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The swift advancement of internet technologies has fundamentally altered the landscape of digital marketing, transitioning from static web communication to interactive, consumer-focused, and increasingly decentralized marketing frameworks. Social media platforms, driven by Web 2.0 technologies, have transformed customer engagement by facilitating real-time communication, user-generated content, influencer marketing, and tailored brand experiences. Despite extensive investigations into social media marketing and Web 2.0, there is a scarcity of comprehensive studies that explore the shift towards Web 3.0 technologies and their potential impacts on future digital marketing strategies. This review aims to fill this research void by synthesizing existing literature on the progression of digital marketing from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0, while also pinpointing emerging opportunities and challenges. A structured narrative review methodology was employed, utilizing peer-reviewed articles published mainly between 1996 and 2026. Literature was sourced from Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Emerald Insight, SpringerLink, Wiley Online Library, Taylor & Francis, Google Scholar, and IEEE Xplore through predefined search strategies and thematic synthesis. The findings indicate that Web 2.0 technologies have significantly improved customer participation, brand engagement, and data-driven marketing practices, while Web 3.0 introduces decentralized platforms, blockchain technology, artificial intelligence, semantic web capabilities, and immersive virtual environments that offer enhanced transparency, personalization, and consumer control over data. Nevertheless, challenges related to technological complexity, privacy concerns, interoperability, and organizational preparedness continue to pose significant obstacles. The review suggests an integrated conceptual framework that connects the marketing paradigms of Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 and outlines future research avenues for the development of intelligent, decentralized, and ethically responsible digital marketing ecosystems.
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P. Govindan (2026) studied this question.