6 Reasons Why B2B SEO Can Give You the Competitive Edge You Need

B2C businesses are all about harnessing the power of SEO (search engine optimisation). They want to catch their customers as early in the decision-making process as possible, and so capturing those early questions and searches and directing them to their site is one of the best things they can do. 

So… what’s different about B2B? Well… nothing, actually. At least, there shouldn’t be. While young B2B businesses often don’t shy away from ensuring they’re optimising their site and content, more established organisations tend to focus on traditional ways of marketing. 

However, with more than 61% of B2B purchases starting with a generic search, you need to make sure that you are utilising B2B SEO as best you can to get that advantage over your competitors. SEO has a massive impact on bringing in new leads and can be an excellent tool for increasing business, especially if you’re in an industry that has been a little slower on the uptake – here are 6 reasons why. 

1. B2B Keywords Often Don’t Have Relevant Results 

If you spend a little time doing keyword research on your industry and products, you’ll likely find that not all the results are relevant. For more traditional industries and those where you already need a level of expertise to be searching (such as manufacturing, life sciences, and professional services), this is especially true. While you should be trying to rank for your top keyword terms, take a look at those a step behind and see what results are showing up. If you don’t think the results are adequate, make that content on your own site. Or, simply cover the topic again, but better. 

2. Many B2B Questions Haven’t Been Answered Yet

When you want to find the answer to a question, do you search a term or the whole question? With the ever-increasing commonality of using voice search, answering full questions in the content on your site and social media profiles has become a popular (and successful) strategy for B2C businesses. 

You can take advantage of this by creating good quality content that answers common customer questions or helps customers early in their purchasing journey. It’s not just about the keywords anymore, Google wants to see that you have readable content aimed towards real people to drive up your SEO. Never forget that in order to please search engines, you’ve got to create valuable content for the reader. 

3. B2B SEO Gives You Authority 

When you’re searching for information on a topic, and you find that one site seems to have all the answers or is directed to by other sites, you implicitly find them trustworthy. Building authority doesn’t just help you when it comes to SEO, but it also helps you become a leading voice in your industry. 

The more of a resource your site is, the more your potential customers are going to be landing on there to read relevant information (thanks to your SEO) and will have you in mind when they’re ready to buy. It won’t just be brand awareness, either; they’ll trust you because they know you know what you’re talking about. 

4. Get More Inbound Leads

Who doesn’t prefer to answer an inquiry asking for a demo or for more information on what you offer, rather than making sales calls to cold or lukewarm leads? B2B SEO is the best way to get new leads to your site where you can share relevant information with them and encourage them to reach out to you about your solutions. 

When you do this well – e.g. let them make the decision to reach out, and not snatch their phone number in return for downloading a whitepaper or filling in a form - you’ll be met with a lead who feels like they already know you, have already had value from you, and are receptive to your call or email. 

5. B2B SEO Keeps Your Pipeline Full  

When your B2B SEO is effective, it will pull potential leads in at all stages of the buying process and push them toward your sales funnel. While some of those customers will be in the earliest stages of doing research toward their next purchase, and so will enter the top of your funnel, others will enter at the bottom. 

Those who need a solution as soon as possible can find you, see that you’re the right business for them, and reach out or make a purchase there and then. They enter your funnel right near the bottom and complete the purchase. That’s a much rarer occurrence when you’re relying solely on word-of-mouth and cold calling for your sales! 

6. People Are Used to Being in Control 

Gone are the days when we used to head into stores to talk to a sales assistant about the next best car, washing machine, or camera to buy. Now, when we’re thinking about making a new purchase, we head online and do as much research as we can until we’ve made a decision. There are very few circumstances where we’ll head into a store first to look at potential options. Usually, by the time we’re presented with the object, we’re fairly certain about what we’re going to buy. 

So, what relevance does this have for B2B SEO? Your B2B customers are consumers too, and the same purchasing habits transfer. The decision-makers you’re aiming to please are also searching for potential solutions to their business problem, just as they would for one in their personal lives. If you show up in their search, you give them the power to decide if you’re the right solution for them. And, if your content and products are good, it’s highly likely they’ll make that decision. 

As you can see, B2B SEO is vital to your business’s success in our modern world. If you’re not paying attention to it, you’re leaving customers and money on the table for another business to take. 

If you need help optimising your site, we’re here to help. Why not try our free SEO Audit tool or get in touch below to see how we can help. You can also read more about How to Create Effective Landing pages or learn 3 Ways to Build a B2B Customer Journey That Converts.

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