Why Most Businesses in Basildon Struggle With Digital Marketing in 2026 And How to Fix It

James Dooley: If you're a Basildon based business and looking to grow in 2026, what digital marketing strategies should you be using to get more customers and more enquiries? Today we break down the different types of digital marketing services, including AI SEO and trying to get cited in ChatGPT and Gemini, which are the Google AI overviews. Should you be using a Basildon based SEO agency, a PPC agency, or looking to outsource to a lead generation service for new enquiries? Today I'm joined with Kasra. Kasra, what advice would you give to business owners and entrepreneurs based in the Basildon area before spending any money on marketing?

Kasra Dash: For Basildon business owners, one thing that I would recommend is setting up some KPIs. You want to know exactly how much money you are spending on each marketing channel. That would be KPI number one. KPI number two would be how many leads have actually been generated per channel. Is it 50 leads, 20 leads, or 100 leads? Next, I would be looking at the contact rate of those leads. Have you been able to contact all of them? Maybe 20 percent, maybe 50 percent, maybe five out of ten leads. Last but not least, I would be looking at the actual revenue generated from those leads. How many of those leads have turned into paying customers or clients? Once you have those figures in place, marketing becomes a lot more fun and a lot more predictable. So James, for Basildon based businesses, what marketing channels would you be taking a look at?

James Dooley: Step number one for me has got to be branding or brand SEO and making certain that you're looking good online and that you have a strong reputation. Everything needs to start there. The foundations should start with a positive brand SERP of who you are and what you do. SERP stands for search engine results page. Getting that branding right across the board can then lead on to other things that you can be doing. It will improve your conversion rate on paid ads or social media. Any leads that you get will convert better because at the eleventh hour, when they are deciding who they are going to go with, branding becomes very important. So I would say that is the first thing people need to get right for all digital marketing strategies. My next strategy is AI visibility. More and more companies are starting to look into this. What do ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok and Perplexity say about your brand or your business? Is it positive or negative? You should also be analysing what those platforms say about your competitors and then work on improving that. Some people call this AI SEO. Some call it GEO. Others call it LLM optimisation. Whatever you call it, it is going to be a big focus in 2026 and beyond.

Kasra Dash: That is a huge strategy that businesses should be looking at when it comes to artificial intelligence. More and more people are using AI every day. The next strategy is filling in the form at Fat Rank or Promo SEO, which offer commission based lead generation services for UK companies looking to grow. It is important to generate your own leads through digital marketing, but outsourcing some lead generation can also help create diversification. Head over to fatrank.com and fill in the form to see whether they can help you with a no risk supply of enquiries. Promo SEO also offer a similar performance based lead generation service. It is worth filling in the form there as well to see whether a third party lead generation company can start generating enquiries for your business in 2026. The next one is Google Business Profiles, which means Google Map listings. This is local SEO where you focus on building reviews and optimising your business listing in your local area. The biggest benefit is that once it ranks, it can generate consistent leads. However, getting to the number one position can be difficult if competitors already have 60 or even 100 more reviews than you. That means you need leads in order to generate reviews, which creates a chicken and egg situation. Even so, it is still very good for branding your business, so every company should try to build their Google Maps presence while understanding the pros and cons.

James Dooley: If you are operating in a local area, you should absolutely aim to rank in those map listings. You should also aim to be omnichannel and omnipresent. The next strategy is organic SEO. You should be building your website so that it ranks better in search engines. If you serve specific locations, you can create service pages targeting those areas. For example, plumbing in Manchester could have its own page. That page could then be shared through your Google Business Profile. There is a lot of search demand for services online, and you can also create blog content targeting different questions or topics. The key is publishing quality content, building topical authority and acquiring third party backlinks that strengthen your domain and improve organic rankings. Organic SEO remains one of the most powerful digital marketing strategies for 2026.

Kasra Dash: The next strategy ties into what you mentioned earlier. Organic social media. Organic social media is largely a numbers game. Businesses need to create content that people actually want to watch or engage with. Many brands post a few times on Instagram and then disappear for three years. That is not going to generate sales. Instead, create useful content such as how to guides, step by step tutorials, or before and after transformations. That type of content attracts attention and encourages users to click through to your website and submit enquiries. Organic social media is free compared with PPC, but it requires consistency. Businesses should aim to post at least three or four times per week.

James Dooley: Paid social ads are also extremely powerful. I am a big supporter of the small daily budget strategy. If you are already posting content regularly on social media, then spending a few pounds boosting those posts can significantly increase reach. Promote case studies, awards or testimonials that strengthen your reputation. You can also run retargeting ads to people who have visited your website. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest and even Reddit offer opportunities for paid social campaigns. Paid social advertising is still underused by many businesses and offers a major opportunity.

Kasra Dash: The next strategy is PPC, which often creates a love or hate relationship. PPC includes Google Ads or Bing Ads and appears above local SEO results. Some business owners spend £10,000, £15,000 or even £20,000 and receive very little return. Others spend hundreds of thousands and consider it the best investment they have made. The difference usually comes down to campaign setup. PPC requires careful management, including maintaining a proactive negative keyword list, blocking competitor IP addresses to avoid click fraud, using high converting landing pages and ensuring the sales team responds quickly to enquiries. When all of these systems are in place, PPC can perform extremely well. Without them, it can waste a lot of budget.

James Dooley: There are definitely pros and cons to PPC. It can generate immediate enquiries, but poor campaign management can waste money very quickly. While discussing paid channels, another strategy to watch is paid advertising on AI platforms. This has not fully launched yet, but companies like ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity are expected to introduce advertising options in the future. Early adopters could gain very cheap leads through AI search platforms in the coming years.

Kasra Dash: Another strategy that sits slightly outside your control is forum mentions on websites like Reddit and Quora. If customers are recommending your services on those platforms, that becomes a strong source of referrals. Encouraging satisfied customers to leave reviews or recommend your business online can generate additional enquiries and brand exposure.

James Dooley: Forums like Reddit also influence AI search results because AI overviews often reference Reddit discussions. Positive mentions of your business on those platforms can improve your AI visibility. The final strategy is tradesman websites and third party lead generation platforms such as Checkatrade, Bark, Rated People and MyBuilder. These websites can produce large volumes of enquiries if they deliver a strong return on investment. Businesses should track performance carefully using KPIs to measure the return from each platform. There are also lead generation companies that produce enquiries using SEO, PPC or paid social advertising. If those services generate a positive return on investment, they should absolutely form part of your marketing mix. Companies like Fat Rank and Promo SEO offer performance based lead generation where businesses only pay when they secure results. That can be a powerful way to diversify lead sources while still running your own digital marketing strategies.

Kasra Dash: Thank you very much, Kazwell.