The philosophy behind 'inbound', or 'internet marketing' runs counter to older traditional marketing approaches. Rather than expending a lot of effort going out and searching for a customer base, inbound marketing seeks to build a path that customers can follow to find their own way to the business or product of interest to them.
Qualified lead generation remains a top priority and inbound marketing takes a closed loop approach rather than one track linear sales & marketing tactics. Inbound Marketing seeks an integrated approach to create and analyze compelling, relevant two-way conversations that result in long-lasting customer relationships.
Still, we are talking about marketing here. Ultimately, the goal is to develop as many qualified leads as possible and close some sales along the way. If you like the concept of integrated, inbound marketing and are looking for some ways to get started, try these seven steps:
1. Find your niche
Before you create an inbound marketing program, you need to identify what kind of customers you hope to reach—sometimes referred to as defining a "marketing persona." Where do your customers shop? How do they spend their weekends? What keeps them up at night? By keeping a specific persona in mind, you can shape online content and marketing campaigns to capture the attention of your ideal customers.
2. Stockpile ideas
Online content can come from just about anywhere. Collect a stockpile of ideas that will appeal to your defined marketing persona and use them as you develop your inbound marketing materials. Fresh, interesting content will draw customers to you.
3. Build a path
You can't expect inbound marketing to work if you don't have various distribution channels set up for your materials. How is your website working as a lead generating tool? Do your blogs create inbound leads? Set up a business Facebook page and connect it to your other Social Media Campaigns media. Start tweeting. Become(or hire) a blogger. Create multiple opportunities for your audience to find and then connect to your business.
4. Make it count
SEO, or search engine optimization, is crucial to getting your business found on internet search engines. When your online marketing material features carefully researched titles, headers, keywords and descriptions, search engines will have an easier time finding you—and displaying your content to web surfers. However, be wary of companies trying to sell you an SEO ‘package’. How are they going to provide keywords that are relevant and distinguish you from your competitors? How are they going to use these keywords? How many will you have to use? Where will they be putting them? Is it only within your text, or are they handling the back end as well? Most important; are these keywords going to enable customers who might never even heard of you to find you based on the match of what they’re searching for and your products and services? Are you going to be found by relevant searches?
5. Landing pages=leads
A well-crafted landing page is a great place to generate leads. Many users will respond to a gentle call-to-action if you are offering something that interests them or that represents a good value. These leads also provide valuable information about what the potential customer is interested in. What a great way to start the conversation!
6. Monitor your world
Even a well-designed inbound marketing program will have lackluster results if it isn't supported on an ongoing basis. Pay attention to what's happening on each and every distribution channel you're using. Can you see where your visitors came from? Are they finding you organically through searches on search engines, referrals from other sites or through your blog or social media? Can you see what pages of your content they visited, and how long they stayed on the pages? When they searched and found you? Truth be told, all of this analytical information integrated together will tell the full story of how you are getting found by potential customers. This is the key to your successful inbound marketing campaign. Make a note of what resonates with your online followers and see if you can't develop more content along those lines. Know what's working and what isn't. Act, and react based on the analytics of your lead generation inbound marketing efforts.
7. Make it a habit
Successful lead generation through inbound marketing doesn't happen all on its own. Commit the time and the resources to learn about new strategies and tactics. Stay on top of your marketing campaigns. Your efforts will pay off in the long run with the lead generation and marketing ROI you are looking for.
When I first started learning about Internet marketing here in Northern NJ, one of the most important concepts to really wrap my head around was just how important Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is to inbound lead generation and the overall internet marketing process. It used to be enough to just have a website, but these days, especially with the new Google Penguin algorithym, we have to go out of our way to attract traffic to stand a chance.
What is Search Engine Optimization?
Simply put, SEO means designing your webpage so that it ranks as highly on search engine result screens as possible, as well as engaging in other activities to try to boost its popularity.Whether trying to generate leads from a specific geographic area such as Northern NJ, or Central NJ, or a broader area that might encompass all of NJ, well researched SEO keywords will enhance visibility in your selected market area.
Google uses two different metrics to determine where your site appears on its search results. Roughly speaking, it breaks down as being around 25% about what you put on the page, and 75% about what other people do with it. SEO targets both of these goals. The new Google Penguin algorythim focus on creating high quality sites that create a good user experience and employ user friendly SEO methods instead of engaging in aggressive keyword tactics.
