Engage, Inform, Sell- The Art of Business Blog Marketing

 

Topics covered in this white paper:

 

1. Business Blog Marketing Defined

2. Why Businesses Need to Blog

3. What Business Blog Marketing Can Do For You

4. The Evolution of Business Blogging

5. How to Use Blogging to Market your Business

6. Should you Outsource your Business Blogs?

7. Conclusion

8. Why Interact Media

 

Introduction

Business blog marketing has become one of the most popular and effective forms of online marketing in use today.  By utilizing blogs to generate income, businesses are able to harness the power of engagement to sell products and services at a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing methods.  Blogs make it possible for businesses to attract potential customers by offering relevant information in an informal, conversational style that allows readers to comment and question.   This creates a two-way dialogue that establishes trust and authority with a target market.

This paper will discuss business blog marketing- its origins, benefits and advantages over other forms of marketing.  It will explore how to use blogging to engage, inform and sell, and offer information about outsourcing business blogging to get the best results.

1. Business Blog Marketing Defined

Business blog marketing is, essentially, the use of blogs as a marketing tool- a way to reach Internet users for the purpose of promoting and selling products and services.   All blogs generally contain a variety of subject matter.  They can give advice, express opinions, offer solutions and information.  Business blogs are no different.  However, with business blogging, the company using this method has as its ultimate goal the capturing and nurturing of leads that will eventually convert into sales.

Business blogs, also known as marketing blogs, are informal dialogues between companies and consumers that give both sides an opportunity to establish a business relationship.  They are one of many inbound methods of marketing that allow consumers to obtain information and make intelligent purchasing decisions.  Like all web content, they can be search engine optimized to give companies better online exposure.

2. Why Businesses Need to Blog

According to American Express (May 2006), 47% of small business owners use the Internet to market or advertise their business. As a result, Internet advertising revenues jumped 33% in the third quarter of 2006 compared to 2005- totaling $4 billion (Interactive Advertising Bureau/Price Waterhouse Coopers, Nov. 2006).

Why is Internet advertising growing at a rate of 20-30% each year?  Businesses are finding out that online marketing allows for a greater ROI than many traditional methods.  Essentially, companies can get more for less with online marketing methods.  Blogging, along with article marketing, RSS, podcasts, video and social media, is an online tool that costs relatively little to produce and maintain.  At the same time, it offers wide and deep distribution of information about a company, and provides links that lead to higher search engine rankings.

Good business blog marketing content creates a permanent source of traffic and back links to a site.  For the cost of writing and updating material on a regular basis, businesses can spread their message to millions of potential customers.  Just as importantly, they can target their markets more precisely.  This produces more leads and conversions per visit, primarily because only those interested and ready to buy are likely to find and read the blogs.  

Traditional marketing methods, such as direct mail, cold calling and print ads, are not only harder to track- they also don't allow the kind of interaction that is an integral part of business blog marketing.  Instead of spending millions of dollars on surveys and other market research, companies can switch to blogging and receive the same kind of valuable feedback that allows them to improve their service.

3. What Business Blog Marketing Can Do For You

Marketing with blogs provides long-term value for businesses, primarily for the following reasons:

                1.  Ease of use- Blogs are as simple as writing an article or email.  For consumers, they do not require a download or special plug-in.

                2.  Accessibility- Blogs make it easy for consumers to find a business that offers what they need.  They are not only portals to a company's site; they also contain useful information on their own.

                3.  Low cost- The costs associated with running a blog are minimal, and include purchasing a domain and web hosting.  Some companies pay an employee or outside service to write and maintain blogs, as well.

                4.  Interactive communication- People value the perception that a business is interested in hearing what they have to say.  When consumers can voice their concerns, and even influence a business regarding its products and services, they feel invested.  This makes them more likely to return to the blog or company site to purchase.

                5. Value to consumers- Business blogs provide consumers with a picture of what a company is all about.  They combine all of the above benefits with useful information that helps answer people's questions, as well as reveal the people behind the storefront.  When consumers get helpful information from an authoritative source that has a human face, they are more likely to come back and purchase from that source.

                6.  Improved rankings- Well-written and relevant blogs are recognized as valuable to search engines.  While other web content is often weeded out, blogs that are maintained and linked to consistently maintain their ranking positions.

Another way that blogs can create better search engine ranking is through the comment feature.  It is not unusual for customer comments themselves to rank as relevant web content.  For example, a consumer looking for information may click on a customer review or comment, and be sent directly to a company's blog site.

                7.  Direct access to consumers- By using a conversational tone and an informal, engaging style, business blogs draw people in.  By allowing comments and customer feedback, they give businesses a direct way to dialogue with potential (and returning) customers.

                8.  Agility- Blogs allow companies to reach millions of people quickly, through the blog page, web site or subscriptions.  Businesses can then track results almost instantly, which makes it possible to accurately assess different sales methods and make immediate adjustments to marketing strategy.

                9.  Measurable results-   Unlike many traditional marketing methods, blog results can be easily measured.  Subscriber numbers, click-throughs and visits are all hard data that will show companies how their blogs are directly contributing to increased sales.

 According to a 2007 "Social Commerce Report" by E-Consultancy and Bazaarvoice, 77% of online retailers surveyed worldwide indicated that their site traffic had increased as a result of customer reviews, and over 50% reported an increase in conversion rates.  Blog comments are one kind review feedback that can build trust with shoppers, as well as help businesses retain current customers.

While traditional marketing still has its place in business, it is rapidly becoming obsolete for many online companies.  Internet businesses have started developing marketing methods that utilize the strengths of e-commerce to sell effectively and economically.  As a result of its many benefits, business blog marketing is replacing some of the more expensive and unwieldy traditional marketing tools.

4. The Evolution of Business Blogging

Blogs can increase web visibility, offer relevant information and encourage dialogue between author and reader.  However, as a marketing tool the blog is a relatively recent phenomenon.   The first blogs emerged in the 1990s.  Originally termed "weblogs" (a term coined by Jorn Barger in 1997), they were personal online journals that often took the form of forums and threads.  People posted details about their lives and allowed readers to comment.  Before the advent of blogging software and tools, posts were updated manually.

