44 email: news@printmonthly.co.uk November / December 2023 - Issue 345 Q & A / MARK BLACKHURST, DIGITAL NEXT MARK BLACKHURST, DIGITAL NEXT LEVEL UP YOUR ONLINE REACH ▲ Mark Blackhurst, co-founder and chief of operations at Digital Next Introduce yourself and your role at Digital Next... My name is Mark Blackhurst, the chief of operations and co-founder of Digital Next. My areas of expertise are quite wide-ranging, but I really enjoy my specialisation in SEO [Search Engine Optimisation]. This enables me to support our team and subsequently the growth of businesses by enhancing their digital presence with organically high-ranking websites. My background is originally in Law with a specific focus on IT and Intellectual Property and I have utilised my research and core skills by transferring this into a passion for business. This was in line with the advent of the exponential growth of the internet. I first picked up on this in light of the Y2K bug following my IT Law studies at university. How did Digital Next come about? Digital Next was founded by my brother Justin with a vision to help companies dominate their industries online, fuelling success through the power of the internet. In many cases this involves our team providing top-level SEO and PPC [Pay Per Click] services. We identified a need in the market for high-level website, SEO, and Google Ads services and we were really driven to create a solution that delivers exceptional results for our clients. Years later we have now proven that this methodology works for our clients, in many cases revolutionising and exponentially growing their companies. It’s been a passion of ours to use our skills to make a huge difference for the people we work with, and this is what continues to drive our passion for online marketing. Tell us about Digital Next and the services you offer globally... Digital Next is now a globally recognised, multi-channel marketing, SEO, and PPC agency that specialises in digital marketing. Our services are tailored to meet the unique needs of businesses in the UK and around the world and we have a proven track record of helping clients achieve more sales and enquiries through increased organic traffic, higher conversion rates, and improved return on investment (ROI). We grew exponentially in the first few years, really disrupting SEO in this country for a lot of the big agencies. In that time we took a lot of their business and immediately showed improvements compared to their current suppliers. We came along with better skills at a more economical price and no contract, and as a result, we kept clients on board as we were providing impressive results. This led to us turning over £1m in the first 18 months. In 2013, the whole market started to change. We were still growing but realised we had to evolve to be able to advise from a full 360 digital perspective. Google was really trying to change the ball game around this time and it was a real time of flux. As a result, Justin and I realised that we had to offer the following services as displayed on our current site: • Search Engine Optimisation • Pay Per Click Management (Google Premier Partner) • Web Design and Development (WordPress/Shopify & Magento) • Paid Social Media • Content Marketing - Written journalistic and video or image-based content • Digital Consultancy We are able to deliver any one of these services individually or as a multi-channel approach with the support of high-quality and experienced account management. As a result, we achieved further growth of the above and built our teams of people through a mixture of acquisition and clever hires, including top-end specialists giving them a small percentage in the business. We are the trusted digital marketing partner for some of the UK’s best brands ensuring that the work we implement is ROI-driven and of the highest standard. I do genuinely see us though as the champions of SMEs as we help them punch well above their weight online. We can give hundreds of examples of companies we have scaled in many, many industries. How has the company evolved since its inception? Since our inception, Digital Next has undergone significant growth and transformation. We have expanded our service offerings, invested in cutting-edge technology and tools, and built an exceptionally strong international team of skilled SEO and PPC experts, content creators, and web developers. Our global footprint has also expanded, allowing us to serve clients in Australia and we are committed to continuous improvement and staying at the forefront of digital marketing trends. How do you support the print industry specifically? Digital Next provides tailored digital marketing solutions to the print industry by optimising their We pick the brains of Mark Blackhurst, co-founder and chief of operations of Digital Next to find out how levelling up your SEO and multi-channel marketing can help print businesses cut through the noise of competition
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