From the algorithms that decide what we see to profiles capable of interacting like people, the impact of artificial intelligence on social media is changing the very nature of the networks. As much as I would like to stop talking about artificial intelligence on our podcast, Cierre de Semana, or in blog articles, it is almost impossible for me not to do so because the reality is that day after day a new update or implementation arises that this technology begins to offer. It is easy to feel overwhelmed by all the changes, news, and trends that may be occurring. So I would like to talk to you, in general and digestible terms, about how AI has changed the very nature of social networks and how this ends up affecting us (for better and for worse) as users, marketers, companies, businesses, and more. Table of Contents AI changed the way we discover content AI changed the way content is created AI began to change who we interact with What we still don't know: The true impact of artificial intelligence on social media FAQ AI changed the way we discover content A few years ago, the daily bread of social media was finding out what our friends and family were doing in their lives: So-and-so uploaded a photo of the last time we met. John Doe posted on LinkedIn about an achievement he reached at work. Whatshername published a carousel of her vacation in Rome. While we still have some of that, now "fyp" (For You Page) proliferate. Curiously, the best example of this functionality is TikTok, but in its Newsroom (the page where they publish platform news and official updates), they don't mention how their "fyp" algorithm is powered by "AI" or "artificial intelligence models"; rather, they refer to "our systems." The reality is that it is no secret that TikTok uses AI in its algorithms, but perhaps they are not so vocal about it. However, Meta is much more open about how they suggest content to users. Without going into technicalities (which sometimes even I don't understand), on the portal Engineering at Meta, it is explained how platforms like Instagram use artificial intelligence models to analyze our behavior and predict which posts are most likely to interest us, even if we have never interacted with the person who posted them or if said content has not gone viral. In other words, their goal is not to find the best content on Instagram, but the best content for each individual user. And, as I said, it's not something only Meta or TikTok do; platforms like YouTube and LinkedIn have implemented similar functionalities, obviously "powered by AI." Social networks stopped being platforms where we followed people to become platforms where we follow recommendations. AI changed the way content is created This topic is possibly one of the most controversial surrounding the use of artificial intelligence due to the regrettable rise of "AI Slop" AI Slop: Trash digital content generated massively by artificial intelligence without control. Here we are not just talking about asking ChatGPT to generate an image in the style of Studio Ghibli, or asking Veo 3.1 for a video of a dancing kitten. Social networks themselves have developed their own generative AI content creation tools. TikTok, for example, presented a product in 2025 called "TikTok Symphony." The main features of this suite of tools include: Image to Video (I2V): converts a static image into a video with native TikTok format and style. Text to Video (T2V): generates a video from descriptive text prompts. Showcase Products: uses digital avatars to present products in videos designed for TikTok. TikTok Symphony (2026). But, beyond the features that TikTok Symphony provides (and believe me, many other platforms offer exactly the same), the most valuable takeaway from this social network article is that the suite actually seeks to: Simplify creative production Accelerate idea development Facilitate the creation of specific content for TikTok Allow brands and creators to scale their production without losing creative focus Andy Yang, TikTok's Global Head of Creative and Brand Products, says that: "We are empowering a global community of marketing professionals, brands, and creators [...] By combining cutting-edge technology with human creativity, we are creating a new creative standard, more accessible, more agile, and more inspiring than ever before." If you have listened to any episode of our podcast, you will know what my stance is regarding the use of AI for content generation: NO TO AI SLOP! I am not in favor of those who intend to substitute a trained person for a technology that is far from having that human quality. That said, I am the first to recognize that technological advances have reached a point where AI, well used, can become a tool, and even a process, for a graphic designer, a content marketer, a video producer, etc. In other words, AI is not replacing creativity (or it shouldn't be), but transforming the way it comes to life. The challenge is no longer deciding whether to use AI or not, but learning to integrate it in a way that enhances creative work, rather than substituting it. AI began to change who we interact with It seems that in each of the sub-themes I need to put a warning that this topic is controversial; and that is because here we will talk about a series of trends and decisions that only feed the Dead Internet Theory, a belief that asserts that the internet is almost empty of humans and is dominated by traffic and interactions generated by bots and artificial intelligence. Let's take Meta again as an example and its CEO and founder: Mark Zuckerberg. In April 2025, Zuckerberg was invited to the podcast of writer and reporter Dwarkesh Patel, where Patel asked Zuckerberg about the role of AI in social interactions, to which he replied: "The reality is that people don't have as many connections as they would like. Much of the time they feel lonelier than they would want. [...] You will be able to have a permanent video call with an artificial intelligence." In the same interview, Zuckerberg mentioned that it is still very early to know what will really happen and that it will be society that determines the role of AI (or the products that use it) in their lives. However, despite that uncertainty he spoke of, Meta has tried to push a series of actions that do not reflect the CEO's alleged concern. Mark Zuckerberg in an interview with Dwarkesh Patel (2025). At the end of 2024, (take a breath) Meta's vice president of product for generative AI, Connor Hayes, told the Financial Times about the company's vision that AI profiles would exist in Meta "just like any other account", with a bio, profile picture, and the ability to generate, share, and interact with content. The reaction from the public was immediate: a resounding rejection of the idea. The backlash was so great that in January 2025 Meta began to delete the experimental profiles it had created. However, similar projects at Meta and other platforms have continued to move forward and have led us to a point where these artificial intelligence profiles and avatars are forming part of our social interactions and daily activities. Did you hear that an "artist" (yes, in quotes), whose appearance and music were generated with artificial intelligence, signed a $3M deal with the label Hallwood Media? Her name: Xania Monet. Whether these experiments end up working or failing, the trend is clear: social networks no longer just use artificial intelligence for content recommendations or generation. It is being sought for AI to actively participate in our interactions. The question stops being whether there is a real person behind a profile, a comment, or a message, and starts being whether it really matters that it isn't. That is, in my opinion, the most critical and profound transformation that artificial intelligence is bringing to social networks. What we still don't know: The true impact of artificial intelligence on social media A few years ago it was simple to distinguish between a real photo or video and one generated by AI. It was also simple to assume that there was a real person behind a profile, or at most it was a fake account from a bot farm. Today, those certainties are disappearing. "Will Smith eating spaghetti." The progress of AI Slop from 2023 (first image) vs. 2026. Image credit: Yahoo News. Artificial intelligence is already part of practically all layers of social networks. It is present when an algorithm decides what content to show you, when a brand uses tools to produce videos in minutes, and when a platform experiments with profiles capable of interacting as if they were a person. What remains to be defined is how far that integration will go and how it will change (if it does) our relationship with these digital spaces. The focal point of the conversation, in my opinion, should center on the question: What role do we want AI to play? Do we want it to be a tool that enhances creativity and facilitates repetitive tasks, or are we willing to have it also participate in our conversations, relationships, and even in the construction of our communities? As users, content creators, and businesses, our challenge centers on learning to use this technology with judgment, transparency, and critical sense. At the end of the day, the true value of a social network is not its algorithms or tools, but the people who use them. Sources https://newsroom.tiktok.com/why-this-tiktok?lang=en-GB https://engineering.fb.com/2023/08/09/ml-applications/scaling-instagram-explore-recommendations-system/ https://newsroom.tiktok.com/tiktok-symphony-cannes-lions-2025?lang=es https://www.dwarkesh.com/p/mark-zuckerberg-2 https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/402359/meta-quietly-deletes-ai-profiles-after-public-back.html https://www.forbes.com/sites/dougmelville/2025/09/27/al-singer-xania-monet-just-charted-on-billboard-signed-3m-deal-is-this-the-future-of-music/ https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/mark-zuckerberg-says-ai-create-104521815.html FAQ How does artificial intelligence change the way we consume content on social media? AI-driven algorithms analyze user behavior to recommend hyper-personalized content instead of just showing posts from friends or followed accounts. What is "AI Slop" and how does it affect social media? "AI Slop" is low-quality content generated massively by AI without creative control or value contribution, which saturates platforms and reduces the quality of the digital experience. Can artificial intelligence replace creative work in marketing? It should not replace it. AI works best as a tool that optimizes processes and enhances human creativity, rather than replacing trained professionals. Are there profiles and influencers created 100% with AI on social media? Yes, platforms and companies have developed avatars and virtual profiles capable of posting, generating music, and interacting with users autonomously. About the author David Santos Digital Marketing Specialist at Werko Marketing Solutions. He has over 10 years of experience in digital marketing. His primary focus is data monitoring and analysis for the management and optimization of digital advertising campaigns, websites, and e-commerce stores. Subscribe to Marketing Insights! 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Creating seamless, unified experiences between your brand and your customers will allow you to bring your business goals to life. How do you do it? Through an Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) plan. Table of contents What Is an Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) Plan? How Do I Build an Integrated Marketing Communications Strategy? Benefits of Implementing an IMC Strategic Plan FAQ What Is an Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) Plan? Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) is a strategic approach to advertising and promotion that aims to create a uniform, consistent message across all channels and media. It involves coordinating every aspect of marketing—advertising, public relations, direct marketing, sales promotions, personal selling, and digital marketing—into a single unified, cohesive, and synchronized strategy. The main goal of integrated marketing communication is to deliver a consistent message to your target audience across multiple channels and touchpoints, leading to a more effective and efficient use of marketing resources. By integrating all marketing communications, you build a comprehensive, cohesive brand image that resonates much more strongly with your target audience. One of the most important aspects of IMC is building customer relationships by focusing on the overall customer experience rather than just selling products. This means developing targeted messaging and content tailored to their specific needs and interests. Integrating your marketing channels also helps boost customer engagement and increase the likelihood of conversions. Your brand should feel like the exact same brand, wherever your customer encounters it. How Do I Build an Integrated Marketing Communications Strategy? To build an effective Integrated Marketing Communications strategy, your brand should follow these steps: Define the target audience: Identify and understand your target audience. This includes demographic data (age, gender, income level, location) as well as psychographic insights (values, interests, lifestyle). Set clear goals and objectives: Establish explicit goals for your strategy, such as increasing brand awareness, generating leads, boosting sales, or driving customer loyalty. Develop a clear message for brand positioning: Craft a clear message that communicates your brand’s unique value proposition and key differentiators. This message must remain consistent across all marketing channels. Coordinate marketing activities: Ensure that all marketing activities—advertising, PR, direct marketing, sales promotions, personal selling, and online marketing—are 100% aligned to convey a unified message. Select the right marketing channels: Choose the channels that best reach your audience. Based on what you know about them, which channels fit best? Social media, email marketing, paid ads, public relations, events? Allocate resources effectively: Budget and assign resources efficiently for each channel based on its importance, performance, and projected ROI in reaching your target audience. Measure and analyze results: Continuously track performance metrics and make necessary adjustments to improve effectiveness. Optimization is an ongoing process—doing it regularly and diligently is what drives long-term success. Benefits of Implementing an IMC Strategic Plan Building an effective integrated marketing communication strategy will bring various benefits to your brand, including: Consistent brand messaging: An integrated marketing communication strategy guarantees that the brand message is consistent across all marketing channels. This consistency reinforces the brand's values, identity, and positioning, which helps increase brand recognition and brand recall. Improves the customer experience: By focusing on the customer experience, rather than just selling products, the brand offers specific messaging and content that better adapt to its customer's needs and interests. This leads to higher customer loyalty and better conversion rates. More efficient use of resources: Coordinating all marketing activities leads to a more efficient use of your marketing department's resources. This means your business can allocate budget and resources more effectively to reach its target audience and achieve its objectives. Increase in brand equity: As communication with the customer becomes highly consistent through a solid image and a strong brand, the brand begins to differentiate itself from the competition and establishes a strong emotional connection with its customers. Better measurement and analysis: A good integrated marketing communication strategy allows your brand to measure and analyze the effectiveness of its marketing activities with greater accuracy. This means the brand can make data-driven decisions to improve its marketing performance and achieve its goals. An integrated marketing communication strategy helps you achieve a more effective and efficient use of marketing resources and budget, higher customer conversion and loyalty, increased brand equity, and better measurement and analysis of marketing performance. Best of all, with the help of a Brand Strategy Map, you will have the perfect compass to achieve it. If you don't know where to start, contact us and tell us about your project; we can help you. FAQ What is the difference between traditional marketing and Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)? Traditional marketing often operates in "silos," where advertising, social media, and PR run on separate tracks, which can confuse consumers. IMC unifies all these channels under a single strategy and coherent message, ensuring customers receive the exact same brand experience everywhere. How long does it take to see results from an IMC plan? The impact on brand consistency and customer experience is almost immediate. However, tangible business results—such as increased conversions or higher brand equity—typically solidify over the medium to long term, as they require continuous measurement and periodic channel optimization. Does a small business or startup need an Integrated Marketing Communications plan? Absolutely! In fact, it is even more critical for small businesses. With limited budgets, IMC helps optimize and allocate resources efficiently, eliminating wasted effort and ensuring every dollar spent on ads, social media, or content contributes toward the same goal. Which channels are mandatory in an IMC strategy? There is no fixed mandatory list because it depends entirely on where your target audience spends their time. A comprehensive plan can include digital channels (SEO, Google Ads, social media, email marketing) and traditional channels (events, PR, personal selling). What matters isn't using every single channel, but seamlessly coordinating the ones you choose. What is a Brand Strategy Map, and how does it help? A Brand Strategy Map is a visual and analytical tool that acts as your business compass. It helps align your brand’s purpose, values, and differentiators with your communication tactics, ensuring your IMC plan stays on course. How do you measure the success of an integrated communications plan? Success is measured through Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) aligned with your brand objectives. This includes quantitative metrics (return on ad spend, conversion rates, community growth) and qualitative metrics (brand recall, customer perception). About the author Carolina Trevizo Partner at Werko Marketing Solutions with extensive and varied experience of over 18 years in B2B companies, specializing in strategic marketing, project management, data analysis for advertising management, audiovisual production, and graphic design. Subscribe to Marketing Insights! And receive a bi-weekly newsletter directly to your inbox so you're among the first to know.

