There’s a whole lot going on in online marketing. PPC, SEO, CRO, Email, Social Media, Content Marketing, Ecommerce, Responsive Web, Mobile, Tablets, and an endless stream of new tools and technologies. What should you focus on? How should allocate your marketing budget? And what the heck is CRO? The world of online marketing can be challenging, confusing, and downright overwhelming. But take a deep breath. Things are about to get easier.That’s because when it comes to marketing your business online, you need only focus on three words: ATTRACT, CONVERT, and KEEP. Yup. That’s it. Three words. When you’re finished reading this eBook you’ll be able to better understand all the main tactics of online marketing:Pay Per Click (PPC), Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Email Marketing, Web Design, Content or Inbound Marketing, Social Media, Conversioin Rate Optimization (CRO), Online Referral Marketing. But more importantly, you’ll know how each tactic aligns to the strategy of ATTRACTING, CONVERTING, and KEEPING customers.

2. About the Authors
Robert Clarke My areas of focus are…
I’ve always believed that marketing is about
messaging. Op Ed is a newspaper term,  Copywriting and Content Marketing
and we play up the theme because we like  Email Marketing
to think of a newspaper as the ultimate  Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)
metaphor for messaging. With the steady  Ecommerce
flow of new marketing tools and tactics, it’s  Online Referral Marketing
still important to ensure that effective
communication underlies everything you do.
Chris Barnes My Areas of Focus are…
Whether it’s teaching college students,
junior marketers, or clients, I’ve come to  Pay Per Click (PPC) or Search Engine
learn that simplicity is the key to learning. Marketing (SEM)
That’s why I think that even with the  Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
endless stream of marketing tools and  Ecommerce
technology, online marketing boils down  Email Marketing
to three things: attracting, converting, and  Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)
keeping customers.

3. Table of Contents
Who is this eBook for? 4
Introduction 5
“Those Three Words” 6
Pay Per Click (PPC) 8
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) 14
Email Marketing 20
Web Design 26
Content Marketing 32
Social Media 38
Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) 44
Online Referral Marketing 50
Remember Those Three Words 56
How We Can Help 58
How You Can Help 59

4. Who is this eBook for?
Business Owners
Who are looking for a starting point for online marketing (or just need help making
sense of it).
Marketers
Who want to learn ways to align online marketing tactics with a strategy that can
lead to more success for their clients and businesses.
Salespeople
Who want to know more about ways to generate leads and convert them into
customers using online marketing.
4

5. Introduction
There’s a whole lot going on.
Pay Per Click (PPC), Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Email, Social Media, Content
Marketing, Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), Ecommerce, Responsive Web, Phones,
Tablets, Phablets, and an endless stream of new tools and technologies.
It can be challenging. It can be confusing. It can be downright overwhelming!
But take a deep breath. Things are about to get a lot simpler.
That’s because when it comes to marketing your business online, you need only focus on three
words: ATTRACT, CONVERT, and KEEP.
Yup. That’s it. Three words.
When you’re finished reading this eBook you’ll be able to better understand all the main tactics
of online marketing.
But more importantly, you’ll know how each tactic aligns to the strategy of ATTRACTING,
CONVERTING, and KEEPING customers.
Ready? Let’s get started.
5

6. Those Three Words
We’ve spent a lot of time practicing online marketing.
We’ve written hundreds of blogs and articles, built dozens of websites, did the social media
thing, managed millions of dollars in Pay Per Click (PPC) budgets, improved rankings on search
engines, managed Ecommerce sites, and sent out thousands of emails as Email Marketers.
What did we learn doing all these things?
That no matter what type of online marketing we did, the goal was always to: ATTRACT traffic to
a website, CONVERT visitors into leads or customers, or to KEEP customers engaged with the
brand.
Some examples:
Type of Marketing Tactical Goal Strategic Goal
Search Engine Optimization Increase Search Engine Rankings Attract More Visitors
Website Optimization Optimize Website through A/B and Convert More Visitors into Customers
Multivariate Testing
Email Marketing Keep existing customers engaged Keep More Customers
through email communications
You name it – PPC, SEO, Email, Web Optimization, Social Media – every type of online
marketing aligns with one, two, or all three of these things.
6

7. Attract, Convert, Keep Model
Strategy: Get More People to Your
Website
Tactics:
 PPC Op Ed Piece
 SEO
 Email Marketing Online marketing is
 Content Marketing an integration
 Social Media between attracting,
converting, and
keeping customers.
Each part affects
another. It’s kind of
like a Rubik’s Cube:
each move you make
to align colours on
one side will affect
the colours on the
other sides. And to
truly be successful at
a Rubiks’ Cube, you
can’t just focus on a
single side, you have
to get all the sides
right.
- Robert
Strategy: Keep existing customers happy, engaged, Strategy: Convert People that Visit Your Site into
and enable them to help build your fans, and Followers, Prospects, Leads, or Customers
customer base.
Tactics:
Tactics:  Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)
 Referral Marketing  Content Creation
 Content Marketing  PPC
 Email Marketing  Email Marketing
 Social Media
7

8. Pay Per Click (PPC)
PPC is simply the quickest way to get When you’re paying people to visit PPC primarily focuses on attracting
traffic to your website and generate your site, converting them into visitors and converting them into
leads and new business. You can track prospects is paramount. At the very leads and prospects.
every click, every customer, and every least you need to capture their
penny to calculate your ROI. information so you can start marketing
to them.

