Post on 07-May-2015
Achieving Measurable Results with Advanced Business Blogging
Mark Roberge
HubSpot
@markroberge
Social Media Optimization Summit #optsum
March 23rd, 2010
Agenda
I. Intro to Inbound Marketing
II. Drive SEO through Blogging
III. Blogging Best Practices
IV. Promote Blog in Social Media
V. Convert Blog Traffic to Leads
VI.Measure Blog Success
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Outbound Marketing
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Outbound Marketing is Harder
800-555-1234AnnoyingSalesperson
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Inbound Marketing
Blog SEO Social Media
Inbound Leads Cost 60% Less Than Outbound Leads
Source: survey of hundreds of businesses: HubSpot.com/ROI
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Why Inbound Is Cheaper
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Reading List Suggestion
Inbound Marketing:Get Found using Google, Social Media and Blogs
Top 5 Web Marketing Book on Amazon
InboundBook.com
Agenda
I. Intro to Inbound Marketing
II. Drive SEO through Blogging
III. Blogging Best Practices
IV. Promote Blog in Social Media
V. Convert Blog Traffic to Leads
VI.Measure Blog Success
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How Do You Get to the Top? History of SEO
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SEO = Context and Authority
Ranking Algorithm:f(n): Context + Authority
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Inbound Marketing – One Strategy not Three
Blog SEO Social Media
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Two Sides of Optimization
On-Page(Context)
Off-Page(Authority)
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On-Page SEO (Context)
• Page Title
• Clean URL
• Headers
• Description
Off-Page SEO (Authority)
• Recommendations from friends1. “I know Mark Roberge”2. “Mark Roberge is a blogging expert”3. Seth Godin: Mark Roberge is a blogging expert
• Links are online recommendations
1. A link: www.HubSpot.com2. Anchor text: Internet Marketing3. Link is from a trusted website
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The Long Tail
The New Marketplace
Keywords
Po
pu
lari
ty
Long Tail
Head
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SEO Tips from Website Grader
Lessons from 2,084,563 websites
More Content, Better Content = Links
Source: Data from selected websites using www.WebsiteGrader.com
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Blogging Means More Inbound Links
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Source: survey of hundreds of businesses: HubSpot.com/ROI
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More Visitors
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Source: survey of hundreds of businesses: HubSpot.com/ROI
DISCUSSION QUESTION
What are the best ways to incorporate the rules of SEO into your blogging strategy?
Accounting for SEO in Your Blogging Strategy
• Use keyword tool to drive blog topic selection• Configure blog with On-Page SEO in mind• Include target long tail keywords in blog article titles• Think of blog articles as link bait• Think of blog articles as an army of sales people
working for you forever
Where is Search Going?
BEYOND SEARCH ENGINES
PERSONALIZATION REAL-TIME
DISCUSSION QUESTION
What do the future trends of search mean for your blogging strategy?
Agenda
I. Intro to Inbound Marketing
II. Drive SEO through Blogging
III. Blogging Best Practices
IV. Promote Blog in Social Media
V. Convert Blog Traffic to Leads
VI.Measure Blog Success
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DISCUSSION QUESTION
What is the best human resource strategy for blogging?
• Outsource?• CEO vs. Marketing vs. Interns?
Blog Human Resource Strategy
DomainKnowledge
BlogSuccess
Writing Skills Bandwidth
Tips for Post Structure
• Use Headings• 500-800 words (or
shorter!)• Lists are OK (just not too
many)• 1 idea per post
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Get Into the Content Mindset
• Make emails into blog posts• Turn forum posts into blog
posts• Shoot videos at events• Interview customers for your
blog• Repurpose company data for
public reports• Share lessons you learn
Flick Photo: Cindiann
DISCUSSION QUESTION
How often should you blog?
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Frequency of Blog Articles on HubSpot Blog
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Sep-09 Oct-09 Nov-09 Dec-09 Jan-10 Feb-10
Articles 21
30
36
54
54 58
Avg. Views / Article
1,137
1,304
1,305
864 1,522 1,447
Avg. Links / Article
11
11
7
4 8 4
Avg. Comments
/ Article
12
15
15
11 18 13
DISCUSSION QUESTION
Should you have a branded corporate blog or a non-branded industry blog?
Agenda
I. Intro to Inbound Marketing
II. Drive SEO through Blogging
III. Blogging Best Practices
IV. Promote Blog in Social Media
V. Convert Blog Traffic to Leads
VI.Measure Blog Success
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DISCUSSION QUESTION
How do you think about your blog and social media strategy working together?
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Distribute Your Content
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How to Participate
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WHAT NOT TO DO
• Give your company elevator pitch
• Talk about your product features
• Bash your competition
WHAT TO DO
• Educate / answer their question
• Promote other good content
• Get your subject matter experts involved
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Focus Participation on Digital Influencers
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Blogging Increases Twitter Reach >75%
38 Source: survey of hundreds of businesses: HubSpot.com/ROI
Agenda
I. Intro to Inbound Marketing
II. Drive SEO through Blogging
III. Blogging Best Practices
IV. Promote Blog in Social Media
V. Convert Blog Traffic to Leads
VI.Measure Blog Success
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Blogs and Social Media is for Leads and Sales
Source: survey of hundreds of businesses: HubSpot.com/ROI
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How Does HubSpot Convert Visitors?