Your website and/or the content you generate is a gold mine waiting for you… if you implement a good inbound marketing strategy with SEO and GEO. Having a website optimized with impeccable SEO and GEO, but without valuable content for your client, is like renting a commercial space in the most premium and busiest area of the city but leaving the space without an exterior sign, with empty shelves, and without products. Of course, people will pass by the space EVERY day, but you are not giving them any reason to enter. And the opposite is just as serious: creating extremely valuable content but having it live on a site that is not optimized for SEO and GEO is like having written the best novel in the world and having kept it in a vault with 10 locks and a combination you already forgot. Many brands invest in digital positioning or creating blogs, but they make the mistake of treating these tactics as isolated efforts instead of viewing them as an Integrated Marketing Communication strategy, without knowing that the real magic happens when you connect the 3 key pieces: SEO (to position yourself in search engines like Google), GEO (so that artificial intelligence like ChatGPT or Gemini recommends you) and, Inbound Marketing (to give users compelling reasons to trust you). In this article, I show you how to make this combination of elements generate a true compound effect on your business's traffic, authority, and sales. Table of Contents Quick glossary to be on the same page: How does inbound marketing relate to SEO and GEO? Every new piece of inbound marketing content is a new entry point for SEO and GEO Proper SEO, GEO, and inbound marketing management builds thematic authority Inbound marketing: one more reason for backlinks that add to SEO and GEO Inbound marketing as an SEO and GEO signal of freshness, periodicity, and relevance The compound effect of Inbound marketing, SEO, and GEO FAQ Quick glossary to be on the same page: Let's start with some nomenclature and definitions because these terms are often used with different understandings. For the purposes of this article: SEO (Search Engine Optimization): It is a series of characteristics and strategies implemented around your website with the intention that it appears as high as possible when someone searches for relevant terms in Google, Bing, or other search engines. And I summarize it this way in general because the task of explaining the hundreds of points we address to increase SEO ranking exceeds the objective of this article and would make it extremely technical. GEO (Generative Engine Optimization): In short, it is the evolution of SEO for the age of artificial intelligence. It encompasses all the actions we take so that the website is more easily found and UNDERSTANDABLE by platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, with the idea that when someone is making queries in these AI tools, they are referred to your site as a valuable source of information and/or your message reaches them as the best answer. Inbound Marketing: It is a content generation strategy, based on the idea of attracting customer attention by offering useful and interesting information instead of chasing them with advertising. The idea is to solve their doubts, earn their trust, and accompany them until they are ready to do business with you. The premise is that if we generate value for the prospect, we are getting ahead in the commercial and sales funnel so that when they are in the consideration stage, we have an advantage over competitors. Inbound marketing strategies with SEO and GEO: How do they relate? They are dependent and interconnected strategies. The conclusion I want you to reach while reading this article is that these three strategies are not independent and disconnected avenues; on the contrary, they complement each other in a relationship that is extremely relevant for your brand's positioning. And why do I think it's important for you to reach this conclusion? Here is some anecdotal storytelling: We have seen many clients who ask us to optimize their website for GEO without understanding the value of also doing so for SEO. And this is a mistake. We have seen many clients who ask us to implement inbound marketing strategies to a site that does not have the slightest attention to the basics of SEO and GEO. And this is a mistake. We have seen clients who tell us “we are already implementing a very powerful inbound strategy, making articles every two days” and when we see them, we realize that the articles are not built in a way that favors search engines like Google or ChatGPT understanding, indexing, and referring them. And this is a mistake. We have seen clients who have asked us to prepare their website with the best possible SEO and GEO, and then not take advantage of this structure by feeding it content that will use it to attract customers and prospects. And this is a mistake. And finally, we have worked with clients who have given us the confidence to develop websites optimized for SEO and GEO, followed by an inbound marketing strategy that links content and contributes to the SEO and GEO structure, attacking the market from multiple channels including blog articles, insights on LinkedIn, hooks on social media, and newsletters. And they are constantly increasing their traffic, lead generation, and sales. This is where I want you to get to. And the fact is that what many do not grasp is that inbound marketing is not a complement to SEO and GEO; it is one of the most effective mechanisms to take advantage of them. Inbound then becomes a tool to build the authority, relevance, and thematic depth that modern search engines need to trust a website. Every new piece of inbound marketing content is a new entry point for SEO and GEO This is the key to the relationship between strategies. If your agency understands how data is structured on your website to favor understanding and indexing by search engines, then it can support you in the following steps: Assemble a thematic calendar of inbound marketing articles that contributes to said structure. Generate articles on each topic with relevant content that adds value (E-E-A-T) and the inclusion of keywords and phrases that leverage said structure… And (most importantly and often omitted): Assemble those contents with the appropriate format and metadata so that this effort materializes in optimal indexing by search engines. That is why every article on your site's blog, if well managed, becomes a new entry point for your customers and prospects. The result of good inbound marketing management on an optimized site translates into more indexable pages, more opportunities to appear for specific searches, and more possibilities to capture traffic at different stages of the buying process. Proper SEO, GEO, and inbound marketing management builds thematic authority In most cases, and especially in the B2B world, we see clients' intentions to position themselves as experts in their field. Projecting this expertise and knowledge generates trust, and trust is a key element in every business. To become that benchmark with thematic authority, saying you are an expert once on your website is insufficient. Adding success stories, customer testimonials, and performance statistics helps, and a lot. BUT nothing gives that proof of authority like showing you have it, generating content that puts that expertise on display. Put your expertise on the spotlight. Additionally, it is important for you to know that Google and AI engines do not only evaluate individual pages to determine if the information source is reliable. To determine a site's authority regarding a topic, these engines evaluate the site's total content. To be clearer: imagine an article about gourmet pastry is published on a site where there are 100 other internal pages that are addressing this topic from different perspectives and angles. At the same time, exactly that same article is published on a website whose content focuses on techniques for training dogs. The truth is that 20 years ago, they would have had similar probabilities of being found by Google… but things have changed. The algorithms that dictate the behavior of search engines have reached a degree of sophistication that allows them to not only evaluate the article but the context in which it lives. And that is why a strategic blog that creates content clusters and constantly feeds its space with valuable insights favors with compound interest the positioning of the site itself and, therefore, of the brand. In addition to our own blog, I share with you the case of the Euro Water Technologies site, as an example of a space in which we are working precisely with this focus of thematic authority. Inbound marketing: one more reason for backlinks that add to SEO and GEO In a recent article, I told you how important the backlink strategy is to generate domain authority on your website and contribute to SEO and GEO ranking. Creatively using inbound marketing, in this context, becomes an additional tool for seeking backlinks. Think, for example, that a blog can be a space to generate collaborative posts with guest authors or a space to talk about a project that was done with a particular client and break down its details. Think generously about the homes your content can have BEYOND your own blog and how yielding that content for others is a way to generate a new backlink. To give you our own example, at Werko we have collaborated with other media and sites by sharing our expertise on certain topics that are relevant to their audiences. Consuming our content in other channels and ecosystems, in addition to expanding our reach and introducing us to new audiences, generates referral backlinks that, in turn, add authority to our website. Inbound marketing as an SEO and GEO signal of freshness, periodicity, and relevance Imagine that in 2024 you managed to make your website THE favorite site for Google to direct user traffic when they perform a specific search… but since then, you have not changed ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING on your site. The content is the same, there are no new posts, there is no movement in structures. Even if the content on your site continues to be of the same value, inactivity is sending a very detrimental signal to Google: “this site is abandoned and its content is old.” Make sure you make fresh content for your website. Part of the most relevant criteria that search engines like Google, Claude, and ChatGPT take into account to generate answers and results are the CURRENT relevance of the content, and one of the signals they listen to to evaluate a site in this tenor are: The periodicity of its updates, The generation of new content, And the contextual relevance of the evaluated content. That is why we constantly see in tools like Google Search Console that previously indexed content, over the years, becomes de-indexed. Is it fair? Is it correct? That is irrelevant… the truth is that this HAPPENS. And for the same reason, maintaining a section of current and fresh content on your website, which also helps to position your SEO and GEO structure with the inclusion of keywords and phrases that are its inputs, is crucial. I tell you about our client ARENDE DEVELOPMENTS, who after optimizing their website for SEO and GEO, asked us for an inbound strategy focused on this vision of current content to give signals, not only to search engines but also to their customers, of their ability to stay at the forefront and aware of the most important trends in their segment. With them, we developed a periodic News Digest that positions their brand as an expert and curator of content of relevance for their customers. The compound effect of Inbound marketing, SEO, and GEO I think you know what I mean when I say that well linked, understood, and related, all efforts in the channels in which your brand lives, ADD UP. Having said this, if you understand the correlations between channels and strategies, you can go from ADDING to MULTIPLYING. An ad is effective but stops working when you stop paying. A good article, well managed, well inserted in an SEO and GEO structure, can continue to generate traffic for years. Therefore, inbound linked to SEO and GEO is an accumulative investment and each new entry benefits the others and, as a whole, the site and brand you are seeking to position. The complementarity of these strategies is that while SEO and GEO work to get people and artificial intelligences to find your website, inbound marketing gives them a reason to stay, trust your expertise, and take the next step. FAQ What is the Inbound Marketing strategy with SEO and GEO? It is the integration of valuable content creation (Inbound Marketing) with optimization for traditional search engines (SEO) and artificial intelligence response engines (GEO). While SEO and GEO work to capture visibility, Inbound Marketing provides the value that generates user trust to convert that traffic into business opportunities and sales. What is the difference between SEO and GEO? SEO (Search Engine Optimization): Set of techniques applied to a website to appear in the first search results on platforms like Google or Bing. GEO (Generative Engine Optimization): The evolution of SEO oriented towards AI; it optimizes the structure and context of the content so that models like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini understand the information and cite or recommend your brand. Why does publishing constant content without SEO or GEO not generate results? Creating relevant content but hosting it on a web without SEO and GEO optimization severely limits visibility. Search engines and artificial intelligences will not be able to index it, understand it, or recommend it correctly, preventing the audience from discovering the brand's value. How does Inbound Marketing help improve thematic authority according to current algorithms? Search engines and AI evaluate the global context and depth of a website on a subject. By creating a blog with content clusters specialized on a topic, the web demonstrates experience, authority, and trust (E-E-A-T criteria), strengthening the overall relevance of the entire site. How does the update frequency of a blog influence SEO and GEO positioning? The inactivity of a website sends a signal of obsolescence to the algorithms. Publishing fresh and periodic content with Inbound Marketing keeps keyword structures relevant and shows Google and AI models that the site is still active and updated with relevant information. Why does Inbound Marketing linked with SEO and GEO generate a compound effect? Unlike paid advertising that stops working when the budget runs out, an article properly optimized for SEO, GEO, and Inbound Marketing continues to attract qualified traffic consistently over the years. Each new piece of content published adds to the previous ones, multiplying domain authority, entry points, and business sales. About the author Arjan Shahani Managing Partner at Werko Marketing Solutions and co-founder of Shahani Initiatives. He has over 20 years of experience in consumer and B2B marketing, as well as business consulting. His primary focus is business profitability through strategic marketing. Subscribe to Marketing Insights! And receive a bi-weekly newsletter directly to your inbox so you're among the first to know.

Saying "two years" sounds easy, but those of us who undertake and build an agency know that every month is measured in learnings, challenges overcome, and, above all, in the trust of those who choose us as their allies. Today, at Werko, we celebrate our second anniversary. We didn't want to do it with a simple thank-you speech, but by honoring what truly gives us life: our clients' projects. Looking back fills us with pride. We have worked with local SMBs, foundations that transform lives, and corporations with an international presence across other continents. Below, I share a journey through the stories, challenges, and successes that have marked these first two years of history at Werko. Thank you for being part of this 2nd anniversary. AcadeME: Educational strategy and precision SEO Our friends at AcadeME invited us to design their brand strategy and support them in the start of their operations with the professionalization of their website, which today is 100% optimized for SEO and GEO. Their website is one we constantly use to showcase the flawless execution of an SEO-ization strategy and clarity in key words and phrases. Álbora – Psychology Center: Identity and projection for emotional well-being We were filled with pride to participate with Álbora – Psychology Center on a project that began with giving a name and identity to this space that has such an important impact. We also built their website and provided resources for consistent and high-impact projection through their social networks. Alcuin Parents Club: Visual identity and integral support for an educational community We had the opportunity and great honor to establish a long-term relationship with Alcuin Parents Club, a parents' association of one of the most prestigious schools in Dallas, Texas. We gave visual identity to a series of their key events, designed their utility documents, edited videos, created a series of websites, 3D animations, and provided on-site logistical support. ALINEA: Strategic repositioning to transform justice With ALINEA, it has been a pleasure to reconnect with colleagues with whom I shared battlefields more than 20 years ago. ALINEA is made up of people who have transformed and revolutionized the justice delivery system in Mexico and other countries. The value of their work impacts thousands of people every day, who, thanks to the work of this group of professionals, now have more and better options for resolving their controversies. Werko is currently supporting ALINEA in a multi-service project for the repositioning of its brand and its greater projection. We have assisted them in generating their Brand Strategy, Communication Lines, Channel Mix, and we are in the process of redesigning and updating all their digital channels. Alpine Greens: Branding and digital presence for sustainable agriculture We worked with Alpine Greens, a sustainable agro-industry company focused on providing the best products free of herbicides, fungicides, and pesticides through advanced hydroponics. In this project, we worked on naming, logo, label design, and website development. Ameline: Launch and e-commerce for natural cosmetics We supported the SMB Ameline with their launch event, e-commerce development, and communication strategy through social networks. Ameline is a Mexican natural cosmetic brand that focuses on developing natural formulas that are effective in use but, at the same time, respect and care for the planet. ARENDE: Benchmarking and digital optimization for the industrial sector We worked with the Industrial Developer ARENDE, first supporting them with a benchmarking study of the digital footprint of their main competitors, then taking the learnings from said study to redesign their website and elevate it above their competition not only in visual design and structure but in SEO and GEO ranking, and finally, implementing constant communication tools with their main stakeholders. Ampersand Human: Strategic visibility in the Human Capital sector We worked with Ampersand Human, a Human Capital and Organizational Development consulting project, to ensure their website has the visibility it deserves in traditional search engines and artificial intelligence agents. As a result of this work, we have developed opportunities to collaborate on their clients' projects in the future. Azel Enterprise: Credential videos and global metalworking reach We developed new Credential Videos and redesigned the website for Azel Enterprise, a metalworking company located in Vietnam and California. This project gave us the opportunity to expand the reach of our client portfolio to other continents and experience how interesting it is to work with other distant cultures. BERNA Group: Electronic manufacturing solutions and Google positioning BERNA Group is an electronic manufacturing company that helps businesses design, manufacture, and assemble electronic products through comprehensive PCB, PCBA, and industrial automation solutions. We assisted them with the website development for three of their business lines and their product and service positioning campaigns through Google Ads. Berna was one of our first new clients when we were starting Werko's operations. BISBA: Digital consultancy and inbound marketing for efficiency The digital solutions implementation agency BISBA, received digital marketing strategy advisory services from Werko Marketing Solutions, and we assisted them in launching their inbound marketing operation. BISBA is located in Mexico City and a couple of additional remote locations within the country. Coldwell Banker Flores: Premium property management and high-impact campaigns With Coldwell Banker Flores we developed a dynamic website that allowed them, through a robust CMS management, to maintain a constant update of their premium property listings in the State of Mexico and the Bajío area. We also assisted them in launching their first Google Ads campaigns, segmented to key audiences not only in their properties' locations but in the cities and areas of origin of their main vacation clients. Comforge: Technical SEO and conversion for the furniture market Comforge is a chair manufacturer serving Mexico and the United States. When they came to us, they had a website that was not generating the traffic they expected or estimated from their competitors. An SEO analysis led us to identify a series of critical backend errors, which we corrected. In addition, we implemented a series of relevant changes to elevate their conversion rates and supported them in developing lead attraction campaigns through Google Ads. Creativitá: Visual identity and growth for children's recreational spaces We loved working with Creativitá, an incredible project of a playroom in Querétaro. We helped them with visual identity, logos, and social media strategy. Their project impacts the lives and formation of children, providing them with healthy recreational spaces focused on their healthy development. We have also seen this business expand its services through a party hall. Decidir y Transformar: Integral podcast production and digital legacy Together with Ángel Tejada, we built an extremely interesting podcasting project that we love to produce, called Decidir y Transformar. We worked on the naming, visual identity, concept and content, website, and biweekly, on the production and publication of its episodes across multiple digital channels. We syndicate their content through Spotify, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeart Radio, and Castbox, which we also amplify by managing a newsletter and blog from their website and through LinkedIn Newsletters. Additionally, we manage the podcast account on Instagram. Through Decidir y Transformar, Ángel is building a legacy and a library of learnings for new generations, capturing life lessons from leaders in different industries and walks of life. DILEO: Web optimization for office and hospitality solutions We optimized the website for DILEO, a solution firm for offices and companies, highlighting their hospitality services, printing services, and mobility. We took their initial development and elevated their ranking and indexing possibilities by Google, Bing, and artificial intelligence search engines. Easy Mouse Trips: Digital strategy worthy of premium experiences Easy Mouse Trips is the leading agency in VIP experiences for vacations in Disney and Universal theme parks in Mexico. Working with this group has been one of the things we have enjoyed most at Werko. Not only because the people behind this project are incredible, but because we were very pleased to be able to support them in doing justice to their work, reputation, commitment, and effort by helping them have a website that matches. Easy Mouse Trips had a website that simply did not reflect the quality and level of premiumness with which this team delivers its services. Easy Mouse Trips is proud to say it has served "More than 5,000 families turned into happy guests." Having a small contribution to those smiles and happy moments fills us with satisfaction. Epilog Digital Innovation: Brand identity for technological excellence Epilog Digital Innovation is a consulting firm specializing in technological solutions and business profitability. Naming and giving a visual identity to this project was a challenge that led us to more than 100 different proposals, and I mention it because what is behind it is a leadership that does not allow for anything less than perfection. Working with Epilog demanded that we put our best face forward, give our best effort, and use all our creativity to give its starter kit to a brand that continues to grow, expanding its service portfolio and serving clients in different sectors. Epilog was also one of our first clients, and right now we are talking to them again to meet their new needs. Euro Water Technologies: Comprehensive strategy for leaders in water purification Euro Water Technologies was also among the first clients we had the pleasure of working with, and we continue collaborating with this firm today. The exclusive distributor in Mexico for the world's best water filtration and purification system, BWT, sought us out when they decided to start investing in an advertising strategy. With EWT, we implemented our Brand Strategy Map methodology, helped them develop a new visual identity, redesigned their website, developed their e-commerce platform, updated and optimized their site when GEO became relevant, and are currently working on a content strategy with them. Ferrexo: High-volume e-commerce development for SMBs With Ferrexo we worked on one of the most robust e-commerce sites we have ever had to develop, as its product menu numbered in the THOUSANDS! This was another SMB project that we were very happy to support, as we are loyal promoters of Mexican entrepreneurship. Fidex Insurance and Bonds: Speed and quality in content management Fidex Insurance and Bonds is one of the clients who decided to stay with us after we separated from our former partners, reflecting trust in the quality of the work and service they received from those of us who lead Werko today. I am fully grateful every time they have praised and celebrated our speed and quality of response to their content development needs for social networks. It has been two years of multiple exchanges and joint growth, and I am sure many more are coming. Formando Emprendedores Sociales: Brand Strategy for social empowerment Working with Formando Emprendedores Sociales is a project that took more than a year to germinate. Our first contact was accidental but very enriching. We loved learning how they are impacting and empowering children, and for that reason, we did not hesitate to offer our services at a non-profit rate. Being an operation with few hands but great reach, their operational priorities had the organization focused "outward," even if that meant neglecting their inward analysis and the consistent building of a strong brand. We are very pleased that despite having spent a year playing with the idea of collaborating with them, we