The Most Common Digital Marketing Questions I Get from Young Marketers (And My Attempts to Provide Creative Answers)

With over 15 years of startup marketing experience under my belt, I enjoy passing on knowledge to young marketers through mentoring. While every marketer’s situation is unique, there are some challenges that seem to come up again and again when I meet with new mentees. Here are some of the most frequent digital marketing questions posed by young marketers during our sessions, along with my attempts to provide thoughtful, creative responses.

Why am I suddenly seeing my customer acquisition costs shoot up 2–3X?

A sudden unexplained spike in CAC often indicates that something in the marketing mix has been disrupted. Start digging into the data to identify what precise changes preceded the increase. Did you switch bidding strategies or expand targeting into new demographics? Were there creative changes or new promotions you launched? By isolating variables, you can begin to pinpoint what pushed CAC upwards and refine your approach accordingly. Don’t make big sweeping changes without evidence.

I created some awesome blog content featuring all the right keywords. Why isn’t it ranking?

Creating optimized on-page content is just one piece of ranking well. Ensure your titles, metadata, headings and alt text meet searcher intent for those keywords. Produce new, fresh content to showcase your expertise in those subjects. And don’t neglect link-building through outreach to other sites. Patience and persistence are key — hang in there and continue providing value.

I spent way more on my ad budget last month, but traffic barely budge. Help!

When increased ad spend doesn’t translate into growth, it’s time to pause and re-evaluate your targeting, bids and creatives. Are you hitting saturation with your current placement and audience selection? Try narrowing your focus or expanding to whole new demographics that may be untapped. Test new creatives, offers and even ad formats — a stale approach likely needs a refresh. Make incremental optimizations and keep testing new permutations.

I created an amazing discount offer, but still no spike in sales. What gives?

Don’t assume even the most amazing deal will speak for itself — you need to spell out the value loud and clear. Ensure your messaging explicitly highlights the dollar amount, percent off or free bonus so customers understand the offer at a glance. Use urgency signals like expiring dates and limited quantities to prompt action. Test different promotional caps and eligibility rules. The wrong audience may be seeing your deal.

I published over 50 new blog articles last month. Traffic has barely moved. Now what?

Mass content production doesn’t guarantee results. You need to laser focus on quality over quantity. Analyze your metrics to identify which topics and keywords are resonating and driving traffic. Double down on those winners with refreshes and updates. Promote your new posts internally, and guest post on niche external sites related to those subjects. Consider hiring a great writer to produce cornerstone content assets for you.

Mentoring sessions are always most fruitful when the mentee arrives informed with thoughtful questions tailored to their specific scenario. I hope these responses provide a launchpad for creatively confronting some of the obstacles digital marketers inevitably face. Feel free to get in touch if you have any other questions arise on your journey!