If you’re curious to find out more about inbound marketing, we’ve handpicked some of the most useful inbound marketing statistics that highlight the benefits of inbound marketing and which can be used to create a marketing strategy.
Top Inbound Marketing Stats: Editor’s Choice
Digital Marketing vs. Traditional Marketing Statistics
Marketers have more than half of the world’s population as their potential audience, but to convert leads to sales, it is imperative for businesses to use the most valuable marketing strategies.
The usual debate is between inbound and outbound marketing, and the following statistics reveal the effectiveness of inbound marketing when compared to traditional marketing methods.
1. Inbound leads cost 61% less than outbound leads.
In addition to being more effective and potentially building a long-lasting relationship between businesses and consumers, inbound leads are also better from a financial standpoint. According to an inbound marketing report by HubSpot, inbound leads cost 61% less overall when compared to average outbound leads.
2. Inbound marketing is ten times more efficient for lead conversion.
By utilizing social media, content marketing, various SEO practices, and other inbound marketing strategies, businesses can significantly improve their lead conversion rate. B2B marketing statistics reveal that, compared to outbound marketing tactics, inbound marketing strategies are 10 times more effective.
3. 81% of consumers have closed a browser or exited a webpage because of a pop-up ad.
One of the biggest benefits of inbound marketing for everyday consumers is not having to deal with unwanted pop-up ads. According to Statista, 26% of internet users reported using ad block software on their devices in 2019. A different survey by HubSpot found that 81% of consumers have reported exiting a website or closing their browser because of an unwanted pop-up ad.
4. 30% of marketers think paid advertising is overrated.
According to several inbound marketing statistics taken from a survey by HubSpot, 30% of the surveyed marketers agreed that paid advertising, such as prints, outdoor, or broadcast marketing, is overrated. Around 11% thought the same about online paid advertising, and 5% felt the same about SEO or blogging.
B2B Marketing Statistics
While a lot of inbound marketing strategies are tailored toward consumers, they are used just as much by B2B organizations. You can find below how much time and money businesses invest in marketing and what they prioritize.
5. 68% of B2B customers prefer to research about a company independently online.
Digital marketing vs traditional marketing statistics show that 70% of people prefer learning more about a company or a brand through content than advertising. B2B customers agree, with 68% saying that they prefer doing independent research online.
6. Successful B2B companies allocate 55% of their annual marketing budget for content creation.
B2B companies with more than 250 employees assign a bigger portion of their annual marketing budget for production and content creation. Out of all surveyed B2B organizations, the most effective marketers invest 55% of their marketing budget on various inbound marketing services.
7. Lead conversion was the top marketing objective for B2B marketers in 2020.
As various statistics point out, the best way to achieve lead conversion is through the use of multiple inbound marketing strategies. Following this trend, numerous B2B marketers designated lead conversion as their top marketing objective in 2020, according to HubSpot.
8. Omnichannel campaigns see 90% higher customer retention rates than single-channel campaigns.
Inbound marketing metrics show that organizations that diversify their marketing approach and use multiple channels for inbound marketing see a 90% higher customer retention rate than businesses that use a single-channel campaign. In addition, omnichannel campaigns result in a 20% better engagement rate and 250% better purchase frequency.
9. B2B researchers perform an average of 12 searches before engaging with a specific brand.
Branded search used to be the main focus for numerous B2B marketers, but things look different nowadays. Instead of searching for a specific brand, almost 71% of B2B researchers begin their journey with a generic search. On average, they do 12 searches before engaging with a particular brand or visiting their site.
Inbound Marketing ROI
ROI is an excellent way to measure a marketing campaign’s effectiveness. The following inbound marketing ROI statistics confirm that inbound marketing is the best option for businesses.
10. 53% of marketers say that inbound marketing gives their organization a higher ROI.