are today in the middle of implementing a Brand Strategy Map project that will give them the strategic vision for the future of their brand. Furthermore, I am proud to share that this work has opened the door to an invitation to join their Board of Directors, an honor that I will assume with great pleasure very soon. FEMSA Foundation: Strategic methodology for causes with impact I remember when the then-Director of FEMSA Foundation looked for me, expressing her concern about ensuring this project was born with the correct brand strategy. They had been working with an in-house FEMSA marketing team and a business consulting firm but were not entirely satisfied. What was behind it is that those who had been providing services simply did not speak the language of organizations, associations, and non-profit foundations and, therefore, did not quite hit the nail on the head. When we finished the work, having implemented a Brand Strategy Map with the participation of foundation executives, and personalities from Tec Salud and EGADE, I was filled with satisfaction hearing from our client "this is exactly what we needed to start off on the right foot." How incredible to know that through a methodology developed by Werko, we could leave our small mark on the incredible work this foundation does to promote culture, support early childhood in Mexico in intellectual, social, and cognitive development, and communities lacking water security. FYMPSA: Resilience and reconstruction of digital foundations With FYMPSA we came across a series of adventures that made us grow as a team and develop processes that today make us have more solid foundations as an agency. A client whose domain had been hijacked by the previous agency, a series of challenges in terms of their business flow, and a drive to keep moving forward despite adversity, made FYMPSA an important school that showed us what we were capable of in support of those who place their trust in us. GeneraVolt: Identity development in record time The image and naming for GeneraVolt had to be developed in record time because this project required institutional presence at an upcoming event and they had prioritized other parts of their business. Our Design team hit a home run with this work, and our client was more than satisfied. Grupo Trelham: Strategic consensus for brand identity Grupo Trelham, a family holding company, had spent months with its members discussing the graphic direction of its identity. They couldn't agree, and the back-and-forth was distracting them from their business objectives. Our methodology for developing graphic proposals was the answer that allowed them to elevate the debate beyond "I like it" and "I don't like it," directing them toward a consensus on "what we want to communicate." Another success for our Design team. KOLDROLL: Digital performance and Always On campaigns We were very pleased to serve the company KOLDROLL for more than two years, generating high-impact campaigns in Always On format and with Performance Max eventualities linked to a strategic calendar that allowed them to leverage the most important events in their industry. In our first year working this account, we achieved a 20.5% increase in lead conversions from their website, exceeding the Google benchmark rate by more than double. Coach Paco Revilla: Personal brand projection and positioning Coach Paco Revilla has spent several years helping professionals project themselves and obtain better results using his P.O.D.E.R. methodology for effective conversations. What he lacked was a website worthy of his services and enabled to position his brand in the main search engines. We loved being able to provide this service. PMS: Digital infrastructure rescue and migration The company PMS, a provider of electronic solutions for manufacturing, had lost access to the editing roles of its website as a result of a partnership dissolution that overlooked the handover of digital properties. They needed to make critical modifications to capture leads and update their content. Our solution? We cloned/reproduced the site on another platform and migrated the DNS records to leave that previous space in limbo while regaining control of the site. We also took the opportunity to make backend corrections that were limiting its projection. Today, our client is registering leads frequently and can move their business forward. Polish Me: Appointment capture and digital presence Polish Me was another case of an SMB we supported when we started our operations as Werko Marketing Solutions. We built a website that functioned as a center for capturing appointments, spreading promotions, and projecting the brand. This beauty salon was recently sold by its owner and is no longer online, but we remember it with great affection as it was one of the projects with which we were able to experiment and learn new functionalities in business flows embedded in a website. SpeedPay: Landing Page optimization for efficiency SpeedPay, one of the strongest extrajudicial collection firms in Monterrey, came to us mentioning that their efforts in Google Ads had stopped generating the results they were used to. With SpeedPay, we were able to apply one of our main differentiators at Werko: not focusing only on what you think your pain point is, but conducting a thorough analysis to provide better solutions. They wanted us to run their campaigns... we realized that what was limiting them was primarily the Landing Page Quality variable. Their destination page for active campaigns was very poorly constructed, which subtracted credibility in Google's eyes and made each conversion lose cost-efficiency. We redesigned and optimized their website first and THEN executed the campaigns. The change was notable, and their conversion rates increased considerably. It's not about selling for the sake of selling, but about supporting our clients in achieving their goals. TAG Insurance: Impact activations for the construction sector TAG Insurance came to us with a new ambition to approach the construction and real estate development market. We helped them by developing an integral marketing strategy to attack said segment, supported them in taking over the relevant conversation in key moments, spaces, and events for the industry, and assisted them in executing high-impact activations in a massive forum at Cintermex. This project also allowed us to team up with our friends at WOW Factory, whom we respect and enjoy working with very much. Since then, TAG Insurance continues to trust us with specific requests when design opportunities and needs arise. We are pleased to know that we are supporting them in improving the way they present themselves to their clients. Taléntika: Site re-engineering for talent recruitment The Taléntika project was similar to SpeedPay's, in the sense that a strong brand was looking to exploit the benefits of the Google Ads world but lacked the expertise to do so. Just as with SpeedPay, when we did our analysis, we noticed that starting campaigns directed to the site they had at that time would have been a very poor use of our client's budget. The cost per impression, per click, and per conversion would have been very high... so we did our job: we corrected and redesigned the website, also taking advantage of generating self-management modules that today allow Taléntika to self-administer the publication of vacancies they are looking to fill, as one of the most recognized talent hunting firms in the Monterrey market. Terra Regia: Strategic allies in marketing and urban development What can I tell you about Terra Regia? They have been one of our most constant clients and have provided us with multiple moments of pride and satisfaction. One of Terra Regia's mottos is "We Create City. We Develop Monterrey." Can you imagine what it feels like to develop the brand architecture for this company? That's how our relationship with them began, with a project at a strategic level that involved their entire Board of Directors. From this experience, we became advisors to their first Marketing team, assisted them with organizational design and job descriptions and roles within the marketing team, were invited to panels to select their talent, developed their first Marketing Plans using our MWB methodology, renewed their website, and even worked on a corporate project for the identification, detection, and mitigation of risk events. Furthermore, we are providers of their management platform for all social media accounts and digital advertising campaigns for each of their developments. Our relationship with Terra Regia goes beyond being client-provider. We consider ourselves their trusted marketing allies. TúDsiD: Technology and strategy for citizen participation TúDsiD is a non-profit organization that seeks to promote and increase the rate of citizen participation, understanding that it is through participatory and informed societies that we achieve functional, effective communities and good government at the service of their populations. We helped them to be born. From market studies, identifying technological platforms that promote citizen participation, qualitative and quantitative analysis exercises, development of their visual identity and action plan, to designing their website and giving them continuous optimization support, we are pleased to put Werko Marketing Solutions' expertise at the service of noble causes. Wow Factory: Technical optimization and SEO for memorable experiences I have known Wow Factory since this successful company was born and began with the dream and ambition of a talented professional who had developed a master's degree in event production filling others' pockets and dared to undertake. When I led teams at HEINEKEN Mexico, I had the pleasure of opening the doors and teaming up with Wow Factory, building experiences that their collaborators still talk about today. The enormous level of professional respect we have had for each other since then has led to finding ways to work on projects together. In each of the roles I have held since leaving HEINEKEN, I have found in WOW FACTORY a most trusted ally. And that is why when the direction of the requests changed—this time they asking for our support—we did not hesitate to jump on the project. WOW Factory had a visually very powerful website, but behind a very pretty facade, fragile foundations were hidden with neglected elements. Broken links, navigation that generated a confusing user experience, inconsistencies in keywords, and a series of technical deficiencies were tying up the projection potential of this company through its website. They urgently needed a change, and we signed up to conduct a total optimization of their SEO and GEO. Traffic has increased, and the business remains booming. Their commitment to quality is unwavering. 2nd anniversary, and many more to come. These projects are a reflection of who we are at Werko: an agency that doesn't look to sell for the sake of selling, but to immerse itself in the root of each business to offer honest, real, and high-impact solutions. From rescuing domains or rebuilding websites from scratch to care for our clients' budgets, to sitting on administrative boards or designing the brand architecture of large developers, these two years have been an extraordinary school. To each of the clients appearing on this list, and to those yet to come: THANK YOU. Thank you for trusting our criteria, for allowing us to challenge with strategy when necessary, and for making us part of your ranks. This is just the beginning. To many more years creating spaces, driving brands, and transforming realities together! FAQ about Werko What types of projects and businesses does Werko work with? Over these past two years, we have collaborated with a wide variety of clients, ranging from local micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and startups, to non-profit foundations, personal brands, and large corporations or urban developers with an international presence. What are the main services offered by Werko? We specialize in providing honest, comprehensive solutions that cover: Brand strategy and architecture: Branding, naming, and visual identity. Web design and development: Corporate websites, landing pages, and robust e-commerce platforms. Search engine optimization (SEO & GEO): Optimization for traditional search engines and AI search assistants. Digital marketing and performance campaigns: Google Ads and inbound marketing. Inbound marketing and multimedia content production: Social media management and full-service podcast production. What sets Werko apart from other digital marketing agencies? We don't just "sell for the sake of selling" or run campaigns without a solid strategy. We dive deep into the roots of each business using our own proprietary methodologies—such as the Brand Strategy Map or MWB—to identify genuine opportunities. If a website isn't ready to convert, we prefer to optimize its technical and SEO foundation before spending a single dollar on advertising, always protecting our clients' budgets and business goals. Do you have experience recovering or migrating compromised digital infrastructure? Yes. Throughout our journey, we have successfully helped clients regain control of their digital footprint. We have resolved highly complex cases, from cloning and migrating websites whose access was held hostage by previous providers, to fixing critical backend errors and broken links that were holding back business growth. About the author Arjan Shahani Managing Partner at Werko Marketing Solutions and co-founder of Shahani Initiatives. He has over 20 years of experience in consumer and B2B marketing, as well as business consulting. His primary focus is business profitability through strategic marketing. Subscribe to Marketing Insights! 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Many agencies offer website development services, but how do you ensure they develop a good website before hiring them? In this article, I will give you the advice I wish I had known before hiring an agency to develop the website for the business where I worked, because I was once a client too. I clarify in advance that you won't end up being a web development expert after reading this article, but what you will have are the tools to evaluate the probability that whoever is selling you a web development service will end up doing a good job and that the investment you make will have a good return (or in short, so they don't take advantage of you when they make your website). Table of Contents 7 tips to ensure they develop a good website for you Visit your service provider's website Review their portfolio and web development project references Ensure they have certifications in the platforms they build their sites on Ensure they take the time to understand your business and what you want to achieve Ask them to clarify the processes Understand basic technicalities and ensure they are included in the proposal Glossary of basic SEO terms: Try to get your ownership Extra: They offer to integrate Schema Markups and FAQ FAQ 7 tips to ensure they develop a good website for you What you need to ensure they develop a good website for you is an ally. More than a service provider, someone proactive, who proposes and challenges your ideas if you are a bit lost. Someone who gives you clarity and is committed to you and your business. But to differentiate the charlatans from those who are more likely to give you what you need, I give you the following tips: Visit your service provider's website Basically, what you need to do is navigate through their page, click on their different sections, observe a little, and ask yourself: "Does this page seem very well-made, average, or poorly made?" To determine this: Check if the page can be navigated and read without problems on both your computer and your cell phone (i.e., if the page is responsive to mobile devices). Review if, when you enter the Home page, what they do is quickly understood thanks to the messages they communicate. Identify if they don't have pages or buttons that show an error when you click them. Observe if they have visible buttons (calls to action like "Contact Us") and if they work. Analyze if, when you navigate their page, you can do it logically and simply. Review if the site is aesthetically consistent: they use legible fonts, texts have no errors, and the images they include are relevant. Check if the site loads quickly, meaning it doesn't take more than 3 seconds to load. And finally, think if this looks like a page from someone who can build the website that will be the face of your business. Basically, what you want to determine is if this agency you are considering is a "shoemaker with no shoes" or if they truly apply their knowledge and talents to their own business. That is, someone who is dedicated to making websites should have a very good website, don't you think? (If they didn't, it would be like going to a dentist who has crooked and yellow teeth 🚩). Review their portfolio and web development project references It is important that you take a look at the past site developments they have done, and get an idea of the type of deliverables they provide. This will give you an idea of what you can receive from them. (You can review the previous point again, but now with the pages they delivered). Similarly, check if there are references or comments from past clients about those projects to ensure that other people have already had a good experience. Ensure they have certifications in the platforms they build their sites on By the way, in Werko we are WIX Partner level Legend thanks to our high volume of successfully executed projects. If they tell you they build websites in Wix, make sure they have a Wix certification. If they say they build them based on WordPress, check that they have WordPress certification. Don't let someone improvise with your website. Ask them what their credentials are for the platform they are proposing. And if what you need is a native HTML development (in some cases it is still justified), it is MUCH more important to ensure that besides making it look good, they know how to optimize from the code. If you don't know how to validate this, it is important to approach a trusted expert. I mention this because of the LEAST optimized websites we have seen on the market, most are victims of a programmer who did a project directly in code without knowing how to optimize it for good visibility and ranking in search engines. Ensure they take the time to understand your business and what you want to achieve An agency that is going to make a good website for you takes the time to deeply understand your business. What is your industry? Who are your clients? Who are your competitors? What is your differentiated value? What is your objective? Etc, etc, etc. Your website is your calling card and the digital home of your brand, it is where prospects and clients will arrive to understand who you are and what you can do for them. But if from the start someone is "guaranteeing" they will put your website in first place on Google, and you haven't even sat down to talk with them or they haven't asked about your business 🚩, it means they won't take the time to translate your value proposition to your client. In order to effectively transmit and communicate the essence of your brand and your differentiation on a website, your agency must understand who your business is; if they don't, they may end up communicating poorly like a game of "broken telephone." Those who don't take the time to understand your business are likely selling you pre-made sites and structures that apply the same for a law firm site as for a nail salon... don't waste your time with promises like that. On the other hand, besides understanding your business well, they should understand what your expectations are for this website. Part of this is asking you to provide references of other websites to be able to deliver something that is on par with them or even exceeds your expectations. Ask them to clarify the processes The development of a website implies certain steps, methodology, and times that have to be coordinated to carry out its construction. The agency that develops your site must give you clarity on those processes and reflect it in a work schedule that also indicates what information they need from you and when, so that the project comes out on time and in form. "We'll see as we go" is not a process and in the vast majority of cases, it will lead to your website being published late and below your expectations. At the end of the day, the development of a website implies the collaboration of both the client and the agency: One provides information that the other presents attractively while ensuring the technical details are optimized. Speaking of technicalities... Understand basic technicalities and ensure they are included in the proposal A website that is poorly optimized in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is like a car that has no engine. It can look very pretty, but it's no good for taking you anywhere. SEO: Search Engine Optimization is the optimization done to certain website configuration categories "behind the scenes" so that search engines like Google, Bing, and others can correctly "read" your page, understand what it's about, and suggest it to their users. So, to keep you from being caught off guard, I'm going to give you a brief basic glossary of SEO terms that your website should have as a minimum, and if your service provider doesn't include them 🚩, you should consider other options. Glossary of basic SEO terms: Favicon: It is the tiny icon that appears on the website tab. It is usually the business logo. Title tag: It is the text that appears on the website tab and is the one that appears in search results. Meta description: It is a small descriptive paragraph that appears in search results, below the title tag. Preview image (social share or thumbnail): It is the image that will be displayed when you share the page on social media. Image alt text: It is a text description of each of the images that appear on your website. Keywords: These are keywords that users use to search for things like what you offer, and therefore, your website must contain them so that search engines find you (and if one day you want to do Google / SEM campaigns, having relevant text will help them be more effective). Header structure (H1, H2, H3): Headers are tags that are put on the titles that appear on your website. A correct header structure has only one H1 (main title tag) per page, and for example, does not jump from H1 to H3, but has a logical sequence. Mobile responsive: A mobile-responsive site is a site that looks good, is functional, and navigable on computers as well as tablets and cell phones. That is, the images and texts adapt to the device in question. Domain: It is the address of the website. E.g. www.werko.mx Webhosting: It is the digital space where the information of your website is stored (Note: This is purchased separately from the domain). Backlinks: These are links that point to your website, coming from other websites. Indexing: A tag that tells search engines that this is a page that DOES want to be found (there are noindex tags to indicate completely the opposite and are used, for example, on pages exclusively for internal use for the company). Security certificates (SSL): It is a digital file that certifies that your page is secure, and makes it appear as HTTPS instead of just HTTP. Google does not favor pages that do not have SSL. DNS: It is the abbreviation for Domain Name System, and it is a system or guide that "translates" your domain name to an IP number so that the webhosting and the browser can find your website. Try to get your ownership Unfortunately, there are website service providers whose business model is to charge for details that, in my opinion, should already be included in your page. I once heard of a provider in Monterrey who charges their clients an additional fee for making their page have security certificates (SSL), plus, if one of their clients wants to take their site to another webhosting, the client has no control over their website. Therefore, make sure you know what your service provider's terms and conditions are, and that you are the owner of your property. For example, here at Werko, our clients' sites are hosted on our platform but the moment a client requests their property, their DNS connections are transferred where they indicate. The page will always belong to the client. Extra: They offer to integrate Schema Markups and FAQ If besides all of the above, your service provider offers to integrate Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) sections to your website that will also have their integration with Schema Markups, say yes! Schema Markup: It is an HTML code that is added to the website, and that helps search engines understand what your page is about. In this way, your page will be much more prepared to be found and recommended by search engines, both traditional (Google, Bing, etc.) and Artificial Intelligence (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, etc.). So now you know, I hope this guide has been very useful to you. Most likely in the near future, with technology advancements, I will have to update these tips, but today, these are the tips I can give you to help you better choose your website development service provider. Of course, if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, do not hesitate to contact us. We will be very happy to hear from you. FAQ How can I evaluate a web development agency by visiting its own site? To determine if the provider is professional, you must navigate their page and verify the following: That the site is responsive and reads well on both computer and cell phone. That on the Home page, what they do is quickly understood. That they don't have pages or buttons that mark an error when clicked. That they have visible and functional call-to-action buttons (like "Contact Us"). That navigation is logical, simple, and loads in less than 4 seconds. That it maintains a consistent aesthetic with legible fonts, error-free texts, and relevant images. What are the basic SEO terms that a web development proposal should include? Your provider should include essential elements in the "behind the scenes" configuration such as the Favicon, title tag, meta description, preview image, image alt text, use of keywords, and a correct header structure (H1, H2, H3). It should also contemplate the domain, webhosting, backlinks, indexing tags, and SSL security certificates. How do I ensure I keep ownership of my website? You must carefully review the provider's terms and conditions to ensure that you are the absolute owner of your property. A good ally should give you full control so that, if you decide to move your site to another webhosting, it is possible to transfer your DNS connections without obstacles or excessive charges. About the author Carolina Trevizo Partner at Werko Marketing Solutions with extensive and varied experience of over 18 years in B2B companies, specializing in strategic marketing, project management, data analysis for advertising management, audiovisual production, and graphic design. Subscribe to Marketing Insights! And receive a bi-weekly newsletter directly to your inbox so you're among the first to know.

