Should Every B2B Marketer Be Running SEO Campaigns?

As part of the team here at a B2B SEO agency, we hear versions of this question nearly every week. Truth be told, hearing it always makes us chuckle just a little inside. That’s because it’s relatively obvious that every B2B marketer should be taking advantage of search engine optimization (a.k.a. SEO). 

If you have any doubt about this whatsoever, then think about it this way: how could a company NOT want to be present at the EXACT moment that a potential customer was looking for a product or service they offer?

In reality, we don’t think our new clients are really asking whether they need SEO. They all know they do. Instead, what they really want to know is whether it’s worth it to put in the time and energy it takes to gain traffic from Google and the other engines… particularly if they tried and failed in the past.

That’s a different and more complex question. The truth is that finding success with search engine optimization does require an investment of time and energy. It’s not as simple as simply wanting the traffic and leads that come with a high search position.

We still contend that winning at organic search is always worth the effort. Again, you could say that we are biased because we work at a B2B SEO agency, and that’s fair. But let us share a few of our most important reasons and see if you agree…

Succeeding at SEO Gives You a Semi-Permanent Advantage Over the Competition

When it comes to understanding search engine optimization in the B2B market, there is bad news and good news. Let’s start with the bad: in most industries you aren’t going to be able to optimize a few pages, or put up a handful of posts, and see sustainable results. It’s going to take more work than that.

The reason organic search has become so competitive is that the rewards are enormous. Although precise traffic statistics are hard to pin down, it is well known that Google processes billions of search inquiries every day. A smaller number go through Microsoft’s Bing and other online portals. If you can get even a small fraction of that traffic to come your way, you can absolutely transform your inbound lead generation campaigns.

That brings us to the good news. Because B2B SEO is difficult, most marketers won’t even attempt to succeed. Or, a B2B marketer will put a few weeks of effort into a campaign and then give up. By doing what your competitors can’t (or won’t), you can get a bigger slice of the pie. And, you can get so far ahead of them in the search rankings that they would need years of work to catch up.

Being at the Top of Google’s Rankings Builds Your Authority Twice

Naturally, the business owners and executives who come to us for search engine optimization do so because they want to enjoy the flow of traffic to their B2B websites. However, a hidden benefit of our work is that they become the authoritative thought leaders in their industries in two different ways.

In the first sense, a B2B marketer builds authority by gaining exposure. If the buyers and influencers in your target markets are constantly seeing content attached to your business, then they will start to see you as more credible than everyone else. That’s true even if the information they are getting from you is available from several sources. You become their trusted resource for insight into your industry.

The second kind of authority comes from the content creation process. When you work to create articles, ebooks, infographics, videos, and other pieces, you have to think about your business a lot. You’ll also probably interview colleagues and clients, conduct research, and test assumptions. All of this will lead you to a better understanding of what you do and what you have to offer. 

Put these two concepts together and you have a virtual cycle that feeds itself. You and your team become stronger in your business because you’re always thinking of new ideas. That leads you to create more content, which leads to even more good ideas… and so on. Pretty soon, you are miles ahead of your competitors.

Good Search Visibility Reinforces All Your Other Online and Offline Marketing

When your content is all over Google, then it makes every other form of marketing you do easier. That’s because people who see your social ads, printed ad reach, or even tradeshow displays are more likely to come across you again when searching online.

Numerous studies have shown that it can take dozens of marketing “touches” before people feel comfortable doing business with you. By popping up on Google, Bing, and other search portals, you can shortcut that cycle while also establishing your business as a credible thought leader (see above). Plus, you get good at developing the kinds of messages that appeal to your most important buyers. All of this makes it easier to maximize the time and money you put into other marketing efforts.

It’s hard to quantify these types of wins, but experience has taught us, and our clients, that success with search engine optimization in a B2B marketer setting often strengthens other campaigns. Certainly, it can’t hurt to be more visible to potential customers who might look up your company after coming across one of your ads and marketing pieces.

Ready to Get Started With Your Organic Search Strategy?

As we have already admitted, winning at search engine optimization does require an investment of time and/or money. However, we would also remind you of two things. First, it’s well worth it. And second, you can see results much more quickly – and affordably – than most business owners, marketers, and executives realize.

If you’re ready to see how a reliable B2B SEO agency works, then check out our B2B SEO agency services for more information. From there you’ll be able to see how we create winning campaigns for our clients. More importantly, you’ll understand how we use strong search positioning to help you find inbound leads and create other measurable results.