14 years ago, I started my career in digital marketing. And throughout that time, I’ve built and sold a handful of online businesses, consulted for small shops to celebrities to the Fortune 500, and I’ve been recognized in business magazines like Forbes and Inc as an “SEO expert.” To top it off, the United States government considers me to be in the top 1% of my field.
Now despite any success I’ve had in digital marketing, I’ve also made a ton of mistakes along the way that cost me valuable time and money. So in this article, I’m going to show you how to start digital marketing in Pakistan if I could start over and I’ll also share some of my biggest failures along the way. Whether you’re wondering how to learn digital marketing in Pakistan, how can i start digital marketing at home, or even how to start digital marketing agency in pakistan, this guide covers everything you need to know.
Choose One Area of Digital Marketing to Focus On
Alright, so the very first thing I’d do is to choose just one area of digital marketing to focus on. And this is the opposite of what I did.
So for context, in 2009, I started my first website and I basically spammed forums and classifieds. That eventually slowed down so I tried paid advertising. And well… I wasted my money because I had no idea what I was doing. But then social media was blowing up so I pivoted to that and tried to go viral with coupon codes. Boy was that embarrassing!
But still, I was making like a solid $2,000 a month. I was officially a business man. So I decided to hire a search engine optimization company because this is what we do! And that was the turning point for me when my fire for SEO was ignited. They scammed me for everything I had.
The good thing that came out of that though was that it fueled me with rage so much so that I committed to focus on learning just SEO and to get really good at it so I wouldn’t have to hire another company. And by around 2011, my company was worth over 7 figures and the main reason is because of SEO.
Now by definition, digital marketing is just marketing that happens over the internet. So you can choose to focus on just email marketing, pay-per-click advertising, search engine optimization, social media marketing, etc. Digital marketing is just so vast that it’s impossible to become a master of all areas. It’s best to focus on just one area of internet marketing and to get really good at it. This is especially true if you’re figuring out how to do digital marketing in pakistan where specialized skills are highly valued by marketing agencies in faisalabad, agency karachi, and agency in peshawar.
How to Learn Digital Marketing: Commit to Learning in 3 Stages
Now after you’ve chosen the area of digital marketing you want to focus on, you need to make a mental commitment to learn as much as possible. Now while there isn’t a single “right” way to learn digital marketing, what I’ve found to be helpful is to learn in 3 stages. So for illustration purposes, let’s say you chose SEO as your focus area. This approach works whether you’re taking how to start digital marketing course or learning independently.
Stage 1: Understand the Fundamentals
Now stage one is to focus on understanding the fundamentals. So in SEO, that would include things like why and how SEO is important for businesses, how search engines work, and the main ways SEO is done – so that includes keyword research, link building, technical SEO and on-page SEO to name a few. Fundamentals may not be exciting but they’re absolutely critical to learning, whether you’re learning an instrument, a new recipe, or digital marketing skills.
Stage 2: Make Connections Between Fundamentals
Stage two is all about making connections in how the fundamentals work together. For example, you should be able to make the connection in SEO that content creation is reliant on keyword research and that on-page SEO is connected with both your content writing and keyword research.
Stage 3: Learn Execution, Workflows, and Tools
Finally, stage three is all about learning how these techniques are executed – more specifically, you’ll want to get an idea of workflows and tools that you’ll need to do your job. For example, you should at least know that keyword research is done with a tool like Keywords Explorer. And the way people find keyword ideas is by starting with a broad seed, going to a keyword ideas report, narrowing in on keywords with a set of filters, and then analyzing the search engine results pages to understand if it’s possible to compete.
These three stages are typically how courses are taught. And for that reason, I think it’s worth taking a reputable beginner’s course on the area of digital marketing you’ve chosen – like a free SEO fundamentals course. This is something that I was too young and arrogant to do when I was getting started with online marketing. I went with the unguided route and literally… anytime someone said “advanced”, I was like Pavlov’s dog and I’d give them all my attention. I wasted tons of time and money because for some reason, I subconsciously thought it would be more rewarding to figure it out on my own.
