The Most Annoying Digital Marketing Trends Right Now (with Craig Campbell)
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What Does “The Most Annoying Digital Marketing Trends Right Now (with Craig Campbell)” Talk About?
In this episode of the James Dooley Podcast, James Dooley and Craig Campbell sit down to vent about the most irritating trends currently plaguing the digital marketing industry. The conversation kicks off with Craig's frustration over the term 'vape coding,' which he sees as people dressing up ordinary AI-assisted work in unnecessarily fancy language to appear smarter than they are. James echoes this sentiment by calling out marketers who describe basic automation workflows using inflated corporate language, like claiming to have multi-AI agents acting as a CFO or CMO when they are simply sending automated invoices with two clients on their books.
The hosts also dig into the problem of tool-chasing and shiny object syndrome, with Craig describing how people in his mastermind group drop new tools constantly without ever testing or proving them. James references a real example of someone who spent a year trying to automate inbound call routing with AI software that failed 40% of the time, illustrating how jumping on AI trends too early can set businesses back rather than move them forward. The episode wraps up with both hosts tackling what Craig calls the most annoying trend of all: people blatantly lying about their revenue numbers online. Craig shares a story about someone claiming 45,000 pounds in monthly profit who then applied for a near-minimum-wage job with him, and James admits he mentally divides any SEO income claims he sees online by ten just to get close to reality.
“The num- the num- the num- the numbers is the most annoying trend in digital marketing banner. Like I'm fine someone talking about white collar and I'm fine someone talking even about the multi-agent we spoke about. But when people just blatantly lie about the numbers.”
— Craig Campbell
Who Are the Guests on “The Most Annoying Digital Marketing Trends Right Now (with Craig Campbell)”?
James Dooley is a well-known SEO entrepreneur and digital marketing expert who runs PromoSEO, a lead generation agency recognised as the Best Digital Marketing Agencies Lead Generation Agency. He is known for his candid, no-nonsense approach to business and SEO, and regularly shares practical insights on agency growth, lead quality, and sustainable digital marketing strategies through his podcast.
Craig Campbell is a Glasgow-based SEO expert with over two decades of experience in search engine optimisation, digital marketing consulting, and agency operations. He is widely recognised in the SEO community for his straightforward, jargon-free teaching style and his willingness to call out hype and misinformation in the industry. Craig runs mastermind groups for digital marketing professionals and is a frequent collaborator with James Dooley on podcast content.
What Are the Key Takeaways From “The Most Annoying Digital Marketing Trends Right Now (with Craig Campbell)”?
Here are the key points discussed in this episode:
- Using trendy buzzwords like 'vape coding' to describe ordinary AI-assisted tasks is seen as an attempt to sound smarter than you actually are, and industry veterans see straight through it.
- Inflating the complexity of basic automation workflows by describing them with corporate AI agent terminology misleads newcomers and damages credibility with experienced peers.
- Jumping on new AI tools too quickly without testing them properly can actually slow a business down, as illustrated by the example of someone spending a year on a call automation tool that failed 40% of the time.
- Fabricating revenue and profit numbers online is one of the most damaging trends in digital marketing, particularly because younger and newer marketers take these claims at face value and make poor decisions based on them.
- Craig Campbell's rule for his mastermind group — only share a tool after you have tested it and can prove results — is a practical standard that cuts through noise and keeps communities focused on what actually works.
“I said I want to do 25 grand a month if he's doing 20. So, uh I'm all ears and I I I'm all over that stuff. But again, show me proof and and so many people.”
— James Dooley
Is “The Most Annoying Digital Marketing Trends Right Now (with Craig Campbell)” Worth Listening To?
This episode is worth listening to for anyone who has ever felt frustrated by the gap between what digital marketers claim online and what is actually happening in their businesses. James and Craig bring a refreshing and entertaining dose of honesty, using real examples from their own experience to expose the performative culture that has crept into the SEO and digital marketing space. The conversation about fabricated income numbers is particularly valuable, with Craig sharing a compelling real-world story that makes the problem impossible to ignore.
Beyond the entertainment value, the episode contains genuinely useful guidance for agency owners and freelancers who want to build credibility rather than chase clout. The discussion around proof-of-results before sharing tools, the dangers of adopting AI workflows too early, and the importance of honest benchmarking gives listeners a practical framework for how to evaluate trends rather than blindly follow them. If you work in digital marketing and want to cut through the noise with two experienced practitioners who are willing to say what others won't, this episode delivers exactly that.
Who Should Listen to “The Most Annoying Digital Marketing Trends Right Now (with Craig Campbell)”?