9. Did You Know?
 Businesses make an average of $2 in
revenue for every $1 they spend on AdWords
(Source: Google Economic Report)
 For high commercial intent search queries,
the top three ad spots take about 40% of the
clicks on the page
(Source: The War on Free Clicks)
 Even with a #1 organic ranking, PPC Ads
provide 50% incremental clicks
(Source: Google Research)
9

10. Pay Per Click (PPC)
What is it?
Pay Per Click (PPC), Paid Search, or Search Engine Marketing (SEM) all Op Ed Piece
mean the same thing: making sure people looking for your product or PPC will tell you: how
service find you. much you’ve spent,
how many leads
That’s worth repeating. you’ve accumulated,
the cost per lead,
Pay Per Click is about connecting you to people who are actively seeking how much revenue
you’ve earned, how
your product or service and ensuring they find your business (and not your
much profit you’ve
competitor’s). earned, and how
much your ROI is. Is
It’s like the Yellow Pages for the internet. there any type of
marketing that can
PPC has two main components: give you that kind of
1. An ad data, and on a daily
2. A landing page basis?
- Chris
PPC involves keyword research to help discover the best way (and
cheapest) for prospects to find your business.
And after they click your ad and land on your website, they need to be
presented with the right information to drive them to contact your business
or make a purchase.
10

11. PPC Example
2. The Ad
1. The Search
The Good… The Not So Good…
 I’m looking for an affordable hotel, so  The ad makes no mention of where I’m
“cheap” is good too! looking (Oakville)
 473,349 people follow or have  “Great Rates” and “Top Deals” aren’t a
Google+ Kayak.com, that’s showing great hook, make me an irresistible offer!
me that it’s a popular site, increasing  “Find Top Deals From 100s Of Sites”.
my likelihood of using it too. Hmm. Does that mean Kayak.com only
has a few hundred hotels to choose from
across the country, the continent, the
3. The Landing Page planet?
The Good…
 A nice, simple design void of clutter and
distractions. This allows me to focus on the
task at hand (searching for a hotel in
Oakville).
 I like how it lets you compare Kayak.com with
its competitors, this helps reduce my
perceived risk of using a lesser-known
search tool.
 Love how my location is already pre-
populated, and without even having to search
there’s some hotels for me to browse in the
right hand column.
The Not so Good… the quickest way to get
PPC is simply When you’re paying people to visit your site, PPC primarily focuses on
 There’s really yourawebsitelot to critique about
traffic to not whole and generate leads converting them into prospects is attracting visitors and
and new business.
this landing page. The only thing I would paramount. At the very least you need to converting them into leads
suggest is that the “save 25% or more” capture their information so you can start and prospects.
needs to be much more prominent (that’s marketing to them.
why I’m here, to save!).
11

12. 10 Tips to PPC Success
1. Be Web Ready 6. Be Careful with Google Display Network
Ensure your website is set-up for a PPC campaign, complete with The GDP has lower Click Through Rates (CTR), but higher traffic
an incentive or promo, a crystal clear call to action, and an easy volume compared to AdWords. But iit can be effective at creating
form to complete (or number to call). You’ll want to measure awareness around a problem that your business has the solution
every click, lead, and customer to calculate your ROI to (e.g. “Did You Know Sidewalk Salt is Unsafe for Pets? Get Pet-
Friendly Salt Here”).
2. Set Your Budget, Smartly
At first, bid higher than Google’s recommended bid amount to 7. Be Mobile Ready
ensure your ad appears on Google search results and so you can Don’t run ads on devices such as mobile phones unless your
start gathering data. As your Click Through Rate (CTR) increases website is mobile-friendly. And if you do, remember that the
(as well as your Quality Score), you can lower your bids. needs of a mobile user can be much different than a desktop user,
so customize your ads accordingly.
3. Target the Right Keywords
Just because you’re a company that does “executive coaching” 8. Target the Right Locations
doesn’t mean that’s how people will search for you. Use Google’s Google lets you select zip/postal codes, states/provinces,
Keyword Tool and look at your Google Analytics keyword traffic counties, cities, and specific geographic areas. Don’t waste
sources to learn more about what keywords people use to find money on ads that serve people outside your intended audience.
your type of business.
9. Optimize Your Ads, Always
4. Use Keywords in Ads If you put your ads on autopilot, you’re wasting money. As you get
This will not only make the ad more relevant to the user (and more data from your ads, shift budgets to higher converting ad
increase the likelihood of someone clicking on it), but Google will groups, test different offers, and split test landing pages to see
also bold the keywords in the ad to make it stand out amongst which ones get more conversions.
your competition.
10. Consider Outsourcing
5. Don’t Send People to Your Homepage A PPC vendor can provide the “3 E’s”: Experience managing a
Instead, send them to the relevant product or service page on your variety of campaigns; Expertise in terms of the tricks of the trade;
site based on the ad they clicked on. Don’t forget to use a clear and Effort as far as the amount of time it takes to optimize
call-to-action. campaigns on a monthly basis. Ensure they have their Google or
Bing Certifications.
12

13. PPC Resources
Tools
 Wordstream
 Acquisio
 Google Keyword Tool
Tips
 3 Reasons to Use a Google Certified Partner for Your PPC Campaigns
 Critiquing Your Google AdWords Campaigns
 What’s Paramount in Paid Search? Relevancy
Resources
 Google AdWords
 Certified Knowledge
13

14. Search Engine Optimization
(SEO)
SEO is simply the best way to attract SEO is an indirect conversion strategy, as SEO is primarily an ATTRACT and
free, organic traffic. It’s an investment it means people are finding you after CONVERT strategy.
that is less a sprint, and more of a searching for a keyword related to your
marathon, but when done right will business. It’s important to structure your
deliver high-volume, high-quality visits at website in such a way that every page is
no cost. part of a larger conversion funnel
strategy.

