5 Signs Your Marketing Agency Is Taking Your Money and Delivering Nothing

Jeremy Beckett2026-06-08T17:59:54+10:00Categories: Analytics & Performance, CRO and Conversions, Digital Marketing & Strategy, Email & Customer Relations, Virtual Chief Marketing Officer|Tags: Accurate Data, data, Digital Marketing, Google Analytics, Marketing, Marketing Analytics, Reporting, Review Management, Reviews|

This is one of the most common conversations we have. A business owner hired an agency, paid for months, sat through calls, received reports - and their pipeline has not moved. Here are the five signs something is genuinely wrong.

JB’s Digital Update 15th June 2026

Jeremy Beckett2026-06-16T18:21:20+10:00Categories: Analytics & Performance, Digital Marketing & Strategy, JB's Digital Update, PPC & Paid Social, SEO, Virtual Chief Digital Officer, Virtual Chief Marketing Officer|Tags: Advertising, Analytics, Attribution, Digital Marketing, Google, Google Ads, Google Maps, Local SEO, Marketing, Marketing News, Marketing Strategy, Meta, Paid Social Media, Performance Measurement, PPC, Reporting, Revenue, Search Marketing, Seasonal Marketing, SEO|

Google Analytics gets a little easier to work with, Google's AI Max migration slows down, attribution becomes harder to trust, Meta wants marketers thinking about Christmas already, and Local Services Ads keep expanding. Different stories, same theme: the platforms keep adding layers while marketers are left figuring out what actually matters.

JB’s Digital Update 8th June 2026

Jeremy Beckett2026-06-10T11:15:38+10:00Categories: Content Strategy & Creation, Digital Marketing & Strategy, Email & Customer Relations, GEO - Generative Engine Optimisation, JB's Digital Update, PPC & Paid Social, SEO, Social Media Management, Virtual Chief Digital Officer, Virtual Chief Marketing Officer|Tags: AI, Content Strategy, Customer Relations, Digital Marketing, Digital Skills, Google, Google Ads, Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Open AI, Paid Ads, Search Marketing, SEO, SEO Strategy, Social Media, Social Search, TikTok, TikTok Ads|

Google is adding social profiles to Discover, AI still struggles with accuracy despite the money being poured into it, publishers remain uneasy about AI Overviews, TikTok wants a bigger role in real-world events, and Meta is expanding AI business messaging. Different stories, same trend: platforms are working hard to become the middleman in more of your customer relationships.

JB’s Digital Update 11th May 2026

Jeremy Beckett2026-05-12T15:15:11+10:00Categories: Analytics & Performance, Content Strategy & Creation, Digital Marketing & Strategy, JB's Digital Update, PPC & Paid Social, SEO, Social Media Management, Technology & Development|Tags: Ad Blocking, AI, AI Governance, AI Search, Broad Match, Campaign Management, Content Strategy, Digital Marketing, Google Ads, Google Analytics, Marketing, Marketing Analytics, Marketing Strategy, Negative Keywords, Organic Traffic, Paid Ads, Paid Social Media, Reddit, SEO, SMB Marketing, SME, Social Media, Social Media Strategy|

Another week of marketers trying to regain control: negative keywords still matter, publishers are blocking AI crawlers, AI governance has entered the meeting room, Reddit wants SMB ad dollars, and marketing leaders are quietly rebuilding workflows around AI. Same pattern underneath all of it really, less blind adoption, more caution around who actually benefits.

JB’s Digital Update 13th April 2026

Jeremy Beckett2026-04-13T13:46:56+10:00Categories: Content Strategy & Creation, CRO and Conversions, Digital Marketing & Strategy, Email & Customer Relations, JB's Digital Update, PPC & Paid Social, SEO, Social Media Management, Virtual Chief Digital Officer, Virtual Chief Marketing Officer|Tags: A/B Testing, AI Content, AI Context, AI Marketing Tools, AI Prompts, Audience Targeting, Campaign Management, Content Marketing, Content Strategy, Customer Relations, Digital Marketing, Digital Strategy, Email Marketing, Generative Engine Optimisation, Generative Search, Google Ads, Google Business Profile, LinkedIn, Local SEO, Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Paid Ads, Paid Social Media, PPC, SEO, Technical SEO|

PPC “best practices” collapse under testing, AI works better with context than clever prompts, loyalty is often decided after purchase, messaging fails when the audience is wrong, and AI content still wins only when it’s good. Five different stories, one familiar pattern, the basics still run the show.

