Digital Marketing Strategy: An Integrated Approach to Online Marketing
Introduction
Simon Kingsnorth’s Digital Marketing Strategy is now in its third edition and remains a highly regarded resource for marketers looking to create integrated, actionable strategies. With years of global experience in digital strategy, Kingsnorth combines core marketing principles with modern tools to offer a book that is both comprehensive and grounded. It’s used by practitioners, students, and teams looking to align their digital activity with measurable business goals.
What to Expect
Originally published in 2016 and most recently updated in 2022, the book is current with topics like automation, personalisation, and omnichannel planning. It runs over 400 pages, placing it in the long category. The structure is reference-style, meaning you can dip into individual topics or follow a strategic flow.
The tone is clear and practical without being too dense. It’s suitable for intermediate readers, especially those who already grasp marketing basics and want to expand their toolkit. The book covers digital channels, planning frameworks, customer journeys, and analytics in a way that suits professionals looking to grow in their roles.
Key Lessons
Strategy before tactics: Kingsnorth emphasises the importance of aligning digital activities with business objectives. He provides models like SOSTAC and RACE to support strategic planning.
Omnichannel integration: The book outlines how content, SEO, social, paid media, and CRM must work together. It stresses cross-channel consistency and customer-centric planning.
Data-driven decisions: A strong thread throughout is the role of data and analytics. From tracking KPIs to attribution modelling, the book encourages marketers to measure what matters.
SEO in context: While not an SEO manual, it provides a solid overview of SEO’s place within broader digital marketing, including content strategy, UX, and technical factors that affect visibility.
Who Should Read This
The book is ideal for:
- Intermediate marketers who want to level up
- Business owners and startup founders aiming to build coherent strategies
- Marketing team leads building structure across channels
- Students of digital marketing looking for real-world context
It’s less suited to total beginners or those looking for deep tactical SEO techniques.
Comparison
Compared to SEO-specific books like 3 Months to No.1, this book offers less hands-on guidance for ranking in Google. However, it excels in showing how SEO fits within a broader marketing system. If you're looking for a strategic bird’s eye view across email, PPC, content, CRM, and analytics, this is a better fit.
Final Thoughts
If you want a complete and current roadmap to digital marketing that goes beyond isolated tactics, this book is worth your time. It delivers clarity, structure, and practical guidance for professionals who need to align marketing with business outcomes.
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