Now as you go through this learning stage and consume content, there’s going to be a time when you feel like, “yeah, this all makes sense!”
Practice What You’ve Learned: How to Start Digital Marketing at Home
But I can guarantee you that when you actually get to doing it, it’s not going to feel so straightforward anymore. And that’s why the next thing I recommend is to commit to actually practicing what you’ve learned. In my opinion, there’s no better way to learn digital marketing than to get first-hand experience. And the best way to do that is to create your own site. This way, you’ll have a safe place to practice whatever and however you want.
Now as you commit to actually doing something, I highly recommend doing two things. #1. Cut yourself off from all new content. You should have already consumed enough through a course or whatever resources that you used to have a high-level view of what it looks like to execute on the marketing area you’ve chosen. By cutting out new content, you’ll be able to stay laser-focused on actually practicing the fundamentals that will be an essential building block to your career. And #2 don’t obsess over things that aren’t moving your progress forward. For example, if you decide to build a hobby site so you can practice SEO, don’t spend hours trying to fine-tune your logo, fonts or blog layout. As an SEO, you’re going to want to focus on driving organic traffic through high rankings in Google.
Now if you’re able to actually put all these things into practice, you will learn very quickly how to actually get results with SEO or social media or email marketing or whatever area you chose to focus on. This is exactly how to start digital marketing from home without needing expensive tools or resources initially.
Get a Job or Internship at a Digital Marketing Agency
Now if you want to know the fastest way to accelerate your growth and to put this “doing” stage into overdrive, then I recommend getting a job or internship at an agency. When you work at an agency, you get the unique experience of being able to work on a diverse group of projects. Not only is the exposure great but it forces you to stretch that creativity muscle and to apply your learning in various scenarios.
Now perhaps the biggest advantage to working at an agency is that you get to be in the trenches with people who are ahead of you in their digital marketing career. You can ask them questions, watch them solve problems, and in some cases, people may be willing to mentor you. Thriving agencies are usually fast-paced environments, which obviously make them a great place to learn digital marketing fast if that’s your goal.
Whether you’re looking at a digital marketing agency in rawalpindi, working with a facebook ads agency in pakistan, or even exploring opportunities as a digital partner agency, the hands-on experience is invaluable. Some professionals even consider buying an established digital marketing agency for sale once they’ve gained enough experience. For specialized niches like travel, developing a strong digital marketing strategy for travel agency clients can set you apart in the market.
Avoid Taking Shortcuts in Your Digital Marketing Journey
Now while you obviously want to learn new skills as fast as possible, don’t make the mistake of taking shortcuts to get there. And I’m talking from experience here. Early in my career, I took an SEO shortcut that cost me seven-figures. So my first company was an ecommerce store and I was driving the majority of its traffic through SEO. Now one of the hardest, but most important parts of SEO is getting backlinks to your pages. And back in 2010 and 2011, backlinks were pretty much all you needed to rank a page high in Google. So I came across a private blog network called Build My Rank where I could buy virtually an infinite number of backlinks. And without fail, throwing a handful of links at each product page would boost it to the top of Google for queries that were converting into tens of thousands of dollars every month. The thing is, buying backlinks was and still is against Google’s webmaster guidelines. Now while I was making a healthy living, I was getting ready to cash out. But without warning, I lost like 85% of my traffic and a ton of revenue. So when I sold the site a few months later, instead of getting a low seven-figure buyout, I ended up getting, much, much, much, much less. Now had I focused on learning link building so I can build backlinks whenever I want, not only would I have had a much nicer exit, but I would have been able to apply those skills to pretty much every other SEO-driven business I created. Bottomline: avoid shortcuts because they can be costly. And you’ll only really realize that in hindsight.
Build Relationships with People in the Digital Marketing Community
Now another thing I would do differently is to actually build relationships with people. So for like the first 8 years of doing SEO, I literally didn’t talk to anyone about what I did because most people just didn’t understand. And it was lonely and I was really just stunting my professional growth. So what I would do differently if I could start over is try and network with two different groups of people.
