Frequently Asked Questions about B2B Web Marketing

What exactly is Website marketing? The adage, "If you build it, they will come," does not apply to Websites. To get prospective customers to your site, you have to market the hell out of it. You do this through various online and offline tactics, including SEO, viral marketing, social media marketing, blogs, video, print advertising, direct mail, etc. How important is SEO? Because close to 98% of B2B buyers turn to search engines (usually Google) when they're looking for products or services, you must ensure your site is optimized for these searchers (your prospective customers) so that they can find you. If you're site isn't optimized, you're effectively sending these people to your competition. What sections of my Website are important to measure? This is really up to you and your business / marketing objectives. Generally, however, many companies track the number of unique visitors each month, referring Websites, pages downloaded and any conversions -- i.e. reports downloaded, newsletter subscriptions, etc. Besides optimizing my Web content, what else should I be doing? Depending on your business and marketing objectives and your budget, you should consider a blog, video, viral and social media marketing -- plus the traditional marketing tactics including direct mail. What is "engagement" and how do I make it happen? Engagement is another word for communicating with people via your blog and other social media platforms. For example, someone responding to a Tweet, commenting on your blog post or replying to your question on LinkedIn are all examples of engagement. One way -- or perhaps the only way -- to engage people is be engaging. This means you must participate in social media forums and talk to people. Do I need to pay attention to social media? Yes. Why? Because people could be talking about your products and services. You need to know what people are saying about your company (both good and bad) and you should be responding to these people with additional information. Do I need a blog? No, you don't. (Did I shock you?) Before deciding you need a blog, spend some time in the blogosphere reading blogs, responding to blog posts and learning the influencers in your industry. You'll find just as much benefit reading and commenting on blogs as you will writing your own blog (with half the work). Do you have a question about Web marketing you don't see listed here? Send it to me and I'll be sure to answer it.