The Ultimate Sales Funnel – In Seven Steps (1-3)

In this post, I’ll cover the first three steps: SEO, SEM and SMO.

First and foremost ranking highly in organic search for your main keywords? (Search Engine Optimization, SEO)

If you’re not on the first page of search results, chances are you’ll never be found.  In order to have prospects you can convert, you need people to be able to find you.  Simple as that.  SEO is an ongoing process that you have to work at month after month after month until your site shows up on the first page of search results for your most important keywords / key phrases.  Whether you work with us or anyone else, it will take time – for most companies you’re looking at a minimum of six months to a year or more.  Look, the businesses showing up on the first page have already done this for years.  Search engines don’t change t0p positions fast.  It’s a long slow process.  Additionally, without significant traffic, you’re dead in the water.

Second, a Google Adwords campaign that converts? (Pay Per Click, Search Engine Marketing, SEM)

If you want to get to the first page of search results faster, SEM is your ticket.  However there’s a whole lot more to it than simply the highest bidder.  Sure, search engines want to make money, but they also want users to be satisfied with the results they achieve whether it be organic or paid advertising.  If you’re not getting good traffic, the rest of your funnel will not be able to its job.

If you’re trying to master PPC, especially Google Ads, you need a solid understanding of Quality Score. That’s because your Quality Scores have enormous influence over the cost and effectiveness of your paid search campaigns. Just as your credit score can affect whether or not you qualify for a loan and how high your interest rate is, Google Quality Score affects how your PPC ads perform and how much you pay for each click.

Your Quality Score depends on multiple factors, including:

• Your click-through rate (CTR).
• The relevance of each keyword to its ad group.
• Landing page quality and relevance.
• The relevance of your ad text.
• Your historical Google Ads account performance.

These are the core Quality Score components. No one outside of Google knows exactly how much each factor “weighs” in the Quality Score algorithm, but we do know that click-through rate is the most important component. When more people who see your ad click it, that’s a strong indication to Google that your ads are relevant and helpful to users. Accordingly, Google rewards you with:

• Higher ad rankings
• Lower costs

Third, Engaging your customers or prospects on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn (Social media Optimization, SMO)

SMO service provides a platform to any sized business to get in touch with prospective network of online audience. Through blogs and forums, social networking and review posting, SMO service garners the communication between the potential clients and businesses. There are plethora of websites and communities that can be utilized to promote your business and enhance your online visibility.

Successful Social Media Optimization (SMO) requires proper strategy formulation. There must be a proper planning to approach your targeted platform. Communication is the key requisite in social media optimization and an SMO expert focuses on the inter-personal line of communication to promote your business. Through participation in discussion forums, taking part in web polls or interacting in the question-answer websites, an SMO expert interacts with the targeted audience to promote a client’s business. They also utilize the online platforms to spread brand awareness and garner a targeted online presence.

If all this seems too daunting to you, you can hire us to do it for you.  Tell us about your project or simply contact us for a quote.