15. Did You Know?
 Leads from SEO have a 14.6% close rate,
whereas outbound such as direct mail has a
1.7% close rate
(Source: Rainbowseo)
 60% of all organic clicks go to the top three
organic search results
(Source: Optify)
 75% of users never scroll past the first page
of search results
(Source: SearchEngineFacts)
15

16. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
What is it?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the practice of improving and
promoting your website to attract more visitors from search engines.
Op Ed Piece
Much like that of PPC, the goal of SEO is to ensure when people search for SEO is NOT a sprint,
keywords related to your business they find you (and not your competitor). it’s a marathon. It
takes expertise,
There’s many moving parts to SEO, including: creativity, and a daily
 On-Page Optimization (the words on your page) commitment. And
despite what many
 Off-Page Optimization (the links to your site from other sites)
experts would have
 Website Architecture (making sure your site is structured in a way you believe, there’s
search engines understand) no secret sauce to
 Website Usability (ensuring your site is optimized for the people who SEO.
use it) - Chris
 Marketing and promoting your site and its contents
What’s important to understand is that search engines like Google use an
algorithm to determine search rankings. And these algorithms are always
changing, and so is the practice of SEO.
16

17. How Google Sees Your Site
How a website looks to you How it looks
to Google
A Search Engine
like Google sees
your website as
an amalgamation
of text, links,
titles, and tags.
17

18. 10 Tips for SEO Success
1. Don't use Flash or Silverlight 6. CTA! CTA!
Search engines have a difficult time reading these technologies, Use a call-to-action in your meta description with close to no
and thus any valuable content included in them will likely remain focus on keywords. Just as with the title, the meta description
invisible. should be exciting and compel the reader to click through and
find out more.
2. Write for People, not Search Engines
Focus on creating valuable, useful content that your readers will
7. Faster is Better
love and share. Don’t “cloak” content that’s hidden to people but Lower you’re website’s page loading time, as search engines will
readable by search engines (Google will penalize you). Make penalize slow sites. Choose a web host with a professional
sure that your <title> elements and ALT attributes are descriptive configuration, use clean html and css code, and leverage
and accurate. browser caching for faster load times for returning visitors.
3. ‘No Brainer’ Navigation 8. Fresh Content is Fruitful
Simplify your site with a clear hierarchy and text links. Every Update your website with content that is fresh, useful, and
page should be reachable from at least one static text link. unique. Visitors should love to share with others. You should
Ensure this is the case by creating a sitemap that links to all focus on producing content that is naturally shared and linked to.
pages on your site with text link. In other words, link earning in addition to link building.
4. Keyword Placement is Key 9. Show Symbols of Trust
Use keywords to create descriptive, human friendly URLs. Fit keywords Search engines love signs of engagement with websites such as
in title tags of pages at least once (preferably near the beginning), and low bounce rates, high pageviews, and longer time on site.
at least 2-3 times, including variations, in the body copy on the page. Keep visitors on your site with trust symbols such as industry
Don’t forget to use keywords in image tags for when people search the accreditations, awards, customer logos and testimonials. Even
web for images. a valid phone number and address will help.
5. It’s Nice to Entice! 10. Don’t “Get” Links, Earn Links
Use descriptive titles that people will want to share. When a user Get links from sites that are relevant to your own. When building
sees your title they should be excited and want to click on it links, vary keywords as anchor text – lots of links with the exact
because it sounds interesting, not because they notice it has the same text is simply unnatural, even in your own marketing
same keyword that they typed in Google. Promote sharing with efforts. Focus on text that gets a click-through, not that uses a
social sharing widgets and icons – and by asking! particular keyword.
18

19. SEO Resources
Tools
 SEOMoz
 SEOBook
 FollowerWonk
Tips
 5 SEO FAQs Answered
 What’s in a Keyword?
 Tips for Building Your Local Search Presence
Resources
 Google’s SEO Starter Guide
 Search Engine Land
 Google SEO Guidelines
19

20. Email Marketing
Email is a quick, cost-effective way to Every email sent is a “conversion” Email is an effective way to keep your
get traffic to your website. Focus on opportunity. You need an irresistible customers and prospects engaged.
increasing opt-ins and sign-ups and subject line, clickable content, and a Keep your business top of mind by
growing your list which will result in landing page designed to convert. sending valuable content including, the
more opens, clicks, and visits. latest blog, eBook, webinar, contest,
promo or industry news.

21. Did You Know?
 59% of B2B marketers say email is the most
effective channel in generating revenue
(Source: Hubspot)
 64% of people say they open an email
because of the subject line
(Source: Chadwick Martin Bailey)
 29% of the email that reaches a user’s inbox is
newsletters – nearly the same amount as
“conversational” email
(Source: Return Path)
21

22. Email Marketing
What is it?
Email is all about timely, relevant communication with prospects and
customers. Op Ed Piece
Email lets you
Email is a very dynamic and flexible channel – not to mention one of the most communicate to a
cost-effective. In fact, it’s one of the only types of online marketing that is used customer for a
fraction of a penny.
to ATTRACT, CONVERT, and KEEP customers.
When optimized,
Email Marketing can
Some examples: be a powerful tool for
 Distribute a promotion or eflyer to drive sales on your website (ATTRACT) engagement, creating
 Announce a new product, service, seminar, promo or contest (ATTRACT) leads, and increasing
 Trigger automated emails after an abandoned shopping cart to incent revenues.
- Robert
customer to return to cart and complete purchase (CONVERT)
 Keep your customers informed with the latest news or blogs from your
company (KEEP)
 Distribute customer surveys for feedback (KEEP)
Email Marketing has five main components: Integration (database); Graphic
Design (html), Content (info or offer), Segmentation (subscriber lists), and
Analytics (measurement).
22

23. Email Examples Source: Lyris.com
TOMS
Toms is an online shoe store that gives a pair of shoes to a child in
need with every purchase. After signing up to their newsletter, you
get a very welcoming email asking you to set your email
preferences while getting the opportunity to learn more about their
cause. A much better idea than the typical “thank you for
subscribing to our email, please click here to confirm your
subscription” email.
REI
REI does a really good job with this email: a clean, uncluttered
design with big images and clear call to actions. The one
element I would have changed was the colour of the buttons:
they need to stand out from the pink/purple colour of the top
navigation and font, so I would have recommended a bright
blue or green colour. But the email is a nice responsive
design, and renders beautifully on a mobile phone (image on
right). 23

