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25 Awesome Inbound Marketing Blogs

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 12:05:00 GMT

Whether you’re a small business owner, a sales director, a marketing director, or just someone interested in inbound marketing, there are many resources available on the internet to fuel you with ideas that will help you increase revenue and drive online sales. Below is a list of 25 inbound marketing blog sites full of information you’ll relish.

B2B Inbound Blog addresses inbound marketing topics within the business-to-business space.

B2B Marketing Zone is an inbound marketing blog specifically for the B2B community.

Bluleadz posts about website design and inbound marketing issues.

Copyblogger dives into copywriting for SEO, with an emphasis on keyword research and other internet marketing techniques.

Digital Marketing Blog features best practices in areas including SEO and SEMPO.

eMarketer provides news that helps readers navigate the world of digital marketing, media and commerce.

GetElastic is an inbound marketing blog written especially for e-commerce businesses.

HubSpot Blog caters to more than 47,000 subscribers with posts on SEO, blogging, social media, lead generation and analytics.

The Inbound Marketing Company’s inbound marketing blog features articles on lead generation, search marketing and social media.

The Inbound Marketing University Blog is for readers looking to educate themselves on inbound marketing topics and trends.

Influential Marketing Blog addresses marketing, advertising and PR strategy, with a focus on social media optimization.

Keenpath’s site includes an inbound marketing blog that provides information on lead conversion and generation online.

Marketing Pilgrim offers analysis of the latest news in internet marketing and advertising.

The Official Google Blog lets you in on the most recent developments from the search engine giant.

Optimize This is an inbound marketing blog devoted to SEO and social media marketing strategies.

ProBlogger provides tips on how to convert your blog traffic into meaningful income.

Search and Social Results focuses on SEO, social media, SEM and other online marketing strategies with a local flare.

Search Engine Journal provides advice for inbound marketing as well as reviews of tools available to help increase leads.

Search Engine Land is the go-to resource for the latest SEO, SEM and PPC headlines.

Search Engine Watch gives a detailed overview of the happenings across the SEO, SEM and PPC markets.

SEOmoz features multiple daily posts by an array of contributors on topics related to business development via SEO.

SEOptimise offers search engine marketing tips and tactics.

The Spark Inbound Marketing Blog is penned by an inbound marketing agency that specializes in web content and development.

Strategic Marketing Solutions includes posts with basic information and strategies for online marketing.

TopRank blogs about social SEO, content marketing, blog consulting, and audits and training.

By adding a handful of these inbound marketing blogs to your RSS feed, you’re sure to come away with daily inspiration to better your online marketing efforts.

And shamful self promotion: Free Inbound Marketing Advice

How Image Alt Text Affects Inbound Marketing

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 12:49:00 GMT

*** Here is a test: Search for "Image Alt Text Panda" in Google Images.

To understand how image ALT text and Inbound Marketing are tied together you must first understand what the image ALT text does. Search engines such as Google use the ALT text to understand what each image is about. Websites without ALT text on their images get lower ratings, thus being lower on the list when a search is done, and leading to less potential customer views.

Also not all web-viewers allow for images, or the user has images blocked. The ALT text gives the person browsing an idea of what is there, which will help generate interest in your website and your company.

A good strategy is to use the ALT text as another place to put in your website keywords. But you still want to to be sure you are being descriptive and informative here as well. as the intent of ALT text is to have a way of providing ALTernate content for people using text only browsers so they still get the idea you are trying to present in you website.

A word of warning here, keyword "stuffing" can lead to lower search ratings. Try browsing to your website with a text only browser like Lynx and see if your website still makes sense and is getting across the message you intend.

When considering image ALT text and Inbound Marketing remember some people browse with images off for speed, specially on mobile phones, or others have a visual impairment and cannot see your images. They may be relying on text to speech. Each person who has trouble with your website could be a potential customer lost.

Adjusting the ALT text is quick and easy to do and in the end can lead to more sales.

Inbound Marketing Music Video

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 14:33:00 GMT

During the free internet marketing assessment, we will answer the following questions:

- How can I increase my website grade?

- Who is doing the best job of Internet marketing out of you and your competitors? Who gets the most traffic?

- Are you getting enough organic leads?

- Do you pass the search engine optimization test? What are some quick tips for improving your website?

- How do you compare to your competitors in the blogosphere and social media?

- Who is linking to your website? Do these links help you or hurt you?

- What are the best keywords for your company? What companies rank first for these words?

How to Perform Inbound Business Development

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 12:35:00 GMT

Inbound Business Development requires a completely different mindset from traditional marketing. Businesses have previously sought new customers by making broad appeals to consumers through what amounted to casting a wide net. The hope was to find enough new customers along the way to justify the expense. Inbound marketing is a completely different approach and should be thought of in three stages.

