TheEyeWorks Inbound Marketing Whitepaper

4300 N. Central Expressway, Suite 325 • Dallas, Texas 75206
Tel: 214.988.5493 • Fax: 214.853.9164 • www.theeyeworks.com

Turn Your Website into an Inbound Marketing Machine
There is no denying it. The Digital Age and specifically the Internet has changed not
only the way we live but certainly the way we do business – doesn’t matter whether its
B2B or B2C. For example commerce has evolved into e-commerce, snail mail is being
replaced by email (and at a rapid pace), and in some regards traditional marketing is
being complemented if not challenged by Web Inbound-Marketing. This report will
provide your business with Inbound Marketing practical steps and tactics you can
implement now to turn your Website into a sales machine.

Introduction
Not long ago, companies reached their prospects through direct mail, trade shows, print
advertising and other traditional marketing methods – this is also known as Outbound
Marketing. Today there are numerous online marketing tools that in essence
accomplish several objectives:

• You can reach your customers Faster!

• You can get a response from your customers Faster! - often times in real time via
Social Media.

• Used effectively they certainly have the potential of shortening the sales cycle
overall.


So what is Inbound Marketing?
Inbound Marketing has a number of definitions – it all depends on who you ask.
Generally Inbound Marketing (1) is an online marketing strategy that (2) focuses on
getting your company found by your customers by (3) providing them the specific
content and information that they are looking for and (4) directly engaging with them via
Social Media.

It’s a relatively new and some would say the natural evolution of the Web. And it’s
certainly a departure from the “old” marketing model of Outbound Marketing.

Outbound Marketing Inbound Marketing

Cost Costs more Costs less

Results Less measureable; More measureable;
Results vary Analytics

Time and Effort Less time and effort More time and effort; Organic

Targeted Customers Very broad – cast a wide net Very targeted and narrow –
customers come to you

Tactics Telemarketing, Print advertising, SEO, PPC, Blogging, Landing
Direct mail; Trade shows, Inside pages, Analytics, Social Media,
sales RSS Feeds

Messages/Approaches Hit them over the head many Come to me because I’m a
times with a sledgehammer magnet – I have what you want


Here are some practical and real-steps you can take right
now to prepare your Website for Inbound Marketing:
Websites are for humans and search engines.
Yes your site has to look good and represent your company well. It also needs to be
found. This is where SEO comes in to save the day. Make your site friendly for search
engines – Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. They have to understand what your site is about
and what types of people should find your site. Great content is key. Give your site the
right content and the right key search words for effective SEO.

Websites do not exist in a vacuum.
In other words, your site is on the Internet. It’s there for others to see and read. With this
in mind, your site should recognize its neighbors. We are talking about links. Think of
each link going into your site as a “vote” from its neighboring sites that are in essence
saying, “Yes, your Website is COOL!” But make sure you get the right type of links onto
your site.

Most Websites are flat and static.
Have you ever gone to a customer’s or competitor’s site and noticed that it never
changes? There really is no reason to go back. Don’t let that happen to your site. Blogs
are a perfect way to give your customers a reason to come back and find something
new – think of it as repeat business. Blogs also are a great way for search engines to
give your site a possible higher-ranking because of the fresh content. If your Website
doesn’t evolve and keep up with your business, then it really isn’t of much use.

Websites perform with busy traffic.
Is your site like a busy office or can you hear a pin drop? The more visitors you have on
your site the higher the chances your site will do what you want it to do for your
company. With fresh articles, an e-newsletter, Blog, news and announcements, you are
giving visitors a reason to stay a while and learn new things about your company and
products.

Give your Website constant evaluations.
In today’s competitive environment, your Website is vitally important to your success (or
at least it should be important). Savvy customers and prospects will judge you by how
your site looks and performs. Your Website may end up being the deciding factor as to
whether you make that sale or win that account. So constantly track your site’s
performance. Your site should be able to match up against your hot shot salesperson. If
your site isn’t pulling in the numbers, then something is wrong.


