TopRank Internet Marketing News

Online Marketing has evolved and taken on many forms over the past decade.  On average, 22% of marketing budgets are spent on Search Engine Marketing alone (Econsultancy).   The online marketplace is flush with consultants and providers that make big promises, but lose clients due to an inability to execute on those promises.

TopRank Online Marketing makes it our mission to deliver the results that we promise to our clients.  SEO agencies, corporate marketers and PR firms around the world use PRWeb as an essential tool in their mix of SEO and online marketing tactics.  As a testament to our expertise and longstanding relationship, PRWeb has chosen to work with TopRank Online Marketing to be it’s SEO agency.   We would also like to take this opportunity to share what has made the TopRank Online Marketing and  PRWeb’s SEO, Social Media and Content Marketing program successful.

As brands adopt publishing as part of their online marketing mix, content marketing is receiving increased budgets – 51% plan on increasing in the next 12 months according to the CMI B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends report.

Our B2B Marketing SEO client Marketo believes this may be at the cost of traditional advertising. With eyeballs moving from the traditional media to digital and online ($55 billion by 2014 according to Forrester) it’s a worthwhile argument.

For even more stats, check out this handy infographic from Marketo based on content marketing research conducted by MarketingProfs and Junta42:

Embed this content marketing infographic on your web site by copying and pasting the code below:

<p><a href=”http://blog.marketo.com/blog/2011/05/is-content-marketing-traditional-advertisings-new-rival-infographic.html” _mce_href=”http://blog.marketo.com/blog/2011/05/is-content-marketing-traditional-advertisings-new-rival-infographic.html”><img src=”http://blog.marketo.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Content-Marketing-Infographic-by-Marketo.png” _mce_src=”http://blog.marketo.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Content-Marketing-Infographic-by-Marketo.png” alt=”Content Marketing Infographic” border=”0″></a></p> <p>

Are content marketing and traditional advertising mutually exclusive? Or do you think they work better together?

By design, software and technology companies exist to solve long-held problems in new and innovative ways.  And because technology can be so readily customized, by factors ranging from vertical industry focus to specific problems addressed, no two software or technology companies will ever be the same.

In much the same way, no two successful search marketing programs will ever be exactly alike.  Each program will need to customized based on factors ranging from the type of prospects being targeted to specific objectives being achieved.

The three companies below, each having developed a unique software or technology offering, recently launched customized search marketing programs with TopRank® Online Marketing:

Aprigo offers business-savvy IT managers solutions that enable easier management and tighter security of business data existing in the cloud.  TopRank’s engagement with Aprigo, rooted in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), will be designed to increase qualified online inquiries.

What influences an online buying decision?

From a tactical level, news on the burgeoning trend of social commerce tells us:

“Retailers who currently host the ‘like’ button on their site demonstrated 80 percent higher average three-month traffic.” Digital IQ Index Specialty Retail report (download pdf)

From a more philosophical business perspective, however, what this data truly tells us is that while technology may lead to enhancements – little carries more weight over a buying decision than a personal, trusted testimonial.

In an ecommerce landscape that is coming to be defined by ‘social,’ understanding the referring sources and content that lead to online sales is only one step towards success.  To truly succeed, companies must understand what referring sources and content drive customers or prospects to trust (or ‘like’) the brand.

Online marketing programs are oftentimes designed to focus squarely at the top of the sales funnel, in other words, to bring traffic directly to a client’s virtual front door.  But the best programs expand this focus deeper into the funnel, and concentrate just as much on compelling those already at the front door to come in and buy.  In the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and conversion optimization case study below, staffing software provider eEmpACT experiences the benefits of a marketing program dedicated to boosting results throughout the sales funnel.

Situation

Minnesota-based eEmpACT offers a staffing software solution with integrating front office functions such as resume management and back office functions such as payroll, to recruiters and staffing professionals.

As with any company that competes for B2B prospects, the number of sales eEmpACT realizes will always be smaller than the number of prospects it generates.  As such, ensuring both a brimming-over and easily navigated sales funnel is absolutely critical.

As traditional and online public relations merge to become one all-encompassing PR landscape, the companies that dare to blaze new trails through this wilderness will have the most success. One such company is NewsUSA, a 20-year veteran in the media placement industry.

In 2009, NewsUSA worked to reinvent itself as a thought leading social syndication resource. With help from TopRank® Online Marketing, it built and broadcast its new brand identity to a burgeoning list of prospects in channels ranging from email to Twitter and social media. The results NewsUSA experienced with TopRank included double-digit percentage increases in content views and the attraction of more than 3,000 web influencers to its Twitter feed.

To ensure its brand continues to solidify in online channels, and in the minds of prospects, NewsUSA has recently renewed its program with TopRank.

With its renewed program, rooted in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and email marketing, NewsUSA will continue to:

Online Marketing Blog recently conducted a poll asking its readers to identify the top three digital marketing tactics they planned to emphasize in 2011.

Tactics finishing within the top 5 include:

• Search engine optimization
• Social network participation
• Blogging
• Email marketing
• Content marketing

The mix of tactics sitting atop this list signal a new year where online marketing programs are defined by content and engagement, likely to a greater degree than ever before.  To further raise the visibility of how its solutions for email marketing and social media help companies succeed in this landscape, StrongMail has engaged with TopRank® Online Marketing.

Components of this new engagement, customized to meet the objective of increasing customer acquisition for StrongMail, include:

• Implementation of SEO best practices
• Creation of a social SEO strategic road map

B2B technology companies exist in a world marked by lengthy sales cycles and niche marketplaces.  Maintaining awareness, while personally engaging with each customer and prospect, can combine to become a strong competitive differentiator in this environment.

Best practice online marketing programs, integrating elements of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and social media marketing, can be customized to meet the challenges posed by the need for visibility and engagement. By renewing programs with TopRank® Online Marketing, the two B2B technology companies below will continue to meet and ultimately overcome these challenges:

Datatrend provides network services, including structured cabling installation and data center consulting, to companies in industries ranging from retail to telecommunications.  A renewed program with TopRank, focused on SEO and blog marketing, will be dedicated to increasing organic search traffic and qualified inquiries.

As discussed in a recent long term SEO case study, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is not a silver bullet that will help a website skyrocket to the top of search rankings overnight.

Proper SEO lives most comfortably in the home of a long term online marketing program. It is a discipline that understands benefits reaped on the climb up the mountain can be just as impactful as those achieved once the summit is reached.  It also understands how difficult it is to replace the king of any mountain, especially one strengthened by a strategic climb to the top.

The two companies below, both of which have been engaged with TopRank® Online Marketing for more than five years, have long reaped the business benefits of a strategic long term SEO program.  With new program renewals, both inch ever closer to kings of industry status.

Learn more about these companies and engagements below:

As posted by SEO Designer Thomas McMahon to Online Marketing Blog:

“63% of consumers and small business owners use the Internet to find information about local companies and 82% use search engines (Webvisible & Nielsen).  That means there’s a lot of opportunity for local Search Engine Optimization, or local SEO.”

Essentially, local SEO focuses on optimizing content in order to position it in the ‘Local Business Results’ displayed by search engines such as Google and Bing.  Most times, ‘Local Business Results’ appear above traditional search results.

And while the article McMahon cites does not account for customers seeking companies in emergency situations, common reasoning suggests that those rising above traditional search results will be those that are called first when trouble strikes.

One company that can attest to the power of local SEO is Minneapolis-based Welter Heating and Air Conditioning, that has recently renewed its engagement with TopRank® Online Marketing.