So Group 1 would be like-minded people who are trying to learn the same area of digital marketing as you. They’re basically a safe place where you can share your ideas, experiences, and insights without fear of judgment. And not only can you learn from each other, but you’ll also find motivation from each other to get better at your craft. In fact, this is what Mr. Beast did with a group of friends in his early stages of his content creation career. And in interviews, he frequently attributes his success to having this group of people to grow with.
And the second group of people I’d network with are people you respect in your niche. All it really takes is an email or a DM saying, “Hey, just wanted to let you know that I really admire your work. Thanks for all that you do!” Now that might sound weird, but at the end of the day, we’re all just regular people. In fact, in 2017 when I started sending these kinds of emails, I reached out to Tim Soulo, CMO at Ahrefs, to just say that I respect what he’s doing as a marketer – no agenda whatsoever. To which he replied: “You’ve made my day!” Fast forward one year, and I ended up working at Ahrefs. Relationships in digital marketing are important. In social media, these are people who can help amplify your work. In content creation, these are potential collaborators. And in SEO, they’re a critical part to link building.
Decide Your Career Path: 3 Options for Digital Marketers
Now as you continue to build your own sites, work at agencies or other companies, and network with like-minded people, you’re going to come to a crossroad where you need to decide what’s next. And I see three ways this can work – none of which I think are wrong or right.
Option 1: Stay a Generalist
So option 1, you can continue to stay a generalist in your focus area. This means that you’ll continue to build your knowledge and experience in most areas of your specific field in digital marketing. The pros with this is that generalists often become managers and leaders within companies because they get more or less every part of what’s being done. The con is that you never really become an expert in anything, which obviously has its own set of limitations.
Option 2: Niche Down Further
Option 2, is to niche down further in your focus area. So as you gain more knowledge and experience in your focus area, you’re going to realize that there’s too much information to become a true expert in your field. And for that reason, you may want to consider niching down further because each digital marketing strategy breaks down quite a lot. For example, if you’ve chosen to focus on social media, you may decide to focus strictly on Facebook marketing. Or perhaps you want to go more niche and choose Facebook group marketing for software companies. Now the pro of niching down is that it’s much easier to become recognized as a niche authority because there’s less competition. And if you’re viewed as “that” authority, your reputation will likely be lasting and you can typically demand higher wages. The con is that there’s usually less demand.
Option 3: Expand Into Other Areas
And option 3 is to expand into other areas of digital marketing. And this is kind of the route that I’ve gone. The way I recommend doing this is to expand into areas where your skills are complementary and transferable. For example, starting from SEO and expanding to content marketing is complementary and the skills from SEO are totally transferable. And even something like going from SEO to search ads would also be complementary and some of those skills are transferable too.
Embrace the Journey of Learning Digital Marketing
Now being 14 years into my digital marketing career, I can confidently tell you that I’m still learning all the time. And that’s largely because I’m practicing a lot of the things that I just shared with you. I work with a ton of smart people at Ahrefs in various departments who I love learning from. I’ve had the opportunity to meet really smart people at conferences, through social media, and even from random cold emails. And I go through seasons of intentional learning, followed by intentional doing.
Now while I’ve screwed up in many ways, I don’t look at anything as a waste of time because it helped me to get to where I am today. I’m definitely not the smartest, richest, most recognized, or most successful digital marketer in the world. But this is a long journey that I’ve embraced along the way and I hope it’s one that you’ll enjoy or are currently enjoying too.
Now if you want to start your digital marketing career in SEO like I did, then I highly recommend checking out beginner SEO courses which will teach you how to get free organic traffic to your site from start to finish.
Q: How to start digital marketing for beginners?
A: Start by choosing one specific area like SEO, social media, or email marketing instead of trying to learn everything at once. Take a beginner’s course to understand the fundamentals, then create your own website or project to practice what you’ve learned. The key is to focus on doing rather than just consuming content, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes along the way.
Q: What is the salary of digital marketing in Pakistan?
