9 Invaluable Resources For An Inbound Marketing Education

Inbound Marketing Insights

With inbound marketing on the rise globally, it is quickly becoming the centerpiece of many business marketing strategies. Companies are finding inbound marketing costs 62% less per lead than traditional outbound marketing. The question many are asking is, where do you turn to get a great inbound marketing education?

Great question. The truth is that you can find the best inbound marketing education through a variety of online resources. Just like a high school education, which included different subjects taught by different teachers, effective strategies should be learned from several different experts. It is the piecing together of this information that will give you a fully rounded knowledge of digital marketing.

Keyword Optimizing

The first step any business must take in order to gain a new customer is to simply get found. If potential customers are having a hard time finding you, they can quickly become someone else's customer. Thus, keyword optimization must be a cornerstone to your inbound marketing strategy. Believe it or not, a large percentage of businesses don't even rank on the first page for their own company name.

With keyword stuffing being out like a Lance Armstrong trophy, companies now need to use the right keywords that their customers are searching for.

Here are 3 great resources that will teach you how to optimize your keywords the right way:

1. Let On-Page Optimization Change Your Life!
2. Developing a Keyword Strategy
3. 7 Reasons Why Keyword Density in Article Content is SO 2008

Blogging

Every company should have a blogging strategy in place, right? To answer this rhetorical question for you, yes they should, but the majority do not. In 2008, only 16% of the Fortune 500 companies had a public-facing blog. That's only about 80 companies out of 500. In 2012, that number has only grown to 28%. Why is that?

Well, from 2009'2011 we see almost a flatline (22'23%) of the number of companies with blogs. It is theorized that most companies gave up their blogs efforts to focus on social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter. In 2012, companies began to see the value of their blogs being distributed on the social market. Thus the numbers rose and will continue to do so:

image credit: marketingcharts.com

Take a look at what some experts are saying on blogs and why blogging strategies are extremely important for businesses:

1. How to Blog Effectively for Business (GF101)
2. Writing a Persuasive Blog'The Key to Content Marketing Success
3. Content Marketing That Gets You Buyers

Promoting and Distributing

If a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound if nobody is there to hear it? If you're writing blogs that nobody is reading, then you are that lone tree. This is why promoting and distributing become huge factors of your strategy.

To be successful at inbound marketing, you must learn how to properly promote and distribute your great blog content. While there are several social media outlets you could use to publicize your blog, the key to promoting it properly will depend on answering this question: Where are your customers hanging out?

Here are some invaluable lessons from social media masters

1. #Everything Social Media
2. The Science of Social Media
3. The Worlds Most Wanted Marketer

These links are just to start you off, of course. Spend a few minutes browsing each site. All of them have a ton of useful info about inbound marketing. We'd love it if you shared in the comment your favorite educational links, too.

What are your favorite web resources for an inbound marketing education?  

image credit: attc