Table of contents
SEO activities for companies operating in the B2B (business to business) model, in technical terms, are generally no different from those carried out for companies operating in the B2C (business to client) model. The main difference, of course, is the audience, where it can be found, and the method and strategy for effective communication toward it.
SEO is one of the most important online marketing channels for B2B in many industries. It allows you to build consistent, stable visibility, which in the long run results in acquiring traffic to your site. The cost of this is lower per unit than in other channels. Presence in high search engine positions also builds brand awareness and authority.
Differences-in-building-SEO-strategy for B2B and B2C
As I mentioned earlier, the main difference between B2B and B2C is the audience, so building a strategy that targets such a specific target as other companies will require focusing first and foremost on where to find them and how to reach them.
- Sales path
Whether you are offering products or services in the B2B model, the sales path will definitely be more complicated than for B2C. The sales process in the B2B model is always longer, does not happen on impulse, involves higher amounts of individual transactions and is usually not based on just one person’s buying decision.
Additionally, B2B companies often bind themselves to product and service suppliers with contracts for a longer period of time to maintain operational stability, so convincing them to change may be time-consuming or even impossible.
So when starting SEO activities for a B2B company, we need to deeply understand the group of its customers and their decision-making process for buying products and services.
- Keywords
In the case of SEO, the main way of targeting activities is, of course, keywords. It is by placing them on the page and building visibility for them that we are able to “attract” to our site just the kind of viewer we care about.
Just as in the case of positioning to a wide audience, which is adopted in most B2C activities, in the case of B2B, such a strategy may not work at all. Targeting a large audience usually relies on popular, frequently searched keywords, only supplementing them with long-tail activities. This is primarily due to the size of the target group.
The target group in the case of B2B will always be much smaller, often even niche. By force, the number of searches for particular keywords related to a particular industry or issue will also be small. Therefore, the low popularity of a keyword in the case of the B2B industry should not discourage us; if the phrase corresponds directly to our business, it should be included in SEO efforts.
- Low conversion rate
The conversion rate, which we would consider very low and unsatisfactory in the case of SEO activities for B2C, may be sufficient to successfully conduct activities in the case of B2B. This is due, once again, to a much smaller target group but also to a higher transaction amount for purchasing products or services. This is especially evident in the case of online stores focused on selling for other businesses; goods are offered only in bulk so that a single purchase can be a very large amount.
It will be no different in the case of services—companies, when deciding to use the services of another company, subcontract for a longer period of time to maintain continuity of operations, so the value of such a single contract will also be high.
- Building brand awareness and expert position
Another important difference is the need to build brand awareness and a position of expertise in a particular industry. Of course, in the case of B2C, this is also advisable and welcome, but in many cases, it is not necessary to achieve success in selling products or services to a single customer.
This is definitely different in the case of B2B. A business customer is usually more informed and spends more time researching, if only because the budget they spend with a single supplier is higher than with a retail customer. In addition, the B2B decision-making process is longer and often involves many people, influencing the analysis of potential suppliers. Suppose this one is the undisputed leader about whom we are able to find a lot of positive information and case studies on the web. In that case, there is definitely a greater chance of a successful transaction.
Building a strategy for SEO activities for B2B
Already knowing the basic differences between SEO efforts for B2B and B2C customers, we can move on to building a strategy based on a few key steps that we can’t overlook. Here they are:
1. Create a model-customer-of-your-products-and-services-and-his-path-of-purchase
Creating the “ideal customer” is important for planning the purchase process of the products and services you offer. This is important both on the communication level and in terms of building a website that will meet this customer’s expectations and encourage him to make a transaction with us.
We must, so to speak, put ourselves in the shoes of our potential customer and think about what he can expect. At this point, it is worth looking at our most successful competitors, what methods and solutions they use to reach the “model customer,” and how we can further improve them by applying them in “our own backyard.”
We have to think about what to expect from our website.
Once we have determined our ideal customer, we need to analyze the process he or she must go through to make a purchase. This process will always depend on the specifics of the industry, technological requirements, or, in some cases, legal regulations. All these elements must be taken into consideration.
