Digital Marketing Excellence: Planning, Optimizing and Integrating Online Marketing

by Dave Chaffey, P.R. Smith

Now in its fifth edition, the hugely popular Digital Marketing Excellence: Planning, Optimizing and Integrating Online Marketing is fully updated, keeping you in line with the changes in this dynamic and exciting field and helping you create effective and up-to-date customer-centric digital marketing plans.

A practical guide to creating and executing digital marketing plans, it combines established approaches to marketing planning with the creative use of new digital models and digital tools. It is designed to support both marketers and digital marketers, and students of business or marketing who want a thorough yet practical grounding in digital marketing.

Written by two highly experienced digital marketing consultants, the book shows you how to:


Draw up an outline digital marketing plan Evaluate and apply digital marketing principles and models Integrate online and offline communications Implement customer-driven digital marketing Reduce costly trial and error Measure and enhance your digital marketing Learn best practices for reaching and engaging your audiences using the key digital marketing platforms like Apple, Facebook, Google and Twitter.
This new edition seamlessly integrates the latest changes in social media technology, including expanded coverage of mobile technology, demonstrating how these new ways to reach customers can be integrated into your marketing plans. It also includes new sections on data analytics, clearly demonstrating how marketers can leverage data to their advantage.

Offering a highly structured and accessible guide to a critical and far-reaching subject, Digital Marketing Excellence, Fifth Edition, provides a vital reference point for all students and managers involved in marketing strategy and implementation.

Genres: Nonfiction

660 pages, Paperback

First published January 8, 2017

About the author

Dr. Dave Chaffey (born 1963) is a prominent British author, digital marketing strategist, and entrepreneur. He is best known as the co-founder of the digital marketing advice platform Smart Insights and the author of several definitive textbooks on internet strategy, including E-Business and E-Commerce Management (now titled Digital Business and E-Commerce Management).

🎓 Early Career and Academic Foundations

Before becoming a central figure in digital marketing education, Chaffey developed his expertise through consulting and academic instruction.

Lecturing: Served as a visiting lecturer on e-business and digital marketing courses at prestigious institutions, including Warwick University, Cranfield School of Management, and the universities of Leeds and Birmingham.
Industry Training: Delivered his first online strategy training course for the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) in 1997 and created his first website in 1998.


📚 Author and Seminal Textbooks

Chaffey has authored five best-selling business and academic books that bridge the gap between academic theory and practical business strategy:

Digital Business and E-Commerce Management: First launched in 2002, this book has become an essential manual for postgraduate digital transformation and MBA students. It focuses on structured approaches to planning, implementing, and assessing e-business operations.
Digital Marketing: Strategy, Implementation and Practice: First published in 2000 as Internet Marketing, this widely translated textbook reached its 9th edition in 2025.
Other Notable Titles: Co-authored Digital Marketing Excellence (with PR Smith) and Total E-mail Marketing.


💻 Entrepreneurship and Smart Insights

In 2010, Chaffey co-founded Smart Insights, an online publisher and learning platform. The site provides templates, actionable advice, and diagnostic toolkits to help businesses audit and improve their digital marketing return on investment (ROI). He served as the platform’s Content Director, guiding its growth to support hundreds of thousands of members globally.

🏆 Recognition and Legacy

Chaffey's contributions have heavily influenced the evolution of internet commerce in Europe:

CIM Guru Status: The Chartered Institute of Marketing recognized him as one of the 50 marketing gurus worldwide who have shaped the future of marketing.
DTI Input: The UK Department of Trade and Industry highlighted him as one of the leading individuals to have shaped the growth of e-commerce and the internet in the UK.

Reviews

[PRJ Greenwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent guide to the twisty subject of digital marketing. Lays things out in a linear, straightforward manner that goes some way to untangle what it takes and what's needed with this kind of marketing. My only gripe is that it's a touch outdated.

[Wissam Asaad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just perfect