First, what makes an Internet Marketing Tip Useful?
A tip is useful when it produces results. An Internet marketing tip relates to marketing online. So, to make it on our B2B Internet Marketing Tips list, the tip has to be useful to B2Bs with websites.
The plan was to, first, search in Google for the top results, and then to compare the tips listed in the content against one another.
What ended up happening is that I used each blog article as an example of how to get found online. Each article was scrutinized to reverse engineer how it came to claim one of the coveted top three Google search results. Comparing the content became just one step in determining real, actionable tips for B2Bs with websites to rank well in Google.
The Search for Marketing Tips Begins
Here is a screenshot of the top three results in Google for “Internet marketing tips”:
Before I even looked at the content of the top three articles, I looked at how well optimized each was for the search engines (in other words, I wanted to know what kind of optimization (SEO) was each article using to rank so high in Google).
I searched the term “Internet Marketing Tips” in Google, and the top three –unpaid – results were from Entrepreneur, Forbes, and Inc.
While researching the topic, I found that the top three articles that Google returned for the search “Internet Marketing Tips” all had a few things in common regarding search engine optimization – reasons that these articles outranked the others on the subject in Google’s results.
The first similarity in the results was that two of the articles – Forbes and Inc. – had the word “7” in the title.
The one that didn’t – Entrepreneur – led to a landing page with a list of articles on marketing. Among the articles was, “7 Digital Marketing Predictions You Need to Keep Your Eye On.” Not the article at top, and not the article referenced in the Google-automated meta description, but very similar to the other top organic search results.
Next, I saw that not one of the articles contained the word “Internet Marketing Tips” in the headline, title tag, or meta description.
Third, all three results were from news sources – websites that have multiple things in common that help them get found online:
- create content daily
- domain authority
- use social media to their advantage
- keep a pulse on hot topics
- content is created by experts and optimized by experts
Last, I compared the tips from these three content creators to see which tips were the more useful for B2B online marketing.
For an in-depth look at the strategies behind high-ranking webpages, read our eBook, “B2B Internet Marketing Tips: Get Found Online.”
Tip One: Write for People
First, these blog articles were written for a specific audience. Nothing is going to make it to the top of Google’s search results without at least considering the audience that it’s written for. Why is this the case? Why is it useful for a B2B to ensure that its website is focused on its target audience?
Because that’s the only way people will read it. If it’s not relevant – if it doesn’t apply to real people right now – no one will care. And if no one cares about your blog content, it’s not going to rank in Google.
And even if, by some twist of luck, it does rank, who cares? If no one reads your article, then it may as well not exist, even if it is first in Google.
Tip Two: Optimize for Google
The next thing that each article has in its favor is that each is optimized for Google. Notice I didn’t say it was “optimized for a keyword” but for Google.
Let’s look at on-page optimization first.
On-page optimization refers to tactics that are applied to websites to make them rank higher in Google. The basics include getting “found” by Google (i.e. can Google crawl your website), letting Google know what your website is about, and being popular with visitors. But “optimization” goes way beyond keyword targeting today.
In fact, these articles aren’t well optimized for the specific keyword “Internet Marketing Tips” at all.
Notice the title tags in the results below – do you see the term “Internet marketing tips” anywhere?
If these articles aren’t optimized for the search term “Internet marketing tips” then why are they the top three organic results in Google?
(Title tags aren’t the only thing that these articles aren’t optimized for. See the other two items when you download our eBook, “B2B Internet Marketing Tips: Get Found Online.”)
One reason could be Google chooses the top results through natural language processing in its algorithm which accounts for semantics / synonyms (online vs Internet).
Instead of obsessing over a specific keyword, optimize for “user intent” – what’s the user really looking for? To Google’s algorithm, these terms are more or less equal:
Other things to note:
- The word “tips” seems to correlate to “predictions” on Google (think “horse race tips”).
- “Tips” also correlates to the word “lists”; all three results were lists of tips.
Tip Three: Feed Your Website & Blog Constantly
By “feed” I’m referring to the creation of new content. In other words, publish new content to your website and your blog all the time.
Fresh content is important – Google loves it. And each of the top three articles is published on a news website, which pushes new content daily.
It should be noted that the results are not all freshly created – only one article is from 2016. But in this case, Google seems to be taking into account the fact that the website is constantly updated, even if these specific articles aren’t.
