Why does a b2b business, which essentially targets other businesses, need to invest in SEO?
Consider that many people today rely on search engines to make their purchases (including buyers responsible for corporate purchasing and entrepreneurs of one-person companies). As highlighted in research on b2b buyer behavior published in Think with Google,
“58% of purchases related to industrial manufacturing starts with initial research on the product/service online and then continues with the brand name.”
To be competitive, sell and earn more money, therefore, you need to invest in the right tools. In this article we will list a number of useful techniques for you to grow on the web through SEO for b2b. But before we delve into this topic, let us ask you a question: do you know what is the difference between SEO for b2b and b2c?
SEO b2b or b2c: similarities and differences
Planning an SEO strategy for the b2b(business to business) sector and the b2c(business to consumer) market share the same basis. That is, the specialist should always work on certain aspects of the website including:
- On-site and on-page SEO: evaluating site structure, heading hierarchy, site UX, page content, image SEO, and use of internal links.
- Content: acting on the portal texts, enriching them with keywords and relevant texts to meet the needs of search engines as well as people’s needs.
- Technical SEO: optimizing site speed, presence and effectiveness of metadata, sitemap.xml management and other technical aspects.
But then, how do they differ?
The differences in a nutshell between b2b SEO and b2c SEO
What makes b2b SEO unique from b2c are several factors, including:
- Target audience. Buyer personas in b2b represent a small audience with precise skills, inclined to purchase durable, complex and expensive products and/or services.
- Search volumes. Since they are tied to technical and sector-specific keywords (and a specific audience), search volumes for b2b are lower for certain keywords. It is necessary, therefore, to choose high-value keywords, evaluating well what the search intent is in the target sector.
- Content. The business-to-business environment requires targeted, informative, well-argued articles designed for a target audience that is looking for a specific product and/or service.
- Conversion rates. They are lower than a b2c, this is because the sales funnel is much more complex and we are often talking about niche audiences. The orders or inquiries placed in the b2b environment are very substantial and therefore the customer evaluation phase is longer. But precisely because b2b customers are more high-spending, the conversion value usually is higher.
As you may have guessed, giving the right visibility to a b2b company is not at all trivial. A lot of work needs to be done in the initial part of the funnel, namely:
- Onawareness: where the target audience knows they have a problem to solve, but do not yet know how to do so
- consideration: in which the buyer person knows the possible solutions to his or her problem
Getting users to find you as early as these two stages is crucial because this is where the company makes its first connections, presenting itself as the perfect solution to meet customers’ needs.
Do you know how to reach your audience effectively? Find some useful tips here:
How to reach your target audience online
SEO marketing strategies for b2b: work on thought leadership
As seen, the b2b sector is more complex than the b2c sector. In addition, corporate buyers want to be sure that the purchase they are about to make meets all their needs and that we have indeed found the best company.
To convince them, they need accurate information and firm resolutions to their problems. You need to assure them that your company is serious and reliable, but most importantly, that your product and/or service is what they are looking for. To do this, it is good to be able to convey your thought leadership and confidence, mastery of the subject matter, knowledge, as well as demonstrate competence and authority.
To enhance the qualities and uniqueness of your business, therefore, you need to work on personal business branding by producing valuable content and applying SEO marketing techniques for b2b. You can invest, for example, in a strategy that contemplates:
Blogging
Having a blog within the company site is essential to trigger a feeling of trust in your business and increase sales. Just think that, in b2b, 71% of people consult content from this channel before making a purchase (Source: Survey Report/Think With Google) and companies that curate a blog “generate an average of 67% more leads per month than companies that do not have one” (Source: Hubspot).
Finally, on an SEO level, an up-to-date blog is instrumental in better indexing your site (thus also increasing your chances of being found on search engines).
Case study
Among the content to be published on the website, case studies in b2b are useful to increase credibility in the eyes of buyer personas because:
- Suggest relevant solutions to potential problems
- show truthful cases, enhancing customer satisfaction
- delve into certain issues with relevant data and information
On an SEO level, moreover, the case study is perfect because it is original and quality (remember that the March 2024 Google Core Update rewards just such content!).
