Marketing to other businesses is different from marketing to consumers. A buyer who represents a business will search for different things, value different types of content, and take more time to decide. For this reason, business-to-business companies require a different type of strategy from business-to-consumer ones. Some marketers take this
as a sign that B2B businesses don’t need search engine optimization. This could not be farther from the truth – B2B businesses can significantly benefit from SEO; it just has to be B2B SEO. So what are the latest trends you should follow to achieve B2B marketing success in 2022?
The difference between B2C and B2B SEO
Search engine optimization aims to improve the quantity and quality of traffic to your website by increasing visibility in search engine results. The same factors will affect this visibility regardless of whether you are targeting businesses or consumers, because how SEO works doesn’t change depending on your target demographic. So speeding up your website, optimizing for mobile, and regularly posting quality content are all going to be a part of both B2B and B2C strategies. However, when working with a business, you need to keep some things in mind:
- compared to consumers, business clients search for different things with different intents: while the average consumer may search generic terms, business
- buyers tend to be more specific; this affects the keywords they use business buyers respond to a different type of content: to impress businesses, you’ll need to create more detailed, in-depth content
- it takes more time and effort to convert a business: you’ll need to appeal to multiple stakeholders who thoroughly consider their decisions before you can make a sale
B2B SEO best practices in 2022
If you’ve ever done any SEO, then you’ve already got the basics covered. When you want to build on those basics in a way that makes your SEO more business-friendly, here’s what you need to do:
Use long-tail keywords
Business representatives typically know exactly what they’re looking for. They’re unlikely to make generic, informative searches. Instead, they search for very specific keywords. So when you’re targeting a business, you’d do well to choose long-tail keywords. Even though they don’t have as much volume as head terms, they’ll pay off more for your specific niche.
Create impactful landing pages
In B2C SEO, an effective blog post or a page of interactive content can easily lead to a conversion. But when you’re optimizing for businesses, you’ll find that landing page conversions are a lot more common. Business clients like to do their research and carefully read through exactly what you’re offering. For this reason, they’ll focus more on landing pages. So dedicate more resources to creating informative, detailed, and well-designed pages about your products and services to increase conversion rates.
Write content tailored to business clients
If you’re creating the same kind of content for businesses as you would for consumers, the ROI of your SEO won’t be very high. Content that targets businesses simply must be on a different level. Firstly, you’ll want to adopt a more authoritative and professional tone when writing for businesses. Secondly, you’ll need to write more in-depth, analytical content that doesn’t just scratch the surface. Finally, your content needs to offer something new, unique, and valuable. Focus on thought leadership marketing or publish your own original research. This type of content will be more of an investment, but it’ll pay off in the long run.
Acquire the right backlinks
Backlinks are often considered one of the most important parts of an SEO strategy; this doesn’t change when you’re targeting businesses. But if you’re marketing to businesses, you’ll need to be a lot pickier when choosing websites to approach about backlinks. Instead of accepting backlinks from any website in your industry or location, opt for reputable websites in the same niche. This will add to your website’s authority and provide you with high-quality referral traffic.
If you’re unsure about which websites will give you good backlinks, hire an SEO expert to develop your backlink strategy. But to make sure you’re hiring the right person, you’ll have to know what to ask at the interview: when you’re running a B2B company, previous experience with B2B SEO must be among the questions to ask a prospective SEO specialist. A B2B expert will know which websites to approach for the most impactful backlinks.
Build authority in your niche
B2B marketing is all about being an expert in your field. Think about it – you wouldn’t take advice from an amateur so why would you expect another business to do so? If you want to gain the trust of business clients, you need to prove that you know what you’re talking about. Quality content and quality backlinks will go a long way in establishing your authority. But the endorsement of influential names in your industry won’t hurt either. Furthermore, the more experience you have, the more trustworthy you’ll appear; that, however, comes with time.
Actively promote your website through networking
Networking is an important skill in business. Establishing connections with other business owners will provide you with opportunities to learn from others, collaborate with them, and even convert them into your clients. So don’t be afraid to reach out to other businesses and tell them about the work you do. Actively promoting yourself is the best way to get the word out there.
Developing a B2B SEO strategy
To develop an effective B2B SEO strategy, you first need to know what your potential clients are looking for. This will help you determine which keywords to target and what type of content to post. After that, all you need to do is convince search engines that you are fulfilling your clients’ needs. This is where all the standard SEO practices come in. From here on out, the process is simple: start with market research, develop a good content strategy, and optimize your website performance just like you would in the case of B2C SEO.