Improve Inbound Marketing through SEO, Social Media, and Blogging Strategies
Inbound marketing, or setting up websites for optimal traffic, brings customers that are searching a particular keyword, geographic locale, or even company name to a matching URL. This form of intuitive marketing that meets the needs of customers is vital to all business types. Google for Business reports that 97 percent of consumers find the business they need through an online search.
Inbound marketing has better targeting and more measurable results than traditional outbound tactics. Smart inbound marketing is measurable and allows for easy adjustment of tactics based on performance. It is also less expensive than outbound techniques. According to eConsultancy, the average cost to acquire each new lead using outbound methods cost companies $346 in 2012; acquiring a lead with inbound strategies cost just $135. Inbound marketing is effective because it matches up potential customers with the exact goods and services they seek. Even businesses need a strong online presence that is inbound rich to bring foot traffic to the location.
Here are a few basic ways that every company can take advantage of inbound marketing techniques to maximize sales:
SEO
For inbound marketing newbies, search engine optimization, or SEO, refers to writing a website in order to be found more easily on a search engine. To improve revenue, companies need to improve rank in search engine results pages, or SERP. Research studies have shown that the #1 position on a search engine for a keyword receives 43 percent of clicks. Collectively, the first 10 spots on a search engine result page garner 97 percent of search traffic, resulting in missed opportunities for businesses not on that first page.
If you are not sure where to even begin with SEO implementation, there is a lot of free advice via the Web. You can start by reading SEOmoz’s Beginner’s Guide to SEO and KISSmetrics‘ SEO: A Comprehensive Guide for Beginners (both are free and come highly recommended). You can also budget some money upfront and hire an SEO consultation company. The money spent will pay for itself in long-term results.
Blogging
While a website is similar to a digital business card, a blog is more of a conversation with current and potential clients and customers. A website gives the basic information on a business and a blog elaborates on the issues that matter to a particular company and industry. By posting quality content regularly in a blog format, you participate in relationship marketing that builds brand marketing and establishes your business as an expert in the industry.
Blogs increase the chance that prospective customers will find you online when they are researching questions for which you have the answers. To make the most use of inbound marketing on a blog, avoid over promotion of your goods and services. Instead, offer information that is helpful to your target customer base that makes them want to do business with you when the time comes. For more information on the best blogging practices for your business, check out “The Blogging Tips You Should Know” on The Smart Passive Income Blog.
Social media
There is a reason why social media is all the rage – it works. There are now over 1 billion Facebook users and 650 million of those use Facebook mobile. Twitter has over 500 million users, and these consumers have come to expect outreach by companies on social media platforms. Customers that do not take the time to fill out a contact form on a website or leave a comment on a blog post are more likely to “like” a Facebook status or retweet your link on Twitter. Social media gets customers talking, both to you and about you, on a broad stage. A strong social media strategy is integral to inbound marketing success. Refer to one of our blog entries titled “The Ultimate Social Media Guide to Small Business Success” for a more detailed information on how to use social media for your business.
Some companies have an advantage over others because of their in-face customer service – but only if consumers know about and are able to find the location in the first place. Never assume that customers will find you arbitrarily. Help them find you online first and the chances you will see them in person will increase.
You can look at the testimonials of the clients as great indicators of
the firm’s quality including the names of the organization the SEO
firm has worked in the past for. Most long-term traffic is a direct result of organic search results.
There are SEO experts who provide maintenance on service to their clients in order to
maintain the position of the keyword in search results.
To most people Internet Marketing looks relatively easy and simple to do.
An interactive marketing agency can also provide social media marketing services with the help of
creative advertising on such social networking sites.
The fun part is that will happen automatically without even using a phone.