Onpage SEO
The single most important element in SEO used to be your use of keywords. These are terms that relate to your product that people might search for when trying to find you. If you have a pet food store, for example, this might include search strings like "cat food for adult felines" or "best dog food for a healthy coat." While still considered extremely important, the new Google Penguin points to a healthy user experience. What does this mean? Basically, if you can incorporate your keywords into a natural flow within your content you're golden. If not, you can actually be penalized for 'keyword stuffing'.
Google has a handy free tool to help you discover relevant keywords for your business.
Once you have some keywords determined, you need to start working them into your website content. Here are a few areas to focus on with your onpage SEO:
-
URLs: Try to incorporate a keyword into your file names, rather than giving them generic names
-
Page Titles: Every page title should include at least one keyword
-
Headers: Both main H1 headers and subheadings are perfect places to put keywords
-
Page Content: Your sales pages and blog posts should be keyword-rich, but keep it natural. Remember, you want people to want to read these. In general, a keyword density of around 1-2% of the total word count is best.
-
Metadata: You should make good use of metatags and Google's new rich snippets feature. These are what tell search engine spiders what content is on your site.
Additionally, try to work in some internal links to your own materials. I've found that once you have a good collection of blog posts, it becomes simple to cross-link the blog posts to encourage people to read more of what you write. This internal linking also encourages search spiders to thoroughly trawl your site. Be sure to keep your links consistant. Try to keep your internal linking consistent. For example, don’t link to http://www.findme.com/page/ and http://www.findme.com/page and http://www.findme.com/page/index.htm. See the differences?
Search Engine Marketing, aka: Off Page SEO
Onpage SEO is the easy part; that's all under your control. The harder part of search engine optimization is also the part that Google considers more important: how many people link to your page. A high number of inbound links will boost your search rankings significantly.
Obviously, the easiest way to do this is to create compelling content that people want to link to, but there are a few ways to speed up the process:
-
Swap links with other websites in your same field.
-
Submit your content to online content directories. (Note: Don't get over-invested in this; most directories are too crowded to affect your SEO much.)
-
Make a listing for yourself on local directories, such as Google Places.
-
Include links to share your material on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.
-
Submit videos relevant to your site to YouTube.
-
Ask business contacts to link to you.
Takeaway
Fundamentally, search engine optimization is about getting noticed by search engines so people can easily find what they are looking for. Focus on incorporating keywords that are relevant to your work and location, as well as trying to encourage readers to link to you externally. The new Google Penguin SEO is tricky, but it's vital to succeed on today's Internet.
Want help? More information?
Click Here to request a Web Marketing Investigation. We'll dive into your web marketing and see what's working and what's not. Start driving
your lead generation with effective SEO and inbound marketing!
When I was first starting to learn about Internet marketing here in NJ, one of the harder concepts to really wrap my head around was just how important Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is to inbound lead generation and the overall internet marketing process. It used to be enough to just have a website, but these days, we have to go out of our way to attract traffic to stand a chance.
What is Search Engine Optimization?
Simply put, SEO means designing your webpage so that it ranks as highly on search engine result screens as possible, as well as engaging in other activities to try to boost its popularity. Whether in Northern NJ, Central NJ, or simply anywhere in NJ, you can design your SEO to pull from geographic areas you specify.
Google uses two different metrics to determine where your site appears on its search results. Roughly speaking, it breaks down as being around 25% about what you put on the page, and 75% about what other people do with it. SEO targets both of these goals.
Onpage SEO
The single most important element in SEO is your use of keywords. These are terms that relate to your product that people might search for when trying to find you. If you have a pet food store, for example, this might include search strings like "cat food for adult felines" or "best dog food for a healthy coat."
Google has a handy free tool to help you discover relevant keywords for your business.
Once you have some keywords determined, you need to start working them into your website content. Here are a few areas to focus on with your onpage SEO:
-
URLs: Try to incorporate a keyword into your file names, rather than giving them generic names
-
Page Titles: Every page title should include at least one keyword
-
Headers: Both main H1 headers and subheadings are perfect places to put keywords
-
Page Content: Your sales pages and blog posts should be keyword-rich, but keep it natural. Remember, you want people to want to read these. In general, a keyword density of around 1-2% of the total word count is best.
-
Metadata: You should make good use of metatags and Google's new rich snippets feature. These are what tell search engine spiders what content is on your site.
Additionally, try to work in some internal links to your own materials. I've found that once you have a good collection of blog posts, it becomes simple to cross-link the blog posts to encourage people to read more of what you write. This internal linking also encourages search spiders to thoroughly trawl your site.
Offsite SEO
Onpage SEO is the easy part; that's all under your control. The harder part of search engine optimization is also the part that Google considers more important: how many people link to your page. A high number of inbound links will boost your search rankings significantly.