As blogging became more popular through the late 1990s and early 2000s, and the influence of bloggers grew, it became apparent that more data was needed to track how people were using blogs and which blogs were garnering the most links.  The Blogdex project, created in 2001 by researchers at MIT, compiled information from thousands of blogs and their links in order to determine their social properties.  This led to a greater understanding of how blogs spread, as well as how they influence readers and consumers.

Once it became clear how quickly and easily a blog could reach (and influence) thousands or even millions of online viewers, businesses started using them to promote their sites.   Blogs that allowed comments became pages within websites.  Forward-thinking companies who recognized the power of blogging for consumer interaction created blog sites that dealt with issues and topics related to their fields.  Consumers began to find these pages through search, and started to rely on them as sources of information.

A recent study by GuideWireGroup revealed that approximately 89 percent of businesses polled use blogs as a way to communicate with their customers.  In a 2008 survey, Burson-Marsteller found that 15% of Fortune 500 companies have blogs.  That same year, Technorati reported that there are over 15 million blogs in existence, with 120,000 new ones being introduced each day.  A successful business blog can generate tens of thousands of dollars in revenue each year, with figures for large corporations typically much higher.

5. How to Use Blogging to Market your Business 

As part of a marketing strategy, business blog marketing appeals to businesses of any size.  Its agility and low cost make it easy to establish and maintain.  For small businesses, creating a blog is an economical way to spread the word about products and services.  For large corporations, business blog marketing is a method for reaching markets that were previously being missed.

A blog page can be easily added to a company's primary site, by whoever is responsible for updating and changing the site.  Or, a blog site can be established separately by purchasing a domain name and hosting service.  Publishing platforms such as WordPress allow bloggers to manage content and track links.

Business Blog Marketing and SEO

Once established and designed, creating and updating content for a business blog becomes the primary focus.  Readers come to blogs for authoritative information, and well-written, optimized content allows them to find what they are looking for.  Search engine optimization is an important component of successful business blogging, as it brings targeted buyers to the blog.  Who is a targeted buyer?  This is the person looking for information about a product or service, who has likely found a blog using search terms that are highly specific.

So, business blogs, like other forms of web content, should be keyword optimized to attract search engines.  If done correctly, this will not affect the natural flow of the content- an important factor when seeking to establish trust with consumers.   The balance between ensuring that the content is easily found by search engines (by optimizing it around the proper keywords at the proper density), and making the content readable for humans (by focusing on their needs) is a delicate one.  It is, however, essential to the success of any marketing blog.

Recognizing the target market will help a business blogger determine which keywords to include in the blog content, so as to attract the visitors most likely to buy from him.  It is important to note that, as with all web content, business blog content must sound natural to readers to avoid coming across as sales material.

Business Blog Marketing and Revenue

Blogs can generate revenue in two ways- through content and through ads placed on the blog page.  Blog content offers information that consumers find useful, and establishes the relationship that leads to sales.  Ad revenue is more immediate.  Relevant ads placed on the blog page offer consumers a convenient opportunity to make purchases while earning the blogger extra income.

By joining an affiliate marketing program or allowing contextual advertising on the page, a business blog can become an opportunity for companies (and individuals) to monetize the page.

Case Study:  BattleDiabetes.com             

BattleDiabetes.com is a blog established a few years ago by Ken Savage as a resource for diabetics.  It now attracts 7,000 to 9,000 page views each day, and generates $40,000 a year in income.  Ken's blog utilizes the power of online marketing methods to not only create a valuable site for diabetics, but also to generate significant income for him. 

The BattleDiabetes.com blog page contains Google AdSense ads, text link ads and AuctionAds.  It offers hundreds of articles and links to resources, products and services that may be helpful to diabetics.  Through strategic link-building and submitting his blogs to article directories and social media sites such as StumbleUpon, Ken has been able to garner back links that have put him near the top of the first page on Google. 

Business blogs allow a company to take full advantage of all online marketing methods in order to gain exposure and generate income.  A company can submit blog content to directories and social media sites.  Blog pages can contain a call to action that asks readers to subscribe to an RSS feed, which sends them the latest blogs automatically.  Email newsletters containing blogs about the latest news and information from the company are another way to utilize business blogs as part of a marketing strategy.

6.  Should You Outsource your Business Blogs?

Blogs are an effective and inexpensive way to reach and interact with consumers.  However, they require maintenance in order to remain relevant.  Blog content that is not updated frequently quickly becomes stale with both humans and search engines.  Writing fresh content, posting and responding to customers on a regular basis is critical to keeping the interest of readers, and demonstrating at the same time that the company is interested in staying up-to-date and engaged.

That being said, maintaining blogs takes time that many business owners do not have.  Another factor to consider is the expertise that it takes to ensure that business blogs are search engine optimized and marketed using all available outlets.  This is what turns blogs into business blog marketing, and ultimately, what drives sales.  Outsourcing business blog marketing to an outside service is an attractive option for companies that have neither the time nor the expertise to consistently create and update blog content.

A content marketing company that understands how to create and market a company blog can integrate business blogging into a comprehensive and ongoing online marketing strategy.  This option allows business owners to take full advantage of all available online marketing tools without spending a lot of their own time on the process.  A business owner who is not skilled at keyword research, does not have access to talented SEO writers or who is not familiar with how to naturally incorporate keywords into blog content should consider outsourcing blogs to a reputable content marketing company.

Case Study:  Bidz.com

Bidz.com is a 24/7 live auction site where customers can bid on jewelry, art and collectibles.  It specializes in affordable and unique items that people can bid on at any time.  Despite having an enormous stock of jewelry and collectibles available for purchase, Bidz.com wanted a better way to keep buyers at the site while bidding.

The solution?  Bidz.com decided to contract with an SEO firm to create a blog page that acts as an online "lounge".  Customers can visit the page between bidding and get up-to-date on other auctions going on, get news and information about jewelry and gossip about current events.  Through the use of SEO coding and relevant content, the blog has created an online community and bolstered search engine rankings.  By tying the blog to an RSS feed, Bidz.com has gained a following of interested bidders (and potential bidders) who want to know about the latest auction news and upcoming sales.