Stage One: The Casually Interested

The first stage entails every possible way a potential customer might come across your business while using the Internet. Regardless of the type of business you have, that pool of potential customers is quite large. Suppose your business sells tires. Stage One is the pool of all possible tires purchasers that could feasibly shop in your tire store. That huge pool of potential tire purchasers is searching for the best deals on tires in their area but there are hundreds of places they can choose from. What will get those consumers to notice you?

SEO – Ensuring that your content is optimized in such a way that the potential customers in that pool see your information when searching on the Internet.
Reach - social media: Facebook, Twitter, Yelp. Review blogs and other social media networks that allow customers to spread the word about your business after finding you.

These are not an end in themselves but rather the first stage in a bigger plan for Inbound Business Development. Facebook likes and Retweets do not represent new customers but do begin to funnel people from this first stage toward the second. People who find you via solid search engine strategies and social media already positions at the top of the pool with a mindset inclined toward considering the services you have to offer.

Stage Two: The Truly Intrigued (But don't give a crap about you)

This middle state is where a good deal of Inbound Business Development breaks down. This is where prospective clients have noticed you enough via search results and other channels they are ready to check you out more seriously.

***Remember: These visitors don't care about you. They car about the problem they need solved. They are not ready to listen to sales pitches about "YOU" they need and want information that will help them with their problem.

A prospective customer’s readiness to shop at your tire store is likely determined by what he or she finds upon clicking that link that carries them to your web site or blog. Today’s shoppers have a narrow margin of patience and are quick to move on to something else if they can’t see obvious and immediate value when they a land on your site.

Inbound Marketing is an automated process meaning there are few second chances to catch the attention of the same visitor again. For this reason, a good deal of thought and planning needs to go into this middle phase. This make or break point in effective inbound marketing includes:

Calls To Action (CTA)
Landing pages
Autoresponders
Email communications targeted to specific conversions

*** Remember none of these 4 things above have anything to do with you. They have to do with the needs and wants of the customer.

Stage Three: In Person

When inbound marketing is done right a reasonable percentage of potential customers will move from casually interested to intrigue to visiting your place of business or converting through stage two. Be sure you have a plan in place to find out how these customers found you and be ready to follow up with these contacts as they come past your desk.

***Now is your chance to talk about yourself if you can find a need, want, challenge or goal of the customer.

Your Net should look like this:

How long tail keywords affect sales leads you generate online.

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 12:13:00 GMT

Long Tail Keywords and Inbound Marketing: The Basics

The long tail in keyword search is an expansion of a widely used high volume keyword phase which includes any number of combinations and manipulations of the keywords and any related phrases. A long tail keyword can be any keyword that is 3 words or more. The topic at hand will determine how long the keyword should be. For example, "Nike running shoes" may not be a narrow enough search for someone looking for "red women's Nike running shoes."

"Do you want to attract people search for apple computers or apple picking places in new england"

Long tail keywords are more specific by nature.

Long tail keywords have been shown to be effective for sales because people making searches with them are typically at late stages in their buying processes. Thus, the probability of them making purchases is higher. Long tail keyword research shows that they exhibit a higher conversion rate, making a lower cost per action and higher investment return for search engine marketers.

Long tail keywords are great for text ad titles.

Long tail keywords provide an ideal opportunity for search marketers to supply highly relevant ads which meet the specific needs of qualified searchers. When done correctly, such ad campaigns can yield much higher results than similar campaigns done with short tail keywords. These campaigns can also be more cost effective because their CPCs are often cheaper, due to less competition.

Long Tail Keywords make great Commercial Keyword Phrases.

Consider the specific keywords that you will need to use for a commercial keyword phrase. For example, the terms "how" and "free" are typically used for informational phases instead of commercial. Instead, use terms such as "buy" or "inexpensive."

Although it may be tempting to use long tail keywords with higher search volume, you most likely won't make as many sales with this method because you most likely will not be on the first page. Cater to the specific products that you are marketing and stick to the commercial phrases that have a low enouph keyword grade that you can rank for them on the first page. Even if the searches for them are low volume, they will be worth it if they are written correctly and make a significant number of sales.

Technorati Claim Token Post

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 13:08:00 GMT

Yay we are joining Technorati.

*** Hey Technorati here is my claim token: CYYBX5H9U788

Sorry to everyone who subscribes to Free Inbound Marketing Advice. Technorati requires this post to prove that we own this blog.

Have a great day.

