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It's no secret that link-building can help boost your bottom line and make your SEO efforts a whole lot easier. So, here's a thought: To help improve your site's organic visibility, why not leverage the power of your entire company and have everyone contribute to active link-building? That's what Mark Thomson ... more
In a recent post at the Online Marketing Blog, Lee Odden explains how a better understanding of search-engine optimization can help PR and communications professionals boost their results in a digital world by making it easier for various search engines to find, index and rank their content. "If content can ... more
You probably protect your "real" email addresses—those where you receive emails from significant others, friends and colleagues—with the ferocity of a mother bear. You might give them to trusted sources when downloading a whitepaper or subscribing to a newsletter, but there's a good chance you have temporary "fake" accounts for ... more
Now that you have your marketing-automation system in place, is it really necessary to use those sorry Web registration forms when collecting leads? After all, you already know who these people are, since you can track their click-throughs when they download your whitepapers or data sheets, right? Not so, says ... more
In the rush to grow leads, B2B marketers are often tempted to use "quick-fix" lead-generation tactics, says Jep Castelein in a post at the Connected Marketer blog. Bad idea, he writes. Instead, B2B pros should take a step back, breathe deeply and "look at the big picture" to determine the ... more
"Ask any salesperson if all inbound inquires are leads," writes Mac McIntosh at Sales Leads Insights, "and when he or she stops laughing, you will probably get an earful about how inquiries, unless they have been prequalified, are a waste of salespeople's time." So why is there confusion over the ... more
Thought leaders in the email marketing industry are just about unanimous on the subject of randomly purchased lists. Their advice to marketers? Avoid them like the plague. You may, however, still encounter those who push the buying of email lists as a perfectly legal alternative to building lists through opt-in subscription. ... more
You have an HR handbook, departmental training materials and documented procedures. But do you have standards and rules for your marketing and sales database? That's the question Lauren Kincke asks in a post at The B2B Lead Blog. "Without some law and order, your database will start looking like the ... more
"Your website can be your most powerful marketing tool, delivering a steady stream of new business leads and filling your sales pipeline," writes Bob DeStefano in a Pro article at MarketingProfs. To make the most of this potential, though, you need to know whether your site is a lead-generation machine ... more
With most large corporate purchases, the only way to get new customers to sign on is to let them hear directly from current customers who can speak about their experience with your products. So why do salespeople often resist participating in your company's customer-reference program? For several reasons... more
Point of fact: One of the most alluring things about Facebook is its infinite capacity to find us a new distraction—be it Farmville, virtual gift-giving or browsing through an old flame's recent family photo shoot (major creepiness factor, BTW). Second point of fact: Some companies know this about Facebook, and are already ... more
When we create and evolve lead-generation programs, we tend to focus on strategies, tools and goals. It's just as important, however, to plan for the management of all the data we collect. In a pair of posts at the Database Diva blog, Lori Feldman outlines common lead-management mistakes made by marketing ... more
Chief marketing officers at US companies are planning significant hiring and budget increases over the next two years as they remain optimistic about prospects for their companies and the economy, according to a survey conducted by Duke University and the American Marketing Association. Overall, CMOs expect marketing budgets to increase, ... more
A recent Nielsen study found that global consumption of social media increased 82 percent from Dec. 2008 to Dec. 2009 in the 10 countries surveyed, with users spending an average of 5.5 hours on their sites of choice per month! US and Australian addicts are among the heaviest users of all, spending 6 ... more
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