JB’s Digital Update 6th April 2026

Jeremy Beckett2026-04-21T14:23:43+10:00Categories: Content Strategy & Creation, CRO and Conversions, Digital Marketing & Strategy, JB's Digital Update, PPC & Paid Social, SEO, Social Media Management, Virtual Chief Digital Officer, Virtual Chief Marketing Officer|Tags: AI Marketing Tools, Content Marketing, Content Strategy, Conversions, GEO, Google Ads, Google Business Profile, LinkedIn, Local SEO, Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Paid Ads, Paid Social Media, PPC, SEO, Technical SEO|

Micro-conversions may be quietly distorting PPC optimisation. AI is starting to reshape marketing teams and budgets. SEO teams are experimenting with practical AI workflows. LinkedIn is pushing long-form posts again. Different stories, same theme: tools keep shifting, but marketers still have to decide what actually matters.

JB’s Digital Update 9th March 2026

Jeremy Beckett2026-04-21T20:37:16+10:00Categories: Analytics & Performance, Content Strategy & Creation, CRO and Conversions, Digital Marketing & Strategy, Email & Customer Relations, JB's Digital Update, SEO, Virtual Chief Digital Officer, Virtual Chief Marketing Officer|Tags: AI, AI Marketing Tools, Artificial Intelligence, Brand Management, Content Quality, Content Strategy, Conversions, CRO, Customer Engagement, Customer Relations, CX, Dashboards, Data Analytics, Email Conversions, Email Marketing, Email Strategy, Knowledge Panels, Marketing, Organic Traffic, Outreach, Paid Ads, SEO, SEO Strategy|

Marketing dashboards are still arguing with each other, most outreach emails are dying before anyone reads them, search results are quietly becoming a brand credibility check, AI can write faster but not smarter, and the real customer experience begins after the sale. In short: better data, clearer messaging, credible content, and remembering that customers don’t disappear the moment they click “buy”.

JB’s Digital Update 2nd March 2026

Jeremy Beckett2026-03-02T13:24:02+11:00Categories: Analytics & Performance, Content Strategy & Creation, CRO and Conversions, Digital Marketing & Strategy, Email & Customer Relations, JB's Digital Update, SEO, Virtual Chief Digital Officer, Virtual Chief Marketing Officer|Tags: A/B Testing, AI, Content Strategy, Conversions, CRM, Customer Relations, Data Analytics, Digital Strategy, Email Marketing, Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Organic Traffic, Revenue, SEO, SEO Strategy, UX|

AI can now run your A/B tests. SEO traffic is no longer proof of influence. AI has made average content the default. Your contact page might be hurting local rankings. Gmail just made unsubscribing effortless.

JB’s Digital Update 23rd February 2026

Jeremy Beckett2026-02-23T17:24:15+11:00Categories: Analytics & Performance, Content Strategy & Creation, Digital Marketing & Strategy, Email & Customer Relations, JB's Digital Update, PPC & Paid Social, SEO, Social Media Management, Virtual Chief Digital Officer, Virtual Chief Marketing Officer|Tags: Advertising, AI, AI Marketing Tools, AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Content Strategy, Conversions, CRM, Data Analytics, Digital Strategy, Email Marketing, Google Shopping, Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Paid Ads, Paid Social Media, PPC, Revenue, SEO, SEO Strategy|

Measurement must drive decisions. CRM data should shape messaging. SEO must prove revenue. Product feeds matter. AI is changing discovery. This week’s update is about accountability across modern marketing.

JB’s Digital Update 16th February 2026

Jeremy Beckett2026-02-20T16:50:46+11:00Categories: Analytics & Performance, Content Strategy & Creation, Digital Marketing & Strategy, Email & Customer Relations, JB's Digital Update, PPC & Paid Social, SEO, Social Media Management, Virtual Chief Digital Officer, Virtual Chief Marketing Officer|Tags: Advertising, AI, AI Marketing Tools, AI Overviews, Content Strategy, CRM, Data Analytics, Digital Strategy, Email Marketing, Email Strategy, Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Paid Ads, Paid Social Media, PPC, SEO, SEO Strategy, Social Media|

AI ads are quietly reshaping how brands get chosen, search visibility is being decided on social long before anyone types a query, email only works when people actually care, martech tools are starting to make calls instead of charts, and TikTok keeps exposing how lazy most attention strategies really are. The common thread this week is control shifting upstream. Discovery, decision-making, and attention are no longer owned by the channels marketers feel most comfortable managing.