(We’ve got a great tip for B2Bs in our eBook about fresh content! Download our eBook, “B2B Internet Marketing Tips: Get Found Online.”)
Tip Four: Build Equity in Your Business Website Overtime
Domain Authority
Age is an important factor of Domain Authority.
Tip Five: Use Social Media as a B2B Lead Gen Source
This may not help you rank in Google explicitly, but it’s important for another reason.
Social sharing gets your content in front of potential clients, which makes it invaluable. Social media accounts offer you another avenue to bring traffic to your website and get found online. Google shouldn’t be the only way people find your website online. Instead, your B2B should utilize its social media accounts to generate leads and keep current clients happy.
Where did this tip come from? Simple observation: Entrepreneur’s article had 3.7k shares. That’s a lot. Each share represents an exponential amount of eyes on your content, pointing back to your website. You can’t deny the power of social media any more.
(Despite the high share rates, this article had zero comments on it.)
Tip Six: Write about Popular & Relevant Topics
We’ve already discussed how your content needs to be relevant to your audience. That’s true, but it also needs to be popular. How does Google discern if your article is popular? Links.
Google uses links to rank websites. Meaning, Google knows how many other websites link to your article, and it considers those links when it ranks you. To Google, a link is like a vote for your popularity; if another website is willing to link to your article, that shows Google that your article has worth and value.
It’s not just “the more the better” either; Google quantifies how valuable each link is and gives it a corresponding weight. (So if www.Michigan.gov links to you, that’s a much bigger deal than if www.wandasquilts.com links to you. Get it?)
The way to get other websites to link to yours? Create great content – write interesting blogs, shoot engaging videos, record intriguing podcasts – and people will link to you.’
Tip Seven: Hire Experts
The last tip that I gleaned from reverse engineering these articles? Leave online marketing to the experts. Each of these top ranking websites is a professional content creator with writers and marketers who are experienced in the online space.
Not only that, just like all marketing, online marketing is ongoing and constant. Online marketing doesn’t stop after you launch your website or write a few blogs; once you’re online, you need to market all the time.
If your B2B is going to be effective, you need to devote time and resources to this endeavor, and for most businesses that means either hiring an in-house marketer or a marketing agency. Whichever way you go, just know that online marketing is something you’ll have to invest in for the lifetime of your business.
What are the Top B2B Tips According to Google?
According to Google, here are the top three results for “Internet Marketing Tips” as of March 2016:
Entrepreneur’s Top 7 (February 2016)
Pared down, here is the list of predictions from Samuel Edwards, Contributor, Digital Marketing Strategist, written for Entrepreneur. (Notice his style – he uses numbers but no periods)
- Video advertising to kick into high gear
- Live-streaming social platforms rise to the top
- Mobile will trounce desktop
- Virtual reality will experience growth
- Relationship marketing is emphasized
- Marketing automation becomes a widespread priority
- Location-based marketing takes off
Forbes’ Top 7 (June 2012)
Forbes presents Ilya Pozin, Subscriber. His bio quip: “I cover startups and tech.” Are you surprised that an article from 2012 ranks at position 2 in Google? That’s the power of content.
(Pozin doesn’t number his Internet marketing tips but he does use periods.) Here are his tips in order:
Know your market.
Set and reset goals.
Set a budget.
Brand yourself.
Search engine optimization.
Blogging.
Social media.
Inc.’s Top 7 (November 2014)
And the third organic ranking for my search, “Internet Marketing Tips” is an article by Neil Patel, Co-founder of Crazy Egg. (He numbers his list and uses periods.) He targets “Entrepreneurs Who Can’t Market or Sell”:
- Produce content.
- Put calls to action in place, and let them work for you.
- Create a mailing list.
- Be social.
- Help people.
- Be all about customer retention.
- Split test everything.
How “Good” are Google’s Tips?
What do you think? Do you think Google is giving its users the best results? Are these results really the best “Internet Marketing Tips?”
Think about the search term, “Internet Marketing Tips” and then review the results. Are they what you expected?
If not, what did you expect to see?
When typing in “tips” did you hope to find “predictions” or did that result confuse you?
When you, as a business owner or marketer for a B2B, type in a specific search term, think about what you expect to see and then evaluate the results you get against those expectations. If you do this enough, you’ll begin to understand the journey that your customers take in order to find your website online.
Download B2B Internet Marketing Tips: Get Found Online
We evaluate each tip in depth in our eBook, “B2B Internet Marketing Tips: Get Found Online.”