7.  Conclusion

Business blog marketing is fast becoming one of the best ways to market products and services online.  It can be a quick, easy and cost-effective way to launch a business, improve sales and reach new markets.  Blogging gives business a way to directly engage with consumers by offering information and inviting a response.  The ultimate goal is to draw potential customers to a site, and give them what they need to make a purchasing decision.

Using blog content to gain the trust of consumers, businesses can position themselves as authorities in any given field.  This, in turn, draws information-seekers to the site.  The need to interrupt consumers with non-targeted print ads and direct mail is eliminated (along with the cost of such methods).  For companies of any size, business blog marketing is an agile and inexpensive way to engage, inform and sell.

8.  Why Interact Media?

Outsourcing your business blog marketing campaign to a professional service is one of the best ways to gain all the advantages that blogs can bring to you and your company.  A skilled content marketing service can handle all aspects of your blog marketing, from setup to the creation of optimized content to the distribution of your blog throughout the web.  Interact Media is a full-service content marketing company that specializes in blog content and marketing.

Our content management system is easy to use, and allows you to track your project at every stage.  Our experienced SEO specialists will handle the implementation of your blog marketing campaign from beginning to end.   Contact Interact Media to find out how business blog marketing can work for you. 

SEO Article Writing- How to Use the Power of Content to Attract Customers

 

Topics covered in this white paper:

1. What is SEO Article Writing?
2. The Shift from Traditional Marketing
3. Benefits of SEO Article Writing
4. Marketing with SEO Articles
5. Establishing Authority with SEO Articles
6. Outsourcing SEO Article Writing
7. Conclusion
8. Interact Media Solutions

 

Introduction

SEO article writing is a form of Internet marketing that combines the principles of search engine optimization with the power of useful, informative content.  Through the creation of SEO articles, businesses and individuals can promote themselves online and increase their exposure with both humans and search engines.

Today's marketing landscape is changing rapidly.  As budgets tighten, marketers are looking for better returns for dollars spent.  Recent surveys indicate that marketing departments are shifting their budgets to online methods (blogs, articles, podcasts and RSS advertising), and away from traditional marketing (cold calls, direct mail and print media).

For minimal cost, companies of all sizes can create informative articles that demonstrate their expertise to a targeted audience.  This increases the effectiveness of their marketing efforts and offers a greater return on investment.  SEO article writing, as part of a content marketing strategy, can transform a website into a true authority and convert leads into sales.  This paper will discuss why SEO article writing is an effective online marketing tool.

1.   What is SEO Article Writing?

SEO articles are informational articles that are search engine optimized.  SEO article writing involves using the principles of SEO to increase search engine visibility while maintaining the value and quality of the information.  Thus, a good SEO article contains keywords in a density that sounds natural (usually about 1% of the word count), a title that contains the keyword (or words relevant to it) and useful information that will help people make informed decisions.

The cost-effective nature of articles, and their popularity with consumers looking for trustworthy information, makes them a viable alternative to traditional marketing methods. 

2.   The Shift from Traditional Marketing

SEO article writing is one of many online marketing tools being used by businesses to replace, or augment, traditional marketing methods.   A recent study by Forrester Research found that 60% of marketers surveyed are increasing their online marketing budgets by shifting funds from traditional media (Forrester Research. (2008).   The reasons for this shift reflect the changing nature of marketing in general. 

More and more people are turning to the Internet to get their information and make purchases.   In this new consumer environment, traditional marketing methods, such as cold calling, direct mail and print ads, have three main disadvantages:

• Expensive- the cost of print, radio and TV ads, the personnel needed to make cold calls and the subsequent lower ROI of traditional methods make them less effective per marketing dollars spent.
• Non-targeted- these methods do not target specific niche markets, where interested consumers are most likely to be
• Interruptive- since the search for the product or service is not sought for by the consumer, but rather pushed on him, he is less likely to make a purchase and more likely to block these methods

Studies have shown that 75% of people on the Internet use search engines with the intention of buying a product.  Since traditional marketing methods are becoming increasingly ineffective, and online search has become a powerful avenue to increased sales, businesses are turning to SEO article writing to gain a greater share of the huge worldwide online market.

3.   Benefits of SEO Article Writing

SEO article writing offers a cost-effective alternative to traditional marketing.  It also has a host of other benefits for business that will ultimately help to increase sales.  The top benefits of SEO article writing are:

          1.   Demonstrates Knowledge- Well-written SEO articles showcase a company's expertise to potential customers, as well as consumers looking for a knowledgeable source of reliable answers and solutions to their problems.

         2.   Builds Trust- Once people read the articles and see that they were produced by an expert, they will start to trust that the company that produced them is the best source for information.

         3.   Increases Site Stickiness- The stickiness of a site is determined by how long it can hold visitors.  Informative, credible articles not only bring people to a site, they help to keep those people there longer.

         4.   Increases Repeat Traffic- SEO articles encourage repeat traffic from previous visitors.  Once those seeking information come to trust the company's expertise, they will return to it again and again.

         5.   Establishes Authority- SEO article writing is one of the best ways to establish the authority of a site.  Informative, content-rich articles, well-written and updated frequently, will quickly position a company as the leading expert in its field. 

         6.   Increases Search Engine Ranking- Since SEO articles are optimized for relevant keywords, they create greater visibility for a site on the web, which ultimately increases rankings. 

         7.   Encourages Link-Building- The value of the information contained in SEO articles encourages consumers to share it with others in the form of back links.  Articles can be linked to from another website or social media and bookmarking sites.  This is another strategy that increases search engine rankings.

         8.   Expands Ranking Keywords- Each article placed on the site can include a different keyword that offers an opportunity to place the site higher in search engine rankings for that keyword.

SEO article writing provides fresh, high-quality content for a site, improving the value of the site for consumers and giving search engines a way to more easily find it.  The above benefits will ultimately increase leads which are more likely to convert into sales.

4.   Marketing with SEO Articles

SEO article writing is a specialized kind of copywriting that focuses on optimizing content for both search engines and humans.  Marketing with SEO articles requires 3 main conditions:

• Relevant keywords
• Proper keyword density
• Well-written, updated content

A business that wishes to market its products and services with SEO articles should first do keyword research to determine which keywords are most relevant to the topic or industry it represents.  What words will consumers type into the search engines in order to find the company?   How competitive are they?  Finding the best keywords is foundational to SEO success.

