When a small business (or any business for that matter) doesn’t operate from an effective marketing strategy, it can lead to busy work, doing things but not seeing growth, not knowing what to do, inconsistent branding, errors, and trying one tactic after another without seeing the results you want.
This is why we’ve created a blog series to explore one of the best marketing methods for small businesses: the flywheel marketing strategy. If you’ve been following along, you know that this strategy gives your business a structured and clear path towards the growth and results you are trying to achieve—but it requires a bit of upfront work to do so.
In this third installment in our blog series, we’re going to outline the second step of the flywheel marketing strategy—building a lead generation website and SEO.
There are four phases that make up the flywheel marketing strategy.
As a recap, the flywheel marketing method is a marketing strategy where your website and online marketing efforts are in sync and function as a flywheel to continually produce results. And, once it’s in place, it will more or less continue to bring in qualified leads on its own—only requiring minimal maintenance.
The four-step flywheel marketing system includes:
- Understanding your audience and creating clear messaging
- Building a strong foundation with a lead generation website and SEO
- Creating content and a sales funnel that serves your ideal client well
- Promoting your services and content
We outlined the first step of this process in our last blog, “Why Every Small Business Should Use a Flywheel Marketing Strategy: Messaging Framework.” This two-part step shows you how to identify your ideal audience and clarify your marketing messaging through your Marketing Guiding Statements.
Next, we’re going to break down how to build a lead generation website and what SEO tactics you need to pay attention to.
Build a strong foundation with a lead generation website.
Your website is the foundation for all of your marketing and communication efforts and is key to providing information to your ideal customers and sparking engagement and growth.
About two years ago, you had around eight seconds to capture someone’s attention when they landed on your website. Now, you have less than three and only 0.05 seconds for them to form an opinion about your site.
With only a few seconds to tell people what you do, how you make their lives better, and what they need to do next—every word counts, and strategic layout is more important than ever. You will generate more leads with a strategically-designed and written website.
Your lead generation website strategy should include:
- Customer-Focused Web Plan
Your website needs to serve your ideal customers extremely well. Therefore, you’ll need to conduct industry research to identify and understand your ideal clients. Based on this information, wireframe a strategic plan (pages and flow) and layout your website. We’ve outlined the eight things the homepage of your website should include in the blog, “The Three Most Effective Ways to Improve Your Small Business’s SEO.” - Initial Keyword & SEO Strategy
With thorough keyword research based on your business goals outlined from your audience research and discovery, design an SEO strategy according to best Google practices that will be utilized to write your website copy. Although this guide speaks directly to photographers, the value of learning about keyword research applies to all businesses. You can find the guide here. - Strategic Content Writing & Wireframe Outline
Utilize your newly-developed messaging and SEO strategy to create strategic copy that follows a story-based format and shows your ideal customers the value of choosing your organization. Don’t forget to review Episode 86 of the Priority Pursuit Podcast to understand what sections the homepage of your website needs. This will help you write the correct type of copy.
- Purposeful Design, Flow, and Management
In addition to making sure your website includes the right information, you’ll also need to ensure your site is easy for your ideal customers to use and navigate. To do this, we recommend only including five to six options in the main navigation. Make it extremely easy for people to find what they are looking for—quickly! - Mobile Optimization & Initial Search Engine Optimization
Today, more people view websites from their mobile devices than from desktops. With this in mind, design your website to function well on all devices. Additionally, add Google Analytics to your site, set up your Google Console, and submit your site to Google upon launch.
Next, you’ll want to show Google you’re a real business through search engine optimization (SEO).
SEO is a free process that helps your website rank well on Google (or other search engines) when users conduct searches related to your products, services, or content.
There are a lot of moving parts to a successful SEO strategy, but it has the power to do big things for your small business. When people intentionally look for a service or product, most are ready to make a purchase. So, when your lead generation website is one of the first solutions they see in a search, they will be more likely to buy from you.
A successful SEO strategy includes:
- Performing a handful of tasks ONE time to make the powers that be at Google happy.
- Serving your audience well by creating consistent, helpful content.
- Having a website that makes your ideal customers want to work with or buy from you.
Small businesses can get started with these three local, SEO tactics:
-
Google Business Profile Optimization
Your Google Business Profile is the best way to quickly show Google that your organization exists and to tell customers how to find you, what you do, where you’re located, and what area you service (if applicable). Be sure that your profile is verified and optimized to the fullest. - Online Directories & Accounts
Google uses your online directory accounts as a way to verify your organizational information—helping them build trust with you. Directories contain a diverse range of information, and you’ll need to ensure your listings are submitted and correct in the most prominent directories. We suggest utilizing a service like Moz Local to assist with this task.
- Review Collection
Online reviews build visibility, loyalty, and trust—plus, they help to convert prospects into customers. You’ll need to gather your review links (Google, Facebook, etc.) and create a series of emails that your team or automated email system can send to customers after they have purchased or had a positive interaction with you. Additionally, for service businesses and restaurants, looking into utilizing a reputation management software may be helpful as well.
By building a strong foundation with a lead generation website and proper SEO, you can effectively reach and engage your ideal customers. In the next and final blog in this series, we’ll unpack SEO-based content and sales funnels that bring clarity and structure to your small business’s marketing strategy.
By implementing the flywheel marketing strategy, you can stop spending time and money on marketing tactics that aren't producing results and finally see the growth you’ve been working so hard to achieve.
Small businesses deserve to have a marketing strategy and partner that works as hard as they do.
Treefrog Marketing is a marketing agency for small businesses located in Lafayette, Indiana that builds effective marketing strategies and systems that help small business leaders take their companies to the next level. We specialize in marketing leadership, strategic marketing and advertising, digital marketing, graphic design, web design, social media, SEO, and more. For more information, please visit our website. You can also connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
