6 steps to successful Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
What’s the Goal? Gain Leads
•A lead is a email address (and/or phone) of someone interested in what the web site offers ex: pricing, free pieces of content etc.
•Once you get that email address (or phone), you must FOLLOW UP to convert that lead into a paying customer (Follow up is outside the scope of this slide deck)
•Best practices are to follow up either by phone or email within 24 hours of a lead coming in for the highest conversion rate
Step 1: Articulate company position
•Overall positioning
–Who is the target demographic and what messaging will attract them?
–What is the offer, specifically?
–What is the concrete benefit to the customer?
–What is the emotional benefit to customer?
–How do we differentiate our services vs. the competition? Find key differentiator
Step 2: Determine customer needs
•Customers seek answers to their needs by typing words (their problems, their questions, what they think they want) into search engines.
•Need = keyword
•How to know which keywords work? Testing and data analysis determine what works in a market.
–List keywords, explore using Google tools, then test, test, test.
Step 3: Create valuable free content
•Satisfy keyword searches with valuable, free content
–Otherwise visitors will leave your site in <1 second and go somewhere else to find valuable free content that matches their keyword
•This valuable free content must be free
–Some of it needs to be free-free (no sign-up)
–Some of it needs to be free for the “price” of entering an email address
•Create landing page on your site where content can be downloaded in exchange for lead capture
•Valuable, free content is anything people want to “get” in return for “giving” you their email address and/or phone number
–Whitepapers (not technical, in plain English)
–Webinars (real scientists describing what they do)
–Email newsletters (with USEFUL info not list of our clients)
–Discounts
Step 4: Promote that valuable content using keywords
•Your site needs to show up in the search engines when they type in the keywords
•Or you can get visitors other ways:
–Blog about it
–Email about it (using your leads list)
–PR about it in traditional media
–Social Media (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook)
–Get friendly blogs and sites to link to it
Step 5: Gather up leads
•They give you their contact information
•You give them valuable free content
What it’s all about: If you give them something they can use, they will give you their contact information = they become a lead
What it’s all about: If you give them something they can use, they will give you their contact information = they become a lead
Step 6: Follow up and Repeat
Self explanatory, no?
In summary…
•Define yourself
•Define customer needs: Keywords
•Offer valuable free content
–Create Great Lead Generating Home Page and several free content landing pages
–Require “sign up” for valuable content
•Promote that content
–Organic SEO optimization
–Track traffic in Google Analytics
–Track competitors
–(Lastly) Paid Search
•Gather leads
•Follow up and repeat
Can’t do it alone?
Contact Zoyo Branding and we’ll guide you through the new world of search engine marketing.