Keywords can be determined by the company or individual, or through research using tools such as Google AdWords or Word Tracker.   These resources also show how competitive each potential keyword is, allowing the user to choose ones that may be easier to rank for.

Once the most relevant keywords are established, SEO article writing needs to include the proper keyword density.  When the keyword appears too often, it causes the content to sound awkward and diminishes its value to the reader.  A density of approximately 1% allows the keyword to capture the attention of search engines without sounding forced.

Ultimately, the success of SEO article writing depends upon the quality of the content.  When an SEO article fulfills its promise to the reader by providing useful, authoritative content, it will naturally build links and increase a site's search engine rankings.  Updating the content on one's site is also essential to marketing with SEO articles.  Search engines (and humans) place high value on fresh, updated content.  It indicates that the business is interested in staying up-to-date and engaged with potential and existing customers.

Articles are informational by nature- they are intended to educate, answer questions and solve problems.  Online articles are useful resources for consumers.  A search engine optimized article also has the distinct advantage of being easier for search engines to find.  This, in turn, makes it easier for humans to find.

*Case Study: Tribune Company

Tribune Company is America's largest employee-owned media company.  It publishes the Chicago Tribune and the LA Times, operates ten daily papers and tabloids and owns 23 television stations.  In December 2008, however, this media giant became another victim of an economy that has not been kind to traditional print media.  The company filed for bankruptcy, citing a debt load of 13 billion dollars.

Like many print media companies, Tribune turned to its online editions for salvation.  The company hired an SEO expert to increase traffic to these editions, in the hope that they could cut costs while increasing revenue.  The result?  Within two years, traffic to the Tribune sites increased by 20 million visitors per month.  SEO traffic increased by 14% within that time.

How did they do it?  By educating journalists in SEO practices, and demonstrating tangible results, the Tribune's expert was able to convince 75% of journalists that SEO writing was working for them and for the papers.  Simply by using relevant keywords in the headlines and at the proper density within the text of each news story, Tribune Company was able to dramatically increase traffic to its sites and increase its online revenue.

 

Turning Visitors into Customers

Compelling visitors to action is another function of SEO article writing.  Well-written SEO articles will first provide the information consumers need to make purchasing decisions.  This naturally compels them to take the requested action, which might be to make a purchase,  sign up for an email newsletter or subscribe to an RSS feed.

Updated SEO articles appear automatically in RSS feeds and email newsletters, ensuring that, when customers are ready to purchase (or purchase again) they have that company in mind.

*Case Study: Girls Learn to Ride

Laguna Beach, CA.-based extreme sports instructors Girls Learn To Ride teaches women and girls how to surf, snowboard, skateboard, ride BMX bikes and more. Their challenge was to keep in touch with customers and potential customers who were located all across the country, to remind them of upcoming events and fill enrollment for camps and clinics. The company needed to be able to communicate with different age groups and demographics, all of whom had varying interest in certain types of extreme sports.

Customized marketing content, therefore, became the focus of an email marketing campaign designed to reach a wide customer base.  SEO content in the form of educational articles and blog posts keep customers in the loop, and encourage them to sign up for classes.  Five years after implementing an email newsletter campaign, Girls Learn To Ride increased its list of subscribers from 250 to 10,000.  A survey of customers revealed that 53% of them found out about the company's services through their email newsletters and website.

Through the use of SEO content, a business can compel readers and customers to act, and establish itself as a trusted resource for information about its specialty.

5. Establishing Authority with SEO Articles

Establishing that trust clearly starts with SEO content.  Why?  As we have demonstrated, SEO article writing makes a site more visible to search engines and readers, who will then be able to more easily access that site for information. Once a site's SEO content starts garnering attention from other sites, its ranking will improve through the back links it gets from these sites.   

According to SEOmoz in their 2009 survey "Search Engine Ranking Factors", top SEO experts cited "Trust/Authority of the Host Domain" as the overall top ranking factor used by search engine algorithms to determine the value of a site.  The same survey revealed that 66% of experts in the field of SEO cite "Trustworthiness of the Domain Based on Link Distance from Trusted Domains" as a factor of high importance for search engine rankings.

Search engines measure authority primarily by looking at the quality and quantity of other sites that link back to a particular site.  This "link popularity" determines a site's importance and, ultimately, its rank.  SEO article writing increases link popularity by providing high-quality, frequently updated content that allows people to see the site as a trusted source of information.  They will then link back to the site from their own sites, or from social media accounts and bookmarking sites.

Linking is an important part of the authority-building equation.  Just as in face-to-face networking, it offers a form of recommendation or referral that consumers can use to make purchasing decisions.  In this way, the content on a site's pages extends beyond just conveying information to your customers; it can also impact influential editors or bloggers who will link to a site if they determine that its content is an asset to them.

These links tell the search engines that this site is relevant and important.  Thus, establishing authority with SEO articles is a process that requires the following conditions:

• 1. High-quality, optimized content
• 2. Deep and wide distribution throughout the Internet
• 3. Back links from credible, trustworthy sites

By providing a site with relevant, updated SEO content that offers useful information, SEO article writing positions that site as an authority in its field.  Through the distribution of that content, more people, as well as other sites, will see it and start to trust the source of the content.

6.   Outsourcing SEO Article Writing

SEO articles have many advantages over traditional marketing methods; however, they require knowledge of SEO, good writing skills and the time to frequently research and update the content.  There are basically two options for creating and maintaining SEO articles.  A company can handle it in-house, using employees who can write articles on a daily or weekly basis, then post them on the site.  Or, a business can outsource the SEO article writing to a professional SEO content service.

SEO copywriters are specialists in the field of content marketing, and can provide high-quality content for a reasonable cost.  They are available as freelancers, or as part of a service that can implement a content marketing strategy and handle SEO marketing projects from beginning to end.