We must also remember that the purchasing process will differ significantly for large, medium, and small companies, which means we must adopt more than one model customer and more than one possible purchase path.
2. Determine a list of keywords that your model customer searches for
Use third-party tools such as SemRush, Senuto, Google Keywords Planner, Ahrefs, etc., to create a list of keywords that you include in the content on your website.
Divide the list of keywords according to their search intent – informational, navigational, commercial and transactional. This will make it easier to decide where on the site to best place them so that a user who comes across them from a search engine will get the most information and have the best chance of purchasing.
There are a number of ways to make sure that the keywords are included on your website.
With the tools, you can check what phrases your competitors are visible for and what they are positioning themselves for, and you can verify which ones are worth using on your own site.
Assign keywords to the various purchase paths created earlier to determine how customers search for products and services at each stage of the decision-making process.
3. Create dedicated content on the page
With a list of keywords and where on the page you plan to assign them, start creating content dedicated to your potential customer. Using, for example, Senuto, check what questions the search engine asks the customer in the context of your chosen keywords, your products, or services.
Create content answering these questions, making it as informative as possible and considering the different stages of the purchase path. Include keywords in original and elaborate product or service descriptions. Create blog content that serves an informative and complementary function to what is on the product or service pages.
Formulate messages and content using language specific to your industry to make sure you reach your model audience.
4. Create optimized product and service subpages
Keep in mind that the main goal of SEO efforts is, of course, to sell products or services. When creating content, focus primarily on building high-quality landing pages for them.
These should be based on effective descriptions, proper placement in the site structure, and ease of access. When building the structure of a dedicated B2B site, it is worthwhile to enlist the help of a UX specialist with experience in this industry.
In order to make a service or product subpage attractive to the customer and to the search engine, also take into account such elements as:
- Product photos and videos
- Price and special offers, promotions and discount codes
- Offers for regular customers
- Information about types and costs of delivery
- Return policy
- Product availability
- Links to similar or related products that may be of interest to the customer
- Rating and reviews
- Information on how to contact the company for additional questions
- Structured data that will enrich the appearance of LP in search results
5. Prepare a content plan that you can further develop
No less important than the content we have on the site when we start SEO activities is the content we will create in the future. As we know, for a site to appear high in search results, Google expects us to create user-valuable content consistently and regularly.
Therefore, consider which subject areas you want to create content in (considering the keywords established beforehand). Prepare a blog category tree structure that you can develop over time.
Take a look at the content you want to create.
Search for content creation inspiration using external tools. Senuto or SemRush can be helpful here. Verify what your competitors are talking about. Write about the topics that are most important from your customer’s point of view. However, also look for a niche topic undeveloped in the market. This way, you can easily attract customers who have not found the answer to their questions anywhere else.
Take a look for a niche topic that is undeveloped in the market.
Create case studies from completed projects and present them on your website and social media to build trust in your brand.
6. Publish content on external sites to acquire links and build brand awareness
Regularly publish sponsored articles, guest blog posts, infographics, interviews, or press releases on portals related to your industry. Try to acquire as many do-follow links from them as possible while being as present as possible on the part of the Internet where your potential customer appears. This will help build the trust and brand awareness mentioned early on.
Verify if any publications about your company appear on the web. If so, contact the publisher and try to get them to include a link to your site.
P.S.
The above article does not address the topics of website technical optimization, as they are the same for both B2B and B2C websites. An SEO audit and the subsequent implementation of optimization changes are rather different between online stores and service company websites, regardless of which audience they are targeting.
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She has 11 years of professional experience, she started her career at the Emarketing Experts agency as a junior SEO specialist. In addition to website positioning, she was responsible for conducting 360° marketing projects as an Account Manager at They.pl. She worked for companies from the financial sector (Bank Millennium, Bank Meritum, Finai S.A.) and e-commerce (e.g. Black Red White, Autoland, Mumla). At Up&More, he is responsible for, among others, SEO projects for Panek Car Sharing, Amerigas, Interparking, H+H and Autoplaza.