Only 16% of the surveyed marketers confirmed that outbound marketing generates a higher ROI for their business. However, by utilizing a more effective inbound marketing strategy, marketers can generate significantly higher ROI. Namely, 53% of marketers agree that businesses should focus on inbound marketing as their primary marketing strategy.
11. 44% of brands that use marketing automation software see ROI within six months, while 75% see ROI after one year.
Approximately 75% of the organizations that utilize some form of marketing automation software can see a significant ROI after one year of consistent use. An inbound marketing report by Marketo further reveals that 44% of businesses can generate measurable ROI after only six months of using marketing automation software.
12. Email marketing can earn you an average return of $42 for every $1 spent.
According to the latest inbound marketing metrics, email marketing becomes highly effective when automation software is used. It is also cost-effective, with an average expected ROI of $42 for every $1 spent on email marketing.
Lead Generation Statistics
Lead generation is another useful metric that can help evaluate a marketing campaign’s success. Below are statistics that reveal how many leads and the quality of leads you can generate through inbound marketing.
13. Leads cost 80% less after five months of inbound marketing.
Inbound marketing trends show that consistency is vital for inbound marketers, and inbound marketing practices become more cost-effective the longer they are used. For example, businesses can expect an 80% drop in the average cost per lead after five months of continuous inbound marketing.
14. Lead nurturing helps companies generate 50% more sales-ready leads at 33% lower costs.
Various lead generation statistics show that leads do not equate to buyers. But by nurturing a lead, which is also a common inbound marketing practice, a business can generate 50% more leads willing to make a purchase, and at a 33% lower cost.
15. Inbound leads generated through SEO have a 14.6% close rate.
Inbound marketing and SEO accompany each other well and businesses that generate leads through SEO have a higher close rate compared to those that rely on outbound marketing. With a 14.6% lead close rate, leads generated through inbound SEO practices pull ahead by a significant margin compared to the 1.7% close rate of outbound-generated leads.
16. On average, businesses generate 1,800 leads every month.
According to a study by HubSpot, businesses can expect to generate approximately 470,000 website visitors each month. Out of that number, 1,800 become potential leads, which translates to 300 new customers each month.
Sales Conversion Rate Statistics
Businesses have to convert leads to customers to generate ROI. The following statistics reveal that inbound marketing can generate more leads, turn potential buyers into customers, and increase lead conversion rates.
17. Inbound marketing can increase your website’s conversion rate by 12%.
Statistics show that inbound marketing’s effectiveness can double the website conversion rate. By utilizing proper inbound marketing strategies, businesses can increase website sales rate from 6% to 12%.
18. Companies generate 55% more leads by increasing landing pages from 10 to 15.
According to research conducted by HubSpot, the more landing pages, the better. Namely, companies with 10 to 15 landing pages can see a 55% increase in leads compared to those with less than ten landing pages. Furthermore, sales conversion rate statistics show that businesses with more than 40 landing pages increase conversions by a staggering 500%.
19. Only 18% of marketers believe outbound marketing produces the highest quality leads for sales.
Only a small number of marketers believe that outbound marketing practices generate high-quality leads. On the contrary, according to the latest inbound marketing statistics from HubSpot, roughly 60% of marketers strongly believe that various inbound marketing practices generate high-quality leads.
20. Automated lead nurturing cycle can increase business’ revenue by 10%.
Inbound marketing services with lead management systems can potentially increase revenue by at least 10% in only six to nine months, according to research by Gartner. This goes to show that consumers and other businesses prefer learning about a company on their own rather than being disrupted by intrusive advertisements.
Inbound Marketing and SEO
Search engine optimization goes hand in hand with inbound marketing, as it helps deliver the right content to the right people. SEO helps a business generate more traffic to its website by ensuring that content is relevant to the consumer.
21. 80% of searchers ignore paid ads and focus on organic results.
Different lead generation statistics show that, while paid ads can increase lead conversion, organic search results can generate more web traffic which, in turn, can translate into more potential leads. When given a choice, roughly 80% of users click on organic search results instead of paid ads.
