Whitepaper Get Found V4

Whitepaper Get Found V4

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  Get Found Online Consumers are searching for your products and services online. Is your website getting found? 1
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  The Internet hasprofoundly transformed the way people learn about and shop for products. Ten years ago, companies reached their consumers through trade shows, print advertising, and other traditional marketing methods. Today, consumers start their shopping experience by looking on the Internet, in the search engines, the blogosphere, and social media sites. In order to remain competitive, businesses’ websites need to be found online by the consumers already searching for the products and services that you sell. Businesses must get found online by the consumers searching for their products and services in the: Search Engines Blogosphere Social Media 2
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  Part I: Outboundvs. Inbound Marketing The Internet has changed the dynamics of the business world. For the past decades, marketers have used “outbound” marketing techniques such as trade shows and print advertising, where marketers push out a message far and wide hoping that it resonates with a few individuals. These outbound marketing methods are becoming less and less effective for two reasons: People are getting better at blocking out interruption-based marketing messages. The average person is inundated with thousands of outbound marketing interruptions per day and is figuring out more creative ways to block them out, including caller ID, spam filtering, and on-demand TV and radio. The Internet presents quick and easy ways for consumers to learn and shop. Instead of flying to a trade show across the country, for example, a consumer can go the Internet to research and purchase products or services. Today, consumers are going to the Internet to start their purchasing process. In order to remain competitive, busi- nesses need to utilize “inbound” marketing techniques to “get found” by the consumers searching for their prod- ucts and services online. Outbound Marketing Inbound Marketing telemarketing, tradeshows, direct mail, search engine marketing (SEO & PPC), email blasts, print ads, tv/radio ads blogging, social media Interruption Permission 3
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  Part II: GetFound Online: Search Engines Consumers most frequently go to the search engines to research and purchase products and services. Is your Organic Search is Best website getting found by consumers looking for you? There are two kinds of search results: paid results and organic (or natural) results. Paid results are those listings that require a fee for the search engines to list their link for particular keywords. The most widely used form of paid listing is Pay Per Click (PPC), where you pay each time someone clicks on the link in your advertisement. The price increases with the competitiveness of the keyword. Organic results are gathered by search engines’ web crawlers and ranked according to relevance to search terms. This relevance is calculated by criteria such as extent of keyword match and number of links into that website. Ranking in the organic search results is better because not only is it FREE, but research shows that people click on How Does Google Decide? the organic results 75% of the time and paid results only 25% of the time. Google and the other search engines rank websites in search engine results pages according to relevance to the search terms. This relevance is calculated by looking at both on-page factors such as the content on your site and off-page factors in the form of inbound links to your website. Off-page factors are the biggest influencers in your website’s ranking in search engine results. 4
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  Get Found Online:Search Engines - How To STEP 1: Find Keywords to tell the search engines that your site is a quality • Search Volume – Given two different keyword site. phrases, optimize for the one with the larger number • Build more links within context, i.e. those with of searches. valuable keywords in the link anchor text (the text • Relevance – Choose keywords that your target market that is hyperlinked to your site). Link anchor text is using to describe and search for your products and provides context for the search engines to understand services. what your site is about. • Difficulty or Competition – Consider your chances for • Build more links from trusted websites. Just as ranking on the first page of Google for that keyword references from well-respected friends and experts phrase. Look at the sites ranked in those first 10 slots, offer more value, so do links from trusted and well- their authority and relevance to search terms, and respected websites. gage if you will be able to overtake them to secure a • Link-building tips: spot on that first page. • Submit your website to directories like the Yahoo! Directory and Business.com STEP 2: On-Page SEO • Communicate with others in your industry through • Place keywords in the page title, URL, headings, and blogs and other social media page text. • Create compelling tools (such as an interesting • Optimize your page description for maximum click- calculator) and content (via a blog, for example) through-rate when your site ranks in Google searches. • Place keywords in other “invisible” places on your site, STEP 4: Measure & Analyze including meta-keyword tags and alt-text on images. • Track number of inbound links, keyword rank over time and compared to competition. STEP 3: Off-Page SEO • Measure real business results: number of visitors, • Build more inbound links from other sites into yours. leads, and customers from SEO. Each link serves as a recommendation or a reference 5
