Sales managers are always seeking better ways to keep the inbound marketing sales funnel full of leads. It is common knowledge that the Internet is used by consumers to research products and services. With this relevant knowledge about consumer behavior, it is considered critical that business management harness the Internet’s substantial ability to generate incoming inquiries and invite customers to ask questions.
Through the use of blogs, social media and websites, companies can attract highly coveted sales leads. By providing relevant and engaging content, a company’s site gains favor with Google and ranks higher on the page. The higher the Google ranking, the greater the likelihood that a customer will click on your site.
Blogs
Blogs offer an attractive marketing option for identifying inbound customers. Since blog content changes frequently, it is ranked higher and considered more relevant than more stagnant websites that are updated less frequently. Not only does Google rank blogs higher than a typical website, a blog offers incoming traffic the ability to share information with others and to comment on content, which also improves a company’s ranking. Interactive sites rank higher with Google.
Google constantly changes the criteria used to rank information, so it is important for marketing managers to stay abreast of these changes for the best results. Smaller companies may decide to turn over this marketing task to a specialist company. Other companies decide to hire marketing staff who specialize in search engine optimization (SEO) techniques and social media.
SEO Content and Ranking
Feeding the inbound marketing sales funnel requires a mastery of SEO strategies. Using mixed media impacts a company’s Google ranking. It is no longer enough to rely completely on keyword selection as was a popular theory until recently. These days, videos and photo images need to be utilized on blogs and websites to garner top rankings.
Another technique for ensuring a higher ranking on Google is to use social media for sharing information on your company blog or website. Social media benefits a company in two important ways. It generates leads directly through the extended audience provided by followers and friends on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook, plus it elevates website rankings through SEO.
Content is still king when it comes to driving traffic to your company site. Nothing fills up the inbound marketing sales funnel like relevant content. Anticipating what customers want, and how content will be ranked by Google is a challenge. Posting interesting content is a creative endeavor. One technique used by some companies is to post counter arguments to criticisms already posted on the Internet about the company.
These days it is likely that any highly visible company has some negative feedback on the web. By posting your company’s side of the story, you stand a chance of recovering prospective clients. Blogs and question and answer content are the perfect forum for practicing damage control to tell your side of the story against critics.