24. 10 Tips for Email Success
1. Make Your Opt-in Obvious 6. Integrate with CRM
Have your email opt-in above the fold, and include on every Email is most effective when it is personalized. For this you’ll
single page of your site if possible. Not everyone arrives on need to integrate your email marketing program with a central
your site’s homepage, so this way every visitor has an database, or CRM platform such as Salesforce or Netsuite.
opportunity to sign-up.
7. Be Concise, Be Mobile
2. Make Your Opt-in Easy Your emails should be a “window” to additional offers or content
The more information you ask of your customers, the less likely that users have to click-through to get the full-view. Keep
they will be to opt-in. As a rule of thumb, unless you’re going to content short and focused on a single objective. Don’t forget to
use the information – phone number, company size, or annual design emails with big, clickable (or touchable) images that
revenues - don’t ask for it. render properly for those viewing on mobile devices.
3. Tell Them What’s In It For Them 8. Segment and Differentiate
Why should people give you access to their inbox? Let your Don’t send everyone the same email. Segment your
customers know what they’re signing up for, and how often subscribers by geography, business size, purchasing behaviour,
they’ll receive communication from your company, and above all or industry. The more personalized, the more relevant. The
the value they’ll be getting. Include an example of an eflyer or more relevant, the more likely your subscribers are to open,
newsletter so they can see what they’re signing up for. click, and convert.
4. Get Social 9. Create a Lead Gen Drip Campaign
Have Facebook fans? Create an opt-in on your Facebook page An drip campaign is a series of emails auto-triggered to go out
or run a contest that includes collecting email addresses – same over a set period of time. The content of the emails can include
goes for Twitter. Have a brick and mortar store? Acquire email anything from offers, product info, promos, tips, news and
addresses with in-store raffles or giveaways. contests all the way to whitepapers and resources. When
prospects are ready to buy, your business will be top of mind.
5. Ensure Deliverability
Avoid language that will get caught by SPAM filters by 10. Always Be Testing
mentioning topics like medication, mortgages, or making Think of Email Marketing as a science: you’ll only get better by
money. Don’t create emails that are too image-heavy, as not all experimenting. Test subject lines, headlines, images, copy,
email clients will automatically render images. Don’t get landing pages, and send times. Once you start gathering
blacklisted by ISPs by ignoring CAN-SPAM (US) or CASL enough data, you can create benchmarks to measure the
(CAN) rules. success of your campaigns.
24

25. Email Marketing Resources
Tools
 Delivra
 Constant Contact
 MailChimp
Tips
 10 Easy Ways to Increase Email Opt-Ins
 5 Ways to Handle Leads Who Aren’t Yet Ready to Buy from You
 Send These Types of Emails, Receive More Revenue for Your Online
Store
Resources
 CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business (US)
 CASL (CAN)
25

26. Web Design
A great website experience will attract Your website should be your top Web design is primarily a tool for
new visitors and keep current ones salesperson: filling the sales funnel, ATTRACTING and CONVERTING
coming back. Remember to design getting leads, and ultimately converting customers but simple usability and
pages and content for prospects in the visitors into customers. valuable content will always KEEP
different stages of the buying cycle. visitors coming back.

27. Did You Know?
 The average site wastes 75%+ of its traffic due
to lack of persuasion and “sales-ability”
(Source: Hubspot)
 The average conversion rate for ecommerce
sites is about 2-3%
(Source: Internet Retailer)
 A lot of Web Designers care more about a site
looking cool than ensuring it can “convert”
(Source: Op Ed Opinion)
27

28. Web Design
What is it?
A Website is a way of speaking with text and graphics. It’s nothing more
than a medium to communicate. Op Ed Piece
A lot of Web
Your website is a business tool that has two main purposes: Designers get it
1. To ATTRACT visitors wrong. Many
2. To CONVERT visitors into customers overemphasize the
aesthetic appeal of a
Do this with: site. They want it to
 Intelligent usability “look” good because
they approach it as
 Smart, simple navigation
an artistic activity.
 Persuasive headlines and copywriting But Web Design is
 Pages that speak to each user at different stage of buying cycle not an artistic activity,
 Setting up conversion points and measuring success it is a business
activity.
A site should look good, but the real measurement of success is whether it - Robert
can attract visitors and convert them into prospects and customers to
help grow your business.
28

29. Web Design Examples
MailChimp.com
Why it’s a Website Designed to Convert:
 Simple, clean design that makes clear what it
does (email newsletters made easy)
 Big red sign-up button (good colour to draw
attention). Notice the sign-up button in the
header too, meaning that a visitor can sign-up
from any page on the website. Remember, not
all visitors to your site will visit your homepage.
 “2.5 million people use MailChimp”, this is a
great way to add credibility, and reduce a
visitor’s perceived risk of using your product or
service if they haven’t heard of you.
GetFlow.com
Why it’s a Website Designed to Convert:
 No top navigation at all except to login or sign-
up, how is that for simplicity!
 You arrive on the homepage and the form field
for your name has a blinking cursor to start
typing, that’s showing the user what you want
them to do.
 I like the three form fields, they’re not asking
you for your company name, how many
employees you have, what your revenues are
– just name, email, and password. That’s how
you increase conversions on a form.