A: Digital marketing salaries in Pakistan vary widely based on experience and specialization. Entry-level positions typically start around PKR 25,000-40,000 per month, while experienced professionals can earn PKR 80,000-150,000+ monthly. Specialists in high-demand areas like SEO or paid advertising at agencies in Karachi, Lahore, or Rawalpindi often command even higher salaries, and freelancers can potentially earn more depending on their client base.
Q: What is the 70 20 10 rule in digital marketing?
A: The 70 20 10 rule suggests that 70% of your content should be proven, low-risk content that supports your brand and engages your audience. 20% should be experimental content that tests new ideas and formats to see what resonates. And the final 10% should be high-risk, innovative content that pushes boundaries and could potentially go viral or completely flop.
Q: What are 7 types of digital marketing?
A: The seven main types of digital marketing are: Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC), Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing, Email Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, and Influencer Marketing. Each type has its own strategies and tools, which is why I always recommend focusing on mastering just one area first. You can expand into complementary areas once you’ve built a solid foundation in your chosen specialty.
Q: What is the 3 3 3 rule in marketing?
A: The 3 3 3 rule in marketing means you should post 3 pieces of content from others, 3 pieces of your own content, and have 3 personal interactions with your audience. This keeps your social media presence balanced between providing value, promoting yourself, and building genuine relationships. It’s a simple framework that prevents you from being too promotional or too passive on social platforms.
Q: What are the 4 types of digital marketing?
A: The four core types of digital marketing are: Search Engine Marketing (which includes both SEO and paid search), Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing, and Email Marketing. These four cover the essential ways businesses reach and engage with customers online. Most successful digital marketing strategies combine at least two or three of these types to create a comprehensive approach.
Q: How to earn 5000 per day in Pakistan?
A: Earning PKR 5,000 per day in Pakistan through digital marketing is achievable but requires building solid skills and a client base first. You can offer services like SEO consulting, Facebook ads management, or content writing to multiple clients, or focus on high-ticket services for businesses. Another route is building your own digital assets like affiliate sites or e-commerce stores, but that takes time to scale up to consistent daily earnings.
Q: What are 5 disadvantages of digital marketing?
A: The five main disadvantages are: it’s highly competitive and constantly changing which means you need to keep learning, results can take time especially with organic strategies like SEO, negative feedback or reviews spread quickly online, it requires technical knowledge and tools that cost money, and there’s always a risk of algorithm changes that can hurt your traffic overnight. I learned that last one the hard way when I lost 85% of my traffic due to a Google update.
Q: Which job can I start online?
A: You can start with freelance digital marketing services like social media management, content writing, SEO consulting, or Facebook ads management since these have lower barriers to entry. Virtual assistance, graphic design, and email marketing are also good options if you’re looking to start working online. The key is to pick one skill, get really good at it through practice, and then start offering your services on platforms like Upwork or directly to local businesses.
Q: Which online marketing is best?
A: There’s no single “best” online marketing method because it depends on your business goals, target audience, and resources. SEO is great for long-term organic traffic, paid ads give you immediate results, social media helps build community, and email marketing has the highest ROI for most businesses. In my experience, SEO has been the most valuable because once you rank, you get consistent free traffic, but the best approach is usually combining 2-3 complementary methods.
Q: Do digital marketers work from home?
A: Yes, many digital marketers work from home either as freelancers, remote employees, or running their own agencies. Since digital marketing only requires a computer and internet connection, it’s one of the most flexible careers out there. I’ve worked from home for most of my career, and many agencies in Karachi, Faisalabad, and other cities now offer remote positions or hybrid arrangements for digital marketing roles.
Q: Is digital marketing hard to learn?
A: Digital marketing isn’t necessarily hard to learn, but it does require commitment and consistent practice to get good at it. The fundamentals are pretty straightforward and you can learn them through free courses, but actually executing and getting results takes time and hands-on experience. The biggest challenge is that the field keeps changing, so you need to be comfortable with continuous learning, but that’s also what makes it exciting and keeps the work from getting boring.