Outsourcing SEO article writing offers companies the advantage of being able to put their content marketing campaigns in the hands of those who specialize in SEO.  In addition, outsourcing offers the following benefits:             

• Lower cost
• Time savings
• Content management system

Lower Cost

According to the 2003 AIGA/Aquent Survey of Design Salaries, the cost to hire an in house copywriter (including salary and overhead) is between $55,000 and $65,000 a year.  By utilizing the services of a professional SEO copywriting firm, companies can pay per project without incurring the additional expenses that come with hiring, such as health and retirement benefits.

Time Savings

Outsourcing SEO article writing can save time in a couple of key ways.  First, current employees and management do not have to take their valuable time to write and update content.  SEO articles need to be constantly created and maintained in order to be truly effective for search engine rankings.  Many companies don't have the time or personnel to handle this job on a regular basis.

Hiring a service also streamlines a content marketing campaign by eliminating dependencies.  In-house projects often involve teams of designers, copywriters and programmers who need to make requests and issue approvals.   This often leads to scenarios wherein a simple change may take weeks to implement.

Content Management System

A professional SEO content service will be able to use a content management system to handle projects from beginning to end.  The advantage to a good CMS lies in the fact that it requires no technical skill of its users, and this allows anyone to make changes, view content and check on the progress of a project quickly and easily.  In some cases a good CMS can entirely replace an in-house web team.

*Case Study: All Source Security Container

All Source Security Container is the leading manufacturer of document shredding bins, carts and consoles.  They specialize in green materials and are the only North American producer of formaldehyde-free consoles.  In 2008, the company decided to outsource its online marketing campaign to an SEO firm.  All Source was looking for a variety of SEO content in the form of email newsletters, articles, brochures and press releases, but lacked the knowledge of SEO necessary to produce and implement this type of content.

Within three months, utilizing the services of a professional SEO content service, All Source had a revamped site, downloadable product sell sheets, monthly email newsletters, promotional flyers and product brochures in place and ready for distribution.  The company started appearing as one of the top five results in major search engines for all document shredding-related keywords.  Since the launching of the campaign, the company's site has experienced over 150,000 unique page views, nearly double the volume of the original site.

The expertise of an SEO article writing service can unlock the potential that often lies dormant due to lack of knowledge about how to organize and implement a marketing campaign based on SEO content.

7.   Conclusion

The benefits of SEO article writing for businesses looking to market their products and services are many.  SEO articles are cost-effective and proven successful in drawing and retaining visitors.  They offer valuable information for those ready to make a purchasing decision.  A business that engages in SEO article writing will build links that increase its page rank and its online visibility with consumers.

Statistics prove that SEO is the dominant factor for online purchasing.  According to SEMPO (Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization), SEO drives 75% of all search traffic.  SEO article writing provides a site with optimized content that draws people to it.  It can be created and maintained by professional SEO copywriters for a lower cost than traditional marketing methods.  This makes it an effective (and cost-effective) online marketing tool.

8.   Interact Media Solutions

The creation of effective SEO articles requires knowledge of search optimization, careful research and the skill it takes to maintain fresh, high-quality content that attracts visitors and converts leads into sales.  Interact Media is a content marketing service that provides SEO article writing to businesses for a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing methods.

Our team of SEO specialists, writers and project managers will handle your SEO marketing project from beginning to end.  Our expertise ensures that your site becomes a magnet for potential and return customers.  Maximize your online visibility with optimized content, backed by a team of experts in the field of content marketing.  Interact Media puts the power of SEO article writing to work for you.

Article Marketing - Does it Really Work? For Real?

Topics covered in this White Paper:

1. Articles as an Alternative Marketing Method
2. How Article Marketing Works
3. Articles and SEO
4. Elements of Effective Articles
5. Using Article Marketing Providers
6. Distributing Your Articles
7. Conclusion
8. Interact Media Solutions

Article marketing involves developing and distributing high-quality, search engine optimized content that provides readers with valuable information they can use to make purchasing decisions and solve problems.  When utilized as part of a long-term content marketing strategy, it can drive traffic, increase conversion rates and establish businesses as authorities in their fields.

This paper will examine article marketing as an online marketing technique, and demonstrate how it can be used as a cost-effective alternative to other forms of marketing.

Articles- An Alternative Marketing Method

Article marketing has been used as a method of online marketing for many years.  It has become more relevant in recent years, however, as marketing departments are looking for more cost-effective methods of promoting their businesses.  Traditional marketing, such as cold calling, direct mail and print ads, are becoming less effective as consumers find ways around them.

A recent study by Forrester Research found that 60% of marketers surveyed are increasing their online marketing budgets by shifting funds from traditional media (Forrester Research. (2008). Among marketers facing lower budgets, 19% are reducing direct mail spending because it delivers the lowest ROI (Forrester Research. (2008).

Emails and cold calls can be blocked, print ads are often ignored and direct mail is often thrown out.  The growth of online advertising, and in particular search engine optimized content, has given consumers more options for finding the information that helps them make purchasing decisions.  As a result, today's Internet consumer no longer needs to be subjected to these interruptive methods of selling.

Article marketing is a method of marketing that allows the consumer to find the specific information they need using online search.  A consumer can type in keywords that are relevant to his search, and find articles that pertain to that subject.  This gives the consumer specific information that directs him to a source for what he needs.  In this way, articles are an effective alternative to traditional marketing tools, which are aimed at a broad, non-targeted audience.

Articles are also cost-effective for companies.  They require only a working knowledge of the topic, a basic knowledge of SEO and good writing skills.  They can be written either by the business owner or employees, or by professional copywriters for a fraction of what traditional methods cost.

Thus, article marketing has three distinct advantages over traditional marketing:

1. Non-interruptive- Article marketing offers information that the consumer actively seeks out.  Therefore, the consumer is not interrupted.
2. Targeted- Articles target specific markets.  By writing and distributing information about a specific topic, and optimizing that information with relevantkeywords, articles reach only the people who businesses want to reach.
3. Cost-Effective- The cost of writing articles is minimal, and distribution techniques are often entirely free.

How Article Marketing Works

The process of article marketing can be described as follows:

• Identify the target market
• Develop keywords that are relevant to the target market
• Create informative content that incorporates the keywords
• Create a compelling title that also incorporates the keywords
• Create a resource box that contains the keywords and links to your site
• Distribute articles across the web

Each of these steps in the process of article marketing is critical to its effectiveness as an online marketing strategy.  However, keywords are the foundation of successful articles.  This is because, in order for articles to be used for marketing they must be search engine optimized.  SEO makes articles visible to search engines, which allow Internet consumers to find them.  Optimizing articles involves utilizing SEO techniques.

