Have you ever gotten an email which says something like, “We are the best at SEO…first page guaranteed”? Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? But I have learned that it is perhaps not as good as it appears.

Why do I say that?

Let’s start with the buyer’s journey and why firms that only deal in SEO ranking can only get you part of the way to achieving your goals. Getting to the first page of Google is not all that inbound marketing is about! Helping a buyer through their decision process so they can make the right choice among many options is really a bigger objective -- and one that needs you to think about more than just SEO. Search marketing is more than just the right content on the website.

SEO is critically important -- agree, but...

At Simon Associates Marketing Consultants (SAMC), we have been Inbound Marketing/HubSpot partners for three years. What I would like to do in this blog is present a case study to articulate why we believe that Inbound is a very effective vehicle for successfully marketing any organization—in this case, a pediatrics practice. Of particular importance is how to build a brand's online presence.

How to use Inbound Marketing to build brand awareness, attract users and measure progress

SAMC has been deeply embedded in healthcare marketing for several decades, working with a wide array of healthcare clients across the country, including hospital systems, physicians' practices, ACOs and health information management clients.

Three years ago, we were engaged by a multi-specialty practice that wanted to give its pediatricians more visibility and establish a real brand presence in the marketplace for its twelve pediatric offices.

Firmly believing in the power of Inbound Marketing, we began to build a brand identity and consumer awareness of the pediatric practice and its pediatricians, following these 5 specific principles: