Getting Results with Online Marketing
This article discusses the basics of how internet marketing works and how you can create new leads and opportunities through your inbound marketing efforts.
Why do we Market and Promote? RESULTS! Marketing is when you spend money to advertise your business and promotion is when you spend time to advertise your business. When you spend money, and time you expect RESULTS!
Think of Your Website as a Sales Funnel
You load your prospects in the top of the sales funnel , and expect a certain percentage of prospects to convert into a lead or sale. This percentage is referred to as the conversion rate. The rate of which potentials become a result. There are things you can do to your website that can drastically change your conversion rate.
Getting Your Funnel Ready for Conversion
Notice the Strong Call to Action in the upper right. Also note the Strong Call to Action in the main hero image. The industry is moving away from multiple slides because of usability and load times.
1. On your website place the logo on the top left and your strongest call to action on the top right.
Examples of Calls to Action;
- Free Estimates, Call Now
- View Specials
- Sign Up for Savings
- Attend our Signature Event
- Create a Free Account
2. The 3 Second Rule
The average visitor needs to know what you do within seconds of visiting your website. Commonly the only things seen at first glance are the Logo, a strong Call to Action in the top right, and a Hero Image with a strong Call to Action.
3. Contact Forms and Phone Numbers on Every Page
Making sure that a “Quick Contact Form” is installed on every page is important. Only ask for the basics such as their name, phone number and email address. Too many fields on a form can turn off the user.
4. Remove social media icons from the top and place them on the bottom of your site. Now that you have a visitor in your funnel, you do not want them leaving.
Bonus: Adding a Call to Action at the top and bottom of every page increases conversion rates.
My Sales Funnel is Ready, Now What?
You need traffic in order to convert. What are your potential customers searching for and how do they find you? Most in our local markets use Google and/or Facebook to seek out and find information. In a world of endless options, we recommend that you initially focus on Google and use Facebook as a tool to drive traffic to your website.
There are Only Two Ways To Get Traffic To Your Website, BUILD IT or BUY IT!
How to Build Residual Website Traffic
How do you grow your monthly search traffic? By becoming a great search results with multiple pages of quality content. Google looks at each website about once per month. Each time scanning your site to see if there have been any changes. Imagine, some of these websites have not changed in years. When Google recognizes that you are posting new, up-to-date content, Google starts to index more and more of your pages. Google also believes that a website that updates regularly, with new, fresh content is often a better search result than a old stagnant website. Your website is becoming a better result. Better than your competitors and you will be rewarded with higher rankings in Google searches.
Content Pages Are Greater Than Home Pages
Each piece of Content that you create online can be found in search. Often Google wants to direct the searcher to the product or service page, NOT your Home Page. Google knows that it can save the user a click or two by placing them directly on the page with the information they seek.
Example Search One
Keyword Phrase: Fuel Tank Maintenance
Google ranks product and service pages above home pages in order to get the searcher directly to the content they are looking for.
Example Search Two
Keyword Phrase: Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report
Blog posts are out ranking the home page. People searching for a fishing report are directed straight to that section or page.
An Example of Residual Traffic
Website X receives 500 visits per month with the content that exists. A new page is introduced and now 25 new visits are coming directly to that page from search each month. Now moving forward, the website will receive 525 visits per month. The traffic from the new page will continue month after month if the content is quality and relevant. Continuing this trend, if 4 new pieces of quality content are posted per month and each brought new visitors, your monthly traffic would grow to.
- 1 new blog or page attracts 25 new visitors to your website.
- 4 blogs, each bringing in 25 new visitors = 100 new monthly visitors.
- 12 months of blogging 4 times per month will create 48 new pages of content per year. Each bringing in new visitors from search every month.
Hard Work = Good Results
Buying Traffic
Getting Social
When you post to Social Media, ALWAYS LINK BACK TO YOUR WEBSITE! All of those likes and shares DO VERY LITTLE to get visitors to your sales funnel. Linking back to your content is crucial to controlling the environment and promoting a higher conversion rate. You have installed proven conversion elements. You have Strong Calls to Action, and you have Quick Contact Forms on every page. You have tested your site, and you know your conversion rates. Your site is the best place for your customers. You’ve made sure of it. Make sure to get them to your controlled environment. No reputable expert has ever been able to pin down the value of a Like or a Share. On the flip side, by using simple math a website can be evaluated for performance.
Pay to Play
Currently Facebook is the King of social media and if you do not pay Facebook they limit how many people see your posts. Even if you have 1000 likes on your Facebook Page, only 10-15% may ever see your posts unless you boost them. Boosting posts that link back to your Content is a great way to fill your Sales Funnel.
Boost Your Way to Success
Go ahead, click the Boost Post button. Play around with the demographics and targeting. The choices are endless. Facebook released the ability to not only pick what users are interested in or like, but also specific demographics and purchasing habits. You can pick “business owners only”, “homeowners only”, “recent home owners”, or “Facebook Page Administrators” to highlight a few. The options and combinations seem endless. You can place your Content right in front of the perfect audience and send quality visitors back to your Website to convert.
Buying Google Ads
With billions of clicks already recorded, Google can literally tell you what to expect based for your industry, target demographic, location and monthly budget. They can drill down and accurately estimate how much each phone call will costs and how many to expect during a billing cycle. Google Ads have proven success if you are driving the traffic back to a website that has a high conversion rate. Otherwise you can lose money by overpaying for new business.
A Good Grip
We hope that we have been able to plainly explain a few of the methods Hawk Marketing uses to generate leads for their customers. Our hope is that you now have a greater understanding of how online and inbound marketing works. This knowledge will protect you from unsavory marketing agencies and website design companies that promise results but hardly deliver.
