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

James Dooley If you're a business that's based in Portsmouth and you're looking to grow in 2026, what digital marketing strategies should you be doing? There's a lot of noise in the community about AI SEO and whether you should be getting your brand cited in large language models like ChatGPT and Gemini, which powers Google's AI overviews. Should you be doubling down on PPC or social media ads? Should you be doing organic SEO? There are lots of different questions that Portsmouth business owners and entrepreneurs are asking. Before we get started on the different strategies that Portsmouth-based companies could use to grow and generate a consistent flow of enquiries, Kasra, what advice would you give to these people? Kasra Dash The biggest piece of advice I would give to Portsmouth-based businesses—especially from the ones that have contacted us in the past—is that you want to make marketing as predictable as possible.

Start by setting up KPIs. These KPIs should include questions such as: how much am I spending on each marketing channel? What am I getting back from that spend? Am I getting five leads, ten leads, or one hundred leads?

From those leads, how many are actually contactable or genuinely interested in your service? For example, if you've spent £3,000 on Facebook ads and generated ten leads, how many of those leads actually pick up the phone? Then from the people who do pick up, how many of them convert into paying customers? Many businesses say things like, “We’re getting 300 leads from Checkatrade, Bark, or Bing,” but those leads may not actually be contactable. You need to make sure that the leads are real, reachable, and interested in your service. Once you understand those numbers, you can determine exactly how much you're willing to spend on each channel. In some cases, you might decide to turn off PPC if it's generating leads that never convert. That way you can scale up the marketing channels that work and scale down the ones that don't. 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 sure that you look good online and have a strong reputation. Everything should start with the foundations of a positive brand SERP. SERP stands for search engine results page. When someone searches your brand name, you want the results to show positive information about who you are and what you do. Getting your branding right across the board can improve your conversion rates across all marketing channels, including paid ads and social media. When someone is making the final decision about who to work with, branding becomes very important. So branding is the first thing people need to get right with their digital marketing strategies. James Dooley The next strategy is AI visibility. More companies are starting to look into this. What do platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, and Perplexity say about your brand or business? Is it positive or negative? You should also look at what these platforms say about your competitors and try to improve how your brand is represented. Some people call this AI SEO, others call it GEO, and some refer to it as LLM optimisation. Whatever the name, it’s going to become a very important strategy in 2026 and beyond. Kasra Dash Yes, AI visibility is definitely a strategy that businesses should be looking into because more people are using artificial intelligence tools. Another option is working with lead generation companies like Fat Rank or Promo SEO, which provide commission-based lead generation services for UK companies. It's important to generate your own leads, but it can also help to outsource part of the process so you diversify your sources of enquiries. You can visit fatrank.com and fill in the form to see if they can help generate enquiries for your business. Promo SEO offers a similar performance-based lead generation service. James Dooley The next strategy is Google Business Profiles, also known as Google Maps listings. This is part of local SEO where you build up your Google Business Profile in your local area and focus on generating reviews. The advantage is that once your listing ranks well, it can consistently generate leads. The downside is that if you’re starting from scratch, your competitors may already have 60 to 100 reviews, which makes it harder to rank initially. Still, it’s important for branding and local visibility. Kasra Dash Exactly. If you operate locally, you should aim to be omnichannel and omnipresent. Another major strategy is organic SEO. This involves building out your website so it ranks for relevant searches. For example, you might create service pages for areas you cover or write blog posts that answer common customer questions. The goal is to build topical authority and acquire high-quality backlinks to improve your organic rankings. James Dooley Another important strategy is organic social media. Organic social media is largely a numbers game. Many businesses post a few times and then stop for years, which won’t generate sales. Instead, you should consistently post helpful content such as how-to guides, before-and-after examples, and educational content. Ideally you should post three to four times per week. Kasra Dash Paid social media advertising is also a powerful strategy. If you’re already posting regularly, boosting those posts with a small advertising budget can increase your reach significantly. You can run ads across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and Reddit. Retargeting ads are also useful because they allow you to advertise to people who have already visited your website. James Dooley Another strategy is PPC advertising through Google Ads or Bing Ads. Some business owners love PPC while others hate it. Usually this depends on how well the campaign is set up. For example, you should have a strong negative keyword list, block competitor IPs to prevent click fraud, use high-converting landing pages, and ensure your sales team responds quickly to enquiries. If managed properly, PPC can generate leads quickly. Kasra Dash Another opportunity in the future will be paid ads on AI platforms. This hasn’t fully rolled out yet, but platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity may introduce advertising in the coming years. Businesses that adopt these early could benefit from cheaper leads. James Dooley You can also gain visibility through forums such as Reddit and Quora. If customers talk positively about your business in these communities, it can generate enquiries and improve your reputation. These mentions can also contribute to AI visibility since AI systems often reference those platforms. James Dooley Finally, businesses can use trades platforms such as Checkatrade, Bark, Rated People, and MyBuilder. These platforms can generate leads if they provide a positive return on investment. The key is always tracking your KPIs and return on ad spend. You should measure the time and money you invest into every marketing channel. Lead generation companies like Fat Rank and Promo SEO can also form part of a diversified marketing strategy. You should never rely on a single lead source. Always aim to generate your own leads while supplementing them with other channels. James Dooley Thank you very much, Kasra.