22. About 64% of marketers actively invest time in search engine optimization.
SEO is one of the most prominent content trends for inbound marketing. Marketers have been actively using SEO to boost their lead generation and sales. According to HubSpot, 64% of inbound marketers actively invest time optimizing their content for SEO.
23. 65% of marketers say link building is the most difficult SEO strategy.
Statistics on success of inbound marketing are undoubtedly impressive, and marketers put in a lot of hard work to achieve this success. A stats report by Advanced Web Ranking reveals that when it comes to SEO, roughly 65% of marketers agree that link building is its most difficult aspect. This is despite the fact that link building coincides with standard inbound marketing practices.
24. Content marketing statistics from 2019 show that 94% of internet searches happen on Google’s property.
It might not come as a surprise that nearly all internet searches happen on Google’s property, as revealed by a June 2019 report. Marketers are well aware of this and appropriately develop their SEO strategies to score high on Google.
Social Media Marketing Trends
Social media is one of the most popular platforms for online marketing campaigns. Marketing content on social media is easy to consume and can be easily made viral by influencers.
The following data show why social media is highly relevant to B2B organizations and which social media platforms are most used by businesses.
25. Companies with 51-100 Twitter followers generate 106% more traffic than those with 25 or fewer.
The latest social media marketing trends show that approximately 87% of the surveyed B2B marketers use social media for marketing and expanding their brands. Twitter is a great example. Companies that have anywhere between 50 and 100 followers generate 106% more traffic than businesses that are less active on the platform and have fewer followers.
26. 83% of B2B marketers use social media marketing in some form.
Social media allows a business to increase its marketing reach, obtain customer feedback, build customer loyalty, and get in touch with other businesses. These are just a few of the reasons why 83% of B2B marketers use social media as their go-to marketing platforms.
27. 87% of consumers trust the content more if an industry influencer shares it.
Speaking of inbound marketing jobs, being an industry influencer definitely pays off. Businesses have been taking advantage of industry influencers to sway audiences, create engagement, build trust, and drive sales.
Approximately 87% of all the B2B buyers trust the content more if an industry influencer shares it and nearly 82% of consumers consider buying a product that has been recommended by a micro-influencer they follow.
28. LinkedIn is the favorite network of B2B marketers.
According to B2B marketing statistics by Clutch, LinkedIn is the most valuable network for B2B marketers, with roughly 93% saying that it is the best social media platform for their needs. Marketers ranked Twitter as the second-best platform with 83% of the votes and Facebook as third, with 82%.
29. 90% of businesses in the US were using social media in 2019 for business.
While there are many benefits of inbound marketing, numerous organizations opted to use a mixture of both outbound and inbound marketing to improve their odds of delivering content to the right audience. Instead of relying entirely on inbound marketing, approximately 90% of businesses in the US opted to use promoted posts or paid ads on social media.
Inbound Marketing and Blogging
Businesses often rely on multiple inbound marketing channels, and blogging is one of the simpler ones to use. By simply increasing the number of blogs that they publish, companies can significantly improve the traffic to their websites and, in turn, generate new leads that can positively reflect on a business’s ROI.
30. 79% of companies that blog generate positive inbound marketing ROI.
Blogging is an essential inbound marketing strategy as it can help businesses generate new leads through valuable content. According to a report by HubSpot, 82% of marketers who use blogs generate a positive inbound marketing ROI.
31. Companies with more than 300 blog posts get twice as many leads compared to those with fewer blog posts.
While quality takes precedence over quantity when it comes to blogging, publishing new content on a regular basis is far more effective than blogging sporadically. Lead generation statistics show that companies that are consistent with publishing new content are also more likely to get new traffic and, therefore, generate more leads.
32. 47% of buyers view at least three to five pieces of content before deciding to speak with a sales rep.
