Digital marketing today accounts for an increasing share of commercial budgets, but companies’ practices remain very uneven. According to a study reported by Afnic, 71% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) do not engage in any advertising actions online, and 61% do not actually track their online performance.
This gap between perception and practice raises a fundamental question, even as nearly all of these companies consider the internet to be useful or necessary.
Digital Services Act and digital marketing: what the European regulation changes
Since February 17, 2024, the Digital Services Act (EU Regulation 2022/2065) applies to all digital platforms, and by extension to any brand that advertises on them.
In practical terms, each advertisement must be clearly identifiable as such, displaying the name of the advertiser, the payer if different, and the main targeting parameters used. Advertising based on profiling using sensitive data as defined by the GDPR (health, political opinions, religion, sexual orientation) is now prohibited. Advertising targeting minors through profiling is also banned on platforms accessible to children.
For a company relying on social campaigns or retargeting, these obligations change the way audiences and creatives are conceived. Ignoring the DSA exposes companies to sanctions, but more importantly to a loss of distribution if the platforms themselves reject non-compliant formats. Marketing teams that document available resources now, such as the marketing page of Boost 4 Business, save time on ensuring their campaigns comply.
Performance tracking: the real barrier to digital strategies in SMEs
Launching campaigns without measuring their results is like driving blindfolded. The figure of 61% of companies that do not track their online performance reveals a structural problem rather than a lack of will.
The causes are often the same: absence of a centralized dashboard, confusion between vanity metrics (number of likes, raw impressions) and revenue-related indicators (cost per acquisition, conversion rate, customer lifetime value). A digital marketing strategy only produces sustainable results if it is based on a measurement framework defined before launching actions.
What a minimal measurement system should include
- A properly configured web analytics tool, with conversion goals set up (form filled out, call triggered, purchase completed), not just tracking page views.
- A calculated acquisition cost by channel (organic search, paid advertising, social media, emailing) to identify where to concentrate the budget.
- A monthly report comparing results to set objectives, with a simple rule: any channel that does not generate measurable returns after three months should be reevaluated or abandoned.
Field feedback varies on the time needed to see results. Organic search typically requires several months of continuous work, while a paid advertising campaign can produce signals in a few weeks. The common mistake is to judge all channels on the same time horizon.
Content and target audience: produce less but better target
The temptation for content volume remains strong. Posting daily on social media, frequently updating a blog, multiplying video formats: this approach spreads resources thin without guaranteeing increased visibility.
Content that precisely answers a question posed by your target audience will have more impact than a dozen generic posts. The data-driven logic is to first identify the actual search queries of your potential customers, then build content around these intentions.
Balancing distribution channels
Not all social platforms are equal depending on the industry. A B2B company that invests heavily in a mass-market network without the presence of its target decision-makers is wasting budget. In contrast, a local business can derive real benefit from an active presence on visual platforms where its community is already engaged.
The choice of channel must precede content production, not the other way around. This sequence avoids creating unsuitable formats that will then need to be adapted or abandoned.
Online advertising post-DSA: rethink targeting without sensitive data
The DSA and the ongoing strengthening of the GDPR are gradually reducing the scope of behavioral targeting as it existed until 2023. Advertisers relying on very fine audience segments built from personal data must rethink their approach.
Several avenues are emerging. Contextual targeting, which displays an advertisement based on the content of the page being viewed rather than the user’s profile, is regaining interest. First-party data, collected directly by the company with the explicit consent of its customers, is becoming a strategic asset.
- Building a qualified email list with clear consent remains the most resilient channel against regulatory changes.
- Search engine campaigns, based on the intent expressed by the user through their query, do not depend on behavioral profiling.
- Influencer marketing, when it targets creators whose audience matches your clientele, bypasses the issue of algorithmic targeting by relying on community trust.
The shift from tracking-based marketing to relevance-based marketing is not just a regulatory constraint. The available data does not yet allow us to conclude whether this shift improves or degrades conversion rates at scale, but advertisers who prepare early avoid dependence on mechanisms that are set to disappear.
Without a reliable measurement framework, without targeting compliant with current rules, and without content built around an identified audience, the risk remains the same: spending without knowing what works.