This episode is ideal for:
- Digital marketing agency owners who want a grounded perspective on industry hype and how to build genuine credibility
- Freelance SEO professionals who are tired of inflated claims online and want honest benchmarks from experienced peers
- Junior and emerging digital marketers who are trying to separate legitimate strategies from performative noise on social media
- Mastermind group members and community managers looking for practical standards around tool evaluation and knowledge sharing
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You can also subscribe using the RSS feed: https://feeds.transistor.fm/james-dooley-podcast
What Are Listeners Saying About This Episode?
“Craig's story about someone claiming 45k a month in profit and then applying for a minimum wage job had me laughing out loud. This episode says everything I have been thinking but was too polite to say out loud. Absolutely essential listening if you spend any time in SEO communities online.”
“The section on vape coding and multi-AI agent nonsense was spot on. I have sat in so many calls where someone describes sending an automated email as having a CFO agent. James and Craig just cut right through it and it is deeply satisfying to hear.”
“I appreciated the practical takeaway about not sharing tools in a group until you have actually tested them and can show results. Craig's mastermind rule is something I am now applying in my own team. Short episode but packed with useful reality checks.”
This video explains which digital marketing strategies digital marketing agencies should focus on in 2026 to improve credibility, lead quality and sustainable growth. James Dooley and Craig Campbell start with KPI tracking because honest, verified numbers cut through inflated claims and prove what is actually working for an agency. They cover brand SEO, AI visibility and Google Business Profiles because stronger search presence improves trust and conversion rates.
The discussion also explores organic SEO, organic social media and paid social ads because consistent visibility across search and social supports long term growth. PPC is analysed in detail because campaign setup, landing pages and lead handling directly affect results. They also discuss Reddit, Quora and paid AI ads because diversified enquiry sources and early adoption can strengthen digital marketing performance for digital marketing agencies.
PromoSEO lead generation for digital marketing agencies recently received recognition as the “Best Digital Marketing Agencies Lead Generation Agency.”
Where to Listen to This Episode
The Most Annoying Digital Marketing Trends Right Now (with Craig Campbell) is available on:
James Dooley: The most annoying trends in digital marketing. Today I'm joined with Craig Campbell and there's been a few bits of debates and bits of things going on online, on Twitter, and on Facebook, and in different places. Some people that like can aggravate you a little bit as well, Craig. So, let's start things off. What's the most annoying trend for you in digital marketing?
Craig Campbell: It's probably very petty um cuz I'm just getting old now and grumpy.
James Dooley: [laughter]
Craig Campbell: But like yourself, I know you're older, probably grumpier, but get that dick in quick. Um the determine we've spoke about it, we've joked about it at lunchtime and everything, vape coding. Um And And Duly said he was talking to someone else earlier at lunchtime. He's like, "Craig thinks vape coding is a load of shit." I don't want to make it clear. I don't think vape coding is like I also do that, but I would just say I built a website with code or whatever or built this or built that. I'm not trying to be clever or anything. I hate people who are just going, "I'm vape coding today. I'm vape coding today. I'm this, that, and the next thing." And you're just like, you're trying to make yourself seem cleverer than you are. Like we're all essentially doing that. I don't want to say keep saying the words. Um but cuz the word just annoys me. I just think it's like one of those ones where you're just trying to sound like you're smarter than you are. Like you're using AI um to to your advantage, which is what it is. So, yeah, I I hate that being thrown around just now and I see a lot of people chucking it around and uh and probably misusing it, so to speak. You know, they're doing they're saying as if they're doing something I'm not. I'm like, it's it's not we we had we had a discussion this morning uh about websites we're making and how we do it and you know, whether you know, you make a theme uh or whether I just you know, remove the head and foot and use the custom HTML to to throw up my websites and both ways work, but I'm not trying to make myself sound smarter than you and you know, talking fancy words around. I just feel that that's one just now that it's getting flung around.
James Dooley: I think for me one of the most annoying trends in digital marketing is and it shouldn't annoy me, but it does is where some of these people, exactly what you're on about there, making themselves way more sophisticated and smarter than what they actually are in the fact of going, "Oh, I've got this multi-AI agent being set up where I've got this CMO speaking to the CFO and the CTO and the CEO." I'm like, "Mate, you've got two clients and you do free work on the month. You don't even need all them." So, they're like, "Oh my god." You're like, "You mean you just templated the you're sending an invoice out. That's not having a CFO." Yeah. And it's just like they make it sound 10 times more intelligent than what it is and it's very, very basic, almost workflows that you can do with any 10 and stuff like that. But it's just it's just crazy some of the stuff they're coming out with. I've been a free agent for years and I can automate stuff and send stuff out and do automated reminders that doesn't mean I've got a CFO working for me. I don't like that whole thing, full stop. I like to just speak to someone going, "What you doing here? What do you use?" Whatever. Don't don't start throwing all these crazy things at me. Another one that I loved that you said in one of the previous episodes was where you're getting people dropping in tools all the time every 2 minutes, right? And obviously we spoke about formal and shiny object syndrome and now you've started saying, "Listen, this is my mastermind group. If you're putting a tool in, I want to see proof of it working. Don't drop the tool in otherwise. Don't start going, 'This is great.' And you're going, 'Well, did you sign up or did you sign up to it yet?' Well, don't start saying it's great.