JB’s Digital Update 9th February 2026

Jeremy Beckett2026-04-21T20:37:24+10:00Categories: Analytics & Performance, Content Strategy & Creation, Digital Marketing & Strategy, Email & Customer Relations, JB's Digital Update, PPC & Paid Social, SEO, Social Media Management, Virtual Chief Digital Officer, Virtual Chief Marketing Officer|Tags: AI, AI Marketing Tools, AI Overviews, Brand Management, Content Strategy, Customer Engagement, Data Analytics, Digital Strategy, Email Marketing, Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Meta Ads, Paid Ads, Paid Social Media, PPC, SEO, SEO Strategy, Social Media, Structured Data|

This week’s update covers why AI still misses key brand moments, how buyers now move between search and AI before deciding, smarter ways to make retargeting emails pay off, Meta’s push to clean up creator discovery, and why customer experience has become the most reliable growth lever going into 2026. The common thread? Clarity, connection, and joined-up thinking beat channel tricks every time.

JB’s Digital Update 2nd February 2026

Jeremy Beckett2026-02-02T19:59:56+11:00Categories: Analytics & Performance, CRO and Conversions, Digital Marketing & Strategy, JB's Digital Update, PPC & Paid Social, SEO, Social Media Management, Technology & Development, Virtual Chief Digital Officer, Virtual Chief Marketing Officer|Tags: A/B Testing, AI, AI Marketing Tools, AI Overviews, Conversions, Data Analytics, Digital Strategy, Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Meta Ads, Paid Ads, Paid Social Media, PPC, SEO, SEO Strategy, Social Media, Structured Data|

Meta’s AI gets cleverer, loyalty programs admit they trained customers to chase discounts, marketers are told to put rules around AI before it runs the meeting, A/B testing reminds us evidence still beats opinions, and analytics finally stops forcing a choice between depth and scale. Big picture: the tools are getting smarter, but common sense is still doing most of the heavy lifting.

JB’s Digital Update 9th December 2025

Jeremy Beckett2025-12-09T06:16:45+11:00Categories: Analytics & Performance, Content Strategy & Creation, CRO and Conversions, Digital Marketing & Strategy, Email & Customer Relations, JB's Digital Update, PPC & Paid Social, SEO, Social Media Management, Virtual Chief Digital Officer, Virtual Chief Marketing Officer|Tags: Accurate Data, AI, AIO, Amazon, Content Marketing, Content Planning, Content Strategy, Conversions, CRO, Data Analytics, eCommerce, Email Conversions, Email Marketing, Email Strategy, Google, Google Ads, Google Analytics, Marketing, Online Marketing, Paid Ads, Paid Social Media, Performance, Performance Max, Pinterest, PPC, SEO, TikTok|

Ecommerce PPC is finally being treated like ecommerce, AI search is deciding who exists without asking permission, win-back campaigns still can’t apologise properly, email lists are making more money than traffic spikes, and dirty data is quietly undoing years of confident reporting. The tools keep changing, but common sense is stubbornly back in fashion.

JB’s Digital Update 2nd December 2025

Jeremy Beckett2025-12-02T07:02:00+11:00Categories: Analytics & Performance, Content Strategy & Creation, CRO and Conversions, Digital Marketing & Strategy, JB's Digital Update, PPC & Paid Social, SEO, Social Media Management, Virtual Chief Digital Officer, Virtual Chief Marketing Officer|Tags: Content Marketing, Content Planning, Content Strategy, Conversions, CRO, eCommerce, Google, Google Ads, Marketing, Online Marketing, Paid Ads, Paid Social Media, Performance, Pinterest, PPC, SEO, TikTok, TikTok Ads|

Pinterest says Q5 is a secret sales window, TikTok faces another U.S. deadline wobble, Google reminds everyone SEO isn’t going anywhere, marketers are told to rethink search and discovery, and e-commerce brands are leaking customers through their funnels. A week of “nothing’s quiet, nothing’s stable, and everything still matters.”

JB’s Digital Update 25th November 2025

Jeremy Beckett2025-11-25T10:37:49+11:00Categories: Analytics & Performance, Content Strategy & Creation, CRO and Conversions, Digital Marketing & Strategy, JB's Digital Update, SEO, Technology & Development, Virtual Chief Digital Officer, Virtual Chief Marketing Officer|Tags: AI, AI Marketing Tools, AI Overviews, Content Marketing, Content Planning, Content Strategy, Conversions, Creators, CRO, Google, Google Ads, Heatmaps, Influencers, Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Martech, Paid Social Media, Performance, SEMRush, SEO|

This week: SEO steps up from “task” to “coordination system,” Google’s AI answers tell users to double-check everything, creator content proves its real value when amplified, Crazy Egg rolls out free heatmaps, and Adobe buys Semrush for nearly $2B.

