The definition, without the jargon
It is one of the most-searched marketing questions in the UK, and most of the answers are written for students. For an owner, it is three jobs done online: be found by people who need what you sell, be chosen when they compare you with the alternatives, and be remembered by the ones who bought. Every channel serves one of those three, and the ones worth paying for are the ones you can measure.
The eight channels, ranked for a small business
| # | Channel | Job | Cost | Keeps working when you stop? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Google Business Profile and reviews | Be found locally; be chosen | Free | Yes |
| 2 | The website itself (conversion) | Be chosen | From £500 build, £50 a month care (our prices) | Yes |
| 3 | Search engine optimisation | Be found | Work: evenings, or a block of hours | Yes |
| 4 | Content that answers buyers’ questions | Be found early; be chosen | One page a fortnight | Yes |
| 5 | Measurement (Search Console, analytics, tracking) | Know what works | Free tools; setup time | Yes |
| 6 | Email to existing customers | Be remembered | Low | Partly |
| 7 | Paid search (Google Ads) | Be found now | Per click, from single figures to over £70 | No |
| 8 | Social media, organic and paid | Be remembered; be found by people not searching | Time, or per impression | No |
Source: Cybrial; click prices are ranges from our own market, September 2026; Cybrial prices correct at 5 September 2026.
The ranking is by what compounds. The first five leave the business better off next year for work done this year. The last three are useful and they are rentals: valuable while paid for, gone when not. Most small businesses buy the rentals first because they are the ones being sold.
How the channels work together
A local search shows the map pack (channel 1) above the websites (channel 3) and the adverts (channel 7). The searcher clicks through to the site (channel 2), which either produces an enquiry or does not. If they leave, a retargeting advert (channel 8) may bring them back. If they buy, email (channel 6) keeps them. Measurement (channel 5) tells you which of those steps is leaking. A business that has channels 1, 2, 3 and 5 in place is doing digital marketing properly with no agency and almost no budget.
How to start without an agency
- Claim the Google Business Profile, complete it, and ask every finished customer for a review with the direct link.
- Fix the website’s first screen, price, phone number and form so it converts the visitors it already gets.
- Set up Search Console and conversion tracking, and keep a log of where every enquiry came from.
- Retitle each service page in the customer’s words and answer the questions people ask before buying, one page a fortnight.
- Ask suppliers, trade bodies and clients for mentions and links.
- Then, if the numbers say a channel is worth funding, adverts, with a matched landing page and a flat management fee.
That sequence is the whole of what a growth block does in its first months, and it is why the block starts at £250 rather than at an agency retainer: most of the work is unglamorous and none of it needs five specialists.
What is being sold as digital marketing
- Social media management as the default. Posting to people who already follow you is channel 8; it does not make a business findable.
- Adverts managed for a percentage of spend, up to 40%. The fee rewards spending.
- “Digital marketing packages” with a fixed list of deliverables regardless of what the business needs this month.
- Reports from the agency’s dashboard rather than your own Search Console and analytics.
- Lead generation that is really list-buying or shared comparison-site enquiries.
