If your B2B company is like most, you’ve invested a considerable amount of time and money into trying to bring leads to your website.
Obviously, succeeding at this would represent a massive advantage.
Your cost-per-lead would probably drop, and you could re-focus your marketing team on going after bigger goals. As more traffic came to your site, you could probably expect more conversions, as well.
Unfortunately, if your company is like most, you’ve followed all of the B2B search marketing best practices only to be underwhelmed by their results.
3 B2B Search Marketing Best Practices That Need to Be Rethought in 2019
If that sounds uncomfortably familiar, it may be time to rethink the kind of B2B search marketing advice that gets passed around a lot.
While that’s not to say that any of the following practices should be completely done away with, it’s probably wise to rethink them.
1. Focusing on Website Rank
Let’s start off by going after one of the biggest sacred cows of B2B search marketing: website rank.
In 2019, is it still helpful to rank well in Google?
Yes.
Does it matter nearly as much as it used to?
No.
The reason why is that you’ve never had more opportunities to get your company found than you do in 2019. And yet, you still only have 10 chances to organically reach that first page on Google for the search term you’re targeting.
So, while it’s true that B2B buyers will make it through 70% of their decision-making process before ever actually speaking with a salesperson, that doesn’t necessarily mean their attention immediately turns to Google.
That’s why you should also place your B2B search marketing efforts on utilizing sites that your market frequents. LinkedIn is probably the best example of one of these opportunities. Build a following there and you’ll have better access to potential leads.
Plus, all that social proof is going to go a long way toward winning conversions, something you can’t gain through Google searches.
2. Basing Your Content on Keyword Research
Another central tenet of B2B search marketing that must be reassessed in 2019 is keyword research.
Instead of researching keywords that see lots of traffic, marketers need to think about the topics their audience wants covered.
This might seem like a small difference, but it’s an extremely important one.
Because Google now provides personalized search results, the search engine takes into consideration what a user has searched for in the past. In other words, one keyword can produce dramatically different results for two different people.
Therefore, your content will be much better served if you create content based on:
You don’t need to ditch keyword research altogether, but you must prioritize these three aspects.
3. Placing Too Much Emphasis on Securing Backlinks
Lastly, there’s no doubt that backlinks are important for climbing the ranks with Google.
In fact, many B2B marketers spend several hours a week trying to land guest-posting opportunities on other companies’ websites in order to earn these vital assets.
Fortunately, by now, most marketers know that quality is more important than quantity when it comes to backlinks. You’re better off working hard to secure a backlink from 5 high-authority sites than 500 sites that will allow anyone to post (often for a price).
Again, this is a best practice that isn’t completely going away in 2019. Backlinks still matter and their quality is still vital.
However, B2B marketers shouldn’t just look at the potential for backlinks when it comes to considering guest-posting opportunities. They should first think about where their market gets information from. Guest posts on those sites – and the exposure that would come with them – could be just as helpful for attracting leads.
For example, Forbes, Entrepreneur, and Inc no longer offer follow links to guest posters, but if you know your audience frequents those sites, wouldn’t it help to publish articles there?
How to Get the Most from B2B Search Marketing in 2019
In short, yes, most B2B search marketing best practices are still relevant in 2019, though it may be worth rethinking some of the ways you have applied them in the past.
Of course, mastering search marketing isn’t enough to ensure you make this a banner year. Instead, it’s absolutely vital that your website is set up to turn that traffic into clients.
That’s why we created Hushly. Our platform turns your site’s current content into conversion copy. We’ve successfully increased landing page conversions by over 51%, improved content engagement by more than 305%, and cut cost-per-lead by a third for companies just like yours.
Want to see how? Contact us today for a free demo.
