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?
James Dooley and Craig Campbell sit down to vent about the digital marketing trends that frustrate them most, covering everything from inflated jargon to outright fabricated income claims. The episode kicks off with Craig's disdain for the term vibe coding, arguing that people throw the phrase around to sound smarter than they are when they are simply using AI as a tool, the same way many developers already do. He makes the point that relabelling ordinary work with trendy terminology does not make it more sophisticated, and both hosts agree that this kind of posturing creates noise that obscures what is actually working.
James adds his own pet peeve, which is the trend of people describing basic automation workflows as elaborate multi-AI agent systems complete with fictional CMOs, CFOs, and CTOs. He uses the example of someone with only two clients describing an invoice reminder as a CFO agent, highlighting how this kind of overclaiming misleads newer marketers who are trying to learn genuine skills. Craig also flags the mastermind group problem where people drop unverified tool recommendations constantly, encouraging James's rule that nobody should mention a tool unless they can show proof it is actually working for them.
The conversation then turns to what both hosts consider the most damaging trend of all, which is blatant number fabrication. Craig shares a story about someone claiming 45,000 pounds in monthly profit who then applied for a near minimum wage job with him. James builds on this by saying he divides any revenue figure he sees in the SEO community by ten before taking it seriously, and both express concern that younger people entering the industry are the ones most harmed by this culture of dishonest self-promotion.
“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 figure in the SEO and lead generation space, recognised for building and scaling digital marketing businesses and lead generation systems. He is the founder of PromoSEO, which recently received recognition as the best digital marketing agencies lead generation agency. James is known for his no-nonsense, results-first approach to digital marketing and regularly speaks on practical strategies for growing agencies and generating qualified leads.
Craig Campbell is a Glasgow-based SEO consultant and educator with over two decades of experience in digital marketing. He runs his own SEO training courses and a mastermind community, and is widely respected for cutting through hype to deliver grounded, practical advice. Craig is a frequent speaker and podcast guest who pulls no punches when it comes to calling out misleading trends and overclaiming in the industry.
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:
- Trendy jargon like vibe coding is often used to make ordinary work sound more sophisticated than it actually is, which creates unnecessary noise in the industry.
- Describing basic automation workflows as multi-AI agent systems with executive roles is a form of overclaiming that misleads newer marketers about the complexity involved.
- Tools should only be recommended in communities or groups once there is real proof they work, rather than simply reacting to hype around a new product.
- Fabricating revenue and profit numbers is the most damaging trend of all because it sets false expectations for people who are genuinely trying to learn digital marketing.
- If someone is struggling in their business, being honest about it invites genuine help from a community, whereas lying about inflated numbers only creates a credibility problem.
“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
Is “The Most Annoying Digital Marketing Trends Right Now (With Craig Campbell)” Worth Listening To?
This episode is worth listening to because James Dooley and Craig Campbell say out loud what many experienced digital marketers think privately but rarely voice on a public platform. Rather than producing another list of tactics or tools to adopt, they call out the specific behaviours that erode trust across the industry, from misusing AI terminology to fabricating monthly revenue figures. The conversation is grounded in real examples, including Craig's story of someone claiming 45,000 pounds in monthly profit while applying for a near minimum wage role, which makes the discussion feel honest and credible rather than theoretical.
The episode is also valuable because both hosts model the approach they are advocating for. They acknowledge their own use of AI and automation without dressing it up in inflated language, and they challenge listeners to demand proof before accepting claims at face value. For anyone who manages a digital marketing agency, runs a mastermind, or is early in their career and trying to figure out which voices to trust, this episode provides a useful filter for identifying who in the industry is worth listening to and who is simply performing success.
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 reality check on industry hype and overclaiming
- SEO professionals and consultants frustrated by misleading trends and inflated benchmarks in online communities
- Newer marketers and those early in their digital marketing careers who are trying to identify credible information sources
- Mastermind group organisers and community managers looking for frameworks to manage tool recommendations and maintain signal quality
Where Can You Listen to James Dooley Podcast?
You can listen to James Dooley Podcast on all major podcast platforms:
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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?
“Refreshing to hear Craig and James just say it plainly. The story about someone claiming 45k a month in profit and then applying for a minimum wage job had me laughing but also nodding because I have seen exactly that in every SEO Facebook group I have ever joined. Worth every minute.”
“The vibe coding rant at the start is something I have wanted someone to say for months. Craig nails it when he points out that people are just using AI the same way everyone else is but wrapping it in trendy language to sound smarter. Great episode for grounding yourself when the hype gets overwhelming.”
“James's point about dividing any SEO revenue claim by ten before believing it is now my permanent mental model. This episode is a genuinely useful sanity check for anyone who spends time in digital marketing communities and starts wondering if everyone else is doing way better than them.”
This video explains which digital marketing strategies digital marketing agencies should focus on in 2026 to improve credibility, lead quality and measurable results. James Dooley and Craig Campbell start with KPI tracking because cutting through the noise of inflated claims and shiny object syndrome means proving what actually works before scaling it. 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 [unclear]. 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 [unclear] 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 [unclear] 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 [unclear] 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 [unclear] fix 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 [unclear] 40% of the time the [unclear] 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 [unclear] 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 [unclear] 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 Yeah. 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 [unclear] up?
James Dooley: 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. 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 [unclear] 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 [unclear] 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.