TopRank Internet Marketing News

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:

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:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

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.

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.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an online marketing tactic that helps search engines find, index and rank content on the web.   Proper SEO is not a silver bullet or a magic pill that will help a website skyrocket to the top of search rankings in 5 days or less.  When managed effectively, SEO is a tactic designed to produce results that are ongoing and cumulative – rather than dramatic and temporary. In the Search Engine Optimization case study below, flat panel and projector mount manufacturer Chief Manufacturing illustrates the ongoing success that can be achieved with a long term SEO program.