Are you looking for ways to generate more leads for your marina? If so, you’re definitely not alone. A successful boat dealership requires a steady flow of new leads in order to keep growing. But generating quality leads can be challenging, especially if you’re not sure where to start. In this post, we’ll share some lead generation strategies that you can use to get started. Keep reading to learn more!
Make sure your website is optimized, user-friendly, and geared towards boat sales lead conversions
The first component of a well-rounded lead generation strategy is to make sure your website is optimized for lead conversions. For example, if your business provides installation services, you should have an online form that visitors can fill out to request a free estimate. In addition to the information provided in the form, you should also include photos of past projects and customer testimonials.
Establish a strong Local and Traditional SEO strategy
Local SEO is a great way to generate leads for your new and used boat sales. The first step is to create a Google My Business page and gain reviews from past clients. Potential customers can then use the “Local” search feature on Google Maps to find your business and request an estimate online. For additional information about how to generate leads using Local SEO check out this guide.
traditional SEO refers to improving the rankings of your website across all organic search results through methods such as link building, keyword optimization, and blogging. One of the best ways you can improve your traditional SEO strategy is by writing helpful blog posts that will bring in potential leads and drive more people back to your website.
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Use pay-per-click online advertising platforms
Facebook and Google Ads can help generate new leads as well as drive previous visitors back to your website and potentially into your marketing and sales funnels. For example, Facebook ads can be used to promote your website or specific blog posts. You can set up an ad in minutes and target it based on location, demographics, interests, etc.
Google Ads is very similar to Facebook ads in that you can advertise directly on Google using your ad budget. Once you’ve created your budget and targeting criteria, Google will place banner ads at the top of search results for relevant keywords related to your marina.
It is important to do your homework and research these ad platforms before you begin using them. It is easy to waste ad spend and not get the results that you are expecting if you are not familiar with advanced strategies, settings, and techniques. That is why it is suggested that you hire an expert in pay-per-click advertising to develop and manage these types of campaigns. With the help of an experienced digital marketing agency, you can use complex targeting options to laser target potential customers that are most likely to convert into leads or sales.
For example, let’s say that your boat dealership specializes in center consoles in San Diego, CA. A traditional lead generation campaign would use keywords like “San Diego boat sales” or “boat dealerships near me.” However, these generic keywords will bring up thousands of results on Google which means that it could take longer to attract potential customers.
Instead, you might want to target more specific keywords like “San Diego center console boats for sale” or “new cc boats for sale near San Diego.” This will help you gain traction faster and get your message in front of people who are searching for exactly what you offer.
As previously stated, it is important to do your homework when spending money on paid advertising platforms because there’s a lot that goes into creating an effective strategy. Make sure that the person(s) you hire has expertise in pay-per-click advertising and can show proof of their work through case studies and testimonials. It is also possible to run Facebook ads without hiring someone but make sure that you have deep understanding of ad targeting options.
Create and Promote high-quality content on your marina website
Establishing a content marketing strategy is vital to organic growth online. If content is king, then content marketing is queen. Why? Because content marketing can be used to attract new leads and boost your organic search rankings.
One of the best ways to generate content that people want (such as blog posts) is by asking yourself questions like “What are customers in my area looking for?” or “What keywords are they using when searching?” Then, use these questions to create content around frequently searched topics in your local community. For example, if you own a marina in Boston, you might write content about winterization tips for boat owners in the area because many people will look up how to best protect their boat before cold weather hits, especially with all of the first-time boat buyers that have entered the market.
Creating content and SEO go hand-in-hand, and making sure that these blog posts are SEO-optimized are critical to their success . Doing competitor research and identifying keywords and topics that potential customers in your area will search for is a great way to get content marketing up and running.
Email marketing to stay in touch with your leads
A great way to stay in touch with your leads is to nurture them through email marketing. This strategy, if done properly, can help push your leads through a marketing funnel and convert them into paying customers.
The email marketing funnel is typically made up of three stages: awareness, desire, and conversion. Briefly stated, email marketing can be used to attract new leads by offering valuable content for free in the awareness stage. Once a customer has opted-in to receive email updates from your company, they are considered warm leads which are ready to engage with your business in the desire stage. At this point, it’s important that you don’t spam or annoy these people because that could do more harm than good when trying to convert them into paying customers. Instead, email marketing automation is recommended so you can introduce them to products and services they might need while staying in touch throughout the year so they don’t forget about your brand.
It is important to share topical, relevant content with your email marketing targets so that you can generate clicks and interest to your content, social media pages, and website.
Qualified boat sales leads are hard to come by, but with the right strategies in place, you can generate them without too much trouble. If you’re interested in learning more about how to get started generating qualified leads for your marina, keep reading! We’ll share some lead generation strategies that will help put a steady flow of new leads on your doorstep.