30. 10 Tips for Web Design Success
1. Answer “What is this?” 6. Highlight Credibility
You’d be surprised how many businesses don’t make it clear, The best way to talk about your value is to have your
crystal clear, what exactly they do. Communicate what you do customers speak for you. Scatter customer testimonials
in your slogan or somewhere in your header. That way, no throughout your site (not just on a dedicated testimonials page)
matter what page visitors land on when entering your site, and include their pictures or videos whenever possible.
they’ll know what your business is all about.
7. Simple Sells
2. Answer “Is it for me?” No need to reinvent the wheel with your website. Keep
Who are you targeting? Teenagers, pet owners, seniors, small navigation at the top and/or left hand side, avoid “flashy”
businesses? Identify your audience in taglines and headlines moving graphics that can be distracting, and show images of
and use images of your typical customer to signal that they’re real employees instead of stock photos.
in the right place.
8. Copy is Key
3. Answer “What can I do?” A website is a way to speak, don’t forget about persuasive
Can a visitor sign-up for a newsletter, read a blog, watch a copywriting. Personalize with words like “you” instead of
video, download an eBook, or buy something? Make it clear “customer”, and “we” instead of your company name. Focus
what the visitor’s next steps are. Aim to capture their on the benefits of your products (not features) and make sure
information through an email sign-up, free-trial, or free to have a clear call-to-action on every single page of your site.
download so you can start marketing to them.
9. Get Your Site Responsive
4. Answer “How is it different?” Responsive web design means that a website can “respond” to
There’s probably hundreds of other businesses online that offer different browser sizes, including those displayed on desktops,
the same products and services as you. So make sure to laptops, tablets, and mobile phones. There’s thousands of
communicate how you’re different, what value you bring, and Wordpress templates that are both “responsive” and very
why a customer should choose you over your competitors. affordable.
5. Answer “Who else is using it?” 10. Make an Irresistible Offer
As humans we feel more secure doing something when we Looking for a way to get more engagement on your site? Make
know others are doing it too. Highlight well-known customers your visitors an offer they can’t refuse. A free-trial, a money-
throughout your site, show-off all your social media fans and back guarantee, free shipping, free download, or free eBook.
followers, and include any awards or accreditations that The goal is the get your visitor to make an easy decision with
increase your credibility. little or no risk.
30

31. Web Design Resources
Tools
 Wordpress
 iThemes Builder
Tips
 Your Website Should be Your Top Salesman, Is He Closing
Business?
 5 Examples of Websites Designed to Convert!
 Show Me What You’ve Got in Five Seconds or Less!
Resources
 Ben Hunt’s Pro Web Design Course
 DesignModo
 Webdesigner Depot
31

32. Content Marketing
Content is king. It can be reposted, Content helps convert. A white paper, Content is one of the best ways to
retweeted, commented on, and shared eBook, tutorial, or free webinars are keep customers and prospects
across millions of social sites, great ways to convert visitors to your engaged with your company:
networks, communities and forums. site into fans, prospects, leads, and newsletters, blogs, videos, podcasts
Content can also help improve your customers. will all keep people coming back.
rankings on search engines.

33. Did You Know?
 Businesses with websites of 401-1000 pages
get 6x more leads than those with 51-100
(Source: Hubspot)
 Companies that blog have 97% more inbound
links which can drastically improve Google
rankings
(Source: Hubspot)
 The ROI of content marketing has risen 300%
over the previous 3 years
(Source: Eloqua)
33

34. Content Marketing
What is it?
Content Marketing, or Inbound Marketing, means earning the attention of
prospects (as opposed to buying it, or begging for it).
Op Ed Piece
You do this be delivering valuable content such as: Content Marketing,
Inbound Marketing,
 Blogs  Newsletters call it what you want.
 Podcasts  Articles The point is that it’s
 Videos  Webinars still marketing.
You’re creating
 White Papers  Infographics
something of value in
 eBooks  Shareable the effort to capture a
Presentations lead, cultivate a
customer.
Once you have content, you still need to market it. But the marketing isn’t a - Robert
“push” strategy, it’s a “pull” strategy. You’re not “disrupting” people with stuff
that you sell (push), you’re giving something of value so they will come to you
for more (pull).
If you build valuable content, people will come.
34

35. Content Marketing Examples
Indium: “From One Engineer to Another”
Blog Series
Sixteen engineers from Indium have discovered content gold with
their “From One Engineer to Another” blog. Through it, they
produce valuable content, videos and answer questions about a
variety of engineering topics (e.g., how to set up and operate the
Indium sulfamate plating bath). Even if you don’t know what that
means, you can appreciate what they are striving for: to bring
ideas to life through interactive conversations. (Source: CMI)
Tablespoon Cooking Community
The Tablespoon community is an attractive, interactive site for
people passionate about food and entertaining. The site gathers
the best of the best, and uses a clean categorization technique for
its content, splitting it up by topics that matter most to its core
audience: Quick Dishes, Taste for Adventure and Rock UR Party.
Depending on the type of cook you are or event you’re hosting,
these categories help you find content easily and quickly in a more
innovative way than traditional websites. And, with help from their
newsletter, readers can also stay in-the-know on the latest recipes
and inspirations. (Source: CMI)
35

36. 10 Tips for Content Marketing Success
[Creating Content] [Marketing Content]
1. Use Google Keyword Tool 6. RSS Feed
Not sure what to blog about? What to focus your next eBook People love RSS feeds because they don’t have to give-up any
on? Or what that next podcast topic should be? Use the Google information, can read blogs when they want to, and don’t have to
Keyword Search Tool to see what people are searching for and keep visiting your website to read them. Just remember to
what questions they’re asking. include a CTA at the end of all your posts.
2. Focus on the Headlines 7. Don’t Forget About Email
No matter how good a piece of content is, nobody will read on if Use email like social media to share your company’s latest blog,
they don’t connect with the headline. Use the headline to eBook, white paper, webinar, or training video. The great thing
highlight what’s in it for the reader in terms of benefit, or value. about email is that you can measure the value of your content
Opt for “clear” over “clever” and use numbers or info such as with open rates, click-through rates, and landing page sign-ups,
“Top 10 Ways to Get More Email Subscribers”. downloads, and, ultimately, sales.
3. Make it SEO-friendly 8. Social Media
Use keywords to create descriptive, human friendly URLs. Use Don’t try and get content on every social media site; that’s
them in the title tags of the page at least once (preferably near impossible. Focus on the social media sites your prospects use,
the beginning), and at least 2-3 times, including variations, in the not what you use. But don’t expect everyone to share your
body copy on the page. content right away, you need to promote others too! Share their
content, comment on their blogs, and they’ll return the favour.
4. Don’t Underestimate Readability
Simple sells. Use clear, readable language and ditch the
9. Integrate! Integrate! Integrate!
industry jargon and corporate cliches like “industry leading” and Have Twitter followers, Facebook fans, email subscribers? Ask
“robust”. Increase font size to 14 pt, avoid big blocks of text, and your users to opt-in to another channel, especially one like email
use lots of sub-headings that allow people to “scan” your where you can capture their contact information and start
content. treating them like a potential prospect.
5. Include a Call to Action (CTA) Every Time 10. Build Inbound Links
If you’ve delivered value, people will be more likely to return the Use content to create inbound links to your website. Offer to
favour. Ask people to share your content, sign-up to a mailing guest blog, upload presentations, reports, or white papers to
list, or contact your company for more valuable information. sites like Slideshare or Scribd. Comment on other people’s
blogs and answer questions in relevant communities and forums,
pointing them to your content if appropriate.
36

