As a small business owner, you get calls every day from SEO companies promising to get you to the top of Google. At the same time, you've been hearing a lot more about some new buzzwords - "inbound marketing" and "content marketing".
The nature of SEO has changed. Before, SEO - or Search Engine Optimization - was essentially a stand-alone field. Focus was on getting as many keywords as possible on your website, and as many links back to your website, in order to increase your search engine results rank on Google.
Today, the nature of search engines has changed, and keywords and link building are no longer enough. SEO needs to be integrated into your bigger picture online marketing needs. This is where inbound marketing comes in. Inbound marketing brings together all aspects of online marketing, including SEO, blogging, social media, content, and email marketing, with a focus on systematically capturing and converting qualified leads.
SEOMOZ recently posted a new video, "Why Can't We Just Be SEOs Anymore?". This video does a great job in explaining how SEO has changed, and why there has been a shift from SEO to online marketing and inbound marketing.
So as a small business owner, do you need SEO?
The simple answer is yes - but as part of your overall Total Online Presence and Inbound Marketing System. If you don't have an overall system in place to attract, qualify and convert leads, then there is no point in spending your valuable marketing dollars on an SEO program that is solely focused on keyword rankings and link building. Dollars should only be spent specifically on this area once you already have a system in place, and have decided you need more specific power in this one area (and most small businesses don't need this).
By building an Total Online Presence or inbound marketing system, you will be implementing all the best practices you need to have in place to grow your search rankings, and at the same time will have a complete system to publish educational content, attract qualified leads to your website and convert those leads into paying customers who will refer you over and over.
The 7 Stages of a Total Online Presence:
Our free eBook written by best selling author and Duct Tape Marketing Founder, John Jantsch, outlines the 7 essential stages small businesses should focus on to build their Total Online Presence and inbound marketing system. Hopefully this eBook will provide a more clear idea of what your small business really needs when it comes to SEO and online marketing.