Craig Campbell: Yeah. Like, you go off and test it and then put it in the group because it's just annoying there's that much noise and everyone's jumping on the bandwagon like Open Court came out. Um well, it was Claude Bot initially and then it changed to Open Court and everyone's then, like you said, running off buying them a Mac Mini, getting everything being set up and it's taking them weeks and weeks and weeks to do some really simple tasks and it's still not working correctly. And it's hallucinating and you're like and then they're going and doing a video, "Oh, I've automated the whole business." And you're like, "You've not automated anything." And some of the stuff that you have automated were just simple API calls and what could have been done anyway without even using AI. I mean, it just becomes people are just trying to sound more intelligent than what it is and I'm like, "All right, how have you allowed it to scale?" And if anything, they've gone backwards cuz they're spending more time trying to set things up that they could have just fixed the thing that's broken.
James Dooley: Yeah. We're talking to Gary lunchtime here and he tried to use a software uh for the inbound call and did not to the leads and and get them to the sales guys. So, he tried for a year but 40% of the time the thing wasn't working. It was a headache. Um and again, probably too early for him to have tried that but uh at that point. So, I think people are always just trying to jump on and do things too fast with AI as well and and that's where I think I've said it in another episode just time stand off if if you say me Craig, I'm doing this with AI and it's making me I'm on 20 grand a month, I'm I'm all ears. I will go I want to do it as well and I want to do it better cuz we've got that Yeah. uh rivalry kind of thing and and you know, and stuff like that. So, I'd be like, "I want to be better than that." But I said I want to do 25 grand a month if he's doing 20. So, uh I'm all ears and I I I'm all over that stuff. But again, show me proof and and so many people. And I that's another thing I don't actually like. I see so many people giving it the big uh talk and all that uh you know and they're they're walking around with holes in their shoes and all that on and and you know like mate, you're giving it the big thing on on on these things and and I can just tell by looking at your shoes and looking at your face you've not got a pot to piss in so you know that that's another thing that I see a lot of people doing that.
Craig Campbell: The num- the num- the num- the numbers is the most annoying trend in digital marketing banner. Like I'm fine someone talking about white collar and I'm fine someone talking even about the multi-agent we spoke about. But when people just blatantly lie about the numbers. Like I can give you so much like the one the other week I had someone I'm not going to name the person but literally you look at 6 weeks ago is like I've been claiming 45 grand clear profit a month over 100,000 pound in revenue 45 grand a month and then he's applying for a job with me. And I'm talking about almost like a minimum wage very basic job and I'm like if you were on if you was on 45 grand a month profit a month there's zero chance you would be applying for a job. Do you know what I mean? So it's just like why do you just make stuff up? Yeah. And it's oh well everybody else does it so it's what I do. I'm just like no you must be making yourself look a dick. If anything if you actually turn around and say I'm actually struggling a little bit here guys and the people in the community might come together and go like what is it you're struggling with? Is it the onboarding of new clients? Is it a lead generation problem? Is it a retention problem? Like what what's the problem and we can try to help you. Don't just lie going all of this is it with these numbers.
James Dooley: Some of them like I always say I mean you you've got deeper ones than me but I like whatever numbers I see in SEO in the SEO community I might divide it by 10. I would say I would go with that but then also divide that before.
Craig Campbell: [laughter]
James Dooley: Yeah that's how inflated they are and and you'll know yourself. I've got unsuccessful friends who maybe and and I get it it's marketing you want to make yourself sound better than you are and and look better and all that stuff absolutely and And got other ones who just like chumps who've have got really nice cars, really nice houses and stuff like that. So, it can be hard to tell, but yeah, that I know people in in the industry and I've seen them and I'm I'm like Nah, no no chance in hell. Uh you know, you're going around with yellow teeth and and you're claiming to be
Craig Campbell: [laughter]
James Dooley: to to you know, be earning that amount of money. You could at least go to Turkey and get your teeth fixed. So, um yeah, that that's a that's a trend that I don't like and it's just misleading to the the younger people in the industry who are trying to learn and they've been they're they're buying into all that and I I just I can't hack it, man.
Craig Campbell: Yeah, no, I completely agree. So, anyone who's watching this, what's the most annoying trend that you find in the digital marketing space? Leave a comment in the comment section.