Chris@freeinboundmarketingadvice.com

5 Small Business Blogging Content Strategy Tips

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 12:10:00 GMT

The purpose of blogging for small businesses is: to drive customers to your website. Your goal is to increase traffic to your website and give your customer a reason to convert into sales leads. Your small business blogging content strategy should follow these five simple guidelines to provide meaningful solutions for your customers.

Although your website is on the world wide web and can potentially reach millions of readers, the most important aspect of creating blog content is knowing who your audience is. Determining your demographic will help you choose the information for your small business blogging content strategy. Who, exactly, are you trying to reach?

Your next step in your small business blogging content strategy is determining what you want your customer to know. Establish your small business as a solution to their problem by giving them the tools they need (you) and the confidence that you can help them (knowledge.)

Delivery, as in how you will present your information, is the next step in your small business blogging content strategy. A consistent presence will add value to your website and establish you as a person or company that stays involved with the needs of your clients and your particular industry. Using social media to promote your blog is an excellent way to deliver your message to your audience.

Fifth, you want your customer to act upon the content you've written, so you must tell them what you want them to do. This is commonly referred to as a Call To Action. If you want them to order a product from you based on your blog content, add a click through to your order page. If you want them to call you for an appointment, add your contact information. Be clear about what needs to happen next.

Using these simple guidelines your small business blog content strategy will attract those customers who are most likely to buy from you.

Inbound Marketing Advice for Microsoft Partners Who Want to Increase Sales Leads

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 02:58:00 GMT

There are a number of inherent benefits that can be gained from becoming a Microsoft Partner, but that doesn't automatically mean that you will have an effective inbound marketing program. Inbound marketing for Microsoft Partners often fall short in one of several areas. Fortunately, there are a number of small changes that can be made in order to quickly improve the quality and quantity of sales leads.

Always Create Your Own Unique Materials

Inbound marketing is all about establishing relationships and if you only use the pre-made materials that the Microsoft Partners Network has created, then you aren't doing anything to stand out from the crowd. It is important that you create your own materials, with your own perspective, in order to be successful. There are likely a number of other services and benefits that you can provide to clients. By creating your own material, you will have the ability to promote yourself more holistically and build a relationship on a more personal level.

Leverage The Microsoft Partner Brand

One of the benefits of inbound marketing for Microsoft Partners is that you automatically gain some of the brand reputation that Microsoft has already created for themselves. Throughout much of their advertising materials as to why someone should use a Microsoft Partner, they highlight 5 main benefits. To separate yourself from the rest of the pack, it is important to use these 5 benefits as a foundation for your marketing materials but also include the benefits of your business as a whole.

Establish An Ongoing Testing Strategy

The most critical element of any marketing program is continual testing. With inbound marketing for Microsoft Partners, the two most important elements to test are the traffic source and conversion funnel. Getting leads isn't enough for inbound marketing success, you need to get legitimate leads that have a high propensity for turning into sales. When testing traffic sources, the key is to focus on quality rather than quantity. The more your traffic has been pre-sold before entering your conversion funnel, the higher your chances of recruiting real sales leads instead of building a list full of people who will never make a purchase.

The other aspect to continually be tested is the conversion funnel itself. Even if you attract the highest quality of leads possible, your conversion process can turn them away, just as easily as it can turn them into sales.

Effective inbound marketing is fundamentally about establishing and building relationships with potential buyers. There are two fundamental tenets to achieving this – you need to gather leads that have a high propensity to turn into sales and you need a conversion process that compels your leads to take action.

To learn more about how to establish and improve the inbound marketing for Microsoft Partners by implementing a variety of unique and effective methods - Contact Us Now. It doesn't matter if you don't know how to begin or need that small tweak to put you over the edge - we can help!

Inbound Marketing Advice for Bed & Breakfasts and Hotels

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 12:51:00 GMT

When it comes to inbound marketing for bed and breakfasts and small hotels, you will find the largest chain hotels have the marketing teams and resources to advertise to a wide audience while the smaller family run and owner run establishments have an awesome ability that is being overlooked:

As a Bed and breakfast owner you can create a community of guests that choose to come back year after year because they love you and your business.

This repeate guest community coupled with the ability to create real and remarkable content can help you build a bed and breakfast inbound marketing engine that can support your business through hard times and seasonal fluctuations.

