The first thing to remember is that almost every business owner entrepreneur we meet with would like to have the same thing. A steady trickle of web-generated leads that keeps their sales team busy day in and day out. This can be accomplished through SEO and Inbound Marketing.
That’s a great goal, and one that isn’t unrealistic. After all, there are probably thousands of people who are on the internet right now searching for the product or service you have to offer. Life gets a lot easier when you are able to get them coming straight to you.
However, there is another side to the story. Most online lead generation programs are dependent on organic search engine optimization (a.k.a. SEO). That means you post a bunch of content on your site and then hope to impress Google so much that its search algorithm will send huge numbers of potential customers your way. What could go wrong? Again utilize SEO and Inbound Marketing.
The truth is most businesses don’t do that well with organic SEO… and certainly not well enough to generate a high number of leads. Let’s look at why that is and what you can do about it.
SEO and Inbound Marketing Is a BIG Project
Let’s be fair: you can do really well with organic search engine optimization. However, to get there will take you an enormous amount of time and effort. How much effort? In most markets you may have to generate five or six books’ worth of content just to get noticed by Google.
That’s a ton of writing to finish or pay for, especially when you don’t know what the payoff will look like.
Not All SEO Success Is Good for Your Business
When you’re counting on Google to send leads your way, you don’t have any control over who will show up in your website. That means you could accidentally target the wrong phrases and get non-buyers on your pages. Even worse, some of them might waste hours of your sales team’s time with inquiries that are never going to go anywhere.
That can turn into a huge lose-lose situation where you’re creating tons of content to master SEO and aren’t getting any positive results.
SEO Success Is Often Short Lived
Let’s say you overcome the first two issues and actually manage to achieve a top search ranking and bring qualified potential buyers to your website. How long will you be able to hold that position? Might there be another competitor who can create more or better content? And is it possible that Google’s algorithms will change and knock you from your perch?
Just because you can reach a top Google ranking doesn’t mean you can keep a top Google ranking. Especially if you’re fighting against bigger companies with more resources.
There Is a More Efficient Solution for SEO and Inbound Marketing
Organic search engine optimization can be profitable if things work perfectly, but most small business owners are better off experimenting with search and social ads. Not only do they tend to be less expensive (once you factor in the time and money needed to create content), but they are easy to tweak and customize in real time. Plus, you can start running them for a few dollars each day.
Lots of business owners and entrepreneurs don’t like to spend hard currency on lead generation before they see results, but it’s usually the more efficient choice when you consider the alternative.
Want Help Getting Your Online Lead Generation Plan Off the Ground?
Finally at Marcy Design, our focus is on helping our clients grow. We know how to develop SEO and Inbound Marketing campaigns. We’ve been doing it successfully for 20+ years, with the case studies to prove it. To learn more about what we can do for your specific business, contact us today to schedule a free consultation.
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