Various traffic sources have competed for shares of B2B companies’ marketing budgets in the past decade. These alternative website traffic sources include display ads, social networks, and paid search ads. Many of these have generated plenty of attention, but they periodically rise and fall in popularity.
As it did a decade ago, organic search still generates the majority of traffic and online revenue for the websites of companies that serve other businesses. Still, many companies compete for top search engine ranks. Thus, B2B companies need to constantly work on their SEO to improve search engine positions and maintain the positions they have already achieved.
Why Should B2B Companies Improve SEO?
Search Engine Journal reported on a study demonstrating that the share of B2B website traffic has grown in recent years, despite the emergence of alternative channels. Online searchers from Google and other search engines account for three-quarters of traffic and over two-thirds of revenue.
Sometimes, paid traffic sources can provide the fastest results, so they have a solid place in most marketing plans. Organic search still rules because of the quantity of high-quality, long-term traffic it can deliver. Typically, paid marketing results in quick transactions and works well for short sales cycles.
However, B2B businesses typically experience longer sales cycles and expect their customers to spend time researching before purchasing. Like consumers, business buyers turn to search engines for research, so the brands serving businesses must ensure long-term visibility though an effective B2B SEO strategy.
B2B Search Engine Optimization Success Tips
Optimizing for B2B websites takes a good understanding of the market and how B2B buyers may differ from typical consumers. Companies that still need to meet their goals for organic outreach should find these suggestions offer straightforward and effective paths to improvement.
Optimize for Various Stages of the Buyer’s Journey
Buyers who have just started looking for solutions won’t use the same search terms or be attracted to the same content as a purchaser who has narrowed down options and is almost ready to buy. A high search rank for search terms that don’t provide value to searchers won’t help. B2B SEO efforts should align with various stages of the buyer’s journey.
Thus, consider content and keywords in light of searcher intent. For example, searchers might be:
- Aware of the problem but not a solution: You need to understand your market well enough to know why businesses would consider a product or service like yours. Informational content that discusses the searcher’s concerns can attract website visitors and give your brand a chance to introduce itself.
- Aware solutions exist but must determine which one will best serve their needs: The prospective buyer has learned about a product and its competitors. Search terms and pages could emphasize comparisons and demonstrate that the offer solves their problem best.
- Almost ready to buy: In this case, business buyers have learned about your company and believe it can provide a good alternative. However, they’re still looking for information about price, service, and other details.
Develop Your Website to Meet Google’s EAT Standards
EAT stands for expertise, authority, and trustworthiness. Not only does Google ask its manual raters to check for these vital factors, but they also appeal to website visitors. Some onsite tips for developing more authority include customer testimonials, author profiles, and executive introductions. Trust signals, like security certificates and third-party ratings, can also send the right message to search engines and potential customers.
Your first-time visitor might have yet to hear of your brand. However, they will probably already be familiar with EAT factors you display on your site. Besides earning Google’s respect, you can engage more potential buyers.
Optimize for Featured Snippets
Google displays featured snippets as a box with descriptive text or video, typically at the top of search results. Sometimes, Google also shows featured snippets in the people-also-ask section. Earning these display boxes compares to winning first prize for visibility since they occupy more space on the results page than the regular results.
Featured usually appear in response to informational queries and questions. Some SEOs categorize them as these types:
- Direct answers to specific questions: These snippets provide an objective or authoritative response to particular questions.
- Brief answers to general questions: The result may display a list or comparison as an answer to a broader question.
- Comparisons: The snippet may contain a table or list that provides a comparison as an answer to a query.
- How-to queries: These often have videos or other content demonstrating how to accomplish something.
How to Increase the Odds of Earning a Featured Snippet
First, attend to the basics of making your B2B content SEO friendly. For instance, include search terms in the title, meta description, headings, and text. Strong backlinks to the page also make it more likely to stand out.
Look at highly ranked content or featured snippets for competitors and work to improve upon them. In particular, provide a concise response to the query that Google will deem helpful enough to feature. Try to incorporate this section high on the page, and it’s even acceptable to state the question or topic in the heading for that portion.
Develop a Link-Building Strategy
Search engines still use backlinks as a ranking factor. However, in any competitive market, the quality of these links matters more than the quantity. Take the time to look for relevant, authoritative resources that you would want to be associated with your business.
Some examples of quality backlink sources include websites for trade journals, business directories, related companies, trade shows, and professional organizations. Providing a media release can prove helpful, but you may also offer to write an opinion piece or participate in an interview.
Take time to understand the type of resources the publication usually publishes to tailor your offer. If your submission email takes too long to receive an answer, try searching for the website’s manager or editor on LinkedIn for more direct contact.
Are You Serious About Improving Your B2B SEO?
High organic search ranks lead to long-term, high-quality visitors who will likely convert into leads and customers. Thus, investments in improving B2B SEO can provide generous returns for years in the future. The nature of business purchasing generally leads to a relatively long buying cycle, and your business needs to make its offer visible whenever a business buyer starts researching solutions.
However, mastering SEO takes time, so many businesses turn to SEO professionals for guidance and assistance. At Lemonpulse, our experienced B2B SEO professionals produce excellent results for our customers because our goals are the same as theirs, including higher ranks, increased visibility, and more sales. See how our managed SEO services can help your company serve more business customers.
