StephIgnorance about online marketing will cause many businesses to follow the same fate as failed High Street brands like HMV, Jessops, and Comet, warns the West Country’s biggest digital marketing agency.

Too many companies of all sizes are either reluctant to hear about the potential of digital marketing, too slow off the mark in calling for expert help or simply turn a blind eye to their online presence.

These have been labelled “tombstone” companies by Stephanie Iles, sales director of Strategy Internet Marketing.

She warns it is just a matter of time before many local brands join HMV in the “digital graveyard”.

Stephanie explains: “At Strategy we predicted the demise of HMV, Jessops and Comet  two years ago because we knew firsthand how complacent they were about their online performance.

“They called us in to look at their online systems but it was quickly evident none of them were willing to devote sufficient time and resources to compete properly online.

“There was so much to do. Their products weren’t coming up in search results and their online checkouts were clunky and falling over all the time but they didn’t want to hear the bad news.

“Sadly, there are too many businesses out there who are heading the same way. I network with lots of business leaders nationwide and ignorance about digital marketing constantly astounds me. I’ve lost count of the number of business leaders who don’t even know what SEO stands for – search engine optimisation.

“Search is now the biggest buzzword in marketing.  If no one can find you when potential customers do a basic online search for your services or products then you may as well turn the lights out and go home. The growing number of gaps on the High Street is proof that even major household names like Jessops can’t be complacent.”

Strategy features a guide to the importance of search on it website http://www.strategyinternetmarketing.co.uk/seo-tools-guide/

The company has grown by almost 500 per cent over the past five years, with its team of 50 making it one of the fastest growing digital agencies in the UK.

Stephanie Iles adds: “Thankfully, Strategy’s fast growth is testament to the fact that more and more businesses are taking their online performance seriously. At Strategy we are so confident about the impact of effective digital marketing that we work on a pay on results basis, so if an offer like that doesn’t shake a business out of its digital complacency nothing will.”