Are you running a B2B enterprise and finding boosting visibility on the search engine result pages challenging? This handpicked guide explores how to build a successful B2B SEO strategy.
Working for global companies for 20+ years, we have skills and experience in boosting your SEO performance. In this guide, we have explained all the key factors that can help you stay ahead with greater ranks of prominent search engines like Google and Bing.
Let’s begin.
What is B2B SEO?
B2B search engine optimization (SEO) strategy is focused on helping B2B websites rank higher on leading search engines, including Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. This involves selecting suitable keywords that are directly related to the B2B search interest. This means finding and using the search terms used by key decision makers in B2B setups.
While the motive and algorithm are similar to B2C SEO, the standard practice differs significantly.
B2C SEO vs. B2B SEO Strategy
B2C SEO | B2B SEO |
This strategy involves focusing on high-volume keywords, as the target audience of B2C businesses is massive. | This strategy involves using low-volume keywords. Compared to B2C, the key decision makers of B2B setups are much lower in population. So, the focus is on keywords with a lower search volume. |
Content is published for a varied audience base including consumers, or end users who buy products or services for personal use. | Content is mainly published for the key decision makers like C-suite executives, such as the CEO, CFO, CIO, CMO, or VP of sales team. |
B2C content consists of blogs, social media posts, videos, infographics, and newsletters. | B2B content can be published various ways but are largely dominated in the forms of PPTs, PDFs, infographics, podcasts, videos, etc. |
B2C social media marketing is dominated by platforms like Instagram, Tiktok, etc. | B2B social media marketing involves making use of platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, etc. |
Here are 3 Key Factors Behind Successful SEO Strategy for B2B Businesses
1. Build Your Buyer’s Persona
A buyer persona is a well-defined representation of your targeted customer. In simple words, you need to determine whom you are targeting and what is their search intent. This means you need to find the target audience and study their several characteristics like demographics, objectives, behavior, budget, and more in detail.
To create an accurate buyer persona:
- Use surveys, interviews, and feedback from customers, prospects, and internal teams.
- Analyze internal databases and social media platform trends. This helps to gain insights into customer behavior and preferences.
- Leverage CRM data to identify your most loyal customers or biggest spenders.
You can also connect or interview recent buyers who share characteristics of your ideal customer profile (ICP).
2. Defining your target keywords
The right keywords can be a boon for the entire plan and it’s essential that you invest quality time to find and select the most promising ones. Do not haste and rather choose only after an in-depth research. You should do the following for finding suitable keywords for your B2B SEO strategy.
- Research keywords: Identify relevant keywords that potential users, like CEO and CFO, are likely to search for. You can start by making a list of seed keywords and then research what keywords your competitors are using to drive organic traffic.
- Analyze competition: Use keyword research tools to check your competitors’ keywords and the difficulty metric. If you can create better content for a keyword your competitor is using, it’s become easier to beat them.
- Consider relevance: Relevance is more important than search volume when planning SEO for B2B. Trust modern SEO tools like Ahref, Semrush, and Google Analytics to determine keyword search volume and relevancy.
- Group keywords by intent: If keywords have similar intent, you can target them with a single piece of content, which can enhance your SEO efforts.
- Audit your SEO practices: Before investing in B2B SEO marketing, you should understand your existing strategies. You can use free tools to identify issues and how to fix them. Leverage Google Search Console for an accurate technical SEO audit to identify errors and resolve them.
3. Create Customer-Focused as well as SEO Optimized Content
You need content that is both user—and SEO-friendly. Search engines nowadays emphasize ranking content that brings value to readers. This means the content should be rich with the knowledge your customer base is seeking.
Failing to build content that adds value to readers quickly turns away potential customers, increasing your B2B website’s bounce rate.
You need to gain an in-depth understanding of potential customers’ journey to make a purchase. This can help you ensure leads are effectively nurtured and converted into customers.
Analyzing the B2B SEO strategy from the content POV means the following:
- Content Type: The Content type is largely focused on ensuring user-friendly web pages like Product pages, Category pages, User Landing pages, etc. You can also build a web page for blog postings.
- Content Formats: Based on the competitor’s research, the popular content formats for targeting B2B customers are Case Studies, Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, etc. Ensuring your case studies and blog posts help answer customer queries efficiently and in a concise manner.
Build a Bespoke B2B SEO Strategy
As a proficient B2B SEO company, we can help you with end-to-end strategies. Based on your industry vertical, we strategies and implement plans to boost visibility on the popular search engines.
With the best SEO strategies in place, we can help you enhance business growth and return on investments.