Just like in basketball or soccer, where the question of who is the "GOAT" (Greatest of all time) is an eternal debate, in the world of marketing it is common to hear people asking "which is the best agency?" so on this occasion, I decided to share in a few lines, the answer I consider most accurate. The best marketing agency isn't necessarily the biggest or the cheapest. It's the one that understands your business, shares your goals, and has the processes, capabilities, and experience to generate measurable results. Table of Contents The question about "the best marketing agency" is ill-posed Why do so many companies end up disappointed with their agency? How to choose the best marketing agency without basing it only on price Is the biggest agency really "the best marketing agency"? Is "the best marketing agency" the most creative one? Is "the best marketing agency" the one with the most recommendations? The 6 criteria for choosing the best marketing agency (for you) 1. An agency that understands your business model and wants to boost it. 2. An agency that has clear processes 3. An agency that is transparent in accountability and results measurement 4. An agency that isn't afraid to say NO 5. An agency that has comprehensive capabilities 6. An agency with which there is cultural compatibility Is Werko Marketing Solutions the best marketing agency for you? FAQ The question about "the best marketing agency" is ill-posed Because, just as I spend hours debating with my son about the supremacy of Michael Jordan over LeBron James (mind you, I do it for fun because I know there is no single answer, but we enjoy the conversation), it is impossible to define the best because there are multiple variables to grade and some even have NOTHING to do with the conditions and characteristics of the agency, but with the client's profile. More important than placing a medal on "the best marketing agency", is identifying the ingredients that make for a good fit between the client's pain points, needs, and desires AND the agency's capabilities to UNDERSTAND and SERVE them, generating consistent RESULTS. Why do so many companies end up disappointed with their agency? I share with you some of the causes I have identified, having been on both sides of the equation (because for a long time I was a client and prospect of agencies, and now I have the pleasure of offering our services). How to choose the best marketing agency without basing it only on price It's natural to want to watch the budget. After all, nobody wants to spend more than is necessary. However, when price becomes the primary criterion for selecting a marketing agency, companies end up paying more than what they are saving. And the problem is not hiring an inexpensive agency. The problem is assuming that all agencies deliver the same value and that the only difference between them is the price at which they are offering the same service. I'll give you a concrete example: we know several "agencies" (I purposely put the word agencies in quotation marks) that promise to handle your company's social media management at prices that are sometimes as low as 30% of what we charge. Werko team meeting with clients. As a reference, we: Carry out a thorough process to define content strategies that contribute to the desired positioning of your brand, Establish communication lines that we index and monitor their performance to plan future content, Plan content calendars and mock up to correctly reinforce the messages, Propose and develop designs aligned with a brand manual, Schedule posts using cutting-edge technology enabled by machine learning to identify optimal times by channel and audience and to ensure that posts contain the meta-information to achieve greater and better reach, Our reports don't just publish vanity metrics directly, but present analysis based on indexed content and comparing with main competitors. We do this by putting your brand in the hands of experts who have optimal use licenses and work tools. I recently contacted one of these "agencies in quotation marks" and realized it wasn't a group, but rather it was a recent graduate with no professional experience or sector knowledge, who basically asks ChatGpt to auto-generate copy and art without any strategic direction and publishes manually. Of course, their Instagram profile had over 50K followers although their posts generated no reaction (a bot follower farm in Russia surely appreciated the 5 dollars paid to build their fake community). In marketing, the consequences of a bad decision are rarely reflected only in the invoice amount. They are reflected in lost opportunities, campaigns that don't generate results, months of work without a clear direction, and the need to start over with another provider. Is the biggest agency really "the best marketing agency"? There is a common belief that bigger agencies necessarily offer a better service. After all, if they have hundreds of employees and recognized clients, they must be the best option, right? Not necessarily. Large agencies often have extraordinary talent, robust methodologies, and access to significant resources. However, they also operate under structures designed to serve large accounts. This means that many medium-sized companies and brands end up becoming secondary clients within a long list of priorities. A photo from the launch of Heineken's "Heroes Wanted" campaign. I remember when I worked at HEINEKEN MEXICO and was responsible for the Coors Light brand. Our budget was miniscule compared to the Tecate Light brand, which is the highest volume brand in the portfolio of this brewing company. Even so, and due to the "benefit" of group hiring, the same creative agency that served Tecate Light served us and we even had the same person assigned as account executive. The result was that when both the Tecate manager and I needed something, my call was always answered later. The art we requested took longer and was often of considerably lower quality (it was noticeable they were assigned to junior designers within the team). Even sharing the same sales ticket, the service level was radically different because the agency felt it had more to lose if it failed the big brand. The best agency is not necessarily the biggest. It is the one with the right structure to accompany your company in the stage it is in. For some organizations that will mean working with a multinational, large-scale agency. For others, a highly specialized boutique agency will be a better investment. Is "the best marketing agency" the most creative one? It is indisputable that creativity is important and is an essential ingredient in any marketing effort. However, it can be dangerous if it is the only variable used to select the agency you are going to work with. Many clients can be impressed by an agency's creative portfolio without asking something much more important: did that creativity generate business results? Did that creativity serve to position the brand and help it meet its objectives? There are times when executions are very creative and very entertaining but don't even make you remember what brand presented them. A campaign can win awards, accumulate thousands of views, or receive recognition in the industry and still fail to generate sales, leads, or growth for the company that hired it. That is why I will always prefer and value more having received EFFIES (awards for advertising efficiency) than the awards I received from Círculo Creativo. Both are valuable and both involve a lot of work, but it gives me greater satisfaction to have put creativity at the service of the business objective. Because at the end of the day creativity is a tool, not an objective. The best agencies understand that creativity must be inserted into the pursuit of a clear strategy. Before asking themselves how to get attention, they ask themselves what behavior they want to generate, what problem they are solving, and how they will measure success. In marketing, creativity without strategy is entertainment. Creativity with strategy is growth. Is "the best marketing agency" the one with the most recommendations? One of the most important decision drivers when someone looks for an agency is the recommendation they received from someone who already worked with a specific team. I recently saw a study that mentioned that in the B2B world around 75% of qualified leads originate from referred sources and it doesn't surprise me. It's easy to think "if it worked for my friend, it will surely work for me" and often that evaluation is very accurate. I want to be very clear in saying that recommendations from current and past clients are among the things we value most at Werko Marketing Solutions and effectively, they have been one of the sources that most feed our commercial funnel. Having said this, I think it is important that each client understands that behind a recommendation is a specific situation, a specific budget, a specific pain point or need, unique capabilities, sector in which it operates, etc. An agency well recommended by one client is not necessarily going to be the best agency for another, although a good experience is usually a reflection of the meticulous work behind delivering a professional service. More important than finding "the best agency", you have to look for "the agency that is best for what I need." The 6 criteria for choosing the best marketing agency (for you) If we already established that there is no "the best marketing agency", but the one that suits you best specifically, I don't want to leave you with just that. Rather, I share with you 6 things worth looking for to validate that correct fit so you can reach the agency that is "the best for you." Want to evaluate if your current agency meets these criteria? Schedule a conversation with our team. 1. An agency that understands your business model and wants to boost it. Any agency that promises results like "X guaranteed leads per year" indiscriminately must be disqualified immediately and labeled as a fake. First, because in our world there are no guarantees or magic formulas. Second, because it is illogical to think that someone who doesn't understand if what you sell is penthouse apartments in Florida or nuts in a hardware store in Chattanooga can promise you the same volume of leads applying the same tools with the same budget. To work effectively with you, an agency must dedicate time to fully understanding critical elements of your model to be able to propose the right strategies and tactics. If they don't take the time to understand, Who are the ones making the purchase decision for your product or service, What your commercial processes are like, What the moments of truth are, The average value of your clients, The stages in your commercial funnel and their normal time per stage, Specific factors that generate trust in your market And the true differentiators of your product, Then they will hardly be a valuable ally to position your brand and pursue your objectives. A tool that we developed precisely to achieve this level of understanding and alignment is our Brand Strategy Map, which also serves many other purposes of strategic value for our clients. Beware of agencies that have the same solution and the same promise of success for everyone. 2. An agency that has clear processes Avoid complications and surprises by ensuring your agency has clear processes and reviewing that those processes are compatible with the way your company or brand operates and its expectations. By this I mean clarity of processes and proven methodologies. Someone who operates based on methodologies can very easily outline schedules, define workflows, and give clarity around roles and functions. If you ask me to develop a website, I must be able to very easily present my way of working and explain each of the phases so that you know how meticulously we work, have visibility of times, stages, and decisions, and can check if that is compatible with what you are looking for. Beware of agencies that "we'll see and adapt as we go." Companies without clear processes usually fail, either in time, in form, or both. Does the agency you are working with have clear processes? Are these processes compatible with what you are looking for? 3. An agency that is transparent in accountability and results measurement Beware of agencies that always give you good doctored results or that don't define what it will mean to successfully achieve a project. Also beware of those that don't define their efforts based on specific objectives. I have said it many times: it is in function of a healthy and fruitful relationship that it is relevant to have an understanding of the Measures of Success. Let me give granular examples to make the idea clear: if together we establish Brand Awareness objectives in a campaign and I ensure that all variables are set to pursue that objective, the success of that campaign cannot be measured by conversions in phone calls. The alignment between setting objectives, developing tactics to pursue them, and consistent accountability is very important and your agency must not only know it, but ensure that you understand it too. Good agreements help ground expectations, strengthen relationships, and celebrate success. 4. An agency that isn't afraid to say NO Have you noticed that any idea you want to bounce off ChatGPT is always received with an "Excellent! What a great idea you had" even though you could be saying the most stupid thing that ever occurred to you? That level of condescension is fueled by instructions that privilege liking you over telling you the truth... and if you dislike getting it from an AI, it should make you REVOLTED to get it from who you are supposedly looking for to be your ally and protector of your brand health. Beware of companies that prefer to sell you something you don't need than tell you the truth... or those that just to close a sale tell you they can do something that isn't really in their DNA to deliver. I talk more about these situations in this article I wrote a year ago but which is still very current. 5. An agency that has comprehensive capabilities This may seem obvious, but it's worth saying. If an agency offers a specific service, it must be able to show you that it has the capabilities to deliver it at the level you need it. For example, if they say they can design your website with SEO and GEO logic, they should be able to show you how they do it and give some examples. It is also worth recognizing the value of working with agencies that understand the interconnections between tools and can manage them: An agency that knows about Search Engine Marketing (SEM) understands that part of its success depends on having a Website Destination optimized for SEO and recognizes that results from a Google Ads campaign can fuel the cost-efficiency of organic traffic generation efforts. Whoever offers Backlinks strategies should be able to link those efforts with Schema Markups work that potentializes them even more. The one who understands analytics knows they can get from a social media performance report, actionable truths to execute in email marketing campaigns. The most successful strategies, especially in digital marketing, are those that recognize the links between tools that are part of the ecosystem. The agency that can integrate these learnings into multi-channel efforts will always be leveraging its efforts much more in favor of your results. In digital marketing, it is better to work with agencies that have comprehensive capabilities than with One Trick Ponies (agencies specialized in a single service) that operate excellently in disconnected silos without taking advantage of the systemic vision. 6. An agency with which there is cultural compatibility One of the most underrated factors in choosing "the best marketing agency" for your needs is cultural compatibility. Beyond experience, technical capabilities, or the size of the agency, it is fundamental that both organizations share a similar way of working, communicating, and making decisions. An agency may have an impressive portfolio, but if its pace of work, level of structure, style of communication, or strategic approach doesn't fit with your company's expectations, the relationship will probably end up generating frustration for both parties. In the end, an agency is not simply a provider; it is an external team that will actively participate in important decisions for your business growth. The best client-agency relationships are not those that generate fewer disagreements. They are those where there is enough trust to have difficult conversations when the business needs it. Is Werko Marketing Solutions the best marketing agency for you? Hopefully yes... because we love finding clients with whom we can achieve incredible results. If you are looking for an ally, it's worth getting to know us and evaluating if we could form a successful binomial. At Werko: We prioritize strategy clarity BEFORE execution That's why our slogan "We think before we brand." We like to deeply understand our clients and the environment in which they operate to have better ideas on how to tackle their needs. We measure everything that can be measured We are Sprout Social Agency Partner And we don't skimp on the cost of doing it. That's why we have top-level tools like Sprout Social and we are certified in the use of analytics tools. That's why we always report based on value variables for the client and ensure our campaign efforts are linked to clear objectives and pre-agreed Measures of Success. We are boutique-expansive in scale We are an agency that works with hybrid collaboration formats. We have a relatively small in-house team but a network of trusted collaborators and allies whom we call upon as needed and per project. This enables us to have a flexible talent pool while controlling fixed costs, so that we can offer you top-level services at more competitive prices and with greater capacity and response speed than large agencies. This scale also ensures that your account and its needs are never distant from our organizational leaders. Over 20 years understanding how companies from multiple sectors make decisions Just check the CV of the Werko leadership team and our success case portfolio to value one of our most important differentiators against agencies of our scale. We have experience in Fast-Moving Consumer Goods, consulting, and B2B. We love connecting the dots in digital ecosystems And we have the installed capacity and comprehensive services to do it. We are passionate about having fun with our clients while pursuing their objectives together And I believe that is what is behind each of the opinions they share with us when we conclude projects or project milestones or in each rating they leave on our profiles. The best agency is not the biggest. It is not the most famous. It is not the cheapest. It is the one that understands your business, shares your way of working, and has the ability to help you reach your goals. For many medium-sized companies looking for growth based on strategy, technology, and measurement, Werko Marketing Solutions can be that partner. We want to be the best marketing agency for the best clients. Do you want to be one of them? Let's talk. FAQ How to know if a marketing agency is good? A marketing agency is good if it has methodologies and processes in its services, gives clarity on expected results, has comprehensive capabilities, good client references, has a broad portfolio, fits with your organizational culture, and understands your business model. How much does it cost to hire a marketing agency? Hiring prices for a marketing agency are very varied in Mexico depending on the scope of the projects, ranging from no less than 500 USD and can exceed hundreds of thousands of dollars. What is the difference between a boutique agency and a large agency? The main difference between a boutique agency and a large agency is the quality of personalized attention that a boutique agency can give. Generally, a large agency faces communication challenges with its clients. How long does a marketing strategy take to give results? A marketing strategy is a medium and long-term bet. There are no magic formulas that work immediately. But with strategic planning and execution, results can be achieved consistently in a few months. About the author Arjan Shahani Managing Partner at Werko Marketing Solutions and co-founder of Shahani Initiatives. He has over 20 years of experience in consumer and B2B marketing, as well as business consulting. His primary focus is business profitability through strategic marketing. Subscribe to Marketing Insights! And receive a bi-weekly newsletter directly to your inbox so you're among the first to know.

