An SEO campaign is a large component of Inbound Marketing. The SEO campaign is compiled of different parts and strategies. One of these should be Local SEO, connected with Local Citations.

Using local citations will increase the chances of your services being found in search results instead of just your business name and city location. The process is similar to building links to your website with organic SEO. To begin the process, you need to build structured citations with the help of a third party data provider, such as Whitespark.

Whitespark searches beyond basic directories to find valuable citation sources based on your location, phone number, or a keyword phrase you provide in the Local Citation Finder tool. It will then compare citation profiles (yours and your competitor’s) and help you build the citations and track them.  In your search results, you will see the total number of citations for each site, view specific sources, and a comparison. Whitespark also provides links to submit your site to a citation sources if you are not listed for specific results.

Providing your business information to Local Citation Sources validates the popularity and credibility of your business within a search engine. Citations should include the following information:

• DBA (Doing business as) Name
• Business Phone Number
• Business Website URL
• Business Categorization
• Main keywords for your business

Heres a number of citation sites to get you started*:

• Judy’s Book
• ShopCity
• Yellow Bot
• Super Pages
• Dexknows
• Magic Yellow
• Zidster
• Info USA
• Localeze
• Yellow Pages
• Yelp
• City Search
• Yellow Book
• Insider Pages
• Kudzu
• Local.com
• MerchantCircle
• CityVoter
• CitySquares
• Foursquare

* Source: poweredbysearch.com

Part of an inbound marketing strategy is optimizing your content so that it can be found in search engines. Another major part of the strategy is link building from outside sources.  

Many businesses utilize blogs to create leads and build a brand image. For these reasons, it is important to have an effective blog that is getting seen and bringing in potential clients. Here are some articles to help you have an effective blog and expand your reach.

As we begin new web site projects with clients, one of the top questions we are asked is "Will my web site work on my phone?” Smartphones are no longer a trend, but they are an extension of connecting your business with your customers wherever they may be - it doesn't matter if it's a local client in Milwaukee or one with locations globally. With creating new mobile websites comes additional learning on how to keep up your SEO rankings, not just for the computer but for mobile marketing as well. Here are some useful sources from this week’s inbound marketing news to help you learn the steps to being a successful mobile marketer.

Working on a new website and want to make sure your business gets found? Want to improve your social media rankings? Not sure where to look for help? Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is key to being found online. Here are some helpful articles explaining what SEO is all about. These articles take you through the basics and through advanced steps to improve your SEO.

One of my goals for this internship is to get certified in Inbound Marketing. How is this going to happen?

Article originally written and published for Inbound Marketing University

Jeff and I will be speaking at the WISN 12 "Drive Your Sales" Speaker Series tomorrow. Our presentation will explain how to use FREE online and social media tools such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and blogs to drive more traffic to your website, increase your online visibility, build your brand awareness and generate more leads to drive sales. The 8:30 am session is full, but an 11:00 am has been added to the schedule. For more information visit WISN.com

As 2010 ends, let's reflect on how many B2B corporations have been made aware that their online presence is losing out to competitors who "get" inbound marketing and social media.  For many of these corporations, the focus in 2011 will be to grow social networks, drive more quality leads online, and be able to measure and track their inbound marketing campaigns.

Here are four key topics that every marketing department will be discussing in 2011:

• Inbound Marketing
• Social Media
• Mobile Marketing
• SEO

The following articles have been taken from a few great leading web sites within each of the above categories - these are their 2011 predictions:

B2B MARKETING AND INBOUND MARKETING PREDICTIONS

Find and Convert
Why 2011 is the Year of Content Marketing
by Bernie Borges

Marketing Sherpa
New Chart: Expected Changes in B2B Marketing Budgets for 2011
by Jen Doyle

Social Media Today
11 B2B Marketing Predictions for 2011
by Paul Dunay

Blue Focus Marketing
Top 11 Ad Agency Predictions for 2011
by Cheryl Burgess

MarketingProfs
Predictions From Customer-Experience Experts for 2011
by Linda Ireland

Open Forum
5 Trends that Will Shape Small Business in 2011
by John Jantsch

Mashable
6 Predictions for Digital Advertising in 2011
by Jesse Thomas

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PREDICTIONS

Smart Blog on Social Media
Why 2011 will be the year of social-media convergence
by Jesse Stanchak

Entrepreneur Magazine
10 Social Media Trends for 2011
by Starr Hall 

Social Media Today
Seven Predictions for Social Media in 2011
by AmithaAmarasinghe

Social Media Today
5 predictions for social media in 2011
by Trevor Jonas

oneforty.
4 Social Media Predictions for 2011
by Janet

ReadWriteWeb
10 Ways Social Media Will Change in 2011
by Ravit Lichtenberg from Ustrategy.com

SEO PREDICTIONS

Search Engine Land
SEM Trends For 2011: What To Expect & What To Do
by Siddharth Shah

Search Engine Land
5 Social Marketing Predictions For 2011
by Ciarán Norris

Search Engine Land
Digital Marketing Trends & Predictions For 2011
by Matt Lawson

Search Engine Journal
5 Link Building Predictions for 2011
by Kristi Hines

I Need Hits
2011 Predictions: Online Marketing Trends
by Courtney Mills

TopRank
SEO Tops Digital Marketing Tactics for 2011
by Lee Odden

MOBILE PREDICTIONS

Business Insider
Five Unexpected Mobile Predictions For 2011
by Jamie Hall

RCR Wireless
Reader Forum: 2011 mobile industry predictions
by William Dudley

Mobile Marketer
11 trends for mobile apps in 2011
By Kunal Gupta

Mashable
5 Predictions for Mobile in 2011
by  Christina Warren