How can SEO automate your inbound marketing?

First, what is inbound marketing?

Inbound marketing is a marketing technique that focuses on attracting customers to your business through content and engagement. It is the modern way of marketing that helps companies to market themselves. It has been around for more than ten years but has recently seen a rise in popularity.

Simply put, it's all the "marketing" technics that will directly bring potential customers in need to you! Of course, you would just have to sit under an umbrella with a cocktail and wait for them to knock on your door, right? 

You would need to create precious content and then use it to attract potential customers to your business. The content can be anything from blog posts, videos, infographics, white papers, or even eBooks. This marketing approach is all about understanding your target's pain points and using various channels like social media, email, or search engine optimization (SEO) to get the word out about how you could help them. 

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Why should you invest in inbound marketing?

1- To show your audience how valuable and knowledgeable you are! 

That's the thing: to attract customers, you need to share valuable ideas, tips, tricks, and best practices. Here, you will directly test if your expertise is truly relevant because you'll instantly see results or not… You could share information through articles (but fascinating ones), Reels on Instagram, Webinars, or Live, anything you feel comfortable creating and can keep up with. 

2- To drive your audience directly to you. 

If you've done cold calling or emailing, you know how frustrating and complex it can be. Not only because you get rejected 90% of the time (90% when you're lucky, it's mostly 98%), but because interrupting people during their work to propose your services can feel intrusive. Yes, your target needs you (if you've done your targeting correctly) buuut outbound has too many downsides: 

• No matter what we say, it is intrusive; and to interrupt people in the middle of something or when they're not available will never put you in the right situation to close a deal.
• When you call, you put yourself in the "demander" position instead of being the provider. (Even if it will truly help them)
• It is still hard to find talented profiles and excellent independent business developers.
• Prospective tools will always feel like "robots" and can give a bad image about your team. 

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On the other side, your potential customers are more likely to be interested in your offer since they choose to contact you independently. Therefore, you only have to convince them that your goods or services will be of assistance to them. Your only job here will be to ensure that you make your services as straightforward as possible. 

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3- Save time and money

Advertising campaigns? SEA? Expensive! Social media advertising? Expensive! A team of super talented business developers is costly, so what do you choose?

When you implement inbound marketing strategies, all you need is high-quality content. Even though it is more tedious than running an ad, it allows you to attract relevant leads and develop durable trust over time. With less money and better results, it's a win-win for everyone! Even if you have to spend a little on promoting your website, it's not much compared to the thousands of dollars you'll have to spend on outbound marketing. 

4- Create meaningful relationships

Inbound marketing builds relationships because you don't bombard your audience with sales pitches. Instead, you provide real value and let them decide whether to engage.

The more you nurture your relationships with potential customers, the more likely you will build a meaningful relationship based on trust. You are available when they need you, and you don't spam their inbox when they are already busy answering their own annoying clients! 

Inbound marketing strategies: everything that brings clients directly to you

1. Creating a powerful website

Having a strong website is one of the essential marketing tools you can have. Think of your website like your pop-up store; it not only works as a salesperson but also as your brand ambassador. Your website can be used to connect to your potential customers through engaging content genuinely, a mobile responsive layout (as of 2022, 58.26% of web traffic comes from phones), personalization, and intelligent analytics. 

2. Having a blog

A blog is a perfect way to show people your expertise and that you know what you are talking about. If you make your blogs super trendy and think into the consumer's minds about what topics would interest them, it will generate tons of traffic that will eventually turn into leads.

 A business that blogs regularly typically receives 67% more leads than those that don't! Publishing a blog post regularly can build website authority and allow your readers to engage with your business by leaving comments and sharing valuable content with other users via social media channels.‍

3. Social Media

Your target audience lives on social media! Yes, You can only keep social media content on your timeline for a couple of days at the most, but it gives your pages an overall experience for people to scroll through at their convenience. In addition, more people will see your content if your social audience engages, likes, and shares it.

It is important to note that social media users engage with content they like and value. Therefore, you can figure out what your audience wants by experimenting with it. You will interact with your audience's interests, whether they are educational or explaining your services on your pages.

So, what about SEO? 

SEO improves organic traffic through search engine results (mainly search engines like Google and Bing). The algorithms that search engines use are designed to read a site's code and content and determine its rank based on the relevance of the content. Still, SEO isn't just about traffic since the ultimate goal is to convert visitors into customers.

The same goes for inbound marketing. 

To use a fishing metaphor, inbound marketing is more about using the right kind of bait rather than casting the widest net. A more personalized approach like this may reach fewer individuals overall, but the ones you engage with are much more likely to buy or use your products. In classic SEO strategies, keywords in content, metadata, and link growth are ways to let search engines know about your site.

Off-page SEO involves everything that happens off your site. It consists in acquiring links to your content from reputable websites. Each link will tell search engines that your content is worthwhile, allowing you to move up the organic rankings.

Which industries can invest all of their time and money into SEO?

Nearly every business can benefit from using SEO practices. But of course, specific industries will get better ROI (return on investment) by utilizing effective SEO solutions in their marketing strategies. All industries selling an existing solution to a problem will get a lot from SEO. 

So, who are these companies exactly? 

The truth is, pretty much any kind of company. 

Ranking on Google and being number 1 is like having a prestigious store on 5th Avenue, the Rothschild Boulevard, or the Champs Elysées! Imagine the visibility and how many people will walk into your store! 

"But my solution is unique; no one will know what to Google to find us!" 

One of our previous prospects once told us, "I created an IT solution that doesn't exist; we even had to create a new market to be able to sell it" OK, congrats! But that doesn't mean you can't rank on Google, and your website should get 20 visitors a day! 

When you create a new solution, you answer an existing problem. If the problem already existed, it means that there's a market, and that's where you show up your face. 

If you humbly believed that Google was not powerful enough to make you sell your product, you are only loosing time. 

Why ranking on Google can be life-changing?

Because you will just have to sit down, share as much knowledge as you have, and see people calling you. (Sorry, but here there was nothing more to say)

How to write for the web to perform?

Write Simply 

Dumb down your information. Not all of us are experts on the product you created. Ask someone that never heard of your products before to read it and see how long it takes them to understand.  

Write the way you are: be you

Natural language is easier to read and understand than subjective and boastful text. So be as clear and direct as possible. BUT be you! Be funny if you are, but sarcastic if you want to, be smart and intellectual if that makes you feel more comfortable, but stick to who you are. It will make you stand out; it will make your reader appreciate your content, and a bonus point, Google can recognize human writing instead of a robot. (Scary, we know...) 

Use Keywords, obviously‍

Pick words to emphasize and highlight commonly used in describing your topic. Don't use proprietary terms and abbreviations. You can research what ranks best on Google or use tools like Semrush to check how many searches for a specific keyword and how the competition is doing in your market.

Use headings and subheadings.

This can be a great way to break up your text and briefly describe what the following paragraph will discuss. This will help as well to help users find information faster, as well as for Google's bots to read your blog post.

Organize your ideas

Long paragraphs with blocks of text are pretty intimidating for the reader to see at first glance. Try to write it in several short sections instead of a few long paragraphs. 

Make links visible 

Links should be consistent throughout the text with their color and style. Don't underline any reader because it might be confusing for a link. 

Conclusion 

Inbound marketing is great for creating relationships with your customers and gaining their respect. SEO is a great platform to use just for that if done correctly. It is a less intrusive tactic where you can ease your brand into your target life without overwhelming them. It is a worthy investment, and we hope it helps you get educated.