Good SEO will help people find your business. SEO is relevant to all types of businesses including B2B and B2C. SEO can be one of the most important components in the buying journey for B2B companies. Driving organic growth for B2B companies has its own challenges which can differ from B2C strategies.
Businesses should aim to create content and a website that is useful and accessible which aligns with Google’s goals for its users. The end goal of B2B SEO is more than just ranking in the top ten on the search engine, its main output should be to create qualitative leads and traffic to your website.
We recently won the B2B SEO category at the European Search Awards, so we’re pretty well placed to guide you on your B2B SEO journey.
In this guide, we’ll be sharing our top tips, the strategies we implement for our clients and sharing insights on how to improve your B2B Strategy for 2023.
Here’s everything that we’ll cover:
- What is B2B SEO?
- The difference between B2B and B2C SEO
- The importance of SEO for B2B
- How to develop your own B2B SEO strategy
- Our proven strategies for high rankings, traffic & B2B leads
What is B2B SEO?
Business to Business (B2B) SEO is a strategy used by marketers and SEO professionals to increase organic search engine traffic. When B2B SEO is done well, your website will appear above other businesses who are actively looking for a product or service that your business offers.
B2B SEO strives to achieve organic traffic, with high search volumes and traffic most likely to convert on your website.
With a great B2B SEO strategy, you can Improve your search ranking without paying for it, increase the number of visitors to your site and attracting those who are interested in your product or service, and have a higher chance of converting.
What is the difference between B2B and B2C SEO?
As mentioned above, the major difference between B2C and B2B SEO is the audience.
What one person may buy for themselves, does not mean they would apply the same to their business or workplace.
Professional products and services are very different from consumer products and services. Therefore, your strategies should differ for each, but the process for SEO is similar, regardless whether it’s for B2B or B2C.
The following unique challenges differentiate B2C from B2B SEO are:
1. Complex Sales Funnel
A B2B sales funnel targets a much larger group of stakeholders and decision-makers. Often, B2B products and services are more expensive and require careful consideration before making an investment. This means B2B marketers need to be smart about their SEO to ensure they meet the buyer online throughout each step of the sales funnel.
2. Low Volume Keywords
B2B businesses have much lower volume keywords compared to B2C SEO. This is because they’ll have a much higher chance of reaching high-value consumers using low volume keywords that are most likely to convert and purchase from them.
3. Low Conversion Rates
The sales cycle in B2B is a lot longer than B2C typical sales journey, therefore conversions are lower too. A lot of the time, B2B sales will include a higher price point which will lead to a longer decision-making process involving more stakeholders. B2B SEO and marketing aims to inform and educate the buyer over time about their product or service.
4. Demonstrating Expertise with Thought Leadership
B2B consumers are not likely to convert on their first visit to your website. They may have stumbled upon one of your products, services or blog pages while searching for a solution. The consumer may like your brand, product or service but they’ll have to convince their management and finance team to get onboard. To win the B2B consumer over, you’ll need to establish your business as an expert in your field. You can do this with thought leadership. This involves consistently publishing high quality, relevant and informative content covering all areas of your business.
Common thought leadership tactics include:
- Blogging
- PR
- Guest posting
- LinkedIn marketing
- Speaking at conferences
- Podcast or radio appearances
- Video Marketing
The importance of SEO for B2B in 2023
SEO is an essential part of any B2B companies digital marketing strategy for 2023.
83% of B2B marketers plan to produce better quality content in 2023 to differentiate their content from competitors. (Source)
B2B marketers expect their content marketing budget to increase over the coming year.
Using search engines is how many of your buyers will first come in contact and learn about your business and brand.
At the start of the buyer’s journey, they’ll use broad, informational or non-branded search terms. As a buyer gets to know your business more and develops interest, there’s a point at which their keywords and intent become more targeted and they will begin using “decision making” keywords.
Below is an example of what the buyer journey might look like for a person searching for a task management tool.
How to develop your own B2B SEO strategy
Frequent updates and changes to Google and other search engines’ algorithms can cause B2B marketers a lot of frustration. Marketers have to constantly adjust their SEO strategies to the latest developments in search engine behaviours and channels.
Instead of getting too caught up in how fast it all can change, B2B marketers should focus on covering essential SEO. To understand how SEO is a part of your buyer’s journey, set the right SEO goals which make sense for your business and be agile to changes as part of your overall strategy.
Our proven strategies for high rankings and traffic
We as an SEO agency, use the following strategies to help our B2B clients grow their businesses further.
- Keyword research matching the buyers journey within your niche
- Create content hubs for informative, educational content on your niche
- Create call to actions for each stage of the buyers journey
- Use technical SEO best practices to improve user experience
- Leverage link building to help your content rank even better
- Take advantage of digital PR to grow your brand within your niche
If you’re interested in including SEO in your 2023 marketing plan, get in touch with our talented Search team who will work with you to find the best strategy for you and your business.