If you want to start building your inbound marketing engine for your bed and breakfast, there are a few simple tips you can use to start bringing the right kind of traffic to your website, and into your B&B:

Start listing your hotel or bed and breakfast on local internet directories. Many of these are free or low cost, and not only will people searching for those services be able to find you, the links will boost your page rank too!
Use content marketing as a tool. Consider writing general, informative articles about travel and tourism in your area, and posting them on article directories. Make sure you include a link to your hotel or bed and breakfast in the resource box, and a little information about who you are.
Write specific blog entries about planning to travel and stay in your area.
Optimize your content using local SEO. Do some keyword research, to find out which are the most searched terms in your area, for your particular services, and then add your location. For instance, if you find that 'family friendly hotel' is a popular search term, and you're located in Seattle, use 'family friendly hotel in Seattle' as your blog title or page title.
Capture information from your visitors. It's an open secret in inbound marketing that list building can boost your sales and conversion rates astronomically. Consider creating a free download - like a local tour guide - and offering it to your visitors, in exchange for registration with their email address. You can then use their details to send them special offers, marketing emails and other materials.
Take advantage of social networks. Create a page or group that relates to your business, and post your links on related, but not competing pages.
Join forums that are related to travel in your area, and include your link in your signature.

Inbound marketing for bed and breakfasts, and for any other business for that matter, takes time to set up, but once it is, it becomes an online marketing machine, that brings targeted, ready to book customers to your site.

Consider inbound marketing to be about creating an online network of marketing materials, that in turn creates a funnel through which visitors are channeled to your site. Done correctly, it's a marketing engine, and it will work even when you are cooking breakfast for your guests.

Inbound Marketing Advice for Businesses on Cape Cod

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 19:33:00 GMT

Cape Cod is a well-known tourist and vacation spot on the East Coast, and there are many businesses there. Many of the businesses have similar target audiences and products. This creates a problem in that it is difficult for one business to stand out over another at the storefront because of the similarities. This means that you need to find a new way to stand out.

Online marketing has become the way small businesses can expand their revenue, increase their profit, and stand out when people visit Cape Cod.

How You Can Get Involved in Online Marketing

As you try to build your online presence, there are several ways to go about it. The first is by getting actively involved in social media sites. Your Cape Cod Inbound Marketing plan will work best by being highly visible in a lot of different locations. Roughly 1 in 6 minutes of internet time is spent on a social media site like Facebook, Twitter, WordPress, or Blogspot. Being visible in these venues can create excitement for your company and draw visitors in your door that may not have done so otherwise. The other advantage is that many of these sites can be maintained at little to no cost to you as a business owner.

How you can use email marketing to expand the 10 week vacation season on Cape Cod to 12 weeks.

Building a website that showcases your business can also ad valueable up time to the short 10 week vacation season on Cape Cod.

If customers are impressed with your products in your store durring the season, you can try to obtain email addresses in order to nuture your valuable customers durring the off season and to sell inventory durring the holiday gift giving season.

Building a strong online presence can draw excitement and attention to your business.

When someone travels to Cape Cod, they may have a friend suggest your business to them because of marketing they had seen your company participate in online. Your inbound marketing strategy will allow your business to draw in customers that you would not have received otherwise, and thus will cause your company to stand out and draw in new business. Taking care of these customers will generate a buzz and some positive word-of-mouth referrals. This can have a cascading effect that leads to a perpetual flow of new customers based simply on social media hype and online marketing.

How to use linkedin for inbound marketing

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 21:17:00 GMT

Using Linkedin for Inbound Marketing

Nothing is better when you own a business than receiving inbound sales calls from interested potential customers! When utilizing online marketing techniques, many businesses place their emphasis on outbound marketing techniques. But, what if you could turn the tables to create inbound links using some of the same online techniques? Linkedin is considered the largest, online professional network. Therefore, learning to leverage this platform for inbound marketing techniques is a tremendous opportunity for any business.

Creating a Linkedin Profile

Setting up or editing a Linkedin profile is simple and easy. Begin by completing your profile in its entirety, as this will help your company gain visibility. Include a professional photograph, add your company’s website link, and once your profile is established, send out requests for recommendations.

Keyword Optimization

Follow these tips for optimizing your profile for targeted keywords, enhancing your page rank:

· When creating or updating a Linkedin Profile, be sure to optimize it for your target keywords.

· Customize your Linkedin URL with your name and/or with your company’s name to boost your search engine page rank.

· Add custom anchor links to your profile’s text. By customizing your anchor text, you will rank higher for these keywords in natural searches.

Leverage Groups to Build Credibility

In addition to building your Linkedin network through locating meaningful contacts, it is critical that you join targeted groups. Groups enable smaller pockets of individuals to create a community within this vast online network, creating the perfect opportunity for you to connect with your target audience. If your industry doesn’t currently have a group established, consider starting one. Otherwise, search for groups of interest, particularly focusing on those that would contain your target customers.