JB’s Digital Update 11th November 2025

Jeremy Beckett2025-11-14T10:28:46+11:00Categories: Analytics & Performance, CRO and Conversions, Digital Marketing & Strategy, Email & Customer Relations, JB's Digital Update, PPC & Paid Social, SEO, Virtual Chief Marketing Officer|Tags: AI Marketing Tools, AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Conversions, CRM, Digital Marketing, Digital Strategy, Email Marketing, Email Strategy, Google Search, Google Updates, Marketing, Marketing Strategy, PPC, Project Management, Reporting, SEO, SEO Strategy|

This week: Google’s been moody again, ChatGPT wants a slice of ad revenue, marketers are being told to stop bragging about traffic, AI Overviews are eating everyone’s clicks, and someone finally reminded us that emails should actually do something.

JB’s Digital Update 29th October 2025

Jeremy Beckett2025-10-30T11:56:36+11:00Categories: Analytics & Performance, CRO and Conversions, Digital Marketing & Strategy, Email & Customer Relations, JB's Digital Update, PPC & Paid Social, SEO, Social Media Management|Tags: Conversions, Data Privacy, Digital Marketing, Digital Strategy, eCommerce, Email Conversions, Email Marketing, Email Strategy, Google, Google Analytics, Google Search, Google Search Console, Marketing, PPC, SEO, Social Media, Social Media Strategy, Technical SEO, TikTok|

This week, Google Maps ads level up with scrollable sitelinks, AI starts bargain-hunting on behalf of your customers, marketers are finally being forced to prove real impact, B2B brands rediscover the power of storytelling, and email quietly keeps every other channel alive and well.

JB’s Digital Update 21st October 2025

Jeremy Beckett2025-10-20T16:49:25+11:00Categories: Analytics & Performance, Content Strategy & Creation, Digital Marketing & Strategy, Email & Customer Relations, JB's Digital Update, PPC & Paid Social, SEO|Tags: AI, AI Marketing Tools, Campaign Management, Content Marketing, Conversions, CRM, Customer Relations, Digital Strategy, eCommerce, Email Marketing, Google Ads, Google Local, Google Maps, Marketing, PPC, SEO, SEO Strategy|

This week, Google Maps ads level up with scrollable sitelinks, AI starts bargain-hunting on behalf of your customers, marketers are finally being forced to prove real impact, B2B brands rediscover the power of storytelling, and email quietly keeps every other channel alive and well.

JB’s Digital Update 14th October 2025

Jeremy Beckett2025-10-14T15:47:26+11:00Categories: Analytics & Performance, CRO and Conversions, Digital Marketing & Strategy, JB's Digital Update, PPC & Paid Social, SEO, Social Media Management, Virtual Chief Marketing Officer|Tags: A/B Testing, AI, AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Conversions, CRO, Digital Marketing, eCommerce, GA4, Google Ads, Google Analytics, Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Paid Ads, ROI, SEO, SEO Strategy, TikTok, TikTok Ads|

Google’s phasing out Call-Only Ads, GA4 still can’t behave across domains, marketers are measuring the wrong KPIs, GenAI search might ruin discovery, and TikTok just booked a flight into travel ads. Here’s what’s happening — and what smart marketers should do next.

Streamlining Analytics for a Major Australian Bank

Jeremy Beckett2025-07-08T16:30:33+10:00Categories: Analytics & Performance Case Studies, Belmore Digital Case Studies, Conversions & CRO Case Studies, Development & Technology Case Studies, Digital Marketing Case Studies, SEO Case Studies, Training & Upskilling Case Studies, Virtual Chief Marketing Officer Case Studies|Tags: Client Management, Data Analytics, Digital Marketing, Digital Strategy, Google Analytics, Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Performance|

A leading Australian bank turned to Belmore Digital to fix its fragmented analytics. JB led a cross-departmental effort to implement a tailored third-party solution—tracking key metrics like O.R. page fees, traffic, and conversions. The result? Clearer insights, improved collaboration, and a smarter path forward for digital strategy.

Understanding Marketing