37. Content Marketing Resources
Tools
 Scribe
 Contently
Tips
 Inbound Marketing: The Five Pillars to More Profits
 Kiss Your Great Content Goodbye If You’re Not Doing This With It
 The Most Important, Overlooked, & Easiest Way to Get More Traffic
to Your Blog
Resources
 Copyblogger
 Copywriting Blog
 Content Marketing Institute
37

38. Social Media
Social Media is a powerful method for Social Media is not necessarily a What better way to keep your customers,
attracting visitors to your site. Target conversion tactic, but allowing people fans, and followers engaged than
and engage prospects and build a to sign-up or login with their Social through blog posts, mutual commenting,
following, invite them to your site to Media profiles can help increase online communities and forums? Put the
read blogs, sign-up for webinars, or conversion points. “Social” in “Social Media”.
take advantage of a sale or contest.

39. Did You Know?
 62% of companies using LinkedIn have acquired
a customer from the network
(Source: Hubspot)
 Companies with 1000+ Twitter followers get 6
times more website traffic
(Source: Hubspot)
 Failure to respond via social channels can lead
to up to a 15% increase in churn rate for existing
customers
(Source: Gartner)
39

40. Social Media
What is it?
Social Media is nothing more than a description for online interaction.
For businesses, it usually involves listening, responding, and engaging with Op Ed Piece
people across multiple communities and networks. Don’t get into Social
Media just because
Social Media can be used for several purposes, including: it’s the latest industry
 Building brand awareness, credibility, and transparency buzz – get into it
 Demonstrating knowledge and thought leadership because it’s a great
way to find prospects,
 Garnering feedback and developing better business ideas and practices engage them, and
 Responding to customer needs and queries build a more
 Building communities and/or networks profitable business.
 Monitoring industry trends and/or competition - Chris
 Cultivating leads and customers
 Improving SEO and Content Marketing strategies
The most important component for any business is to have a strategy that
drives social media.
40

41. Social Media Examples
Blendtec
Campaign Details: “Will it Blend?” That’s all you need to know
about this campaign. Blendtec takes everything from iPhones,
Nike shoes, baseballs, to cans of pork and beans to see if their
products can blend them. So far their videos have been viewed
over 220 million times (how’s that for brand awareness?).
Why It Worked: Besides people’s penchant for seeing things
destroyed, this campaign works because often it takes the latest
gadget (e.g. iPad, video game) and is very topical. Viewers can
also vote on whether things will blend, and can make suggestions
for future products to blend.
Starbucks
Campaign Details: Starbucks offered mayorship deals on
Foursquare, free goodies for Tax Day via Twitter's then-new
promoted tweets, and a free pastry day promoted through
Twitter and Facebook.
Why It Worked: It’s a great use of engaging Starbucks fans
on platforms their customers use: Foursquare, Twitter, and
Facebook. A Tax Day promotion boosted their PR, and free
pastry day is the perfect idea for promoting a non-coffee
product.
41

42. 10 Tips for Social Media Success
1. Align Strategy with Business Goals 6. Play the Karma Game
Is your Social Media strategy to increase your community, Don’t expect everyone to share your content right away, you
create more leads, or to aid the customer service experience? need to promote others too! Share their content, comment on
Maybe it’s all of the above. No matter what, you need to think their blogs, and they’ll return the favour. As a rule, promote
of Social Media as a way to achieve your business goals and others 10 times more than you promote yourself.
build a strategy complete with goals, KPIs, and benchmarks.
7. Don’t “Ask” for a Follow, Earn It!
2. Focus on Where Your Customers Are Why should people follow you? Is it exclusive access to
Don’t waste time on social media sites that your customers content and contests? Special discounts and rewards? Don’t
don’t use for business purposes. As a general rule, Facebook expect people to follow your brand unless you can deliver
is great for B2C, Twitter and Google+ are best fit for B2B, and value, unless there’s something in it for them (not just you).
LinkedIn is key for both types of marketing. But don’t forget to
test out industry related forums and communities. 8. A Relationship Lasts Longer than a Lead
Be more than a business: be human. Use real names, real
3. Listen and Elicit Responses photos, and real people instead of company logos or
Approach Social Media like a member of a jury: listen to what nondescript employees. People aren’t social with companies,
everyone has to say before you proceed. Poll people and find people are social with people.
our more about the wants and needs of your customers and
elicit responses. In other words, engage! 9. Use the Right Tools
Social Media can eat up a lot of time and resources. Use the
4. Curate Content right tools to manage multiple accounts, monitor conversations
You can’t just count on sharing your own content because: a) about your brand, share content, and manage customer leads
you’ll be looked at as too self-promotional b) no one is going to (see next page for list of tools).
help promote you. Cut through the clutter and curate content
that your followers will love, and build your brand as a valuable 10. Measure and Manage
resource in the process. Social Media is not easy to measure for ROI (despite what
gurus might tell you). Do you know what your ROI is for your
5. It’s Not a Campaign, It’s a Commitment company’s coffee, mobile phones, or customer service
There’s lots of examples of viral videos, trending Tweets, and department? Measure fans, followers, and mentions but also
overnight Social Media success stories. But for the most part, engagement metrics like comments, retweets, and social
Social Media is a day-in, day-out commitment to engaging shares. When in doubt, review #1.
people, prospects, and current customers.
42