Your website might look perfect... and be practically invisible. You just launched your new website. You invested time and money, had revisions and multiple discussions, but you finally arrived at a version you liked. And you even took the precaution of ensuring it was responsive and optimized for all types of screens. It looks incredible on laptops, tablets, and mobile devices… but no one visits it. What's happening? I'm going to confront you with a hard truth: search engines don't just rate websites based on their design and content. They also measure and use REPUTATION as an important filter. This is true for traditional engines like Google and Bing, as well as for LLMs used as search engines (ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity, etc.). And how is a website's reputation measured? One of its main indicators, if not the most important one, is called BACKLINKS. Table of Content What are Backlinks in SEO? How Do Backlinks Affect a Website's SEO Performance? 1. Authority building. 2. Better positions in search results. 3. Faster indexing. 4. Trust and the E-E-A-T model. Why didn't my agency tell me about Backlinks for SEO when they built my website? Quality over Quantity: Not all backlinks are equal Backlinks are a marathon, not a sprint Quick Wins (not shortcuts) for Building Backlinks. Start Today. Add your business to relevant directories. Leverage your business's natural relationships. Publish valuable content. Generate content for others. Testimonials and Success Stories. Public Relations and Earned Media. If your website is an island that no one knows about, it's time to turn it into a tourist destination. What are Backlinks in SEO? Well, first, what is SEO? Simply put, without getting into too many technicalities, SEO is everything you do to make your page more visible and "findable" for search engines without paying for ads. The goal of this is to generate intentional traffic organically. And for practical purposes, GEO is its equivalent, but for you to be more findable by the AI platforms that are increasingly being used as search engines. A backlink is a link that another site generates to yours. Now then, a BACKLINK is a link that another site generates to yours. There are different types of backlinks with different implications and values, but for now, stick with the idea that when someone puts a link to your site on theirs, they are sending a signal to the internet that contributes to the positioning of YOUR site. It is a vote of confidence, a reference from a third party who is saying "this site offers something of value." And the obligatory reflection: not all votes of confidence are worth the same. If Tony Hawk says "your daughter has an incredible ollie," it will be worth much more than if her godmother says it (no offense to your cheers, Eva 😊). Similarly, the source of the backlink referring to you has a significant impact on your site's positioning. “This content is valuable, relevant, and trustworthy” – The best signal a good backlink with high authority can give us. In the world of SEO, backlinks fulfill a function similar to the quotes included on the back cover of a book. What they say matters, but also who says them. The greater the credibility of the backlink source, the greater authority it will project onto your site. How Do Backlinks Affect a Website's SEO Performance? There are many ways, but practically speaking, we can summarize this into a few crucial points. The four main ways an effective backlink strategy will help your site be better identified by Google's algorithm (and its counterparts): 1. Authority building. Search engines assign an authority score to your domain (your website address). The more quality backlinks you have, the better authority rating you will have, and your site will be categorized as more trustworthy. 2. Better positions in search results. In organic results (non-paid), the most trustworthy pages in each category tend to occupy better places in intentional search results. Simplifying the sequence, the way Google reads it is: This user is looking for X. In my menu of options to offer as a response to their search, I have 10 sites that I think are what they are looking for. They have similar content and an offering related to the user's search. Of the two best, which are similar in content, I see that "A" has 50 good backlinks and its domain authority is 74, while "B" has no backlinks. The best answer to their search is "A." 3. Faster indexing. Search engines are constantly looking for and evaluating new content on the internet to understand how it should be indexed. Imagine a library that has very organized sections, categories, books organized according to multiple variables, but in the back, it has a huge storage room in complete disarray. The indexing process is what happens to take a book from that storage room and place it on its best shelf. In this sense, imagine backlinks as a series of light spots that are illuminating your book in that storage room and shouting: “It's best to place this book first!” 4. Trust and the E-E-A-T model. In other articles, I've already talked about the importance of E-E-A-T and used it to encourage you not to fall into the trap of automated low-value content generation using LLMs. Now I share with you that E-E-A-T is not only a matter of authentic content but also of those who REFER to your content. Backlinks give an additional qualifier to those pieces of information that are part of your website and were put there to attract traffic... and here it's worth mentioning that this is true not only for organic traffic but also for generating cost-efficiency in your paid campaigns (for example, in Google Ads). Why didn't my agency tell me about Backlinks for SEO when they built my website? I'm not going to give you excuses, but blunt truths. Most websites are bought and sold with a launch logic and not a long-term growth one. In the market (and here both client and provider are equally guilty) website projects usually start the day the client gives the down payment and end the day the site has its GoLive. Therefore, developers focus primarily on Design, Content Loading Performance, Responsiveness for different devices, and Functionality. If you're lucky and work with a serious agency that has this muscle, SEO-based structuring is also included. Backlinks help you elevate the authority of your website. And I want to be very clear in saying that ALL of that is important for having a good website... but a void remains in discussions and strategies not planned to generate Backlinks. They are not part of a site's deliverable because it is not something that is built "on the site"... Furthermore, their generation is the result of continuous and constant work, which has a beginning but truly no clear end (you can always be chasing one more backlink) and they are easily displaced by considering them "a pending task for later and for someone else." And although I maintain that there is a co-responsibility between client and provider, I return to something I have said many times: "the client does not know what they do not know and does not have to know what they do not know." As I write these lines, I think about the additional effort that those of us in the position and with the knowledge must make to correctly instruct the client to see that a good website build is only the beginning of its success. We have to be more effective in generating awareness about the importance of backlinks first... and then, helping clients develop strategies to capture them and elevate the authority of their sites. By doing so, we will truly be supporting their business objectives. Colleagues from other agencies, we have work to do. Quality over Quantity: Not all backlinks are equal Many times, cheap comes at a high price, and apparent shortcuts lead us to hit a wall. When it comes to backlinks, it is important not to fall into the temptation of the "easy solution." I can already imagine you, who are reading this, asking Google or some LLM, “how can I buy backlinks?” and seeing search results with lists and lists of services promising “1000 backlinks for 25 dollars.” PLEASE, don't fall into the trap. These services were born to deceive. In the worst cases, they are sites of dubious origin that you wouldn't want to trust your credit card data to... and in the BEST cases, they are mechanisms that will generate a vast quantity of backlinks... that will DAMAGE your ranking. Let me explain: what these services do is link your page to sites that, without any relevance or context, are willing to generate the backlink because they were created for that purpose. There is no reason for the backlink, and these are sites that, for the same reason, have a very poor domain authority rating. Don't try to trick Google… Google hates when you do it and takes it into account. If it notices that your site starts being illogically referred to by irrelevant sites, it will tag it as spam and put a red flag on it. Google wants to give its users the best search result. Interpreting that your site is trying to “cheat” to appear does not inspire confidence. Instead of buying 100 weak, illogical, and low-domain authority backlinks, focus your efforts on figuring out how to achieve ONE good, high-authority backlink. Focus on relevance in your industry, contextualization, and earning that reference instead of generating it artificially (more on how to do this below). Backlinks are a marathon, not a sprint I know it's a cliché, but it's also true. Achieving good positioning via backlinks takes time… but the good news is that although the beginning can be difficult, with a good strategy behind them, they usually gain momentum and accelerate. Think of it as developing a professional reputation. At first, it's difficult because no one knows you, but through consistency, networking, and value generation, you can reach a point where another cliché becomes reality: “Make a name for yourself and you can rest.” A good reputation reaches a point where it has natural traction, and what used to take titanic efforts becomes almost automatic. And for that reason, I want to help encourage you to run the first kilometer of this marathon, knowing that as you progress, you'll pick up more pace. Quick Wins (not shortcuts) for Building Backlinks. Start Today. We already know: high-quality backlinks are not something a developer codes into your site, but a resource that needs to be chased out there. It's not in your territory but in that of others. Even so, there are things that fall into YOUR field of action to start capturing them. For example: Add your business to relevant directories. In your industry, whatever it may be, there are relevant communities. There are Chambers, Associations, Councils, Forums, and other types of groups.... And they are not just isolated directories without context. They have a REASON FOR BEING and intrinsic value. Often, precisely because of their nature, they are hosted on high-authority domains. Registering your site, your company, your business, in these relevant spaces is a quick win that, in addition to generating a good backlink, lets a community—which is surely visited by your potential customers—know that you exist. It is a double success. Leverage your business's natural relationships. Every company has clients, suppliers, and/or collaborators. Each of them represents a potential backlink. Think about who is easy to access to ask them to put a link to your site on theirs and give them relevant reasons to do so. A very natural way is even a link exchange (I reference yours in exchange for you referencing mine, and we both win). Publish valuable content. In addition to addressing a well-structured CONTENT strategy for SEO, publishing high-value "shareable" pieces makes it much easier and promotes backlink generation. Give the world out there REASONS to refer to you. Think of articles, quick references, guides, and/or downloadable resources that others would want to share with THEIR audiences. Earn the privilege of a backlink through the quality of your content. Generate content for others. It is easy to focus your efforts on generating valuable content in your own articles and news section. Because of course, we want them to come to OUR website. But what would happen if, in addition to generating content for your site, you do the work for others and "gift" them valuable content for their spaces? Although it may seem counterintuitive, with a good selection of other spaces, publishing content outside your site can actually become a way to extend your reach to other channels. And in the process, generate natural backlinks. Imagine, for example, that you write an Op-Ed in an informative medium in your industry and include a link in it to get a downloadable or an executive version of the article... BAM! Immediate backlink and possible referral traffic from an audience that didn't know you. Additional positioning, amplified reach, and better SEO ranking. The effort was worth it. Testimonials and Success Stories. On your website, you probably included a section where past clients speak well of you... What if you spoke well of them? Think of content like articles and/or success stories that you can put together that not only showcase your good work but also project your clients positively. If you put these pieces on your website and make sure your clients know that content exists, they will likely want to refer THEIR audiences to the piece at some point. Give them reasons why THEY want to generate traffic to your site by telling THEIR clients: “Look how well they speak of us in this space.” Here is just one example of this type of tactic. Public Relations and Earned Media. Media outlets, newspapers, specialized magazines, etc., usually have high-authority domains. Although this effort may be more laborious than other tactics I share, it's worth considering: How can you earn a space in their publications? In what spaces can you be to achieve their coverage? And when you achieve it, be sure to take the time and care to ask that they include a reference to your site in their publication (in most cases, doing so is not just a favor for you, but part of publishing a better, higher-value deliverable for their readers). If your website is an island that no one knows about, it's time to turn it into a tourist destination. Having a good website that no one knows exists is like being sure that somewhere in the world there is a paradise island that we have not discovered. It is useless. In the current digital ecosystem, well-qualified visibility is key, and in that sense, every good backlink is a bridge stretched to your island that connects it with your audience and inserts it into a functional, high-trust network.... And when your island is well-connected, travel agencies (search engines and AI agents) have no problem promoting it as an ideal destination. References https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/seo-starter-guide https://ahrefs.com/blog/what-are-backlinks/ FAQ What is the difference between SEO and GEO regarding backlinks? SEO (Search Engine Optimization) focuses on optimizing your website so traditional search engines like Google or Bing rank you in their organic results. On the other hand, GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is its equivalent for AI platforms (like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity) that are increasingly used as search engines. In both worlds, high-authority backlinks act as a critical reputation metric: they prove to both Google and AI agents that your content is trustworthy, relevant, and worth recommending to users. Why is it dangerous to buy cheap backlinks for my website? Buying cheap backlink packages (like those promising thousands of links for a few dollars) is a trap that will damage your rankings. These services connect your page to low-authority websites that lack any relevance or context. Google hates when you try to cheat the system ; if it notices your site is being weirdly referenced by irrelevant portals, it will label it as spam and red-flag it. In modern SEO, quality always beats quantity. How do backlinks help speed up my content indexing? Search engines constantly crawl the internet to evaluate and index new content. If you imagine a bookstore with a massive, completely disorganized warehouse in the back, indexing is the process of taking a book from that warehouse and putting it on the right shelf. Backlinks act as spots of light shining on your book inside that dark warehouse, shouting: "You should index this book first!". How do backlinks relate to Google's E-E-A-T model? The E-E-A-T model (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) isn't just about creating authentic content and avoiding low-value automated AI text. It also evaluates who refers to your content. When a reputable website links to yours, it acts as an external vote of confidence. This grants your domain an extra trust qualifier, which improves organic rankings and drives cost-efficiency in paid campaigns like Google Ads. What are the fastest and most ethical ways to build quality backlinks? To earn natural, high-authority backlinks without cheating, you can implement direct strategies: Relevant Directories: Register your business in industry-specific chambers, associations, or councils that already hold high domain authority. Guest Blogging: Write valuable content, such as an Op-Ed or guide, for third-party media outlets in your sector and include a link back to your site. Natural Partnerships: Leverage existing relationships with clients or suppliers to naturally exchange links. High-Value Assets: Publish downloadable resources, guides, or shareable articles that give others a genuine reason to reference you. About the author Arjan Shahani Managing Partner at Werko Marketing Solutions and co-founder of Shahani Initiatives. He has over 20 years of experience in consumer and B2B marketing, as well as business consulting. His primary focus is business profitability through strategic marketing. Subscribe to Marketing Insights! 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Unify customer insights with your value proposition to align your teams under a single strategic vision. In a professional services company, the marketing team wanted to implement an advertising campaign where the brand would be shown as more modern and “young,” since the way it currently communicated to the end client was somewhat old-fashioned and made it seem outdated, causing losses of new prospects. The sales team disagreed; showing the brand as young invisibleized the more than 30 years of experience they had in the market; the focus should be on showing the company as one with a great track record but up-to-date with the latest technology trends to face the challenges of current businesses. Nothing “modern,” the route, they said, should be “solid and experienced.” Some companies have a lot of "brand documents" that don't help the business in any practical way. The Commercial Directorate asked them for alignment, so they dug into documents that they might be able to use to support their proposals: They found that, for example, the company had a “Brand Platform” document, but it was only a statement of intent, and it ignored the active role of the brand in front of the customer. On the other hand, a while ago, a consulting firm had charged them a lot of money for a document called “Brand DNA,” but that only mentioned the brand’s purpose and promise, as well as the mission, vision, and values, yet there was no clarity on actionable steps for the customer. They also had a “Brand Brief” that they sent to the agencies they worked with, but that one only talked about the visual identity and the brand voice. They had a market and competitor study that was very descriptive, but lacked true insights. The “fragmentation” of brand documents with partial information, and the lack of involvement of the sales and marketing teams in their preparation, caused a lack of alignment: They couldn't agree and made the brand inconsistent, and worst of all, their customer perceived a brand that it was not. Does that sound familiar? The good news is that there is a brand strategy model that not only unifies its most important elements with your client's insights, but also makes sales, marketing, and other teams that have to project the brand to the customer, finally aligned. What is a Brand Strategy Map? A Brand Strategy Map is a brand strategy model that unifies the customer and your offering in a single document, centering the role your brand plays in meeting the needs of your consumers. A Brand Strategy Map helps define the role of your brand, linking your customer with your offering. Other models forget the benefits perceived by the customer, do not consider the active role that brands have in front of their clients, or are temporary, not strategic or permanent. Unlike them, a Brand Strategy Map seeks to be a document that sets the standard for how the brand comes to life in the different channels where it has a presence, in the way it serves its customers, and by providing a compass to guide the actions of the teams that make it possible. The 5 Pillars of the Brand Strategy Map This brand strategy model is built around the definition of 5 fundamental pillars: The Target Customer I won't tire of saying it: Knowing your customer and who they really are is gold for your business. It's not just about knowing demographics, but truly intersectionally understanding what they value, what they are not interested in, what factors lead them to purchase, among other specific details that help you better understand their logic and actions. In this way, this brand strategy model gives you actionable insights to implement in your brand and its relationship with its consumers. Product or Service Benefits Many people fall into the trap of only highlighting the functional benefits of the product or service behind the brand. For example, if they sell a laptop brand, they highlight things like: RAM level, screen type, processor, size, weight, etc. And they forget that beyond the functional benefits, the customer also perceives products in an emotional and social way. So this pillar of the Brand Strategy Map does just that: define the functional, emotional, and social benefits to create true differentiations from the competition. Reasons to Believe This pillar refers to the reasons why your customer should believe what you tell them. Basically, these are the arguments that tell them why you aren't selling “smoke.” Just think about it! In current times, there are many fraudulent products or services, and consumer distrust is greater than ever. What arguments, data, or proof do you have that your product is the “best,” the “fastest,” the “most effective,” etc.? Personality and Voice If your brand were a person, what kind of person would it be? How would it speak? What values would it have? Defining all that helps to understand how it will relate to its environment: in its advertising, in communication on digital channels, in its customer service, in its after-sales service, etc. Having the sales, marketing, and customer service teams aligned under the same understanding helps to strengthen your Integrated Marketing Communication Plan. The Role and Essence of the Brand The role your brand plays is the bridge between the client's problem and your solution. It is its reason for being and existing. Having a clear understanding of this, during the application of this brand strategy model, helps us reach the core that ties everything together: The brand essence. And be careful, the essence is NOT a slogan, nor is it a phrase that is created and saved only to be forgotten in a drawer. The essence of a brand is what defines it in a few words. It is not fleeting, it is the foundation upon which everything is built and upon which decisions are made. Hidden benefits of the brand strategy model: Brand Strategy Map Beyond having a document that includes the pillars of a Brand Strategy Map, implementing this brand strategy methodology in your business brings much deeper benefits. Because the methodology involves the most important people in the organization—those who deeply know the customer and the product/service, as well as those who are, by nature of their functions, decision-makers regarding the brand—it is easier to achieve organizational alignment across teams. The process of creating the Map, let's say, “forces” the areas (such as sales, product, management, marketing, customer service, or others) to “sit at the same table” and, without friction, contribute to the construction of the brand cooperatively. It is easier to agree with something I helped build than to agree with something for which I wasn't even asked my opinion. Even more so when I have so much to contribute! For our agency, Werko Marketing Solutions, this model is not just a deliverable; it is a team management tool because when finished, everyone “speaks the same language.” Finally, what I want you to take away is that the Brand Strategy Map is a methodology that large companies like Heineken, Coca-Cola, Starbucks, and many more apply, but which Werko Marketing Solutions has designed a way to make much more accessible, while maintaining its quality. Success examples of Brand Strategy Map implementation Some of the brands that have entrusted us with the responsibility of building their Brand Strategy Map are: Euro Water Technologies Sintec Consulting Fundación FEMSA ALINEA Group AcadeME Formando Emprendedores Sociales Terra Regia and... ourselves, Werko Marketing Solutions (we practice what we preach). "I loved the whole project. Werko helped us find our brand's compass and map. Plus, the website they created finally reflects what we've wanted for a long time." Cecilia Garza Marketing Director of Terra Regia "Top-notch service, focused and friendly. Very professional, their experience is evident and they inspire confidence at all times. Thank you for supporting us in our process of improving our communication and image for our clients." Rafael Lobo Niembro Partner of Alinea Un Brand Strategy Map is not only an exercise with a deliverable document that puts an end to chaos, but it is the difference between spending on advertising and investing in advertising, in knowing what to do and what to take action on, or being lost trying to hit the target. About the author Carolina Trevizo Partner at Werko Marketing Solutions with extensive and varied experience of over 18 years in B2B companies, specializing in strategic marketing, project management, data analysis for advertising management, audiovisual production, and graphic design. Subscribe to Marketing Insights! And receive a bi-weekly newsletter directly to your inbox so you're among the first to know.