Once you have joined groups, it is time to interact with the members. Add to discussions where possible, post new questions for the group to consider, and post interesting news whenever you run across it in your own online searches. Whenever your organization hosts a webinar or training session, be sure to invite your Linkedin network.

Use the Search Feature

If you want to be more proactive in your search for prospects, you can use the Linkedin search feature. Enter targeted keywords to locate individuals who have integrated those keyword into their profiles. Consider interacting with them directly and/or inviting them to be a member of a Linkedin group.

Relationships are the key to using Linkedin as an inbound marketing tool. Once people view you as an expert in your field or see value in anything that you post, they will be more likely to click on your outbound embedded links, giving you a true opportunity to turn that contact into a lead, and then ultimately that lead into a customer.

Why I think the "What is HubSpot" Video Published by Mike Volpe Is A Really Big Deal.

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 21:35:00 GMT

HubSpot recently published a video! (You can view the video here on the HubSpot Blog)

Big deal you say... so what?

I'll tell you why I think this is a big deal but first I want to tell a story.

---

My story begins at MarketingProfs Boston 2011.

If you needed to imagine an audience that was perfect for HubSpot I would think that an audience like that of MarketingProfs Boston 2011 would probably be as close to perfect as any Hubspotter could possibly imagine.

Now, coming from ad sales I am a pretty good bar event networker and I can mingle with the best of them. But one thing stood out to me after having drinks with about 20 different marketers in attendance. "ALL OF THEM", not some of them, mentioned our awesome content or said something like "you guys are almost as good as MarketingProfs or ClickZ... but not better". I took these statements as compliments just as I'm sure Jeanne or Mike or any other HubSpotter would.

After the event I had 4 calls out of the 20 business cards I had collected. I then realized how little HubSpot talks about itself to its audience.

Not one of the marketers I spoke to knew we sold software!

---- End Story

So why is this video such a big deal?

This video is about HubSpot and only HubSpot... It is a traditional marketing commercial.

But it has a different effect because we can publish it to our warm inbound audience that we have spent time cultivating by publishing awesome useful content.

I get to explain the difference between traditional marketing and inbound marketing about 20 times a day. In my description I explain that traditional marketing is disruptive and includes things like commercials and display advertising.

This "What is HubSpot" video is a traditional form of advertising used in a new way. It is a great example of how inbound marketing can complement traditional marketing campaigns and tools allowing a single disruptive advertisement to have an exponential effect on a warm audience in a way that would simply not be possible with “outbound” advertising alone.

Rock on HubSpot.

So happy to be a part of the team driving this kind of change.

10 Website Page Title Tips For Niche Inbound Marketing

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 12:02:00 GMT

10 Website Page Title Tips For Niche Inbound Marketing: The first five tips to get the ball rolling.

***FIRST READ: So You Think You Are Niche: 10 Niche Business Types Explained.

1. Use "How tos" and "How Not tos": Many people searching for a specific topic are looking for advice. If your web page is comprised of or includes a how to or how not to list, put it right into the title.

2. Use numbers: A number gives people a definite idea what to expect from a web page. For example, there is a big difference between 10 Twitter marketing strategies and 100 strategies. Let people know what they are getting.

3. If you include data, mention this in the title: Data is also definitive and gives people clear facts about a topic. Indicate what data is included or give a specific piece of data in the title.

4. Consider keywords: This is important both for people scanning titles in a search or from a list and for SEO. If you are unsure what keywords you should use, research it.

10 Website Page Title Tips For Niche Inbound Marketing: Looking for more ideas?

Get expert advice on your page titles. Book an expert website assessment now.

5. Consider the word order: The order of the words in a title can be important for SEO. Put the most important keywords first. For example, if your page is titled "10 Tips for Grilling Chicken", consider arranging the title so it reads "Grilling Chicken: 10 Tips."

6. Keep your title short and to the point: Let people know what the page will be about and then get out. If you draw people in with a strong title, they'll read what's on the next page when they get there. You don't need to give them all of the information up front.

7. Write a title that is interesting and descriptive: You don't want to get away from having a concisely written title, as indicated in the last tip. However, you don't want a boring title. Consider what will set your article apart and draw readers in while still sticking to the main points of the page.

10 Website Page Title Tips For Niche Inbound Marketing: Finishing it up.

8. If your page is in any way timely and/or newsworthy, indicate it: People are frequently looking for new information about any number of topics. Make sure that you convey this so that your page won't be passed up in their searches.

9. Optimize your title: If you are writing articles, you don't want to change your article titles once they have been published. However, you can tweak your page titles so that they are even more optimized than your post titles.

10. Own your title by being assertive: People want to know that you are confident about the information that you are presenting. Stand by your information proudly.