43. Social Media Resources
Tools
 Hootsuite
 Buffer
 Radian6
 Klout
Tips
 Getting Started With Social Media
 30 Terrible Pieces of Social Media Advice You Should Ignore
Resources
 Social Media Examiner
 Mashable
 Business2Community
43

44. Conversion Rate
Optimization (CRO)
CRO is all about CONVERTING CRO is the practice of CONVERSION. CRO is primarily a CONVERSION
visitors into prospects, leads, and It is a systematic method for improving strategy, but it also needs to focus on
customers after you ATTRACT them to the odds of a visitor taking the action how to KEEP a lead or prospect
your site. you want them to: signing-up, engaged after the conversion.
downloading, sharing, or buying.

45. Did You Know?
 75% of Ecommerce Shopping Carts are
abandoned
(Source: SeeWhy)
 Online forms placed in the right side of the page
have a 5% to 10% higher conversion rate than
the left aligned ones
(Source: Monetate)
 A Captcha feature on your online forms will
decrease conversion by 3.2%
(Source: Monetate)
45

46. Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)
What is it?
Conversion Rate Optimization, or Website Optimization, is simply a process to
measure and improve your website’s conversion goals. Op Ed Piece
So many
A conversion is an action you want a visitor to take when they visit your businesses spend
site: most of their online
marketing dollars
 Calling a number getting people to
 Completing a form visit their site –
 Subscribing to a blog or email PPC, SEO, Email,
 Downloading a whitepaper Content, Social
 Signing up for a free trial Media, etc. But
there’s no point
 Becoming a fan or follower of your brand
blowing your
 Making a purchase budget getting
traffic to your site if
The typical website should have a primary conversion goal (e.g. purchase, you can’t “convert”.
quote form completion) and a few secondary conversion goals (subscribe to - Chris
blog, sign-up to newsletter).
CRO involves testing, testing, and more testing. Split or Multivariate testing
are usually the two methods used to optimize a website’s conversion points.
46

47. Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)
Split or A/B Testing
Split testing, also known as A/B testing, means to set up two
web pages (or ads) that are identical except for one variable
that is different, and likely to affect a user’s behaviour.
In this case, you have two web pages that are virtually the
same except version A has one image in header and version
B has five (with booking widget moved down).
Which page do you think converted better?
Version B resulted in a
60% lift in resort
bookings!
Source: Wider Funnel
Smashing Multivariate tests headlines,
images, CTA, and colour to see which
combination of all the elements convert
the best for selling their book
Multivariate Testing
Multivariate testing is a little more complicated. It involves
chopping an ad or webpage up into different elements, and
testing to see which combination of the different elements
work best together to produce the highest conversion.
A multivariate test would show combinations of the
headlines, images, copy, and buttons to different visitors to
determine which combination produces the best results.
47

48. 10 Tips for CRO Success
1. Start from the “I Know Nothing” Principle 6. Provide a Path Forward
If you knew what the outcome of a test was, there would be no Give visitors a clear-cut, above the fold, call to action that gets
reason to test. But you’d be very, very surprised how them moving in the direction. Show them that you have what
conventional wisdom can be easily defeated by hard evidence. they want, and then give them a way to get it.. This could be a
There’s no rhyme or reason when it comes to testing, it just is. “buy now” button, “get a quote” link, or newsletter subscription.
So start from the idea that you know nothing until you test it.
7. Benefits, NOT Features
2. Tailor Your Site to How People Find You A person going into a hardware store looking for a 1/4″ drill bit
In Google Analytics, analyze the keywords people use to find does not want a 1/4″ drill bit, they want a 1/4″ hole. Your landing
your site and be more relevant. Someone searching for page copy should focus on the hole (what they want) rather than
“compare LCD TVs” compared to someone searching for “buy the drill bit (what they need to get what they want).
Sony LCD TV” are at very different stages of the buying cycle.
8. Don’t Distract!
3. Extra! Extra! Headlines Help! Avoid pop-ups, advertisements for unrelated products/service,
Just like a newspaper, headlines make a world of difference! A unnecessary navigation points, and multiple calls to action.
headline is likely the first thing your visitor is going to see when These things distract users from their original goal, and in turn
they get to your landing page. Test different headlines and will also cause them to not complete the action that you consider
capture your visitor’s attention to help guide them through your your business goal.
conversion funnel.
9. CTA is A-Okay!
4. Pinpoint Your Value Prop Don’t overlook your Call-to-Action (CTA). Always, always make it
Communicate your value proposition, and how your business is clear what you want the visitor to do with your CTA. Test
different, early on in your landing page’s content. Your value different CTAs and use action verbs like “Discover, Learn,
prop really should be above the fold, and a focal point on the Uncover, Explore, Download”.
page.
10. Never Stop Testing
5. Don’t Ask for Unnecessary Information While you may come up with a great combination of headline,
Have a sign-up form that asks your visitors for their name, email, image, value-prop, and benefits that are converting well for you,
website, industry, number of employees, company revenue, and there may be a way to squeeze more out of your landing page.
colour of their underwear? As a general rule, the more That’s where A/B Testing comes into play. You should always be
information you ask of visitors, the less likely they are to complete running tests to improve your landing pages.
your form.
48

49. CRO Resources
Tools
 Optimizely
 YouEye
 Unbounce
Tips
 What is Conversion Rate Optimization and How Can it Help My
Business?
 Show Me What You’ve Got in Five Seconds or Less
Resources
 Conversion Rate Optimization Report
 WiderFunnel Blog
49

50. Online Referral Marketing
Referral Marketing is one of the best Referral Marketing increases Keeping customers is much easier
ways to create brand awareness, conversion rates, undoubtedly, as when they are referred to you. In
improve SEO, and drive quality traffic people are 4 times more likely to buy fact, a referred customer has a 16%
and prospects to your business. when referred to your business. higher lifetime value than a non-
referred customer. Referral
Marketing equips your brand
ambassadors with the right tools to
help promote your business to their
family, friends, fans, and followers.