Articles and SEO       

Search engine optimized articles contain keywords that consumers can use to find the particular information in the article.  So, once the target market has been identified, keywords that are relevant to the topics covered in the articles must be developed.  This can most easily be done using keyword research programs and tools such as Google AdWords and Word Tracker.  Companies can also use a consultant or create their own keywords.

The advantage to using a research tool to determine keywords is the fact that these tools can also tell you how competitive these keywords are, and how likely you are to rank for them.  Thus, the best keywords can be chosen without wasting resources on ones that are too competitive.

Keywords can be combinations of likely search words, such as "Mexico vacations", "travel in Mexico" or "couples resorts in Mexico".  The more specific the keywords, the more targeted the traffic will be.

Keyword Density

Once keywords are chosen, they must be incorporated into the content.  For SEO purposes, the proper keyword density is crucial.  Search engines penalize content that has a keyword density that is too high.  Conversely, a low density could cause the search engines to miss the article entirely, because they don't know what the article is about and therefore won't connect it to the search keywords.  A density of 1% is ideal, which means that a keyword is inserted once every 100 words.

In addition to primary keywords, effective articles also contain other, related terms that will help them gain greater search engine visibility.  These terms often occur naturally in the writing of the article and should not occur as often as the primary keywords.

Elements of Effective Articles

Articles that are keyword optimized are attractive to search engines.  This is an important aspect of effective article marketing.  However, the articles need to appeal to the people reading them or they won't produce results.  In order for articles to be attractive to humans, they must be:

1. Well-written: Articles must contain good grammar and spelling.
2. Content-rich:  They must offer information that readers will find valuable. Articles that help consumers to solve problems, get answers and make decisions are the most successful.
3. Clear, concise and compelling:  Since the average reader tends to skim for useful information, the most effective articles say more with fewer words. They also use language that is easy to understand and not too formal.  When content adheres to these guidelines, it naturally compels the reader to action.

Titles

Titles are an important part of any article, as they are the author's opportunity to get the attention of the reader.  Thus, a good title for article marketing purposes will be descriptive and interesting.  It should contain the primary keyword at the beginning, followed by a more specific description of the content.  For example, "Mexico Vacations- How to Find the Best Resort Values" would be better for SEO than "Finding Good Hotels for Mexico Vacations".

Why?  Both people and search engines will see the first words first.  Therefore, positioning the keywords there makes the article easier to find by consumers looking for information as well as search engines that need to index it.

Body of the Article

Article marketing relies on the fact that people need information in order to make purchasing decisions, solve problems and answer questions.  Therefore, the most important component of any article is quality content.  Well-written, valuable content that is clear, concise and compelling will produce the best results.  This kind of content is designed to appeal specifically to Internet readers, who like to skim through and rarely spend more than a few seconds on pages that do not interest them.

Another important factor to consider when article marketing is that the content should avoid "salesy" language.  The purpose of articles is not to directly sell a product or service, but to inform readers about the topic; therefore, no mention of a specific product or service should be made in the body of the text.  The opportunity to sell comes when you include a resource box containing links to the site (see "Resource Box").

Other factors to consider:

Length- Although there is no hard and fast rule, in general, an article should be between 400 and 600 words in length. An average of 500 words is ideal for search engines as well as the people reading it.

Formatting- Articles should contain at least two bolded subheadings that contain the keywords.  Bullet points and numbered lists are good ways to help organize the content and help readers more easily see important points.

Links- Some article directories will allow links within the body of the article.

However, if the article is being written for mass distribution, links may cause it to be rejected by some sites. This is because some directories consider links to be too "salesy".

Resource Box

Articles generate website traffic through use of the resource box. The resource box is an area, usually located beneath the article, that may contain information about the author, the company who commissioned the article and links to any applicable sites.  The resource box allows the reader to make direct contact with the company that wrote the article (or had it written). 

The resource box is a powerful tool that allows authors to make a call to action.  Without it, the reader would not know who is providing the information contained in the article, and thus would not be able to make contact in order to purchase.  Most article directories will allow a certain amount of links within a resource box, but there are restrictions that vary from site to site.

Article Marketing Providers

Articles can be written by anyone who has good writing skills, working knowledge of the topic and the time to continuously write and update material.  For those who can't write their own articles, there is the option to outsource the job to professional services.  This can be accomplished in a couple of ways.

Professional copywriters with knowledge of SEO techniques can write articles on a regular schedule, to ensure that new content is being continuously submitted on the web.  This is a good idea if a company cannot dedicate itself to this task. 

Another option for businesses interested in article marketing is to hire an SEO company to handle the entire process.  A company experienced in implementing content marketing strategies will take care of writing, distributing and tracking articles, and can provide new content on a regular basis.

Article Distribution

Distribution is key to the success of any article marketing strategy.  However, there are varying opinions as to the best way to go about it.

Some say that the more sites you distribute each article to, the better. Sites like articlemarketer.com will take your article and submit it to thousands of sites.

Aside from the question of the quality of each of these sites, the real issue is what the search engines think of this form of distribution. While they may not penalize you for doing it, few SEO experts actually think there is much real value in having the same article posted to thousands of the same site. The search engines will only give credit to the FIRST website it finds the article on. The article will never rank on all those sites, and the links from all those sites will not be counted since it is just duplicate content.

It is often recommended that people submit ONE article to ONE site. A reputable site, such as ezinearticles.com, will give these articles the best chance of ranking in the search engines, as well as being picked up by other websites who may promote them and link to them on their sites as well.

A conservative approach is most likely to keep the search engines happy while avoiding duplicate content penalties.

Article Directories

Article directories are sites where articles can be submitted in order to increase their visibility on the web.  Submitting articles to directories allows articles and resource boxes to get wide and deep distribution across the Internet, thus ensuring that they're seen by more potential visitors than when they are simply placed on a site.

