Search engine optimization is brilliant for B2B marketing

Both SEO and SEM are often associated with B2C. The thing is, both are actually brilliant for B2B if you know what you’re doing.

Search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) are easy to measure when sales happen online. In e-commerce, you can track your return on investment down to the last cent. For those working in B2B—business to business—it can be a bit more complex to measure, but it’s just as effective if done correctly.

At Brath, we almost exclusively work with B2B, and we see great success with SEM and SEO. In many ways, it’s the only marketing we do, aside from some traditional PR. The fact that it’s more complex to measure—often due to longer lead times—just means you need to be a bit smarter and more informed to achieve results.

Often, especially in larger deals, the B2B sales process involves more steps before a deal is closed. That means your marketing needs to be adjusted accordingly, regardless of the channel. When it comes to SEO, I’m a strong advocate for making sure you’re visible when potential customers are doing their initial research. Since SEO doesn’t cost per keyword or per impression, you can afford to appear for those broader, exploratory searches like “why is SEO better than other types of marketing” instead of just “SEO” or “SEO pricing.”

By working broadly with your SEO, you can reach the customer in that very first stage and begin forming the initial connection. This increases your conversion rate in later stages—if you’re recognized, you have a significant advantage. Of course, you’ll also need to optimize for the more competitive keywords; you don’t want to lose a lead simply because someone else outranked you when it mattered most.

SEO for B2B

To sum it up: the B2B journey is often longer, and you need to tailor your marketing efforts accordingly. This applies across the board, but especially to your SEO strategy.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.