Inbound marketing approach is being used by an increasing number of marketers. This strategy, unlike outbound marketing, aims to influence a buyer’s journey in a way that is not interruptive. With inbound marketing, businesses can provide valuable content to its target audience who are looking for it. According to 99Firms, 74% marketers consider inbound as the primary approach to marketing. Inbound marketing campaigns have proved to increase the ROI of businesses who implement them.
The inbound marketing approach is gaining more trust of marketers and many want to implement them. However, sometimes marketers do not get the results that they are expecting. This could be due to the fact that their inbound marketing campaign is not optimized. If you have already implemented your inbound marketing campaign and want to improve your results you will need to optimize it. Even if you are planning to launch your campaign, understand how you can improve it to get better results. In this article, we will discuss how you can build a strong inbound marketing strategy by optimizing your inbound marketing campaigns.
Let’s take a look at some strategies to optimize your inbound marketing campaigns.
Improve on-page SEO
On-page SEO is the process of optimizing web page content for search engines. This helps search engines to understand your website’s content and match it to user’s search queries. By improving your on-page SEO you can rank on a better position on the search engine results page (SERP). It makes it easier for your audience to find you. The key to improving your on-page SEO is keywords.
The first step is to optimize your content. Use the important keywords throughout the content on that particular web page. Ensure that you do not use the keywords too many times. Use your main keyword once in the first 100-150 words of your article. After optimizing the content use the main keywords in the title, URL and meta description. These simple on-page SEO elements increase your chances of ranking better on SERP.
Use topic clusters
Topic cluster model is a relatively new SEO technique. Websites can rank better on SERP based on a topic, instead of relying on keywords. In a topic cluster model, a pillar page serves as a main hub of content for an overall topic and link to multiple pages related to this topic. All these links show search engines that this pillar page has the complete information needed for a particular search query. Hence, this page has higher chances of ranging better on the search results page.
Search engines are getting better at providing the users with the most relevant results they are looking for. Marketers should focus on providing their users with comprehensive content that can help them. Analyze what your customers are looking for. Brainstorm and research all possible content you can create on a particular topic so that your customers will have all the answers they need. Along with providing value to users, you can also rank higher on search results pages. This helps you generate more traffic on your website and optimize it for growth.
Add CTAs to blogs
CTA or call-to-action button is a link on your webpage that leads a user to take a specific action. These links enable your users to complete a conversion action that you have set. CTAs are an important part of your blogs. Without these your blog is incomplete. When you give users the content they are looking for, it creates an opportunity for you to influence and convert them. By adding CTA buttons to your blogs, you are encouraging the users to further engage.
For example, you can add a CTA that leads a user to sign up for your company’s newsletter. If the users found your blog interesting, they would want to hear more from you and will sign up. Another CTA you can include could be about contacting your business for a consultation. Don’t forget to include these buttons in your blogs as they can help drive more conversions for you. CTAs can also include links to your products or services highlighting the relevant benefits. Create different designs of CTAs that are appealing and aligned with your brand image. You can also do a quick analysis on the blogs that are generating more traffic and add important CTAs to them to improve conversions.
Create tailored content
Customized content is key for any successful inbound marketing strategy. Create content that addresses the specific problems of your target audience. Don’t just give general information but get more thorough with your content. Look at your audiences search queries to analyze their problems. Go through the types of content you have posted in the past and see which is more successful with your audience.
Tailor content to each stage of the buyer’s journey. You need to have different types of content that can attract, engage and delight your customers. Every stage in the buyer’s journey has content that serves a specific purpose. For example, blogs are great way to attract new leads and content like eBooks or case studies can help you further nurture these leads. Focus on the needs of your buyers when you create any type of content for them.
Here are some ways how you can personalise content for your target audience.
Run A/B testing on landing pages
Landing pages are an important part of your inbound marketing campaign. These pages convert your leads. Hence, you need to ensure that these pages are well optimized and relevant to your campaign. A/B testing is a great way to ensure the optimal performance of your landing pages. This testing is used to experiment two or more variants of the same landing page. You can test different elements like layout, headlines, color scheme, CTAs, placements and more.
A/B testing can help you optimize content, reduce bounce rate and improve user engagement. Create two variants of the same landing page to test different elements. If a landing page is important for your conversions, then definitely run A/B testing. This can contribute to the overall success of your inbound marketing campaign.
Forms
Lead generation forms allow you to collect personal information from your users in exchange for a piece of content. Forms can also be used to enable users to sign up for any subscriptions. You can use them for different purposes depending on your inbound marketing strategy. There are a few things you should remember when creating your forms. These forms should be relevant to the offers you place. So only ask important questions that are relevant to your offer. Asking a number of questions can sometimes agitate the users and they may give up and exit your website. Use a few important questions to keep the user’s attention.
Place the form at the beginning of your landing page so that it is easily accessible to the users. Use a simple layout and pleasing colors that make it easy for users to fill them. Creating complicated forms will only confuse the users. Keep it simple and fresh so that the users engage.
Analyze data
Data is important no matter what type of marketing or advertising campaigns you run. Ensure to collect and analyze the data from your website to track your inbound marketing efforts. Look at the traffic that comes to your website. See through which channels your traffic is flowing. Many businesses will have the majority of their traffic coming from Organic Search. This means that your SEO efforts are working. Analyze the demographics and interests of these users. Understand how they are engaging with your website.
Another area to track is the landing pages. Look at which pages generate the most traffic. If you see a blog is generating more traffic, it means that your audience appreciates that type of content. Further look at how much time they spend engaging with this content. Pay attention to bounce rate as it can help you see if users are engaging with your content or exiting quickly. Analyzing data will give you more ideas on which areas you need to optimize.
Not sure which metrics to track to measure your inbound marketing efforts? Here are 5 metrics you can get started with.
Inbound marketing has the potential to help your business grow. Implement your strategy keeping in mind all the points discussed in this article. A well optimized inbound strategy can give you the desired results you need.
Found this helpful? Check out more interesting articles from our blog.