Reputable article directories, like ezinearticles.com, goarticles.com, and a handful of others, have their own set of rules and restrictions about article content, resource boxes, length of article, links allowed and keyword density.  These rules are in place in order to ensure that the articles accepted are high quality as well as SEO-friendly.  Accepting only articles that adhere to the rules allows the directories to maintain their reputations as sources for high-quality content.  They also ensure that readers are not subjected to low-value or salesy content.

After they are submitted to directories, articles go through an editorial review.  Once approved, they become live on the site and/or distributed to other directories on the web automatically. 

Conclusion

When used as part of a content marketing strategy, article marketing can be a powerful tool to increase a business' online visibility and drive traffic to its site.  Through the use of high quality content and wide distribution, article marketing allows companies to share their knowledge with consumers who are looking for information.  Over time, this establishes the company as an authority and a trusted source for the product or service desired.

As a non-interruptive, targeted and cost-effective method of marketing, article marketing offers a viable alternative to traditional marketing methods.  It allows businesses to fully utilize the power of a more interactive, social web to attract customers and increase conversion rates.

 

Interact Media Solutions     

Implementing a content marketing strategy that leverages the power of article marketing is simpler than you may think.  A professional SEO content marketing company is often the best solution.  Interact Media offers article marketing services that make it easy for businesses to gain greater online visibility.  Our team of SEO specialists, editors and copywriters work together to produce and distribute high-quality articles that will give you maximum online visibility.

 

Put the power of article marketing to work for you.  Contact Interact Media at (888) 864-8398 or http://www.interactmedia.com/

Writing SEO Content for Increased Search Engine Visibility

  

Topics covered in this white paper:

1.   Traditional Marketing
2.   Online Marketing Solutions
3.   Evolution of SEO Content Marketing
4.   Main Ranking Factors
5.   Link Building
6.   Targeting Your Market
7.   Building Authority
8.   Increasing Conversion Rates
9.   Conclusion 
10.  Interact Media Solutions    

 

Introduction

SEO content is a form of writing that considers not only the human audience that's reading it, but also the search engines that will be indexing it. This paper will explain the fundamentals of SEO content and discuss the advantages of using it as an alternative to traditional marketing methods.

1. Traditional Marketing On the Way Out

Today's business owners face an increasingly competitive marketplace, both online and offline.  While traditional marketing techniques, such as print ads, mass mailings and cold calling, have long been the standard solution, recent studies indicate that these methods are becoming more expensive and less effective. 

Four main factors are driving the trend away from traditional marketing:

 1. Higher costs- High overhead, including skyrocketing material and personnel    costs, have driven companies both large and small to seek more cost-   effective methods of marketing their products and services.

 2. Less targeted results- Traditional marketing makes it difficult to target the    desired market.  Without a targeted marketing plan, conversion rates are    dramatically lowered.  Traditional marketing is outbound, which means    that it is aimed at a wide, non-specific audience, rather than a niche    audience.  Thus, results are often hit or miss.  A print ad that is seen by    everyone, for example, will capture fewer interested parties per dollar    spent than one that is targeted to a specific market.  This results in a    lower ROI for businesses using these methods. 

 3. Less agility- Ad campaigns and other forms of traditional marketing are more    difficult to adjust midstream.  This inflexibility makes it cumbersome to    implement changes to a campaign that is not producing the desired results.

 4. Difficulty in tracking results- The success of traditional marketing techniques    is hard to track accurately.  Many companies rely on surveys or internal    tracking methods to measure results.  However, these methods are time-   consuming, expensive and do not produce quick answers.  This often    results in wasted resources because companies are not able to respond quickly to negative feedback.

Traditional marketing methods are still used extensively.  However, content-based inbound methods of marketing are proving to be cost-effective alternatives that offer good returns for money spent, and marketing departments are taking notice.  A recent survey indicates that over 50% of marketing executives spend about 25% of their marketing budgets online (Forbes. (2009). Ad Effectiveness Survey, June 1, 2009).

 

2. Online Marketing Solutions - The Trend Toward Digital Media

Online marketing techniques offer a viable solution to the problems presented by traditional marketing methods.  Online marketing includes a variety of tools and distribution vehicles designed to make businesses more visible to consumers at a significantly lower cost.  The foundation of these methods is SEO content.  With content-based marketing, you can:

  1. Gain greater search engine visibility.
  2. Establish a targeted customer base.
  3. Build and maintain authority.
  4. Obtain higher conversion rates.

The shift toward Internet marketing has been occurring steadily over the last few years. Current statistics show that the Internet's share of total media ad spending is rising by at least 1 percentage point every year (eMarketer. (April 2009). US Advertising Spending Report).  At this rate, projected Internet marketing spending will exceed 15% of total US media advertising spending by the year 2013 (eMarketer. (April 2009). US Advertising Spending Report).
 
The consumer's shift from traditional media (television and print ads) to digital media, (podcasts, blogs and RSS advertising) has fueled an Internet marketing budget of $8.585 billion dollars in 2006, a figure which is likely to increase to $27.2 billion dollars in 2011 (PQ Media. (2007). Alternative Media Outlooks 2007).

The largest increase in Internet marketing spending will be seen in content-based marketing tools such as blogs, podcasts and RSS advertising (PQ Media. (2007). Alternative Media Outlooks 2007).  The creation and distribution of these forms of digital media has become a dominant marketing technique that helps businesses increase their online visibility.  Therefore, new emphasis is being put on the development of these and other related online media.

 

3. SEO Content- The Evolution of Content-Based Marketing

The origins of SEO content as a primary online marketing tool began with SEO itself.  In the mid 1990s, early search engines were being developed to catalog Internet content and rank it according to its keyword relevancy.  Consumers of products, services and information could then more easily find the sites they were looking for.  Early SEO content was essentially content designed to be easily indexed by search engines.

Often, less attention was paid to the actual quality of the information. At this time, it was not unusual for online consumers to regularly encounter content that was stuffed with keywords, difficult to read and of little value to anyone looking for useful information.  While this kind of low-value SEO content is still out there, it is largely ignored by today's more sophisticated search engines, which now recognize it as manipulative and penalize it accordingly. 

