Inbound marketing hasn’t been around for that long, but it’s already taken the business world by storm. Thousands of companies are already embracing this innovative strategy, and many more will join their ranks in 2015. But for as interesting and effective as inbound marketing is, it can’t escape the need for one of the standbys of business: leads.

One of the best features of inbound marketing is the fact that it lives entirely online. That means making changes is cheap and easy, because all it takes is changing some lines of code – or editing the page in a CMS system like the HubSpot COS – and you can quickly transform any site page. It’s practically instantaneous.

B2B companies face a tougher challenge than B2C companies, because their pool of potential customers is so much smaller. A B2C company can market to individuals from all walks of life on any platform, but B2B companies have to target very specific individuals: namely, the “decision makers.”

I know why you’re here. You’re here because we used the magic words: online lead generation.

It seems everyone wants to know how to generate leads online, and they’re all searching for the answer like it’s some big secret.

Good SEO takes significant time and effort to implement, partially because of how Google works. The world’s most powerful search engine plays a major role in inbound marketing, because a company’s website must be relevant in Google’s eyes in order to rank highly in search results. When that happens, your site will get more clicks, which means more traffic and then more leads.

Sometimes it feels like Google’s AdWords program has been around since the rise of the internet itself. In fact, the first online advertisement appeared on the web in 1994 and by 1995, a company called DoubleClick was launched, which was eventually acquired by Google in 2008. Everything Google does lately seems to be a long-running success (well, except Google+), and AdWords is no exception. Although it relies on a digital marketing strategy that isn’t as popular these days (pay-per-click advertising), AdWords is still going strong, partially because of the brand name associated with it (Google).

There was a time when small businesses never had websites. The internet was a place for online-only businesses or major corporations. It was too expensive, too technical and far too much work to create a website for the mom and pop donut shop down the street or your local sporting goods store. But the world has changed quite a bit over the last few years. As the internet has become more and more a part of our daily lives, virtually any business can set up a website these days. There are also now a host of companies that are helping companies create websites, no matter how big, small or weird they may be.

Social media is one of the most fascinating battlegrounds of 2015. This constantly changing environment has become overrun with ambitious companies looking to leverage their social media presence for profit. But nobody has quite figured out the best way to do that yet. And so, expect to see various companies experimenting with social media in the months to come. Some will have success… and others will have to fire their social media managers.

With every new technological advancement, it’s often remarked about how the world has “become smaller.” The Earth never actually changes size, but it seems smaller because technology allows us to close the distance between one another in various ways (i.e. the telephone, railroads, air travel, etc.). The internet was one of the most revolutionary ways the world “shrank,” because it allowed us to start communicating instantly with virtually anyone around the globe. And for some reason, the internet fostered a spirit of collaboration and interaction like nothing else. From the very beginning with chat rooms to the popularity of sites like Reddit today, online folks have always seemed to want to get to know each other.

Inbound marketing is currently the most effective marketing strategy. It’s dynamic, it saves you money, and it definitely works. However, it does tend to have a lot of moving parts, and it’s easy to become confused while running an inbound campaign (especially if it’s your first). With that in mind, we wanted to come up with a mini-checklist of sorts that can help you keep all those moving parts in check. If you ever find yourself lost or overwhelmed with a campaign, just use this blog article as a reference guide to get you back on track.