Simple Inbound Marketing
Inbound marketing isn't meant to be overly complicated. Also, sales automation, CRM software, advanced analytics... These don't need to be integrated until much later in the process of building a website and generating qualified leads (which, in their simplest form, is what inbound marketing is all about).
As a business owner, you want to become an authority in your field. You also want potential customers contacting you (or at least it's the ideal scenario). To achieve this, there are steps that you're required to follow. You won't have to deal with high-tech digital marketing stuff, but continuous effort is essential.
Register a Domain Name
It’s usually the first thing you do. Obviously based on your brand, a domain name (i.e., your website name), more often than not will be represented by your company name or the type of products and/or services offered at the time (if any) - or the term closest to either. Various/universal domain extensions (eg: .co, .com, .net, .org, etc) are available, so finding a name you can bank on for the long-term shouldn’t be that difficult.
As a side-note, keyword research for more seasoned online publishers typically starts at this point. Many will use a high-value or high-profitability keyword (which could consist of more than one word) within their domain name to improve search engine rankings, but it’s becoming less common as brand recognition becomes increasingly important.
Launch Your Site
This one’s a lot of work, but it’s also the funnest for most entrepreneurs since their vision begins to be manifested for the world to see. What occasionally stops a person from launching their site, however, is the overwhelm from deciding on the numerous options available for publishing and managing content. This is not to mention the dozens of tasks associated with accomplishing all of the above.
The only solution we can offer in this regard is to read reviews and select the website builder or CMS (i.e., content management system) that resonates most with you. There are several platforms to choose from and the vast majority offer built-in business and marketing features (including basic optimization of page content). Once your domain name is mapped to the site, you can start adding content.
Add Content, Regularly
It might be considered a cliché with experienced marketers, but it’s also necessary. Quality content extends beyond running a spell-check prior to publishing your articles. It’s about tapping into your expertise, mixing in a bit of emotion, and connecting with your potential audience. If you write a few informative, entertaining, and/or passion-driven articles, your site will start receiving traffic within a few months of initial launch. If it’s done regularly, that traffic will grow exponentially in numbers. But if, at any point, you stop posting original content, your unique visitor count will hit a plateau… and eventually decrease gradually over time.
Conclusion
While your business model may be concrete in its product & service offerings, simple inbound marketing often relies on an openness to erratic results. In other words, the traffic received doesn’t always correlate to preceded actions. We don’t always know what will have the greatest impact nor can we counter all obstacles. What we do know is that improved search engine rankings along with viral social sharing will take place following the consistent content marketing approach described above. More customers naturally follow as well.