Google describes its page analysis in the following excerpt from its site:
"Hypertext-Matching Analysis: Google's search engine also analyzes page content. However, instead of simply scanning for page-based text (which can be manipulated by site publishers through meta-tags), Google's technology analyzes the full content of a page and factors in fonts, subdivisions and the precise location of each word. Google also analyzes the content of neighboring web pages to ensure the results returned are the most relevant to a user's query". http://www.google.com/corporate/tech.html
So, there are many factors that go into determining a site's relevance.  However, content analysis clearly plays a key role.

 

4.  Three Main Search Engine Ranking Factors

  1. Search engine algorithms.
  2. The amount of inbound and outbound links to a site.
  3. Relevancy and freshness of the content.

Since algorithms are complicated and constantly changing, online marketers use SEO content to address the other two factors.

Today's SEO Content- A Powerful Tool for Internet Marketing Success

In a recent Forbes survey, 48% of marketers with budgets of over $1 million said that search engine optimization was the best method for generating conversions online (Forbes. (2009). Ad Effectiveness Survey, June 1, 2009).

SEO is also the marketing tactic of choice for affecting brand perception (Forbes. (2009). Ad Effectiveness Survey, June 1, 2009).  Studies such as this indicate that marketers consider search to be a key element to their online marketing success.

Search is where consumers begin their process of finding the goods and services they need.  SEO content is the vehicle that leads them to the right places.  It is found in many forms, but always incorporates the following key components:

• Relevant keywords
• Relevant title tags
• Proper keyword density
• High-quality content

The combination of these components creates content that is both easily indexed by search engines and easy for humans to read.  When incorporated into a site and other vehicles, and spread throughout the web, this type of content attracts search engines in two primary ways: through keyword relevancy, and inbound/outbound links. "Link popularity" is one of the factors that make SEO content such a powerful tool for Internet marketing success.

 

5. Link Building with SEO Content

The concept of link building is simple, yet essential to the effectiveness of SEO content.   SEO content builds link popularity through the use of high-quality, informative text that contain keywords in the proper density.  This kind of content is popular with readers looking for useful information about a particular topic.  These readers then share the content with others by posting it on social media sites, quoting it in their blogs and referring others to it. 

Search engines start to see that the content is appearing on a wide variety of sites and conclude that it must be relevant, important information that is being used by many different people.  It will then start to give that content more weight, allowing it to rank higher.  In general, the more links that content has from different sources, the higher it will rank in the search engines.

 

6. Writing SEO Content- Targeting Your Market

Effective SEO content can attract search engines only if it targets its specific niche market.  This is because only interested parties will read it and spread it around.  One of its advantages over traditional marketing is the fact that SEO is not "hit or miss" in its approach.  This type of content is designed to capture only the readers who will be interested in the company's products or services.  This ensures that marketing dollars- as well as time and energy- are not wasted by, in effect, casting too large a net.

To accomplish this, a business must recognize its target market, or, those who may be interested in what is offered.  Once these people have been identified, and relevant keywords are developed, content is written that refers to those keywords.

Establishing the target market is an important first step for developing SEO content.  Once determined, this will give direction to the technical aspects to SEO writing, including the key components listed under "Today's SEO Content".  However, effective SEO marketing content must also adhere to the following guidelines in order to attract targeted viewers and encourage them to read through.  Good SEO content is:

• Clear- it states its purpose clearly and without overly-formal language
• Concise- it is content-dense, which means that it gets the point across in fewer words, and every word counts
• Compelling- it both keeps the reader's interest and encourages the reader to take a desired action

The end result is content that targets interested readers in order to engage them and build their trust.  This ultimately establishes a company's authority and garners links back to its site. 

 

7. Building and Maintaining Authority

Because it is targeted to a specific niche of consumers, SEO content is a highly effective marketing strategy.  Another foundation of its success is the fact that the technical aspects of it, and the way it is distributed, are all designed to do one thing- build trust and authority with readers.  Authority involves building links from other sites, which essentially count as votes for the site.  In a circular pattern, this authority, which comes from the readers, tells search engines to rank the content higher, which in turn helps more readers find it.

SEO content is also a key part of a content marketing strategy that involves constantly updating content in order to maintain authority.  Fresh, updated content tells both search engines and people that the company is constantly improving and adding to its store of knowledge.

SEO content can be updated through new blog posts, articles, videos and email newsletters that are created and distributed on a regular basis.  Each of these forms of content can be optimized for good visibility and then indexed by search engines as another link back to the primary website.

 

8. Obtain Higher Conversion Rates

Studies have shown that 75% of people on the Internet use search engines with the intention of buying a product (TopRank (2009). Top Digital Marketing Tactics for 2009, Feb. 18, 2009).  SEO content is an effective and widely-used online marketing tool because it helps people make informed purchasing decisions.  It consistently drives targeted traffic to the sites that can provide what consumers want.  Those people who intend to buy a product or engage a service will more easily find the sites that use SEO techniques.  Thus, they are more likely to purchase from those particular sites.

Links to the company's site can be built into the content or included at the end of it, giving readers a direct way to contact the company.  Once contact has been made, whether by following a link or submitting information, the consumer is positioned to make a purchase.

 

9. Conclusion

If used properly, SEO content is a powerful tool for marketing success.  By implementing it as part of a long-term content marketing strategy, it can increase search engine visibility through SEO techniques and link popularity.     

Thus, SEO content offers a low-cost alternative to traditional marketing methods.  It targets the desired market, increases search engine visibility and provides a permanent source of free traffic and leads through the use of optimized, updated information that consumers can use to make purchasing decisions.

Interact Media SEO Content Marketing Solutions

The factors that make SEO content an effective marketing tool, and a viable alternative to traditional marketing methods, can be complex.  The best SEO solution starts with the expertise that comes from years of experience in the field of search engine optimization.  Interact Media is a content marketing service that can help businesses leverage the power of high-quality content to increase search engine visibility.

Recognizing that many companies do not have the time and knowledge of SEO techniques that are necessary to implement an effective content marketing strategy, Interact Media offers resources that today's businesses need to succeed online.  The Interact Media solution includes a team of SEO specialists, editors, copywriters and web designers who work together to identify the best SEO marketing solution.

To take the first step toward better search engine visibility, contact Interact Media at (888) 864-8398 or www.interactmedia.com.