Web accessibility is not just a technical issue or a practice intended for a few users. It is an element that directly impacts the browsing experience, SEO positioning, and a site's ability to convert visitors into customers. I would like to start this article by making something very important clear: I am not, nor do I pretend to be, a design expert. My area of expertise is different, focused on digital advertising, social media, and more. That said, what I am going to tell you in my article is something so crucial for web design and development that even someone without a designer profile must understand its impact. And yes, as you can see from the title, I'm going to talk about how important it is to have a website that is accessible. Table of contents: What is web accessibility? Why is web accessibility important? The Most Common Accessibility Errors Low contrast between text and background: Images without alternative text: Poor header hierarchy: Poorly labeled forms: Navigation not accessible by keyboard: Links and buttons without clear context: Sites poorly adapted to mobile: Incorrect use of ARIA: Multimedia content without subtitles or transcriptions: Unclear or non-existent error messages: SEO and web accessibility, are they the same? What is web accessibility? Let's start with the basics, what is web accessibility. The most accepted definition by the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative says that: Web accessibility means that websites, tools, and technologies are designed and developed so that people with disabilities can use them. More specifically, people can: perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the Web contribute to the Web Web accessibility encompasses all disabilities that affect access to the web, including: auditory, cognitive, neurological, physical, speech, or visual. The above definition is possibly the most elementary understanding of what this concept implies. In fact, accessibility arises from the needs of people with some type of disability. However, the concept has evolved to encompass other benefits. The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) mentions that accessibility also benefits people without disabilities, improving the user experience, including users of mobile devices, smartwatches, or people connected to a slow speed internet network. Why is web accessibility important? It seems to me that, as a concept, what accessibility is is clearer, but in practice it is more than that. It is a factor that directly influences how visitors to your site interact with it and, therefore, impacts the results you get from it: form submissions, product purchases, newsletter subscriptions, whatever. An accessible website allows more people to explore it and complete actions in a seamless way, without problems or friction. In other words, happy visitors because they can navigate a website without problems. This has a favorable impact on KPIs such as average session duration, bounce rate, and conversions. On the other hand, an accessible website helps in the SEO ranking of search engines like Google. Clear structures, legible content, and logical navigation not only help site users, but also help people "out there" find your site more easily. Furthermore, and as I mentioned a moment ago, accessibility is not only for those people with some type of disability, but also for users who are browsing your site in less than ideal conditions (again, like the ones I told you about in the previous section). Ignoring this is shooting yourself in the foot because you are limiting the potential of your website. At the end of the day, your site can have the best content in the world: interesting, entertaining, educational, etc., but if people cannot consume it in the best way, it is as if you had no content. The Most Common Accessibility Errors Finally, what everyone came for, I share with you this list of accessibility errors. Once again, these are failures that WebAIM has identified from the analysis of billions of pages: Low contrast between text and background: This means that the site text is difficult to read because colors are being used that do not generate enough contrast with each other. It is the most common error (over 81% of the pages studied), especially because some designers prioritize looking "modern," "crazy," "with punch," or some other adjective and leave aside that people can suffer eye strain or even discomfort from trying to read something that is not easy to read. Here I share a tool that I really like using to solve these types of cases. Images without alternative text: A site's content is not just the titles and paragraphs you write, but also the videos and images that accompany them. However, not all people can see this visual content: either due to some type of disability or simply because they are connected to a very slow network and cannot load the images correctly. When the latter happens, for example, instead of displaying the image, what is known as Alt Text, or alternative text of the image, is displayed, which (in theory) should serve to correctly describe what the image is showing. Website builders like Wix or Wordpress usually have fields where you can write the alternative text. Make sure to do so because it also helps Google better understand your site. Poor header hierarchy: Just as in a Word document we have a title, subtitles, headings, and paragraphs, a website also has them and we usually identify them with HTML tags such as H1, H2, H3, etc. As a general rule, a page on your site should only have one H1. It often happens that multiple H1s are used because it is believed that the larger the title, the more visible the text will be. And yes, that may be true, but what is actually occurring is that navigation is complicated and generates confusion because we don't understand which text is most relevant. Also, imagine you are visiting the site from a mobile device with a small screen. Saturating it with text that looks enormous will end up covering your entire screen. Correctly hierarchy your content! Poorly labeled forms: Nearly 49% of Start/Home pages have poorly labeled forms. This means that the site owner intends for users to fill out a series of fields to collect data from them (usually: Name, Email, and some additional Message). However, if we don't make it clear what we want from them, how will users know what to fill in the form? Remember, any friction users feel is one more reason they have to abandon your site and you would be losing a user, a new subscriber, and/or a potential customer. The minimum we can do is indicate what data goes in each field and which fields are mandatory to fill out. An extra step is to use what is known as placeholder text, which is a kind of example left for users to say: "Look, in this field I am expecting you to write this." Once the user enters the first character in the field, this placeholder text disappears, as it has fulfilled its function. I share an example so that what I mean is clearer: Navigation not accessible by keyboard: This error is perhaps more difficult to understand because we normally navigate a website with our computer mouse or with our fingers on a touch screen on our cell phone. However, there are users who for one reason or another need - or prefer - to use the arrows, Enter, or Tab, from the keyboard to carry out their navigation. This is especially critical in page elements such as drop-down menus, search filters, or action buttons. If the user cannot access them or gets "trapped" at some point in the navigation, goodbye! Fortunately, platforms like Wix Studio and Wordpress include these features to ensure that websites are navigable by keyboard, but it never hurts to do a double check to be sure. Links and buttons without clear context: Clickable buttons are, par excellence, the best option for showing a Call-to-action (call to action) that we expect users to carry out. They are essential elements within the construction of a website, but they are dependent on context. If you place a button that says "Click here," without additional information around it, do you really think users will click it? It is not just a matter of distrust but of not understanding what the site expects users to do. In addition, screen readers - those tools that describe by voice what is being shown on the screen of the user using this functionality - the only thing they will tell the user will be "Click here," without any additional context. Sites poorly adapted to mobile: According to StatCounter, more than 53% of global web traffic occurs from mobile devices. This behavior has been a reality in recent years: fewer and fewer users use their computers to browse. Hence the importance that the website you design can be not only visually attractive but easily navigable in its adaptation to mobile. Some elements that can create a poor user experience on mobile can include: text that is too small or exaggeratedly large, buttons that are difficult to press, overlapping elements, unnecessary horizontal scrolls, etc. The truth is that there are many site templates that are designed thinking more about desktop than mobile. Therefore, we must ensure that the user experience is as good on mobile as it is on desktop, to avoid an increase in the bounce rate or a decrease in conversions. Even more so if this is a criterion that search engines like Google consider important for SEO ranking. Incorrect use of ARIA: In HTML, ARIA is known as a set of special attributes to improve the accessibility of websites, and they are intended especially for users who use screen readers. These attributes do not change in themselves how a website looks, but rather serve as support for this assistive technology by telling it, for example: "This is an icon to close a pop-up window." In general, available templates bring an element in their native HTML that precisely fulfills the function of ARIA, so in many cases it is not necessary to add ARIA to the HTML, but it is good practice to make sure what is included and what is not in a template, if you are using one. Image credit: web.dev Multimedia content without subtitles or transcriptions: There is audiovisual content (that is, videos) that is completely dependent on audio. Imagine a corporate video talking about how your business is the best and presenting real testimonials from your customers in front of the camera. The audio is key to the video. Therefore, it is essential that it includes subtitles for those users with a hearing disability or who cannot "consume" the audio because they are in an environment that does not allow it (they are not wearing headphones, they are in a noisy place or in an environment that requires silence, etc.) Subtitles increase user retention, improve comprehension of the material, support assistive technologies, and facilitate consumption. In addition, transcriptions help index content correctly by search engines like Google. Unclear or non-existent error messages: Between 48% and 51% of analyzed pages suffer from this problem. Think about the last time you tried to fill out a contact form, register on a platform, or finalize a purchase online and, suddenly, a generic message like "An error has occurred" appeared or some fields were marked in red without further explanation. The reality is that many websites do not correctly communicate what went wrong or how to resolve it, which increases friction and, therefore, user frustration. This often happens in forms where mandatory fields are not clearly identified, passwords do not meet certain requirements that were never explained, or expected formats (such as phone numbers or emails) are not evident. The problem is not only one of user experience; it also directly affects conversion. Each additional friction point increases the chances of a user abandoning a form, a checkout, or a registration process before completing it. In addition, many error messages depend solely on visual elements such as the color red, which represents a barrier for people with visual difficulties or color blindness. An effective error message should clearly indicate what happened, why it happened, in which field it happened, and what the user should do to fix it. SEO and web accessibility, are they the same? I mentioned almost at the beginning of my article that accessibility helps in the SEO ranking of a website. Still, it would seem that they are the same, right? If you are avid readers of our blog, listen to our podcast or we have had the fortune of having had you as clients, you will be able to notice that many of the errors I just listed are equally linked to SEO. In fact, we usually tell our clients that they are actionable items to attend to if our SEO audit so indicates (and it is almost always the case). The reality is that these two concepts are closely related because they share the same objectives: to create easy, high-quality experiences for users. Many of the elements that Google considers important for positioning a website are also aligned with good accessibility practices. Note: SEO and accessibility are not the same. There are practices specifically focused on positioning and others centered on assistive technologies. However, when a website is well constructed from the user experience, normally both concepts end up benefiting each other. In other words: a more accessible site is usually also a site that is easier to understand, navigate, and position. References: W3C (2026) Introducción a la accesibilidad web W3C (2026) Sumario de WCAG 2 WebAIM (2026) The WebAIM Million StatCounter (2026) Desktop vs Mobile Market Share Worldwide About the author David Santos Digital Marketing Specialist at Werko Marketing Solutions. He has over 10 years of experience in digital marketing. His primary focus is data monitoring and analysis for the management and optimization of digital advertising campaigns, websites, and e-commerce stores. Subscribe to Marketing Insights! And receive a bi-weekly newsletter directly to your inbox so you're among the first to know.

If graphic style is also a brand strategy, then, do you need to add more elements to communicate more, or remove elements so the message is clearer? Minimalist vs. maximalist graphic design: In the universe of graphic designers, there is a phrase that haunts us and terrifies us : when the client says: “Add more design.” Although it is ambiguous and sounds confusing, many times the instruction behind that chilling phrase is that they want to add more elements, more colors, more graphics, or more details; that is, they actually want a design with a more maximalist style. But does having more elements make it a better design? The counterpart to “add more design” is minimalist design. Being an opposite style, it focuses on the reduction of graphic elements and centers only on what is essential to communicate. In a world where information is unlimited and competition is increasingly extensive, the question arises: What type of design would work better for your brand, minimalist or maximalist? Table of contents The Power of the Essential_ Minimalist Design The Impact of Abundance: Maximalist Design Not Trend, but Intention: What Works Better? Advantages of Minimalist Graphic Design: Advantages of Maximalist Graphic Design: When style becomes strategy: Minimalist vs. Maximalist graphic design Know your audience Sector in which you compete Brand personality Designing better, not more (or less) The Power of the Essential Minimalist Design Minimalist design is a style that reduces what is not fundamental in order to communicate better. It is based on following a logical, functional structure based on simplicity and order, always seeking to maintain only those elements that are essential. I can give you an unorthodox example of where you have seen minimalism applied in the best way: Pocoyó (2005). Spanish kid's show: Pocoyó (2005) It sounds like a strange example, but hear me out: Pocoyó is an animated series for children where everything happens on a white background. You might say, can a white background communicate anything? The short answer is: yes. It communicates imagination: the spaces, the focus on the personalities of its characters, and the narrative of the story being told. Therefore, Pocoyó is a clear example of how a minimalist style communicates everything it needs to, keeping only the essential. Technically speaking, much of Western minimalist design can be explained starting from the Bauhaus, a school of architecture and design born in 1919 in Weimar, Germany, where its main focus was to unify art with industry in a practical and functional way. The Bauhaus artists understood that what was created had to fulfill a useful function before being decorative; therefore, only the essential was prioritized, reducing, ordering, and synthesizing designs. Silla Wassily de Marcel Breuer. A clear example is the Wassily Chair (1925–1926) by Marcel Breuer. Inspired by a bicycle tube, it uses bent nickel-plated tubular steel and materials like leather or canvas, achieving a structure that is light, resistant, and visually simple. It is a piece that reflects the principles of minimalism very well. Beyond being just an aesthetic, it is often considered a timeless design, meaning it can remain current for many generations. Furthermore, in a context where everything is consumed quickly, communicating clearly and directly can represent an advantage. However, it is important to clarify: minimalism is not synonymous with speed, at least not in its creative process. And it is precisely here that the contrast begins to emerge: if minimalism seeks to reduce, order and synthesize, what happens when the intention is completely opposite? The Impact of Abundance: Maximalist Design If minimalist design defended the phrase: “less is more,” subsequent currents began to respond with a completely different vision: “more is more.” This idea does not seek to eliminate elements or maintain only the fundamental, but to add to and intensify the visual experience. Maximalism favors the mix of shapes and sizes with very few restrictions. "The Kiss" by Gustav Klimt. A recognized work that serves as a clear example is The Kiss (1907-1908) by Gustav Klimt. In its composition, we can observe a great visual variety: different textures in the background, a constant play of patterns, and a contrast between the two characters shown. In the male character, we can see he is covered in dark vertical rectangles, while in the female character, softer shapes predominate, with circles of different sizes and floral elements. Each detail contributes to the narrative of the work, reflecting both the visual intention and the author's style. Here, the abundance is not meaningless excess, but an essential part of the communication. This approach is not limited to classical art. A more contemporary example applicable to a personal brand is content creator Berenice Castro, better known as Benulus. The style of @benulus (Berenice Castro). Her style is built from the accumulation of elements in her way of dressing: layers, accessories, garments of different colors and textures, where visual excess continues to function as a resource to express personality. There are many examples in our daily lives that follow this logic: proposals that embrace excess in every detail as a resource to generate impact, without limitation, but seeking a more intense visual experience Not Trend, but Intention: What Works Better? Trying to choose between minimalism and maximalism is not simple, as it is not just an aesthetic matter; it goes further. The choice of these graphic design styles depends heavily on the message we want to convey. Minimalist vs. maximalist graphic design: Advantages of Minimalist Graphic Design: Minimalist design offers a variety of advantages that can enhance our project, such as: Clarity and simplicity: By reducing unnecessary elements, there are no distractions, only elements that serve a purpose. Timelessness: Because it does not depend on fleeting trends, it stays current over time. Versatility: It is simpler to adapt to different formats, whether on web pages, social media posts, business cards, etc. Advantages of Maximalist Graphic Design: On the other hand, the maximalist style allows for a very memorable experience due to its great freedom of expression; some of its advantages are: Greater expressiveness: Every detail supports the final message of the work, making each element part of the project's narrative. Inspires creativity: Not being limited invites experimentation with styles, textures, colors, etc. Differentiation: Being more loaded allows for greater expression of brand personality, playing more with elements, and generating a connection with the consumer. Now that we know how each style communicates, the question that interests us all arises: Minimalist vs. maximalist graphic design, which works better? Should you fill your brand with shapes, textures, and colors? Or should you leave it clean, keeping only what is essential? The correct answer depends on your project’s personality. We often think that just because something is trending, it is what will work for us; however, as I mentioned before, we must look beyond what is "trendy" to try to communicate your brand's messages assertively. And this is precisely where graphic design ceases to be an aesthetic decision and becomes a strategic one. When style becomes strategy: Minimalist vs. Maximalist graphic design Although each style has a very clear visual projection, deciding between minimalist vs. maximalist graphic design becomes a strategy that will dictate your project's personality. Therefore, it cannot rely solely on the personal preferences we have regarding these styles, but rather we must consider the communication objectives that will determine the visual identity. Minimalist vs. maximalist graphic design, how do you do it? Consider: Know your audience Before you begin creating your project's graphic style, you need to know many details about who your consumers are or will be. Here, it is useful to return to the "questioning stage" of a two-year-old and ask yourself a thousand questions, such as: Who is our audience? What are their needs, goals, and preferences? What emotions do we want to generate in them? What actions are we looking to awaken in the consumer? How do they consume us? What do they want from a product/service like ours? Etc. All these questions will be necessary, because the more you know your audience, the more context you will have to choose the type of design that will help you go directly to those you want to reach. Sector in which you compete Although you don't want to do the same thing as your competitors, it is important to know the styles in which they project themselves, as each sector has its own visual codes; the way a technology sector expresses itself is not the same as the fashion sector. Also, consider that if everyone is doing the same thing, how could you stand out? And if you do stand out, will your audience still understand what you are? Find a balance between differentiation and communicating your field. Brand personality You have to see brand personality as the personality of a person. A brand must express that personality visually; is your brand fun, elegant, or serious? A brand with an adventurous personality is not the same as one that is much more sober and reserved; there are many nuances of its personality that will tell us how it expresses itself. Choosing between these two styles, whether maximalism or minimalism, is not just a matter of personal taste, but of the direction you want to give your project. It is about understanding what you need to communicate and, from there, making visual decisions that truly support it. Designing better, not more (or less) Throughout the history of design, both minimalism and maximalism have proven to be equally effective. They are tools that communicate certain signals to the consumer (if they are used with mastery and intention). The difference is not how many elements we add or remove from a design, but rather that those elements fulfill a purpose in our communication. There will always be trends, and it is fine to think about whether we should use them or not, but instead of making it an obligation to use them to follow the "fad," ask yourself: what is most applicable to your brand? The minimalist vs. maximalist graphic design style you choose will speak for itself before anyone gets closer to getting to know it better. About the author Claudia Cruz Digital Media Designer at Werko Marketing Solutions and audiovisual producer with a passion for photography and graphic design. Her experience in image development for social media and advertising allows her to combine creativity with functionality.