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Quality Content Behind Forms
Offer – WIIFM?
Offer – WIIFM?
Offer – WIIFM?
• Whitepapers / eBooks• Research / Studies• Free Tools• Trials & Samples
• NOT “Contact Us”• Value must be greater than the cost…
Landing Pages
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Limited Navigation
Keep It Short
32% Conversion
53% Conversion
Don’t Put Form Below the Fold
Agenda
I. Intro to Inbound Marketing
II. Drive SEO through Blogging
III. Blogging Best Practices
IV. Promote Blog in Social Media
V. Convert Blog Traffic to Leads
VI.Measure Blog Success
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DISCUSSION QUESTION
How do you measure the success of your blog?
Metric #1: Conversions from Traffic to Leads and Sales
Metric #2: Subscriptions
• A measure of you blog’s total reach• A “sticky” number
Metric #3: Pageviews
• Great for media sites selling display advertising• Potential problems for your business:
• Doesn’t measure RSS• Weak measure of engagement• What’s the business value of a “view”?
Metric #4: Comments
• Quantitatively, a good indicator of engagement• Qualitatively, a great way to listen to market
Metric #5: Inbound Links
• Measure the SEO impact of your blog• An indicator of your blog’s role in outside conversations
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Beyond the Blog, Measure Total Reach
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Track the Whole Funnel for Each Channel
Leads
SEO Visitors
SEO Customers
Blog Visitors
Blog Customers
PPC Visitors
PPC Customers
Social Media Visitors
Social Media Customers
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Final Thoughts …
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Lead Nurture
Landing Pages
SEOSocial Media
CMS Blog Leads AnalyticsExpertis
e
What is HubSpot?
HubSpot
Marketo
WordPress
Ektron
Lead Lander
DrupalWeb CEO
Eloqua
Buzz Metrics
Blogger VTrenzCore
MetricsMktg
SherpaWeb
Position
Manti-core
Radian6MktgProfs
On-Dialog
What is HubSpot?
• Founded in 2006 from research at MIT• Over 2,500 customers• 120+ employees
Additional Resources
Grade your website at www.WebsiteGrader.com
Read the Inbound Marketing Book www.InboundBook.com
Take the free Inbound Marketing training www.InboundMarketing.com
Start your free trial of HubSpot software www.HubSpot.com/free-trial
Thank You!#optsum
Mark Roberge
HubSpot
@markroberge
More on HubSpot Product
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Tools to Get Found: SEO
• Keyword Grader• Link Grader• Page Grader
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Tools to Get Found: Blog & Social Media
• Business Blog Software
• Blog Analytics• Social Media
Monitoring• Social Media
Publishing
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Tools to Convert: Leads
• Landing Pages• Lead Intelligence• Lead Alerts• Visitor Profiling
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Tools to Analyze: Competitor Tracking
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Tools to Analyze: Marketing Campaigns
• Assess the effectiveness of your marketing on a campaign-by-campaign level
• Optimize resource allocation to maximize sales
Other Blog Tips
DISCUSSION QUESTION
What is your blog comment strategy?
Take Comments Seriously
• Make sure you comment back• Find out who the people are
• Follow their links• Subscribe to their blog, follow them on Twitter
Use these links
Tips on Comments
Increase the value of the article:
Share an example
Add a point
Add a useful link
Disagree
Ask a question
Use your real name (not company)
Why Leave Comments?
Karma
Get noticed by other bloggers
Get noticed by other blog readers
Get links back to your blog
Thought leadership
Where Do You Link to Your Blog?
• Your homepage• Press releases• Business cards• Email signatures
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Great Architecture Is Elegant
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Photo: Wikipedia
One structure, multiple functions:• Excellent workspace• Environmentally sensitive construction and design• Historic preservation• Aesthetics
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So Is a Great Business Blog
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One blog, multiple functions:• Search Engine Optimization• Social Media Optimization• Lead Generation• Education• Thought Leadership• Nurturing• PR• Brand Building• Recruiting• Internal Communication
Key #2 Create a Mix of Posts
Jek-a-go-go on flickr
Step 2: Plan a Mix of Posts
News
Feature
Video
Photos
Opinion
Many Types of Posts Get Traffic
PostInboundLinks
"Baby Got Leads" New Inbound Marketing Music Video 715
Study Shows Small Businesses That Blog Get 55% More Website Visitors 338
Retweeting in Real Life [Cartoon] 97
Is PR Dead? 64
10 Ways a Start-Up Can Use Social Media to Market Itself 58
Raisin Bran – Basic, Everyday Posts
• How to posts• Rich in keywords• Get good at whipping
them out• Make sure they’re
useful
Greeneyesmilw on flickr
Spinach – Healthy, Thoughtful Posts
• Should establish your site a thought leader in the industry
• Put time into them• Don’t do too many
ulteriorepicture on flickr
Roasts – Big Blog Projects
• Lots of work• Lots of links, discussion
and attention• Pick them well
Chocolate Cake – The Sweet Stuff
• These posts make your blog fun
• A chance to poke fun at yourself
• Lots of traffic/links • Often video, images
Scubadive on flickr
Tabasco – Posts That Start Fires
• Make a bold statement• Be prepared to defend
yourself• Lots of comments and
links• Too many of these post
could lose trust
ANOXLOU on flickr