Companies that focus on inbound marketing reap superior returns on their marketing investment. That's what makes inbound so much better than outbound right? Nope. Inbound marketing is so much more than a higher return. It is truly a gift that keeps on giving. In this post we'll explore many of the benefits of inbound marketing. Companies that enjoy these benefits gain what we call the Inbound Advantage. First we'll define inbound vs. outbound marketing, then we'll take a look at the … [Read more...]
How To Choose The Best Type of Inbound Marketing Strategy For Your Brand
Some marketing strategies are brilliant for one brand, yet absolute fails for another. What makes the difference? Audience. Marketing strategies should be built with the target audience in mind. The marketing strategy that is brilliant for a spa (a local consumer audience) isn't going to work too well for an enterprise level Customer Relationship Management software (a national/international corporate audience). There are four steps to choosing the marketing strategy that's best for … [Read more...]
Google My Business Categories
Want to start a local business but short on ideas of exactly what type of business? Here's an alphabetical list of the 2,395 types of businesses Google has listed as "categories" for local businesses. Happy brainstorming! ATM ATV Dealer ATV Repair Shop Abbey Abortion Clinic Abrasives Supplier Abundant Life Church Accountant Accounting School Acoustical Consultant Acupuncture Clinic Acupuncture School Acura Dealer Addiction … [Read more...]
Why Your Business Has Poor Rankings on Google Maps
A lot of business can come to your local business through your Google Business Profile. That business mostly comes from popping up on Google Search or Google Maps. I've seen business owners unknowingly break Google's guidelines for local businesses and get hit with a penalty. It's not fun. There are five basic penalties: Poor rankings (an algorithmic penalty) Unverified Suspended Permanently Removed Reviews Removed Sometimes the penalty can be fixed quickly. Other … [Read more...]
3 Reasons www URLs Are Better Than Non www URLs For SEO …But Don’t Go Switching Just Yet
When I started my first website I had no idea that a www URL was better than a non www URL (sometimes called a root or naked URL). In fact, I had no idea that both options even existed. Unfortunately, my first website's URL by default was a naked URL. Most "experts" will tell you that there is no difference, it's just a matter of preference. It does make a difference! www URLs are better for SEO! ...but don't go switching just yet. Links Each and every website with a naked URL I've analyzed … [Read more...]
The 7 Prerequisites For Strong Sustainable Growth
Ignore any of these seven rules and strong sustainable growth is no guarantee. Follow each of them and you'll be protected against the most common reasons businesses fail to thrive. Rule #1 Become Driven By Data Learning to make decisions the right way is invaluble. When faced with decisions, especially big ones, most companies will brainstorm, talk it over and make a decision and go forward. Being decisive is good, what isn't good is going forward with a decision that wasn't the best possible … [Read more...]
The Ultimate 9 Step Inbound Marketing Strategy
The Ultimate Inbound Marketing Strategy is built around the nine-part Inbound Marketing Funnel or Pipeline. Companies that optimize all 9 segments will have growing pains! Companies that completely fail on any single segment of the pipeline will find inbound sales come to a stop. This strategy allows brands that work in local markets to add anywhere from hundreds of thousands to multi-millions in internet sales. Let's start by taking a look at the funnel. The Inbound Marketing Funnel The … [Read more...]
Inbound Marketing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
There are multiple inbound marketing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that measure the progress of inbound marketing campaigns. These KPIs are most easily broken down into three categories - getting found, getting favored and getting fans. Get Found To track how well your brand is getting found you should keep an eye on the following KPIs in Google Analytics. Total Website Traffic Website Traffic Within City/Metro/State (For Local Inbound Marketing) Total Organic Traffic … [Read more...]
Inbound Marketing Resources
A growing and updated list of tools, apps, and other resources. Pre-Startup NameCheckr: Check domain and username availability across several networks. Domains, Hosting and Email Pagely: Managed WordPress hosting in the Amazon cloud. Synthesis: Hosting optimized for The Genesis Framework by Rainmaker Digital. WPengine: Blazing fast managed WordPress hosting. Pantheon: Developer hosting for WordPress and Drupal. Flywheel: Managed WordPress hosting with phone support. WhatsMyDNS.net: Global DNS … [Read more...]
What You Need To Know About SEO Before You Start A Local Business
I've seen it too many times. People start awesome local businesses, but with business names or domains that are not optimized for success. At least not for search engine success. Local searches can add anywhere from up to a million to much more in annual revenue for a local business. So if you're serious about attracting a lot of local search traffic - this is what you need to get right before you even open your doors. Quick Note: At a future date I may go more into why each of these tips are … [Read more...]