Inbound marketing and SEO can prove to be quite lucrative for any business owner. Many consumers prefer browsing and exploring their options before making a purchase, which makes having engaging and quality content on the website essential. Approximately 47% of buyers will view three to five pieces of content before engaging with a sales representative.
33. 55% of marketers say blog content creation is their top inbound marketing priority.
Numerous B2B marketers have already realized the potential of blogging and are using it to their advantage. Approximately 55% of them reported that blogging is one of their most prioritized inbound marketing channels, alongside growing organic presence through SEO.
34. Companies that blog have 434% more indexed pages and 97% more indexed links.
Having a well-designed and optimized website is the norm nowadays. However, a smooth-running webpage does not always prompt an increased number of link shares. Good and relevant content is the key, and companies that blog on a regular basis have 97% more link shares as opposed to those that do not blog at all.
Inbound Marketing Statistics: The Takeaway
These statistics help us identify some of the biggest differences between outbound and inbound marketing. They are also an excellent representation of the effectiveness of inbound marketing and why this method of advertising is becoming increasingly popular.
Most importantly, however, these inbound marketing statistics are there to show small business owners how other businesses are using inbound marketing to create a competitive edge and drive sales.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can email marketing fuel your overall inbound strategy?
Email marketing can help raise the audience’s awareness of your brand, and help your business attract new leads, nurture them, and eventually convert them into buyers. In addition, email marketing is extremely cost-effective and becomes even more valuable for inbound marketers when automation software is also utilized.
Why is social media an important part of inbound marketing?
Social media helps businesses enlarge their audience reach across different platforms, each of which comes with different marketing advantages. Whether through direct content promotion and audience engagement or with the help of an industry influencer, marketers can create many new and viable leads.
How does inbound marketing grow your business?
Inbound marketing helps your businesses grow by attracting potential leads with valuable content and converting them into buyers. Instead of relying on disruptive advertising, inbound marketing focuses on various advertising methods like email and social media marketing, SEO, and blogging, to ensure that the content your organization produces gets delivered to the right audience. In return, this generates qualified leads that are more likely to become buyers as compared to leads generated through outbound marketing.
How does inbound marketing lead to more web traffic?
Inbound marketing can help generate more web traffic for your business through relevant content, like blog posts or videos. Both end consumers and other businesses are more likely to share a link to your website if it has content that is relevant to their interests or what is currently trending. This is why creating valuable and optimized content is vital for any business that wishes to raise its web traffic.
How to increase your inbound marketing?
The best way to increase the effectiveness of your inbound marketing is through the use of multiple channels. Instead of focusing on a single channel, you should diversify your marketing campaign and implement several different marketing methods, such as SEO, blogging, social media, email marketing, increased landing page creation, link building, and by nurturing leads.
At the same time, do not hesitate to use paid advertising. Combining outbound and inbound marketing strategies can help put your business on the map more rapidly, make it stand out, and attract new and high-quality leads.
How much do small business marketing agencies charge for inbound marketing?
Inbound marketing services can cost you anywhere between $4,000 to $15,000 per month. The services often include planning and executing a strategy, producing multimedia content, blogs, SEO, lead generation and nurturing, and social media marketing. The costs vary from one agency to another, depending on the scale and duration of the marketing campaign.
How much does an inbound marketing specialist make?
Based on the most recent data (November 2020), the salaries can go anywhere between $27,500 to $66,000, but the majority of inbound specialists in the US earn about $50,156 a year, which translates to $4,180 a month or $24 an hour, according to inbound marketing statistics.
Sources
Advanced Web Ranking, Content Market Institute, Demand Gen Report, Demand Metric, Forrester, Higher Visibility, HubSpot, HubSpot, HubSpot, HubSpot, HubSpot, HubSpot, HubSpot, HubSpot, IMPACT Plus, Marketo, Marketo, Oberlo, Omnisend, Smart Insights, Statista, Think with Google, Versio2