This document outlines 6 steps to get more leads from a B2B blog: 1) Measure what content converts leads, 2) Test different topic areas to target different parts of the sales cycle, 3) Test different calls-to-action on content, 4) Test different content types like videos or infographics, 5) Test different keywords to find higher quality leads, and 6) Test promoting content on different social networks. Measuring analytics and continually testing different strategies is key to optimizing lead generation from a company blog.

1. 6 Steps for Getting More
Leads From Your B2B Blog

2. When’s the last time you looked at your B2B blog
hard in the face and asked it,
“What have you done for me lately?”

4. Try these six ways to get more leads from
your B2B blog so your blog works for
you.

5. 1. Measure what converts

6. 1. Measure what converts
Know which calls-to-action in which particular
posts are sending leads.

7. 1. Measure what converts
Check out marketing automation software which
can track your leads with varying degrees of
granularity.

8. 1. Measure what converts
Alternatively, set up goals in Google Analytics
using this guide from Kissmetrics.
The easiest lead to track is a form submission, so
make your form’s “thank you” page a goal, and
track growth from there.

9. 2. Test different topics

10. 2. Test different topics
Cover a diverse range of topics that target people
at different parts of the sales cycle.
For example, take a look at these three blog
posts:
Help Desk Technology Trends for 2016: Live Chat, Anticipatory Customer
Service
New Video: What’s the Point of Help Desk Software?
Zoho Support Alternatives to Rock Your Help Desk

11. 2. Test different topics
Help Desk Technology Trends for 2016: Live Chat,
Anticipatory Customer Service
This post is targeted at people who care about help
desk technology, but they’re not necessarily shopping
for it.

12. 2. Test different topics
New Video: What’s the Point of Help Desk Software?
This post is targeted toward people who are wondering
whether they need help desk software in the first place.

13. 2. Test different topics
Zoho Support Alternatives to Rock Your Help Desk
This third post is targeted toward people who are
shopping for help desk software currently.

14. 2. Test different topics
Try creating posts that target underrepresented points
in the buying process, and see how your lead acquisition
rate changes.

15. 3. Test different calls to action

16. 3. Test different calls to action
Every piece of content on your blog should have a
purpose.
Check out the CTAs for these blog posts for tips:

17. 3. Test different calls to action
Help Desk Technology Trends for 2016: Live Chat,
Anticipatory Customer Service
CTA: Subscribe to our newsletter
Why: This post is written for people who are interested
in help desk technology, but not necessarily shopping for
it. A bottom-of-funnel CTA isn’t going to appeal to the
vast majority of readers, who aren’t yet ready to shop.

18. 3. Test different calls to action
New Video: What’s the Point of Help Desk Software?
CTA: Look at our comparison
Why: This post is written for people who are considering
whether they might need help desk software. A top-of-
funnel CTA takes them off the path they’re on. A
bottom-of-funnel CTA takes them further than they’re
ready to go.

19. 3. Test different calls to action
Zoho Support Alternatives to Rock Your Help Desk
CTA: Look at our directory
Why: This reader is ready to shop. Our directory is made
for this. It’s the reason we created it. We’ve got to get
this person to the directory stat.

20. 3. Test different calls to action
Even if these are the right CTAs for the post, there are
lots of things to test!
Try testing different placements, wordings, and design
for your CTAs.

21. 4. Test different content types

22. 4. Test different content types
Maybe a video converts better than an
infographic- there’s only one way to know!

23. 4. Test different content types
Additionally, different types of content could
work better for different parts of the funnel.
Infographics might work work better for top-of-
funnel shoppers, but white papers work better to
get the lead.

24. 4. Test different content types
Maybe certain content works better for certain
products- a slideshow might work better for legal
software and a podcast might work better for
help desk software.

25. 5. Test different keywords to get more
leads

26. 5. Test different keywords to get more
leads
It’s not just about the amount of leads you get-
it’s also about lead quality.

27. 5. Test different keywords to get more
leads
Capterra’s posts about “free and open source
software” always get more traffic than “software
compared” posts, but the percentage of people
who click through to the software directories
(where we make money) is much lower.

28. 5. Test different keywords to get more
leads
Some keywords yield less or more traffic, or
higher or lower quality traffic.
Experiment to see which are which!

29. 6. Test different social networks

30. 6. Test different social networks
Try advertising your blog posts on social media,
even if you’re already using social media to
market products.

31. 6. Test different social networks
The goal should be to make people complete the
call-to-action, so if the CTA is to visit your
directory, link to the directory.

32. Originally written by Cathy Reisenwitz,
the full post can be found here