Trying to please everyone is the fastest way to become invisible to the people who are actually your customers. In marketing, there is a lot of talk about authenticity: showing the behind-the-scenes of the company, putting collaborators and/or the CEO on camera, showing vulnerability, and connecting with the consumer on an emotional level. This strategy of showing the brand beyond its practical functionality and creating content that honestly reveals who is behind it responds to the shifting perspectives of consumers. Currently, the greatest purchasing power is distributed between Generation X and Millennials, so it is better to appeal to what they value in the products and services they consume; but what if I told you that the following generations don’t care about the brand you are building and have a completely different mindset? Mr. Beast (Photo credit: BBC) I was talking to my 8-year-old nephew, and he told me he wanted to be like Mr. Beast when he grew up. At first, I was alarmed because I consider him a problematic, or at the very least, controversial figure in the digital world. "Helping other people?" I asked, recalling the influencer's philanthropic work. "No, I want to make money making videos on the Internet." His answer, far from being the innocent and idealized gaze of a child toward a public figure, left me thinking about the rather raw understanding he had regarding content monetization. And my nephew is not the only one; Ayo Ogunde (2026), relates in her article “Gen Alpha already knows the friendship is the funnel. They just don't care”, that she observed how a 9-year-old explained to his mom that the reason his favorite YouTuber mentioned a certain snack brand was because they where paid to do it (not because they liked it). The mother was stunned. The child, bored. Ogunde says that this disparity between the mother's surprise and the child's indifference is the most important brief that marketers must understand right now, and one that, unfortunately, almost no one is paying attention to. So, below I will attempt to concisely explain the generational differences of consumers so that, starting now, you can begin to prepare your brand for what is coming: Table of contents: Generational Marketing: First, get to know and understand the ever-changing consumer Generational differences in consumer behavior Generation Alpha Generation Z Millennials (Generation Y) Generation X Baby Boomers The solution for generational marketing: Goodbye to the universal message Who is your true customer Your unique brand essence and voice Segmentation by Channel / Generation Generational Marketing: First, get to know and understand the ever-changing consumer I already know what you're thinking: “Am I going to have to redo my brand every time a new generation comes along?” No, I’ll tell you upfront that it IS possible to have a solid brand that doesn’t have to resort to changing its personality every 5 years to remain relevant. But before we go into the details of how to do that, I think it’s important that we first understand why you must build a solid consistent brand with a unique voice to survive the passage of time. Generation: Born between the years: Ages in 2026: Baby Boomers 1947 - 1960 Between 66 y 79 years old Generation X 1961 - 1980 Between 46 y 65 years old Millennials 1981 - 1999 Between 27 y 45 years old Generation Z 2000 - 2010 Between 16 y 26 years old Generation Alpha 2011 - 2020 Between 6 y 15 years old It is not enough (and never has been) to know how old your customers and prospects are and where they shop. It is increasingly relevant to understand what their perception of brands is, what they value (beyond the practical benefits of the product), and what their parasocial relationship with entertainment media and social networks is. Parasocial relationship: A parasocial relationship is a one-sided emotional bond where a person feels an intimate connection, friendship, or familiarity with a public figure, fictional character, or influencer who does not know them or reciprocate that feeling. These relationships, developed through media, social networks, or entertainment, create an "illusion of intimacy". (Psychology Today). If your brand continues to try to appeal to everyone equally, having a universal message for all types of audiences, it is necessary that you understand the following generational marketing insights: Generational differences in consumer behavior Let's start with the youngest, who—not in the future, but now—are influencing and making purchasing decisions in their homes: Generation Alpha Born between: 2011 - 2020 Age in 2026: Between 6 and 15 years old Main platforms they use (currently): YouTube, video game platforms (Roblox, and video game consoles), Streaming services (Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+), and TikTok. Consumer characteristics: Accordin to a report by PwC (2026), Generation Alpha is characterized by being consumers who have clearly identified their favorite brands. Furthermore, they feel empowered to decide on some of the purchases in their home: they add products to their parents' digital cart, use food delivery apps to order food, buy digital objects for video games with their mother’s credit card, etc. Relevant data & statistics: 89% of children between 13 and 14 years old have their own smartphone. PwC (2026) 57% say that social media makes them want to buy things. PwC (2026) 8% use AI tools just for fun. PwC (2026) 33% say they feel their favorite streamer feels “like a friend.” KPMG (2025) They are almost twice as likely to buy directly from a brand than the general population. KPMG (2025) Insights: As explained by Ogunde (2026), Generation Alpha has never known a version of the internet where their favorite creator was not also a commercial entity. The transactional side is not hidden from them; it is not a revelation, it is simply how the world works. Their favorite “friend” sells them things, their other favorite “friend” also sells them things; they have it completely normalized. There really is no capacity for disillusionment with brands, because they understand the mechanics behind them. They cannot be surprised. They do not form the intimate parasocial relationships that brands currently aim for. It is a generation for which business strategies were not prepared. It is the “post-authenticity” generation. "They didn’t “betray” the system; they simply never believed in it in the first place." (Ogunde, 2026). What do they value? In her article, Ogunde (2026) explains that Generation Alpha is still in constant change, but there are some things we can be clear about: Novelty over narrative: They interact with what is surprising, interesting, or genuinely funny; not necessarily what is “authentic.” Participation over observation: The brands that are capturing the attention of Generation Alpha are those made for interaction: games, challenges, worlds. The “relationship” is not the gateway, but the product itself. Consistency over vulnerability: They prefer brands that are recognizable and constantly present. They aren’t looking for the brand to be their friend, but for the brand to offer reliable solutions: that it is always there, always the same, and always does what it does. The million-dollar question: If your brand is based on emotional connection and authenticity, what will you have to do to prepare when Gen Alpha becomes your buyer? Generación Z Born between: 2000 - 2010 Age in 2026: Between 16 and 26 years old Main platforms they use (currently): TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube Consumer characteristics: They are the first generation that does not know a world without the Internet. Social media is their “lens” by default to explore and know their surroundings, and it is their main source for discovering information. Unlike older generations, when they find an influencer they feel they can trust, they see them as a more reliable source of information than traditional media (including internet searches). They are a generation that seeks to express their individual truth; they are extremely communicative about their ideas, and they mobilize (digitally) behind the causes they believe in. They are a somewhat contradictory generation, since they are careful with their money, but are quick to spend it when the purchase has emotional weight, such as with micro-luxuries (PwC, 2025). And they also use AI tools to find discounted products, asking, for example: “What is the best mascara in terms of price-quality ratio?” But they hate it when a brand uses AI images to advertise itself. Relevant data & statistics: 79% of Gen Z wait for a product to be on sale to make their purchase. (PwC, 2025) Only 59% prefer to buy known brands, while 41% are willing to buy the cheaper version of an alternative brand. (PwC, 2025) According to a 2025 PwC holiday survey, 82% of Gen Z said they planned to buy cheaper versions of the gifts they wanted to acquire, including pirated products. Insights: As Ogunde (2026) explains, Generation Z industrialized influencer culture; they know it is a transactional relationship, but they interact with it anyway with a certain ironic distance. They invented cancel culture, and just as they can advocate for a brand on Monday, they can “cancel” it on Wednesday. They feel disappointed by a parasocial “betrayal,” but they “kind of expected it.” They have a certain cynical mentality about it. Therefore, they are not loyal to brands. What do they value? According to PwC (2025): Discounts: They are a generation that values discounts highly. They want to spend less, but expect better products and higher quality. Practicality: They value the relevance of the product over brand recognition. Experiences: More than half of Gen Z prefer to discover new products directly in stores. They turn shopping into a sporadic event (for example, Christmas), where they can touch and see the products directly, and be immersed in the atmosphere. The million-dollar question: How can your brand build loyalty among a generation of “infidels”? Millennials (Generation Y) Born between: 1981 - 1999 Age in 2026: Between 27 and 45 years old Main platforms they use (currently): Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Reddit, X Consumer characteristics: They are avid users of social media, and their main reason for using it is to form their identity—that is, to curate their digital presence to shape how they are perceived. They don’t just form their identity through their social media profile, but also through the things they buy and consume. They feel deep nostalgia for “the old Internet”, and prefer human creativity over self-generated content. They place great importance on activism and social causes. Relevant data & statistics: They spend an average of 2.5 hours a day on social media. (Target Internet, 2026) 44% of Millennials admit to having unfollowed or blocked brands that share “AI slop” content (SproutSocial, 2026) 27% of Millennials expect brands to take public stances on political or social issues. (SproutSocial, 2026) 33% of Millennials report that they would stop buying a product if the brand’s values did not match their own. (SproutSocial, 2026) Insights: Millennials are the generation beaten up by everyone, accused of feeling entitled to a thousand things, and being “cringe.” However, they are the last generation to remember the world without the Internet; they were the pioneers. They lived through the transition from the analog world to the digital one, and many of the things that are today standards of the online world were invented by Millennials. According to Ogunde (2026) article, Millennials invented influencer culture and created an economy based on naively genuine parasocial relationships. That is, for the Millennial, these relationships felt real. Being a fan of something meant investing emotionally in it, but when they managed to see behind the curtain (for example: it became clear to them that the “genuine” recommendations of a brand were nothing more than economic deals between parties), they felt deeply betrayed. What do they value? Humanization: Millennials value brands being human, from showing the human side of companies to content generated by humans (not by AI). Values: If a brand clashes with their personal values, they stop consuming it. Consistency: They expect brands to be consistent between what they say and what they do. The million-dollar question: How to build a brand that does not disillusion a generation with such high expectations? Generation X Born between: 1961 - 1980 Age in 2026: Between 46 and 65 years old Main platforms they use (currently): Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn Consumer characteristics: They grew up with traditional media (including cable TV and MTV) and had to adopt digital media later in life. According to SproutSocial (2026), they use a wide variety of social networks in addition to those mentioned above, such as Reddit, Threads, Substack, and WhatsApp; but not only that, they are willing to try new platforms, such as TikTok. According to GWI (2026), they are consumers with great purchasing power, who know what they want and desire it at a fair price, they investigate products before buying them, discover new products using both digital and traditional media, are brand-loyal consumers, are interested in health and wellness issues, and are more likely to adopt new technologies (including smart home products). Relevant data & statistics: 80% of Gen X say the main factor in choosing a brand is price. GWI (2026) They are 13% more likely to use loyalty programs than the average consumer. GWI (2026) 50% of Gen X say they prefer to pay more for a brand they already know than to risk it with a cheaper one they don’t know. GWI (2026) 45% say they are excited about advances in AI. GWI (2026) On average, they spend 1.5 hours a day on social media. SproutSocial (2026) 31% of Gen X say social media does not influence their purchases. SproutSocial (2026) Insights: They are perhaps the “middle child” generation, the most ignored of all (and watch out here, because they are the ones who currently have the greatest purchasing power). They stand out for their realism, pragmatism, and independence, often attributed to the fact that they had childhoods with very little adult supervision, also leading them to have an ironic and sarcastic sense of humor. They are characterized by having a certain cynicism and being skeptical, since in their youth they witnessed strong institutional failures (Britannica, 2026), for example in the United States: high divorce rates, Watergate, the loss of the Vietnam War, the Iran hostage crisis, etc. And in Mexico, events such as: the Tlatelolco massacre, the television monopoly, the period of a single political party for practical purposes, the severe economic crisis of '76 and '82, the “Halconazo,” state repression, and the Dirty War, among others. What do they value? Work-life balance: Unlike Baby Boomers, Gen X prioritizes boundaries between work life and personal life. Authenticity over style: They value authenticity, and generally distrust overly polished corporate messages. Autonomy: They dislike “micromanagement,” as they value their own autonomy and are suspicious if messages tell them too much about “what to do.” Being competent over being a protagonist: They are a quiet, hardworking generation that focuses on getting things done without seeking recognition.reconocimiento. The million-dollar question: What can my brand do to capture value from such an ignored generation? Baby Boomers Born between: 1947 - 1960 Age in 2026: Between 66 and 79 years old Main platforms they use (currently): Facebook and WhatsApp Consumer characteristics: According to Target Internet (2024), Boomers are a generation with very positive attitudes toward Facebook and WhatsApp, using the platforms with pleasure and optimism, with the main goal of connecting with family and friends, but also for news and customer support. However, they also use, to a lesser extent, other platforms that have earned their trust: YouTube and Instagram. On the other hand, GWI (2024), reports that advertisements do not resonate with Baby Boomers, and they are the generation that feels the least identified or represented in ads; therefore, only 17% tend to buy from brands they have seen advertised (versus the 25% average of the rest of the generations). Furthermore, they want authentic, traditional, and reliable brands. Relevant data & statistics: 88% of Baby Boomers use Facebook regularly. (SproutSocial, 2025) 47% use YouTube. (SproutSocial, 2025) 39% also useInstagram. (SproutSocial, 2025) 79% of Baby Boomers also use Facebook to report complaints to businesses about the products they consume. (SproutSocial, 2025) They spend an average of 2 hours a day on social media. Target Internet (2024) Insights: They were the largest and most influential generation in the history of modern consumption. They created huge social movements and were the first to question trust in advertisers. According to GWI (2024), they were born in the right place at the right time, making them the wealthiest generation on the planet. What do they value? Contact with loved ones: They value family unity, their friendships, and communities. Work: They are (because 4 out of 10 are still working) “workaholics.” They are hyper-dedicated to their careers, and their professional achievements define them. Goal-oriented: They are competitive and place great value on wealth, property ownership, and monetary personal growth. Their independence: They value their independence and self-actualization, taking great pride in being able to do things for themselves. The million-dollar question: What are the channels and messages your brand should have to reach Baby Boomers? The solution for generational marketing: Goodbye to the universal message At this point, you might be asking yourself: How do I reach all these audiences if they are so different from each other? And the answer is: No, you don’t reach absolutely everyone. You need to have an intersectional approach, where you have complete clarity of who your priority buyer personas are. I recommend that you apply a Brand Strategy Map exercise and Channel Mix definition so that you have clarity regarding: Who is your true customer NOT everyone is your target audience. To identify who your target audience is, you must know: Age and generation they belong to: What characteristics does that population have? Their purchasing power: How much do they earn and how much can/do they want to pay for brands like yours? Social characteristics: Are they a parent? Do they have friends? What kind of communities do they frequent? What are their values? Opportunities: What do they value about brands like yours? Path to purchase: What are their consumption habits? How do they decide what to buy? Where do they shop? Your unique brand essence and voice You shouldn’t appeal to everyone in the same way; your brand must have a unique essence, voice, and personality. But even so, it must speak differently to different segments. To exemplify this, let’s put you at the center of this exercise: You are a unique person, with your own personality, values, and way of seeing the world. Even though you are who you are, I am sure that you don’t talk or act the same way when you are in front of your grandmother, your friends, or your dog. For each of these “segments,” you modulate your way of being. It doesn’t mean that you completely change your personality; you simply show nuances of your personality in different degrees; allowing you to be more playful and speak in a baby voice when you are alone with your dog, bring out your most social and irreverent side with your friends, and be more attentive and reserved when you are with your grandmother, but with all 3 groups, conserving your same personal essence. The same thing happens with your brand; so if you identify that, for example, your product is aimed at both Gen Z and Boomers, you will know that you cannot speak to both in the same way. Segmentation by Channel / Generation Furthermore, you must understand that every media outlet and social network has a different nature, and that people consume these channels with different objectives. Therefore, adapt and segment your message considering: Channel: Are you on a social network, a digital search channel, traditional media, or something else? Generation: Which of the generations do I want to appeal to? Is it 1, are there 2, are there more? Message: How should I adapt the different messages, depending on the generation I am going to, and the channel it will appear on? What I am presenting to you here is only the tip of the iceberg. There is much more to talk about regarding generational marketing and how to build a brand that survives the passage of time. Part of what is important is that you never leave your consumer aside; knowing them in depth will open many doors for you. Furthermore, have an intersectional strategic vision; segmentation must be accurate so that you can get the right messages to the right people. Stop trying to have a universal brand, and start being visible to those who are actually going to become your customers. Additional sources: Target Internet (2026) How different Age Groups Are Using Social Media 2026. McKinsey (2018) True Gen: Generation Z and its implications for companies. Sprout Social (2026) How Gen Z uses social media and what that means for brands. About the author Carolina Trevizo Partner at Werko Marketing Solutions with extensive and varied experience of over 18 years in B2B companies, specializing in strategic marketing, project management, data analysis for advertising management, audiovisual production, and graphic design.

