With buyers continually online, buying behavior has changed dramatically. Strategies and tactics once used to attract and convert them have changed too. Rapid market shifts have created a climate demanding swift and ongoing strategic reevaluation. For B2B companies, staying relevant is more difficult than ever before.
Why is SEO so important now?
Logically, more people buying online should mean more sales. True, but with greater opportunity comes greater competition. Increased competition means more advertisers advertising, less ad-inventory, and increased paid advertising costs.
Continuing our thought process: Someone continually online is also being constantly bombarded with ads. After a while, we grow numb and the ads lose their impact.
But customers are still buying! With so many people tuning out paid advertising, how do marketers continue capturing their attention?
Organic content – Marketers ask the questions their prospects ask when making purchase decisions and create content that’s picked up in organic searches.
This is especially true of business-to-business (B2B) purchasers because they are familiar with marketing tactics and even less responsive to paid ads. They know the tricks of the industry. They want to make independent, educated decisions. This is where SEO and B2B SEO Agencies come into play.
- 68% of online activities begin with a WEB SEARCH.
- 77% of B2B buyers say they won’t even speak to a salesperson until they’ve done their own research.
- 61% of marketers attest that inbound marketing (SEO, blog content, etc) is their highest source of quality leads.
- 93% of global traffic comes from Google.
- On the first page of Google search results, the FIRST FIVE organic results account for 68% of all the clicks.
- SEO drives 1000%+ more traffic than organic social media.
Studies show that most customers make buying decisions after searching for relevant keywords. B2B prospects are typically making high-cost purchases – gaining their trust is key. According to industry statistics, marketers report their highest quality leads come SEO optimized informational content.
How will search engine optimization (SEO) help you get those B2B customers?
SEO reaches prospective customers with informational content that helps them solve business problems. You want your content on top of the search results when prospects search for answers. For instance, “top five productivity tools for 2024”, or “productivity tool y versus productivity tool x”, or “best productivity tool for teams in 2024”.
The way to ensure your content reaches prospects when they are searching for answers is by optimizing for the most important of the nearly 200 factors Google’s search algorithms use when displaying top search results. Keywords are important, but effective SEO is about more than keyword stuffing – especially for competitive terms.
How B2B SEO gets you more sales
Benefits of SEO and why other B2B companies invest in B2B SEO Agencies.
Google’s ranking algorithm evaluates over 200 factors when deciding which content to display atop search results. SEO takes time and requires continual data-based iteration and adjustment. Paid media generates quick results and has its place. But paid media has limitations, it is costly, can generate a lot of unqualified traffic, and many prospects ignore paid ads because people have a natural resistance to being “sold”.
SEO can overcome “buyer resistance” by leading prospects through your sales funnel without them knowing they are being sold. Your content simply helps them solve problems and get what they want. Studies show, when people give you things of value, you are more likely to trust and like them. And, people buy from those they know, like, and trust.
Content also builds your brand, positions you as a leader, and establishes industry expertise. Valuable content that helps readers solve problems is more likely to be shared and referenced. SEO content is enduring. After the initial production, you can maintain its value and rankability for years to come with minimal maintenance, editing, and cost.
SEO takes time, but even if paid ads are working for you, SEO is a solid, cost-effective strategy for increasing traffic, driving sales and leads, boosting brand presence and maximizing ROI long-term.
Good B2B SEO websites enhance the customer’s experience
B2B SEO is more than about getting people to notice and click on your website. Good B2B SEO websites are about helping prospects access information they need to solve business problems and discreetly positioning your products and services as the solutions.
Every piece of search optimized content is an opportunity to bring prospects into your sales funnel by giving them the experience of getting exactly what they want. For example, “now you know the top 5 productivity tools of 2024, discover how they integrate with today’s most popular CRM platforms”, etc.
Each piece of content leads to more content that anticipates the prospect’s questions until finally, you answer them and the prospect becomes a customer. User experience is enhanced because it’s like you’re reading prospect’s minds.
You’ll stay ahead of the competition
An SEO strategy that creates content by anticipating prospect’s wants and needs runs contrary to what most competitors are doing. Look at most B2B websites. They may be keyword optimized, but the content speaks to what businesses want to say about their products instead of solutions to problems prospects are trying to solve.
Well developed B2B SEO strategies offer you long-term results
For SEO to showcase measurable results it can take between six to twelve months.
Since Google dominates the search engine world, we all have to play by Google’s rules.
Long-term sustainability is extremely important for a B2B business. Remind yourself of how patience pays off, as it most definitely pays off with SEO.
Can you do your own B2B SEO website?
If you’re new to SEO and made it this far in the article – first off, thank you. You’re probably thinking “I’ve been wasting a lot of time resisting SEO and want to start right away. I could probably do it myself.”
Let’s dive into how B2B SEO works practically and what you need to do:
- Analyze how to get your opt-in pages to rank and convert.
- Understand the needs, pain points, and questions asked by your B2B buyers.
- Research common keywords for your particular industry.
- Understand your competitor’s successful SEO and marketing strategies.
- Keep on top of relevant keywords on at least a monthly basis.
- Identify search intent.
- Optimize your web pages according to SEO.
- Add links to your old related content.
- Build backlinks.
- Simplify your sales pages.
- Write SEO content.
- Stay focused on trends and shifting behaviors of your target audience.
Why hiring a B2B SEO Agency makes sense
Most businesses outsource SEO. Agencies are more cost-effective and can get better results faster. SEO is labor intensive and best served by a team of dedicated professionals.
Even managing it in-house can be frustrating, costly, and produce mixed results. Working with DAP you get consistency with proven strategies, tactics, and workflows. We’ve already worked through the bugs you would deal with bringing your SEO in-house.
Additionally, working with a B2B SEO Agency you benefit from the knowledge, experience and processes we’ve gained after working with dozens of businesses across many industries. Working with multiple accounts enables us to detect and respond to algorithmic search engine changes and trends in consumer behavior.
Finally, B2B SEO Agencies have a vested interest in achieving SEO results for their clients. They succeed when you succeed. And, even though advertising and SEO are our bread and butter, the most qualified prospects still come from word-of-mouth referrals.
Get found – Contact us today.
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