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

James Dooley: If you're a company based in Sheffield and looking to grow in 2026, what digital marketing strategies should you be using and which ones should you be staying away from? This is what me and Kasra are going to talk about in today’s episode where we run through what Sheffield businesses should actually be doing. Should you be doing AI SEO? Should you be trying to get recommended in ChatGPT, Gemini, or other large language models like Claude, Perplexity, or Grok? Is that going to get you a return on investment? Kasra, before we get started on the different types of digital marketing strategies or outsourcing to a Sheffield-based SEO agency, what advice would you give to business owners and entrepreneurs who are based in Sheffield? Kasra Dash: The number one piece of advice that I would give to Sheffield-based businesses is that before you spend any money on marketing, you should set up some KPIs. You want digital marketing, or marketing in general, to be as predictable as possible. One of the biggest reasons a lot of Sheffield businesses fail with digital marketing is that they don’t have these KPIs in place. Some KPIs I would be looking at include how much money you’re spending on each marketing channel, how many leads you’re generating from those channels, how many of those leads are actually contactable or genuinely interested in your service, and finally how many of those contactable leads turn into paying customers. If you don’t have that system set up, you’re going to struggle with digital marketing. In many cases, businesses end up turning marketing off completely because they think it doesn’t work. I don’t recommend doing that. If you have a predictable system in place, you’ll be off to a good start. So James, what would be the first marketing channel you’d recommend for Sheffield businesses? James Dooley: Step number one for me has got to be branding or brand SEO and making sure that you’re looking good online and have a strong reputation. Everything needs to start there. The foundations need to begin with a positive brand SER — which stands for search engine results page — showing who you are and what you do. Getting your branding right across the board can lead on to other things you can do. It will improve conversion rates from paid ads or social media because when someone is deciding who they are going to go with at the final stage, branding becomes extremely important. So that’s the first thing people need to get right for all digital marketing strategies. My next strategy is AI visibility. More companies are starting to look into this. What do ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, and Perplexity say about your brand or business? Is it positive or negative? And what do they say about your competitors? Some people call it AI SEO, others call it GEO or LLM optimisation, but it’s going to be a big thing in 2026 and beyond. Kasra Dash: I think that’s a huge strategy people need to be looking at as artificial intelligence continues to grow. The next option 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’s important to generate your own leads through marketing, but you should also diversify your lead sources by using freelancers or external lead generation services. Head over to fatrank.com and fill in the form to see whether they can help provide a no-risk supply of inquiries. Promo SEO offers a similar performance-based lead generation service as well. James Dooley: Next on the list is Google Business Profiles, also known as Google Map listings. This is essentially local SEO where you build out your profile and try to get more reviews in your area. The biggest benefit is that once it ranks, it can consistently generate leads. However, if you start from zero, you may be competing against businesses with 60 or even 100 more reviews than you. To get reviews you need leads, and to get leads you often need reviews — so it’s a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation. That said, it’s still extremely valuable for branding and reputation. Kasra Dash: If you’re operating locally, you definitely want to have those map listings. For me, businesses need to be omni-channel and omnipresent. The next strategy is organic SEO. You should be building up your website to rank better. If you’re operating locally, you could create pages for each service and location — for example “plumbing in Manchester”. You can then connect those pages to your Google Business Profile. There is huge search demand for services and informational blog content. Ideally, you want strong content, topical authority, and third-party backlinks to improve rankings. James Dooley: The next strategy is organic social media. Organic social media is very much a numbers game. I often see brands post four or five times and then disappear for years. That’s not going to generate any sales. Instead, you should be posting helpful content like how-to guides, tutorials, before-and-after case studies, or educational posts that your audience actually wants to watch. You don’t need to post every single day, but ideally three or four times per week. Kasra Dash: On the subject of social media, paid social ads are also extremely powerful. I’m a big advocate of the “dollar-a-day” style strategy. If you’re already posting content regularly, boosting those posts with a small budget can significantly increase reach. You can also run retargeting ads so that anyone who visits your website continues to see your ads across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and even Reddit. Paid social media is still a massively underutilised marketing channel. James Dooley: Next is PPC — Google Ads or Bing Ads. This is probably the most love-hate marketing channel. Some businesses spend £10,000–£20,000 and get nothing back, while others spend hundreds of thousands and say it’s the best marketing channel they’ve ever used. The difference usually comes down to how the campaigns are set up. You need a strong negative keyword list, banned IP addresses to prevent click fraud, a high-converting landing page, and a sales team ready to contact leads quickly. If all those systems are in place, PPC can perform extremely well. Kasra Dash: There are definitely pros and cons. While we’re talking about paid channels, another thing to watch for in the future is paid ads on AI platforms. ChatGPT ads aren’t fully rolled out yet, but platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity may introduce advertising opportunities in 2026. If you are an early adopter, you could potentially generate leads at a very low cost. James Dooley: Another marketing channel — although harder to control — is community recommendations on platforms like Reddit and Quora. If customers are recommending your products or services there, it can drive additional leads and strengthen brand credibility. Encouraging satisfied customers to leave reviews and recommendations can help a lot. Kasra Dash: Exactly. Reddit in particular is being cited heavily in AI Overviews. So positive discussions about your brand there can also improve your AI visibility. The final strategy is tradesman platforms like Checkatrade, Bark, Rated People, and MyBuilder. These platforms can generate leads if the return on investment is positive. Whatever strategies you use, always track your KPIs and return on ad spend. Lead generation companies like Fat Rank and Promo SEO can also guarantee ROI through commission-based lead generation, but you should always diversify your marketing channels and never rely on just one source of leads. James Dooley: Thank you very much, Kasra.