Among the millions of inquiries on Fiverr’s marketplace, digital services experienced the most significant increase in demand over the past six months. The central theme of the data highlights the shift towards seizing new online opportunities:

Global trends include:

• Businesses are engaging freelance experts to capitalise on the opportunities presented by social media marketing on platforms like TikTok.
• Companies are enhancing their online visibility by expanding their marketing efforts to include SEO and branding consultation.
• Businesses are increasingly adopting alternative eCommerce platforms such as ClickBank and FlutterFlow to expand their online operations.

“In the UK we’ve seen a significant spike in businesses looking to expand their digital footprint through social media platforms, in particular TikTok. While marketing on social media is nothing new, it’s notable that platforms that began as vehicles for entertainment have evolved to become marketplaces where businesses sell products directly to customers on top of trying to maximise their online presence,” said Bukki Adedapo, UK Country Manager of Fiverr.

In addition to the latest trends, Fiverr also reveals that across the UK, Manchester was the fastest growing city in terms of the number of freelancers based there, closely followed by Southampton and Coventry. Fiverr has also found that outside of London, Manchester, Leeds, and Birmingham are the top three cities where freelancers are earning the most.

These are the trending UK searches over the past six months:

Social media marketing taking centre stage for businesses

Social media marketing isn’t anything new, but UK retailers in various forms are increasingly embracing these platforms to reach new target audiences. While Facebook continues to be a popular platform for marketers, TikTok seems to be becoming the tool of choice. ‘TikTok shop’ has seen a significant increase in searches on Fiverr. Merchants are turning to freelance consultants to navigate the platform effectively, maximise presence and increase sales through social media. This is also mirrored further with searches for TikTok ads, User-Generated Content (UCG), and Facebook ad campaigns also increasing significantly over the past six months.

• TikTok Shop (+519.76%)
• TikTok Video ads (+149.92%)
• UGC Creator (+134.46%)
• Facebook ads campaign (+117.08%)

Wider online marketing services are still a key strategy for businesses looking to expand their digital presence

While more businesses are turning to TikTok to reach new audiences, online marketing services are also growing. Searches for ‘Website SEO’ and ‘Off page SEO’ services vastly increased, as did domain rating for websites. Logo redesign has garnered popularity recently with established brands choosing to subtly alter their logo - the significant spike in logo redesign shows that UK businesses are looking to freelance creatives to stay ahead of trends. The latest search trends in the UK highlight that freelance consultants are playing a key role in businesses' approach to both branding and their online presence.

• Increase domain rating (+187.03%)
• Logo redesign (+140.60%)
• Website SEO (+116.39%)
• Off page SEO  (+97.80%)

Online merchants turning to alternative platforms to sell goods

Brands and merchants in the UK are turning to online ecommerce platforms to distribute their goods to consumers. ‘Shopify’ remains a popular platform, but interestingly there are larger increases in searches for services for lesser-known platforms such as ‘FlutterFlow’ and ‘ClickBank’. The adoption of alternative platforms demonstrates that UK ecommerce businesses are looking for new ways to build, market and scale online to differentiate themselves in the digital age.

• FlutterFlow (+166.57%)
• ClickBank (+160.47%)
• Shopify Website Design (110.20%)
• Shopify dropshipping (93.49%)

Fiverr’s Business Trends Index also breaks down the fastest-growing searches for businesses in the US, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Israel, and the UK.