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

James Dooley If you're a business based in Norwich and you're looking to grow in 2026, but you're uncertain what digital marketing strategies that you should be doing, there's a lot of noise out there with regards to AI SEO and whether you should be trying to get your brand cited and recommended in ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Grok, or Gemini, which powers the AI overviews within Google. How important is that? Or should you be doubling down on PPC, which is Google AdWords, or potentially doing PPC in Bing or social media ads? Where should you be focusing your digital marketing strategies in 2026 as a Norwich-based business? Before we get started, Kasra, and we start looking at the different digital marketing strategies that can be used, what bit of advice would you give to entrepreneurs or business owners who are based in Norwich? Kasra Dash So the biggest issue that I have seen with Norwich-based businesses, and both myself and James have worked with quite a lot of them, is that they have potentially spent £15,000–£16,000 on PPC and they haven't had any results. Now that is obviously a worst-case scenario. What we want to do with marketing is make it predictable. We're going to speak about a variety of different marketing channels, but before you spend any money on any digital marketing channel, you want to set up KPIs. You want to know: How much money you're spending on each channel How many leads are generated from each channel Which channels are actually generating those leads Maybe you're spending money on Facebook ads, maybe Checkatrade, maybe SEO. You want to know exactly where the leads are coming from. Then you want to figure out contact rates. For example, if you get 10 enquiries, how many actually pick up the phone? Maybe only two or three Maybe eight or nine Then from the leads that actually answer the phone, you want to know how many turn into paying customers. Once you understand those numbers, digital marketing becomes predictable. You can decide: Which channels to double down on Which channels to reduce spending on Which channels to stop using completely So James, what would be the first marketing channel that you would recommend? 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've got a strong reputation. Everything needs to start with the foundations of having a positive brand SERP. A SERP stands for Search Engine Results Page. If someone searches your brand name, you want them to see: Positive reviews Positive mentions Good content about your business Getting your branding right across the board can improve conversion rates across everything else, including paid ads, social media leads, and organic traffic. At the final stage when someone is deciding who to work with, your brand reputation becomes incredibly important. So branding is the first thing businesses need to get right. James Dooley The next strategy is AI visibility. More and more companies are starting to look into this. What do platforms like: ChatGPT Claude Gemini Grok Perplexity say about your brand or your business? Is it positive or negative? You should also look at what those platforms say about your competitors. Some people call this AI SEO, others call it GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation), and some call it LLM optimisation. Whatever you call it, this is going to be a big factor in 2026 and beyond. Kasra Dash Yes, I completely agree. AI visibility is going to be a huge strategy moving forward. The next strategy is working with lead generation companies such as Fat Rank or Promo SEO, which provide commission-based lead generation services for UK businesses. It's important to generate your own leads through your marketing efforts, but it's also useful to diversify by working with third-party lead providers. This means you’re not relying on a single source of enquiries. You can head over to fatrank.com and fill in the form to see if they can help generate enquiries for your business. Promo SEO also offers a performance-based lead generation model. James Dooley Next on the list is Google Business Profiles, also known as Google Maps listings. This is part of local SEO. If your Google Business Profile ranks well, it can generate consistent local enquiries. However, the challenge is that if you’re starting from scratch, you may have a review deficit compared to competitors. For example, your competitors might have 60–100 reviews already. So it can take time to catch up. But regardless, every business should have a Google Business Profile because it's important for both local visibility and branding. Kasra Dash Exactly. And businesses should aim to be omnichannel and omnipresent. The next major channel is organic SEO. This means building up your website so it ranks in Google. For example: Service pages for local areas Blog content targeting customer questions Building topical authority Acquiring high-quality backlinks These strategies help improve organic search rankings and generate long-term traffic. James Dooley Another important strategy is organic social media. Organic social media is largely a numbers game. Many businesses only post a few times and then stop for years. But if you consistently post helpful content such as: How-to guides Before-and-after case studies Educational posts you can drive traffic and enquiries. Ideally you should post 3–4 times per week. Kasra Dash On the topic of social media, paid social ads are also very powerful. If you're already posting organic content, boosting those posts with small ad budgets can increase reach significantly. You can run ads on platforms like: Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube Pinterest Reddit Retargeting ads can also be effective if someone has already visited your website. James Dooley Another strategy is PPC advertising, such as Google Ads or Bing Ads. Some businesses love PPC, while others hate it. The difference usually comes down to how well the campaign is set up. For example: Using a strong negative keyword list Blocking competitor IP addresses to prevent click fraud Having a high-converting landing page Responding quickly to leads If PPC is managed properly, it can generate leads quickly. Kasra Dash Another emerging opportunity is advertising on AI platforms. This hasn’t fully rolled out yet, but platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity may introduce ads in the future. Businesses that become early adopters may benefit from lower advertising costs. James Dooley Another strategy is gaining mentions on forums like Reddit and Quora. If customers are recommending your business in these communities, it can generate additional enquiries. Positive mentions can also help with AI visibility, as AI platforms often reference these sites. Kasra Dash Finally, businesses can use tradesman platforms such as: Checkatrade Bark Rated People MyBuilder These platforms can generate leads if they provide a positive return on investment. The key is always tracking KPIs and ROI. James Dooley Exactly. Make sure you track your marketing spend, leads, and conversions. You should always aim to diversify your lead sources and avoid relying on a single channel. Lead generation companies like Fat Rank and Promo SEO can be part of that strategy alongside your own marketing efforts. James Dooley Thank you very much, Kasra.