If you want to attract more leads and customers to your B2B website, you need to optimize it for search engines. But how do you make your website stand out from the millions of other sites competing for the same keywords and topics? Here are some tips to help you improve your B2B SEO strategy and rank higher on Google and other search engines.
Before you start creating content and optimizing your pages, you need to know who your target audience is and what they are looking for. You can use tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and keyword research tools to find out what keywords and phrases your potential customers are using, what questions they have, and what problems they need to solve. You can also use surveys, interviews, and social media to learn more about their preferences, challenges, and goals. By understanding your audience, you can tailor your website content and design to match their needs and expectations.
This is pretty standard stuff so far and to really get traction you’re going to want to address the five subjects that really move the dial - the big 5 topics outlined by Marcus Sheridan in his book ‘They Ask You Answer’ What everyone wants to know is based on: Cost - tell me all the factors that influence the price of your product or service Problems - layout all the problems that can arise with your product or service. Honesty is going win my business here Comparisons - help me compare your thing to similar ones. Reviews - show me reviews of competing and related products or services. Best of lists - best in class, best practices, Answer every possible question on these topics and you’ll make a huge impact with Google and humans
Speak like a real-life human person. Keyword research, customer interviews and surveys are extremely valuable in informing what you say, how you position your solution, and meeting your ritual sacrifice quota to appease the Google algorithm gods. But the skill and art comes in translating this information into copy, design and a tone-of-voice that can speak to and persuade prospective buyers that you’re kinda cool to hang out with over the course of that 3-month sales cycle and multiyear contract.
Content is the core of your B2B SEO strategy. You need to create content that is relevant, valuable, and engaging for your audience. You need to answer their questions, address their pain points, and offer solutions that showcase your expertise and authority. You also need to format your content for readability and usability, using headings, subheadings, bullet points, images, videos, and other visual elements. You should also update your content regularly to keep it fresh and accurate. Quality content will help you attract more organic traffic, generate more leads, and build trust and credibility with your audience.
On-page SEO refers to the elements on your website that you can control and optimize to improve your ranking and visibility on search engines. These include your title tags, meta descriptions, URLs, headings, images, and internal links. You should optimize these elements with your target keywords and phrases, but avoid keyword stuffing or over-optimization. You should also make sure that your on-page elements are clear, concise, and descriptive, and that they match the intent and context of your content. On-page SEO will help you increase your click-through rate, reduce your bounce rate, and enhance your user experience.
Off-page SEO refers to the factors outside your website that affect your ranking and reputation on search engines. These include your backlinks, social media presence, online reviews, and brand mentions. You should aim to build your off-page authority by earning high-quality and relevant backlinks from other authoritative and trustworthy websites in your niche. You can do this by creating valuable and shareable content, guest posting, outreach, and partnerships. You should also leverage your social media platforms to promote your content, engage with your audience, and increase your brand awareness. Off-page SEO will help you improve your domain authority, referral traffic, and online reputation.
The last tip to make your B2B website stand out on search engines is to measure and improve your performance. You need to track and analyze your SEO metrics and results, such as your ranking, traffic, conversions, and ROI. You can use tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and SEO dashboards to monitor and evaluate your SEO performance. You should also conduct regular audits and tests to identify and fix any issues or errors on your website, such as broken links, duplicate content, or slow loading speed. By measuring and improving your performance, you can optimize your B2B SEO strategy and achieve your goals.