51. Did You Know?
 65% of new business comes from referrals
(Source: New York Times)
 You are 4 times more likely to buy when referred
by a friend
(Source: Nielsen)
 55% of consumers recommend a company
based on its customer service
(Source: RightNow)
51

52. Online Referral Marketing
What is it?
Online Referral Marketing is turning your customers into a de facto sales team
for your business. Op Ed Piece
With Referral
It is one of the most effective ways to to grow your customer base, and one Marketing, you’re
of the most overlooked. effectively turning
your customers into
People are 4 times more likely to buy from you if they were referred to your your company’s
business. advocates,
promoters, lead
generators, and
Online Referral Marketing involves techniques and tools that you can salespeople.
integrate into your everyday business to generate a steady flow of leads that - Robert
have been referred by existing customers.
It may include:
 A Social platform that can identify customer advocates
 A loyalty, rewards, or gamification program that can incent referrals
 Measurement tools that can measure and optimize referral campaigns.
52

53. Referral Example
Folica
Folica promotes referrals by giving customers
$10 off their purchase for referring their
friends. Their friends, in turn, receive 15% off
their first purchase.
Folica makes it easy to refer. Customers can
send an email, share on Twitter, or post on
their Facebook page.
Toob Network
Used Gamification to develop a series of quests
that encouraged users to view videos on a variety
of ToobNetwork sites and challenged users to rate
and share those videos. When users finished a
quest, they earned virtual coins that could be used
to buy rewards.
Gamification can be used to reward people for
sharing content, and thus as a referral tool. And
who wouldn’t want to refer a site where
engagement helps provide funding for animal
welfare?
Source: Big Door Media 53

54. 10 Tips for Referral Marketing Success
1. ABTC 6. Reward for Referrals
Always Be Thinking of your Customers (ABTC). It’s the old If you threw a party for all your customers, employees, and fans
80/20 rule; 80% of your business comes from 20% of your and followers, how big would it be? And how much bigger
customers, so don’t take them for granted. would it be if you invited everyone in each of their networks? A
lot! So encourage referrals with savings on future products or
2. Get Scientific services or loyalty program points.
Like a lot of businesses, you probably track web traffic, Google
rankings, Twitter followers, and maybe even email open rates. 7. Connect with Influencers
But what about referrals? You need to start by getting scientific. When Universal Studios went to launch the Wizarding World of
Create a program that tracks leads, tests offers, and ultimately Harry Potter theme park, they did it by only telling 7 influential
measures ROI. bloggers. In 24 hours, 350 million people had heard of the park.
Think about influencers in your industry and how you can work
3. Keep Customers Engaged with them to help promote your business.
Communicate with emails, blogs, newsletters, whitepapers,
new products, promotions and contests. Better yet, pick up 8. Testimonials are Referrals
the phone or pay your best customers a visit and ask them if Ask your customers for a testimonial and reward them. And
they’re happy, and if there’s anything more you can do for instead of having a dedicated “testimonial” page on your
them. site, scatter customer testimonials, quotes, and Facebook
posts throughout your site – especially on your homepage.
4. Ask at the “Wow” Moment
The best time to ask for a referral is when you’ve “wowed” 9. Reviews are Referrals Too
your customer. Whether you’ve just given them great People trust what other customers say about your company
service, a great price, or a great product, you need to use more than what you say. Encourage people to offer reviews
that window as an opportunity to ask your customer for a and incent them with points, discounts, or as part of a loyalty
referral. program. Not only will reviews help with your SEO, you’ll get
great feedback on how to better your business.
5. Make the Referral Easy
Whether it’s completing a form, sending an email, or simply 10. Be a Referrer
sharing a Facebook post – make the referral process as If you want people to refer your business, you have to refer
simple as possible for people promoting your business. people to other businesses. Work on the karma principle,
and you’ll be surprised how people will look positively on
your business and be more prone to return the favour.
54

55. Referral Marketing Resources
Tools
 ShopOn.com
 Amplifinity
 Badgeville
Tips
 Do You Follow the Three “R’s” for Growing Your Small Business,
Faster?
 How To Create The Ultimate Referral Marketing System In 7 Simple
Steps
Resources
 Duct Tape Marketing
 Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA)
55

56. Remember Three Words…

57. Things Will Change, Three Words Won’t
There’s a lot going on.
And it won’t be long until the next new social media platform, mobile tool, or
trendy marketing buzzword is all the rage.
Things will change. But your strategy won’t.
It’s always going to be about using online marketing tactics to ATTRACT,
CONVERT, and KEEP customers.
We would go so far as to say that a typical marketing department should
divide their department into these three categories.
In the future maybe companies will hire “Attraction, Conversion, and
Keeping” experts as opposed to Email, SEO, PPC, Web Design, and Social
Media experts.
In the meantime, stick to your strategy: remember these three words.
57

58. How We Can Help
We help businesses take advantage of the ATTRACT, CONVERT, and KEEP online
marketing model.
We know all the tactics, tools, and technologies.
But more importantly, we know how to use them as part of a larger strategy that will lead to
better marketing, a better competitive advantage, and at the end of the day, better profits.
Please feel free to connect with us to talk about growing your business online.
Chris Barnes Robert Clarke
chris@op-ed.ca robert@op-ed.ca
877 607 8906 877 607 8906
www.op-ed.ca www.op-ed.ca
58

59. How You Can Help…
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