Ready, Set, SELL!
Now that you have an understanding of Inbound Marketing, it’s time to put your site to
work. Follow these online tips to make your site a sales powerhouse!

Fresh content served hot.
Write copy that sells! Write content that is a call to Action: Write and post
action for your customers. Tell them about your influential and informative
story. Also, delete any duplicated content and content for humans and search
make it fresh and meaningful. When was the last engines.
time you bought from a site that couldn’t write a
coherent sentence. Everyone has seen those sites that throw up all kinds of words on
their site in the hopes of getting a higher ranking among search engines. Don’t do it.
Also make sure your titles, headings, keywords and descriptions match what’s on each
page. Don’t give your customers an unnecessary surprise. So start writing or hire a PR
firm or writer to start cranking out meaningful copy that not only tells your company’s
story but also gets you noticed by search engines.

The Social Media train is leaving, you Action: Use Twitter, Facebook,
better jump on. LinkedIn, Flickr, YouTube and
Your customers are doing it and your competitors other new media channels in a
for sure have bought their ticket to board that train. cohesive Social Media strategy.
It’s already been proven that Social Media has
influence and reach. It is a new and changing Web
phenomenon. But consider this – billions upon billions worldwide are using this new
Web tool and using it to reach out to more people, customers and interested followers
than ever before. Social Media will allow your brand to reach more people. Not sure
how to leverage or maximize your Social Media efforts? Work with a trusted partner that
can guide your company through the Social Media maze.

Create a landing area for your customers Action: Create landing pages
to gently glide in. with a purpose to give your
Landing pages are a great way for your customers customers or prospects an
to find quick, direct and specific information, offers, enhanced Web experience.
videos and enhanced Web services as a service
from you. Think of landing pages as a “By
Invitation Only” Web feature. Visitors or customers who go to a landing page get
something a little more special than the casual visitor. You may have gone to a landing
page and weren’t aware of it. Done correctly landing pages can be customized,
seamless, strategic and a great online experience for your customers.


Hands across the Internet. Action: Bulk up your site with
Inbound links are like saying “Hello Neighbor!” to Inbound Links.
friendly and strategically linked sites. These links
serve to drive more traffic to your site and are like
a homing device for search engines to find you. Make sure the inbound links are a good
fit for your company and are complimentary. Also make sure to constantly monitor the
sites that are linking to yours. You will build greater SEO success and authority by
linking and monitoring these links regularly.

Blog like you mean it. Action: Start a Blog with
Now you’ll wish you paid attention in English class. interesting and varied content
Blogs are a great way to share all kinds of and information. Make sure it’s
information on your events, products, industry
on a schedule.
trends, articles, how-tos, etc. But they serve a
higher purpose online. They are an excellent way
to bulk up your content for SEO purposes and to engage your customers. If your Blog is
interesting and actually has useful information, your customers will stay tuned and may
even share your Blog with another potential customer. Thus there are many win-wins
with a Blog. The hardest part may be taking the first step to actually do it.

Conclusion
These are but some Web tactics you can implement immediately – there are of course
many others - to turn your site into a sales animal. Most serious businesses today have
some type of Web presence. The most competitive of these have a strategic and
customer-friendly site that drives results. Remember that Websites are for humans AND
search engines. You need to let search engines know what your business is all about,
what type of visitors should find your site and what information is posted on your site.

Inbound marketing may very well be the next evolution of the Internet. Search engine
optimization, Social Media, Blogging, Landing Pages and Pay-Per-Click all combine to
help you reach more customers and at a quicker pace. Take the steps we have outlined
in this report to make your site ready and profitable. Inbound Marketing is an
investment in time and effort, but very well worth it.

Contact Us:
TheEyeWorks Email: insight@theeyeworks.com
4300 N. Central Expressway, Suite 325 Twitter: @theeyeworks
Dallas, TX 75206 Facebook: facebook.com/theeyeworks
www.theeyeworks.com


TheEyeWorks Inbound Marketing Whitepaper

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TheEyeWorks Inbound Marketing Whitepaper