Obviously, the easiest way to do this is to create compelling content that people want to link to, but there are a few ways to speed up the process:
-
Swap links with other websites in your same field.
-
Submit your content to online content directories. (Note: Don't get over-invested in this; most directories are too crowded to affect your SEO much.)
-
Make a listing for yourself on local directories, such as Google Places.
-
Include links to share your material on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.
-
Submit videos relevant to your site to YouTube.
-
Ask business contacts to link to you.
Takeaway
Fundamentally, search engine optimization is about getting noticed by search engines. Focus on incorporating keywords that are relevant to your work, as well as trying to encourage readers to link to you externally. SEO is tricky, but it's vital to succeed on today's Internet.
Want help? More information?
Click Here to request a FREE Web Marketing Investigation. We'll dive into your analytic's, see what's working and what's not. Then we'll provide marketing insights to allow you to effectively drive lead generation with SEO, SEM and inbound marketing.
If you run a business of any kind, you have to get noticed! But, the question is, how do you make yourself stand out among all the other websites like yours? The answer lies in “inbound marketing,” a tool that gives you brand new avenues for connecting to future clients. Read on to find out how you can make the Internet work for you!
Basically, instead of making intrusive “outbound” advertisements, you have to give new customers reasons to want to read your site. Internet users don't have the patience for traditional advertisements and sales pitches. However, if you make yourself visible and give them relevant, interesting information they want, you can 'attract' them to you.
There are three main keys to this: Content Marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and Social Media.
Content Marketing
This is the heart of Inbound Marketing. Nearly half of all Internet searches are f-or information, so if you answer people's questions, and they'll hang around to see what else you offer.
Some ideas:
- Maintain a blog with informative articles about your field.
- Write layman's guides and publish them on Ezine articles.com, with links to your site.
- Make a video guide to an interesting aspect of your practice.
- Have free eBook downloads with information and tips.
Search Engine Optimization
75% of people doing web searches never look past the first page of results, so it's vital that your site ranks as highly as possible. That's where SEO comes in. In a nutshell, SEO is as simple as 1-2-3.
- Decide on some keywords to focus on that people might search for. “Divorce Lawyer in Kentucky,” for example.
- In those content articles you write, make the keywords appear roughly 1-2% of the time.
- Maintain good links with other webpages relating to yours. Ask around! It'll help you and them both.
Social Media
Finally, you have to embrace social media. As with content marketing, the trick is to give quality information and try to pique people's interest.
- Make accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and such sites.
- Keep them active! Spend some time each day trying to engage people.
- Don't just advertise yourself. Try to contribute helpfully!
- Start conversions. Make people want to learn more about you.
In short, inbound marketing means selling yourself so that you can sell your service. Keep that in mind, and you'll drive people to your site and drive up your sales.
Have you made your New Year's resolutions yet? If not, here's a great one for your business or practice—SEO.
Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, may sound like it requires an IT degree to accomplish, but nothing could be further from the truth. At its core, SEO is the practice of using keywords in your online material to make it easy for people searching the internet to find information about your business. By systematically designing and routinely refreshing your online content, you can improve your standing with popular search engines and increase the flow of customer traffic to your door.
For individuals just getting started in SEO, there are three things to keep in mind—Content, Connections and Commitment.
Content
Search engines use "spiders" to constantly search the web for new content. They reference keywords contained in that content whenever a search query is made, and use complicated algorithms to determine which content is the most relevant for the user. What does that mean to you? It means your online material—be it a website, a blog, an e-newsletter or a white paper—needs to contain words, phrases, and terminology that relate directly to your business. While there are analytic tools that can help you determine the most popular search terms for your business or area of expertise, you should be able to come up with some on your own. Start with these:
- The name of your business or practice
- Services and products you offer
- Your address and the geographical areas you serve
Be sure that whatever content you produce contains the keywords that you feel are critical to your business.
Connections
A successful SEO strategy involves building links both to and from your content. By building connections between your online materials, you not only reach a potentially larger audience, but also increase your visibility to search engines. Start by making sure that all of your online content (website, blog, social media page, etc.) contains keyword-rich links, one to another. Then consider how to link from advertisements, directory listings, and professional publications. Each connection you add will expand your range.
Commitment
SEO isn't a "once-and-done" proposition. To stay on top, you'll need to regularly update and add fresh online content and conduct an ongoing analysis of what's working and what needs to be improved. If SEO is a priority for your business, be sure you commit the time and resources needed to ensure its success.