SEO is so much more that merely ranking for a handful of keywords.
For B2B businesses, I believe it's key strength lies in increasing brand awareness and building trust within a company's target customer base.
This in turn leads to generating revenue.
The results of a good B2B SEO strategy mean a business is consistently under the prospect's radar, whenever and wherever they search online for solutions to any work related challenges they have.
And by the time the prospect is ready to buy, they know exactly where to go.
They type your brand name into Google (not a keyword) as the prospect already knows and trusts your business.
This is how good B2B SEO should be.
Why is SEO an Important Channel for B2B Companies?With Millennials becoming increasingly involved in B2B purchase decisions, there is a current trend towards consulting digital channels, rather than sales reps, for information required in the journey to purchase.
A Gartner report from 2020 argues that by 2025, 80% of sales interactions between B2B buyers and suppliers, will be via digital channels such as a website or social media platforms.
It is no longer enough for a business to have a website merely to show an online presence.
For the long term survival of a company, it's website must be an effective sales channels.
If a business website isn't delivering leads, then why does it exist?
Why Bother With SEO When I Get so Many Referrals?SEO can be a big investment so I get this argument. If you get lots of business from word of mouth, it is tempting to rest on your laurels.
However, word of mouth marketing is limited to your current satisfied customer base and doesn't reach the wider market in which your business operates.
In effect, a sole reliance on word of mouth, inhibits a business's growth potential.
With SEO, you expand your business's reach to prospects using Google and other search engines.
Why B2B SEO Requires a Different Approach to B2CB2B SEO requires a different approach to B2C. The reason for this lies in the fundamental differences between B2B and B2C buyers:
- A B2B purchase tends to be far higher in value than a B2C purchase. This means sales cycles are far longer as more consideration is needed prior to a sale. With regard to SEO, lots of informational content is needed to build trust and inform the B2B buyer in their journey to purchase.
- There is likely no such thing as an impulse B2B purchase. You don't invest in a £100K product or service on a whim! B2B buying decisions are made as a result of a rational assessment. Again, content is required to help inform the B2B buyer make a decision to buy.
- There are a number of stakeholders involved in a B2B purchase due to the high value of the product.
- B2B tends to operate in a niche market, whereas B2C is far more broad. This means keyword search volumes in B2B tend to be far lower, but highly relevant.
The characteristics of the B2B buyer create a need to build brand awareness and trust in your target market.
SEO combined with a customer centric content marketing strategy is one of the most effective digital marketing channels to achieve this.
If you would like help in growing your business through SEO and Google Ads, lets have an exporatory chat to discuss your business goals.