Guest post
Publishing guest posts, i.e., articles signed by a professional from your company on external sites, is an excellent off-page SEO strategy for b2b because it increases the authority of your brand and website.
According to research published in Social Marketing Writing, in fact, “62.96 percent of people think that blogs with multiple authors are more credible and genuine.” In addition, readers are likely to seek out the author and trust the brand they represent. This will lead to increased traffic to your website; adding the fact that being cited by authoritative sites is a practice viewed favorably by search engines.
Digital PR activities
What are PR (i.e., public relations) activities for in b2b? Soon said: to build a healthy relationship of trust between the brand and buyers.
To do this, there is a specific professional figure-the Digital PR Specialist-who is in charge of choosing the ideal channels in which to publish content to make your business known to an interested audience. He or she will sift through the various social platforms, blogs, and information (or industry) websites, choosing from all of them only those best suited to grow your business and confirm your reputation. How? By sending press releases, articles, audios, videos or other specific content.
A job that will allow you to get useful mentions to strengthen your SEO profile. To “network,” you need to cultivate relationships with media, bloggers, influencers and video creators specific to your industry to increase your website’s visibility and authority-something that falls under the duties of the Digital PR Specialist.
Promoting content to get valuable backlinks
Link building, guest posts and digital PR are usually activities that you pay for. Afree opportunity, on the other hand, to grow your business and increase website visibility can be to bring out quality content on your own website to get mentions from other sites. But how can this be achieved?
For example, creating well-developed, data-rich articles or unique information (such as interviews, insights, specific views on a certain industry) that people find interesting and want to link to on their website, or on social media, citing them as an authoritative source.
Is the backlink process intriguing to you? It’s not the only strategy you can implement with links. Read here: Link Building and SEO: what it is and why it’s important
SEO and b2b: also try these channels to grow your business
If you want people to associate your brand with confidence and expertise, you can consider using LinkedIn and podcasts. One way to positively influence SEO as well. Let’s see how.
More than 58 million companies can be found on LinkedIn (Source: Waalaxy), and many of them closely follow content posted by other professionals in their field. To become an authoritative source you can publish valuable posts with research, blog articles that link back to your website, sparking useful conversations and relationships for your target audience. Experiment with videos, carousels, combinations of text and images; also, remember to always add a CTA (essential for increasing engagement rates).
Do you want your brand to be an authoritative source? Invest in personal branding. Read how to do it here:
Personal branding with LinkedIn: how to do it?
Podcast
Podcasts are audio episodes that you listen to online. Making a business one, or participating as a guest on an episode of a thematic program, can differentiate your business from competitors. In b2b, in fact, podcasts are a useful resource for professionals seeking insights into their work by getting their information from an authoritative source.
Other benefits? They expand the audience, enable collaborations with sponsors, suppliers, guests and professionals in the target market. Also, on an SEO level, when placed within a blog article, they affect the ranking and authority of the website.
SEO for b2b businesses: why you should hire an agency
As we have seen, SEO marketing activities for b2b are numerous and have different approaches. Certainly, emerging in this industry is complex and challenging. But by setting a targeted strategy according to your goals you can achieve important goals, allowing your business to grow and become a benchmark in its market.
After accurately identifying buyer personas-and their needs-you will need to evaluate the best keywords to stand out over other competitors (through targeted keyword research for your business), optimize your company website, as well as adopt tricks and strategies to stand out in search engine SERPs over your competitors.
To do so, however, requires athorough analysis that only a communications agency specializing in search engine positioning can perform. Not least because Google is constantly updating, and only professionals who are always on the ball can really help you stand out on the Web.
At Isola you have at your disposal a team qualified in advanced SEO techniques, and you can count on a team that works in synergy to offer you all the tools you need to improve your credibility on the Web, including taking action on thought leadership.
You can take advantage of a marketing consultation to assess how to work on SEO and other channels that can affect your search engine rankings.
What are you waiting for? Find out what SEO techniques for b2b we can implement to engage your target audience and sell more!
