As a B2B marketer, there are a lot of things you need to know to leverage SEO and develop an effective demand generation strategy. With now a significant percentage of B2B purchase cycles starting online with a web search, this a reason good enough to pay keen attention to SEO.
Knowing how to get started with SEO is a huge bonus. Yes, a bonus that will help you go far and capture the attention of your buyers irrespective of the strides made in the buying process. Imagine having every SEO trick you need to be successful at your fingertips! Below this post focuses on key elements of B2B SEO that will not only take you far but also give you an edge in everything you do and as well help you understand the needs of every B2B buyer.
Key elements of B2B SEO
Let’s have a look at these elements to keep in mind.
Content marketing
Without a doubt, great content in marketing move mountains. You need to create content that will not only keep your buyers informed but also craving to know about your products and services. Entice and engage with them using the right content from the first article you upload to subsequent copies.
For example, consider when watching a beauty TV series that leaves you waiting for the next episode. The same way producers make sure you have a craving for the coming episodes, also create content that attracts your B2B buyers to keep on visiting your site to know more about the products or services you offer and those you intended to provide.
One thing to keep in mind is to make sure your keywords blend well with your content. Please don’t force them. Let everything count out naturally. Feel free even to have someone help you prepare the right content if you find it challenging to do so. Today there are many freelance copywriters you can count on to delivery engaging blog articles for your consumers.
Remember also to use different types of content to aid in your marketing. Don’t make a mistake of using the same content repeatedly if using different channels to communicate with your buyers. Remember that each channel has its requirements. For example, if you share your content via Facebook, make sure it well optimized for this platform.
Keyword research
If you want to win in SEO as a marketer, then you need to invest the time doing keyword research. There are no cutting corners.
So, what is all about keyword research. This is where you map keywords for the B2B buying cycle. The entire process of keyword research is straightforward, and it depends on the approach you take and especially with B2B buyers. Put yourself in their shoes so you can help figure out the words your prospects are likely to use in their search.
For example, they may use search terms like CRM solutions, payroll services, printing services, document storage, and so on. Often, B2B buyers are always specific, and this means you also need to b specific with your search terms. There is no other way out. You also have to be precise.
Once you are confident, you have a good grasp of what your buyers are looking for; it is now time to make sure that each keyword relates well to your products and services. This is one area you need to be keen; otherwise, your SEO marketing strategy will not pay off. Testing how difficult it will be to rank your keyword will help get past this stage well.
Today, tools like Moz’s can help analyze the difficulty of keywords you plan to use and as well determine the page and domain authority of your hub. Knowing your domain authority helps know the keywords to use. For example, if your page authority is low, using less competitive keywords is a good idea.
Remember also to think outside the box and try to come up with keywords your prospects are likely to use. Once again, use tools like SEMrush and Google autocomplete function to make you work easier.
Link Building
Links provide another excellent alternative to ranks your website. Not a must you include them but are very helpful when used in the right manner. What links do is that they help web crawlers like Googlebot rank your page. And yes, there are several ways to do this.
One way is through digital PR. This is an excellent strategy when looking to build relationships with other sites that will link back to your site. Implementing this is very simple. All you need to do is to guest post your content on B2B sites. And remember to create relevant content. The key thing key is to use guest posting opportunity to its fullest. Make sure at this time not to leave any stone unturned when you get the chance.
If you already have a good relationship with your prospects, grab the opportunity, and prepare content that will not only convert but also generate lead. Also, keep in mind, you may also be required to create a slot for your B2B prospects to upload content on your site.
If you have not established any relationship already, try calling or writing to those you intend to connect with. The best thing with building this kind of relationship is that you are not limited to what you can do, but it is wise to keep everything professionally.
You can also try link reclamation. Link reclamation allows you to seek out mentions of your business on the web, and once someone mentions or use your company name, you get an instant notification. A tool like Google Alert is very helpful at this time.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO is not about content. It focuses on the behavior of websites such as its speed, indexing, link, structured data, and other metrics that all contribute to how search engines rank a website. Below are some of the elements that constitute technical SEO:
- XML sitemaps: your site’s map of indexed content
- Links: this includes backlinks and other site links
- Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP): this a framework that allows websites to load really fast on mobile devices
- Redirects: this are areas of your site that are redirected (401 errors, etc.)
- Structured data: the backend code used to build your website, also called Schema Mark-up
- Secured certificates: if you use an HTTPS site versus an HTTP site
Technical SEO contributes a lot to overall SEO strategy and doing a regular audit help in making sure everything is well-aligned. For example, through regular technical audits, you can learn more about weak points that hurt your performance as well as areas contributing to your ranking.
SEO tools like Screaming Frog SEO Spider even make even your work easier. They help conduct a successful audit as well as generate reliable reports. New to the best technical tools you can use? Click here for a complete guide.
To make your work even easier when performing technical SEO audits for a B2B hub, below is how your checklist should look like.
- Duplicate Content: make sure that no content on your Hub is plagiarized or duplicated.
- Quick Overview: involves checking index pages, reviewing Google Analytics, and doing a mobile-friendliness test.
- Technical Issues: consist of any URLs, redirects, errors, and other technical elements that might be outdated or broken.
- Content: involves reviewing your homepages and landing pages for keywords, removing keyword-stuffed content, and analyzing your click-through rates (CTR).
- Accessibility and Indexation: Consist of the technical code of your website, such as Javascript, CSS, and your robots.txt file, which Googlebot will crawl to index your site.
- On-page Optimization: involves optimizing title tags, checking for missing titles or descriptions, correcting any keywords in H1 tags and optimizing image sizes.
- Analytics: make sure that your Google Analytics or other tracking metrics are set up correctly and that your AdWords and other campaigns are properly linked.
- Mobile: consist of an audit of your mobile user experience and analytics.
- Duplicate Content: This makes sure that no content on your Hub is plagiarized or duplicated.
- Site Architecture and Internal Linking: This includes an audit of your internal and external links.
- International: Consist of review of any international versions of your URL, country-based targeting, and overall URL structure.
Regularly carrying out a technical SEO audit is very imperative. You can do it once per year or twice per year. You can do it anytime you find it necessary.
Final verdict
It goes without saying a good SEO strategy for B2B is a bonus in marketing. Making SEO strategy pays off is something every B2B marketer need to keep in mind. The above are some of the things that help tailor a working SEO strategy.
You don’t have to implement all these elements at ago, but if seriously into SEO, you have no option but to consider all of them. The good news is you do everything right; you can rest assured to leverage SEO to promote your authority and remain on top of the game.
Jay
I've worked for WooRank, SEOptimer, and working on a cool SEO audit tool called SiteGuru.co. Now I have build Linkilo and SEO RANK SERP WordPress theme. I've been in the SEO industry for more than 5 years, learning from the ground up. I've worked on many startups, but also have my own affiliate sites.
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