How can you ensure your marketing is successful in 2026? Discover the 9 key questions every professional should answer to design an effective strategy adapted to the new challenges. We've already turned the page on 2025. It's behind us. It's time to look ahead and take those early steps that will make 2026 THE YEAR for your brand and project . That's why I want to share 9 questions that I think you should analyze and be sure of which answers apply to your context, your target audience, your channels, and your strategy. Don't let January pass without having clear answers and courses of action for each of them. What worked and what didn't work in your strategy last year? And related to this, what did you learn from the past year that you can apply to the current one? I know the temptation to consign 2025 to a distant memory is strong. For many, it was a complex, unpredictable, and at times even irrational year. However, for better or for worse, you got away with it. You're here and you're ready for another round... and it would be a waste not to take a moment to do an honest and thorough analysis of everything you implemented or sought to implement in favor of your project. Did you try things you hadn't initially planned as part of your strategy? Are you clear on whether they worked or not? Looking back at what you did last year, it's worth running the simple exercise of indexing it in three columns: "What we need to do MORE of," "What we need to do differently," and "What we need to stop doing ." This is an excellent starting point for setting your sights on a promising future. Do you have a clear understanding of the business objectives for this year and how your marketing efforts contribute to these objectives? Marketing strategy shouldn't exist in isolation. It must be directly linked to business objectives and understand its role in achieving them . If the goal is to grow one of the business's verticals disproportionately compared to the others, how should you adjust the focus of your marketing strategy to reflect that strategic direction? And it's not just about a percentage distribution of time and resources in your budget, but about knowing exactly, based on what you already know works for each component of the business and your understanding of the stage of the Product-Life Cycle in which those components are, what you are going to do in favor of which campaign, product, promotion, pricing strategy, etc. Product Life Cycle If the company's goal is to serve a particular industry more, what market understanding efforts, knowledge of that industry's buyer personas, recognition of pain points and needs, competitor mapping, etc., can your marketing team bring to the strategy table? It seeks to provide those insights that will ensure marketing continues to assume a highly strategic role … not only because it is a discipline that is our passion, but because there are no arguments against it: today more than ever, well-executed marketing is THE differentiator between a successful project and a resounding failure. Who is your target audience TODAY? Not yesterday, not the day before. Do you recognize recent changes in their profiles? What does this mean for your strategy? In the 1980s, defining your core consumers and understanding what motivates them to buy, how they relate to certain brands, and so on, was an exercise that had a fairly long shelf life. Today, things have changed, and people change at a much faster pace. What was crucial yesterday for the emotional connection between a brand and its target consumer can become irrelevant in a matter of days, motivated by something as random as the viral spread of an Instagram reel. Encuentra las verdades sobre tu consumidor actual. Therefore, it is important that you take this transitional time between years to challenge your understanding and predispositions regarding what moves, motivates, and connects with your target audience… because the things you knew to be true a few months ago may be radically different today. How well do you know your current consumers? How much have they changed recently, from what starting point, and in what direction? With this in mind, can you anticipate where they are most likely to evolve as buyers? Can you anticipate the types of messages and actions that will make your brand connect with them? If the answer is YES, it's time to get to work and start designing for what consumers WILL BE, not just what they aren't. If your answer, on the other hand, is NO, it's time to invest significant time and resources to better understand those who, at the end of the day, give you the benefit of their preference. What data do I have? What data am I missing? How am I leveraging it to my advantage? Do I have a clear understanding of how I'm going to balance data-driven marketing with the magic that comes from emotion and authentic connections? It's no longer justifiable to base your marketing decisions solely on instinct and gut feeling. In reality, it never was , but at least in the past you had the excuse that gathering market intelligence was a time-consuming and expensive process. Today, the problem is different. Today, you're very likely to have TOO MUCH data . Therefore, it's crucial that you first and foremost clearly define WHAT of all the available data is truly valuable to analyze in order to gain a reliable and relevant understanding for your brand, product, or service. I will make a hypothetical analogy with sports , which is a space where data is definitely overused to reach conclusions that confuse chance with causality: A soccer match between the Mexican and US national teams is coming up, and it's going to take place in Moscow. Weeks before the match, analysts on a television network are discussing the upcoming game, and one of them starts saying things like: Keep in mind that you may have access to more data than you actually need. “ Historically, in the 19 matches between these two countries since 1974, the United States has won 37.4% of the time, Mexico 54.9%, and 17.7% have ended in a draw. Furthermore, in every instance where they have played in countries that were part of the Soviet bloc, Mexico has won by a two-goal margin. Additionally, when the US goalkeeper has a Germanic surname, as is the case this time, the first goal has always been scored within the first 15 minutes. ” Another analyst replies: “ I did an analysis of the physical performance of the players on both teams, measuring their speed, shooting accuracy, and dribbling ability. The average score for the Mexican team is 46/100, while the US team's score is 88/100 . I also just found out that the Mexican team's star striker is having problems at home due to infidelity and has been very unmotivated and hasn't been showing up for the friendly matches. In fact, it's likely he won't even travel with the team to Russia for that reason. ” If you had to bet on who will win this match based on the available data, which contribution from the two commentators would you consider most useful in making your decision? Someone who only goes by emotion would probably say, "We're going to win 5-0 because we're awesome and the gringos don't know anything about football!" The person who goes by the useless data presented by the first analyst would bet that Mexico will win the game by a two-goal difference and score the first goal in the first 15 minutes of the game... and won't even notice that if you add up the percentages of games won or drawn presented by the analyst, they exceed 100% (did you notice that?). I'm not saying it's certain in this hypothetical scenario that the United States would win the game, but anyone using the correct and most valuable data available would surely conclude that this scenario is the most likely. Message: Use and exploit the data that's there for your benefit... the data that doesn't serve your purposes could be generating unnecessary noise . Having said this, and reiterating the importance of not improvising but rather exploiting the available information, I also want to acknowledge that an approach that ONLY takes into account an analysis of the data that you have readily available and that focuses on the track record of your brand/product, can be limiting . Returning to the sports analogies: if your football team has played 30 games and hasn't won a single one, it would be very easy to conclude that they will lose the next one, and the next one, and the next one. The data tells us so… but that's where your creativity, changing the rules of the game, daring, and taking risks can make all the difference . Old data can be confusing If a brand has had a historical sales growth of 5% annually for the last 10 years, it would be very easy to think that the most you can aspire to in the following year is a similar growth... because relying only on data can make it tempting not to change anything and just follow the trend. But under this logic, it's highly unlikely that your efforts and tactics will be designed to amaze, exceed expectations, and inspire wonder. If you're not careful and let internal data drive your project, your efforts will tend toward inertia… and inertia is predictable . It's equally important to look outward, to see what signs and opportunities might arise or what you can predict within the current context. You have to listen to your customers and those who aren't yet your customers. You have to look at your competitors, and the most difficult thing of all: you have to see the gaps and understand their potential . You have to find those spaces where there's no data yet because no one has thought to be there, but where you can see signs of the potential for greatness that exists. In this sense, listening to your customers' feedback is important and valuable… but I must tell you that it can also be limiting . Because while my intention is by no means to minimize the incredible value of incorporating feedback from the most precious components of your value chain—your customers—into your strategy, it is worth inviting you to reflect on the following: Image credit: OnBeing.org The renowned music producer Rick Rubin, in an interview on 60 Minutes, said, “The audience doesn't know what they want. They only know what's come before.” Following the same line of reasoning, the following quote is commonly attributed to comic book and novel author Alan Moore: “It is not the artist’s job to give the public what it asks for. If the public knew what it needed, it wouldn’t be the public. It would be the artist.” What data regarding the acceptance of the MacBook laptop might have given Steve Jobs the insights to create the first iPod and thus start a revolution in the use of and dependence on mobile devices? Famously, Jobs created the need for a product and amazed the public with a response no one expected… but make no mistake, it wasn't just a stroke of luck. What was admirable about this example was Jobs' ability to see beyond what his customers were telling him . It was understanding the context and the trend toward mobile devices; it was seeing what the emergence of formats like MP3 and platforms like Napster and LimeWire told us about the future of music consumption and other formats. Just as Henry Ford famously said , “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said they wanted faster horses ,” Jobs’ genius and inventiveness lay in knowing how to read the signals that were not as direct and obvious as customer feedback and product performance data. Here's another example: "Te hace falta ver más bax" - Sylvester Stallone Tecate campaign (2015). The Tecate brand was filming a commercial with Sylvester Stallone, built on insights into how masculinity is traditionally associated with certain behaviors easily attributable to the movie star. And yes, all the situations they presented were funny, they were in line with the brief, and they conveyed the intended message. They were comical… nothing out of the ordinary. And suddenly the actor kept failing to pronounce the word "BOX" correctly. They tried recording it over and over, but they just couldn't get the actor to pronounce it right. They finished filming, and to resolve the situation, they even considered doing a voiceover with someone else saying the word "BOX" correctly (I heard that version; it was terrible). But Franco María Maggi was in the room and he said, "That's how we're going to get him out, by saying BAX." What data could have motivated one of my mentors to give the green light to this campaign? It was a fortuitous moment that almost didn't air because the original creatives hadn't planned it and considered it a very poor execution. There were no justifications or market acceptance data for Franco to give the green light, but his understanding of authenticity and emotional connections led to the most memorable and successful campaign for that beer brand. He wasn't sure. He didn't have hard data that said, "This is a low-risk bet," but he had a great understanding of Mexican culture and its target consumers, and he felt the risk would be worth it. He was not wrong. What data will you include in your decision-making process? Which data will you not even look at because it will cloud your vision? How much will you listen to and trust your feelings, and how much will you trust your understanding of the audience? How many and which of your decisions will you make with a cool head versus those you will risk out of motivation to impress? Which channels will be used for my brand, what priority should they have, and what are my objectives? Do I have a useful channel mix map? Previously, you could count the available channels for your brand on one hand, and your budget allocation across channels was very easy to determine. Today, it's not just a mix of channels, but a mix of efforts for each channel. If you're still creating a budget that's divided into ATL, BTL, and DIGITAL only, you have a lot of work to do... and not just because you have to double-click on traditional media, but because there are endless possibilities in the digital realm. Do you have your 2026 marketing mix clearly defined? Which platforms will you use? Within each of the platforms: what efforts? organic? paid? of what type? Will you only use your own accounts or will you do any kind of collaboration and/or earned digital media? Will you use content creators on your channels? Influencers? Only your own channels with efforts 100% linked to your brand? How will you drive traffic from one point to another and how will you manage it from the top of your funnel, all the way to purchase and repurchase? Which channels will you invest the most in for each stage of the funnel? What messages resonate more on your own social network, whatever it may be, than on a website and/or on the channel of an authoritative third party? At the end of the day, I haven't met a single brand with an infinite budget, so it's important to clearly establish where you will focus your resources in order to achieve what objectives, with what type of campaigns, returns, and expected results. What will my key metrics be and how will I use them in my decision-making processes? Returning to the topic of the importance of knowing what data you will use and value in your decision-making, it is important to be very clear regarding specific objectives, with specific tactics and therefore, evaluated with specific metrics. If you are clear about the need to implement an Awareness campaign, for example, it would be counterproductive to take the number of leads converted into qualified leads as the acid test of the success of that effort. Every business is different, every product is different, and every moment in the business pursues different objectives. Marketing efforts have different lead times and imperfect attribution rules… knowing this makes it much more relevant to understand that not all efforts can be measured as successful or unsuccessful with the same variable (for example, Cost Per Conversion). Having clarity on what is important to measure in what instance and documenting it will also equip you to justify and value each of the efforts in a fair, planned, pre-agreed and premeditated manner. And also, be careful with vanity metrics. What is my level of preparedness to adapt to change and to respond to uncertainty or possible periods of crisis? If 2025 caused you anxiety and made you revisit your deepest beliefs only to realize that even the most fixed ideas are prone to obsolescence , I have bad news for you: there is no sign that the speed of change and its related uncertainty will speed up in 2026. Lightning-fast innovations are coming that will take even the most knowledgeable member of the industry by surprise. The well-worn phrase “change is the only constant” will continue to be overshadowed by the speed of that constant… and that is why it is important that you take some time to reflect on the installed capacity to operate in times of uncertainty, adapt the team and its functions decisively and quickly, and even have the capabilities to handle moments of crisis efficiently and effectively. Your company needs to instill in its DNA the ability to quickly adapt to change … and reflect this in all the documents, manuals, and procedures that govern its daily operations. I was recently at a quarterly meeting of a multinational company that honors me by giving me a seat on its Board of Directors, and we were talking about the purpose and reason for being of the company. Without giving away too much information due to its confidential nature, the way the value proposition was constructed had a planned obsolescence embedded within it and sent the wrong message to customers and collaborators. As a Board, we pointed this out and requested that the company's key strategic documents be modified to broaden its scope of action and not limit its reason for being to something that sooner or later will cease to be relevant. By making this change, which might seem merely cosmetic at first glance, we triggered a portfolio reorganization, a focus on organizational transformation, and a series of decisions that are now preparing the company for the future… because they had the ability to prepare their adaptation to change. The concept of adapting to change is also often linked to the ability to face and address a crisis, and it is my responsibility to invite you to ensure your ability to respond and prepare to deal with the most likely ones . And it's not just about softening an inevitable blow, but about developing the ability to capture those moments of crisis to turn the most loyal customers, the best served customers, and those you turn into your brand ambassadors... all because you were prepared to capture the opportunity component of a crisis. How will I differentiate myself from my competitors? Do I have a clear understanding of my differentiated value proposition? Related to the previous point where I briefly discussed the value proposition, I want to tell you that it never ceases to amaze me how supposedly strategic documents in many companies are nothing more than a pretty poster in the reception area . It is a shame that elements such as mission, vision, values, purpose and value proposition are treated with such disdain that they are nothing more than lines that sound very nice and that an intern made to tick off a pending task. The companies and projects that will stand out in 2026 are those that have a clear understanding of how they will compete and present themselves as a more attractive solution or alternative than the rest. Don't let the foundational documents for your success become mere decorative elements in a lobby. Your strategy must be well-established and presented. The organization behind it will have to champion those components of the value proposition that are most relevant to it… and move forward. How can I have more fun? You have a LOT of work ahead of you. 2026 has only just begun, and your challenges are immense. You'd better find ways to keep your work and your daily life fun... because if all goes well, you'll be doing it for a long time. Success in itself is not enough to be rewarding. With a bit of luck, the right strategy, and a touch of talent, you'll succeed. But the important thing is: HOW did you experience that adventure towards success? Did it fill you with pride for a job well done? Did it satisfy your achievement needs? Did it make you smile or maybe laugh? They say that if you love your work and are passionate about it, you'll never work a day in your life. I think that's an idea we should all strive for. Seek to have fun, to nourish yourself, to achieve fulfillment… because the business result is important, but it's not everything. Your physical and mental well-being deserves to be enjoyed. Are there any other key marketing questions? With these 9 key marketing questions, I believe you can start 2026 well on track toward developing and implementing successful marketing efforts. Are these the only 9 questions you'll have to answer? I'm sure you know the answer is a resounding NO… but my intention is to give you a solid foundation to build upon. 2026 could be a great year for your project, and if we can do anything to help it succeed, we'd be happy to. If our content serves this purpose, subscribing to our newsletter is a great way to stay up-to-date. Or perhaps you'd like to follow our podcast ? Or if you'd like us to join you and get to work on your project, get in touch. We're here to help .