise and influence.
- Paid or guaranteed placement of articles or ads.
- Barnacle SEO, a practice that builds web traffic by finding ways to attach your brand to larger websites that already reach your target audience.
- Ungated or open access content that is focuses heavily on problem solving — especially when used alongside Barnacle SEO.
The transformation of content marketing in 2025 demands a shift to more nuanced, audience-centric approaches. By embracing strategies that prioritize genuine engagement across diverse channels, marketers will forge deeper connections with their target audiences.
The key lies in understanding where potential customers spend their time, delivering value through relevant content and leveraging strategic partnerships. As we navigate this new landscape, those who adapt their content marketing strategies to align with these emerging trends will be best positioned to build lasting relationships and drive sustainable growth in an increasingly competitive digital marketplace. I95
CHRIS FORHAN is chief revenue officer for I95 BUSINESS. His career experience working across all marketing disciplines helps him guide businesses to reach their marketing goals based on industry knowledge and trends.
Connect: Chris@i95business.com