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  Part III: GetFound Online: Blogs What is a blog? A blog, or weblog, is a website that allows for regularly posted content or articles. Blogging is Inbound Marketing • Blogging helps with SEO • Blogging helps with social news and networking sites • Blogging is permission centric • The conversation has already started… it’s time that you’re aware of it and develop a strategy for engaging in it and using it for marketing Get Found Online: Blogs - How To STEP 1: Read STEP 2: Comment • Search for other blogs in your industry using Tech- • Contribute to the conversation via a comment. norati.com or BlogSearch.Google.com. • Increase the value of the article – share an example, • Read and subscribe to blogs via RSS (Really Simple add a point, add a useful link, disagree, ask a question. Syndication) or email – RSS allows users to subscribe • Why? anonymously and consume content however they • Engage in the community want. • Get noticed by other bloggers and blog readers • Get links back to your blog 6
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  Get Found Online:Blogs - How To (cont’d) STEP 3: Write • Find the right blog software for you. • On frequency: General rule of thumb is to blog at least • Blog functionality: Make sure to use your own weekly to maintain steady readership and continue business URL (blog.mycompany.com), not a sub- your SEO efforts. domain of someone else’s URL (myblog.typepad.com) • Blog topic ideas: – most blog software allows you to do this. Also your • List of 5 ideas, trends, or thoughts blog software should allow for email and RSS subscrip- • Publish a list of links tions as well as integration with social media sites. • Take a recent experience and share it • Analytics functionality: To truly measure the success • Answer questions you received recently of your blog, your software should allow you to report • Comment on other blog articles on email and RSS subscribers over time, measure • Turn a press release into a blog article visitors and leads generated, and track search engine • Promote your blog. keyword rank over time and compared to competitors. • Email friends and family • Support and expertise: If you are new to blogging, you • Replace email newsletter with blog may want your software provider to provide technical • Trade guest articles with similar blogger support, education and marketing expertise on how to • Promote on social media sites: digg, reddit, succeed with your blog. StumbleUpon, Facebook, LinkedIn • Draw in readers with your blog article titles. • Funny: “GoDaddy’s 16-Step Checkout: Brainless STEP 4: Measure & Analyze Marketing At Its Finest?” • Track number of blog visitors and subscribers, SEO • Enticing: “12 Quick Tips To Search Google Like An rankings, Technorati blog rank. Expert” • Measure real business results: number of visitors, • SEO: “Free Advertising on Google” leads, and customers generated by your blog. 7
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  Part IV: GetFound Online: Social Media What is social media? Media (content that is published) with a social (anyone can add to and share it) component. Social media is like a business networking reception without the constraints of time and space. Social Media is Inbound Marketing • Social media helps with SEO • Social media promotes your blog • Social media is permission centric • The conversation has already started… it’s time that you’re aware of it and develop a strategy for engaging in it Get Found Online: Social Media - How To and using it for marketing STEP 1: Guidelines for Engagement STEP 2: Publish, Share, and Network • Meet people and start conversations, become a real • Publish: Everyone can publish anything for everyone member of the community – don’t join to just • Publish everything you have anywhere you can advertise your products. • Monitor what others publish and promote it • Add value to the community – answer questions and • Empower your customers to publish help others. • Ask questions – trust others’ advice. 8
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  Get Found Online:Social Media - How To (cont’d) • Share: Anyone can promote anything to everyone • Monitor what’s being shared about you Grade Your Website • Find where your audience hangs out • Promote valuable content, yours and others’ • Product content your audience will love • Network: Anyone can connect with everyone from anywhere See how your website • Make friends – find your existing connections and stacks up in terms of its build new ones Internet marketing • Be helpful – answer questions, share interesting effectiveness. Get your content free report from HubSpot’s WebsiteGrader tool. STEP 3: Measure & Analyze • Key metrics to consider are: number of blog visitors www.WebsiteGrader.com and subscribers, del.icio.us bookmarks, inbound links, Facebook fans and activity, friends on Facebook or LinkedIn, votes for blog articles, posts in forums. • Measure real business results: number of visitors, leads, and customers generated by each social media effort. 9
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  Part V: MarketingResources Website Grader (www.websitegrader.com) – Useful tool for measuring the marketing effectiveness of your website, get a free custom report in seconds with advice for your website Marketing Sherpa (www.marketingsherpa.com) – A great resource for case studies and insights into marketing tactics HubSpot Internet Marketing Blog (blog.hubspot.com) – Articles about business strategy and inbound Internet marketing Web ink now (www.webinknow.com) – Online thought leadership and viral marketing strategies from award- winning author David Meerman Scott HubSpot (www.hubspot.com) – Internet marketing software that helps you get found by more prospects and generate more qualified leads and sales Part VI: Contact Us HubSpot One Broadway, 10th Floor Cambridge, MA 02142 1-800-482-0382 www.HubSpot.com 10