What's Next for Digital Marketing?

The Guest

Today, we’re talking about the evolving world of marketing, media, and AI-driven transformation with someone who’s been at the forefront of it all. As CEO of Third Door Media (An Semrush company), Marc Sirkin focuses on leading brands and marketing teams through the digital age, with a clear commitment to driving innovation and sustainable growth. With a background in product and technology, Marc helps agencies and brands navigate the real challenges of proving value, staying competitive, and he’s here today to talk about the future of digital marketing. 

“I’ve seen this movie before… but I don’t think we’ve seen this one.”

Marc’s been through the hype cycles: CD-ROMs, social, mobile, the cloud. But AI? He says, “This isn't just another leap. I think it’s in its own class.”

The real difference this time is speed — and the sense that what marketers have dreamed about for decades (think: one-to-one marketing at scale) might actually be real.

He adds, “Remember Don Peppers and Martha Rogers’ ‘One-to-One Marketing’? We never fully got there. We had the tech — but not the data, not the org structures. Maybe this time it’s different.”

Still, Marc is no AI maximalist. “True transformation still takes time,” he warns. “You can’t shortcut change management.”

Let’s Talk About Data (aka, the Real Problem)

Marketers like to say they’re “data-driven.” But Marc’s not convinced.

“It’s not just too much data — it’s poorly organized, stuck in silos, hard to access.”

He gives a perfect example of the complexity of data when it comes to personalization at scale: “Right now I’ve got three Chrome browsers open — one for Semrush, one for Third Door, one personal. Plus my phone. Which ‘me’ are you personalizing for?”

It’s not just about collecting data — it’s about applying basic marketing data management principles; structuring it, contextualizing it, and making it usable. As Marc puts it: “When people talk about pointing AI at ‘your data’... what does that even mean? Your Google Drive? Your inbox? Your notes app?”

While Marc admits there are many promising future marketing applications for AI, using it for proper data analysis and insights has to be the first step. 

Generative SEO: We’re in the First Inning

With over 20 years covering the search industry, Marc saw the AI + search mashup coming early, but how to move forward into the future where things change so rapidly, is difficult.

Marc describes the current shift: “Top-of-funnel queries are getting eaten by LLMs. Like, ‘Who won the World Series?’ or ‘How do I make chicken fajitas?’ those are going away. Zero-click searches are becoming the norm.”

Bottom-funnel searches — buying software, comparing vendors — still drive traffic. But optimizing for LLMs ismessy.

“With Google, we know the rules. With LLMs, one punctuation change can give you a totally different answer.”

It’s early days. “We’re back to the era of bidding on misspellings,” he jokes. A whole new SEO playbook is coming — and no one’s nailed it yet.

When the conversation switched to how people search differently in LLMs than they do on Google, Marc admits he’s still gathering his thoughts around the process.

“We had to learn how to use Google,” he says. “So we’re learning how to use LLMs.”

He’s already using voice prompts in ChatGPT during walks and drives. “It’s like talking to a near-human intelligence,” he says. “Not Googling. LLMing.”

But the real insight from Marc is AI amplifies your process, rather than replaces your thinking.

 “The best results come when you get explicit, get curious, work with drafts, challenge the output,” he says. “AI won’t think for you. But it can think with you.”

On ROI, Chaos, and the Limits of Attribution

When the issue of digital marketing KPIs and attribution came up in the interview, Marc doesn’t sugarcoat it:

“Humans are chaos machines,” says Marc, making a point to mention that B2B journeys in particular are especially unpredictable. “I might see a TikTok today, then six months later think, ‘That guy seemed smart.’ How do you measure that?”

Marc’s not anti-attribution. He just wants marketers to be honest about its limits. “It’s fine to model, as long as you know it’s imperfect. My issue is when people pretend it’s exact science, then make million-dollar decisions from it.”

Success starts with the right questions. Not “What’s the click rate?” but “Is this building our brand?”

Final Takeaway: Do a Self-Audit

Marc’s closing advice hits hard in the best way:

“Get back to basics. Know your customers. Know your brand. Know what matters.”

And when things feel chaotic (as they often do in marketing), he offers a simple practice:

“Do a self-audit. Look at your site, your experience, your content — like a new customer. Ask: is this good?”

Oh — and read “Essentialism” by Greg McKeown. According to Marc, “It changed my life.”

The Links

Third Door Media
Semrush
Marc on LinkedIn

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