An online presence is crucial for B2B companies to drive traffic, generate leads, and stay competitive in the changing digital landscape. In turn, SEO is critical to achieving these KPIs. The goal of this article is to provide B2B marketers, SEO professionals, and business owners with the knowledge and tools they need to create a successful SEO strategy in 2024.
What is really driving B2B SEO? The need to understand the latest SEO trends and challenges, the importance of implementing effective keyword research, on-page optimization, backlink building, and analysing the results will be discussed in this article.
Prospects for B2B SEO in 2024
The SEO industry is constantly evolving due to search engine algorithm updates, changes in user behaviour, and the rise of voice search and artificial intelligence. To create an effective B2B SEO strategy, it is important to stay on top of the latest key trends, which in 2024 include:
Mobile-first indexing of the site in Google
Since most internet users access websites on smartphones and tablets, search engines like Google consider mobile versions when creating rankings . And this applies to all industries. B2B prospects typically view content and websites on desktop (since their job description includes researching companies or suppliers). However, some people check email, search, and browse websites on phones and tablets just as often.
Voice Search Optimization in 2024
Voice search is now widely used in gadgets and even some vehicles. For example, Toyota’s new OS allows drivers and passengers to search for information, businesses, and more directly in their car’s infotainment system. That’s why B2B companies should optimize their content for voice queries, including spoken language and keywords, and create structured markup to increase visibility in search results.
AI in Search and Marketing
According to Reuters , ChatGPT has exploded in popularity over the past year , setting a new record by achieving the fastest user base growth in February 2023. It now has more than 1.16 billion users, according to DemandSage . What’s more, ChatGPT owners OpenAI are planning to roll out a business version for companies , allowing their employees to use AI features and share proprietary information via an encrypted platform. Microsoft plans to use the technology to allow businesses to create their own impromptu “ChatGPTs” and protect sensitive data from unauthorized access.
Additionally, in May 2023, Google announced that it plans to add more AI experiences to the user’s search journey.
User Experience and Core Web Vitals
Search engines are increasingly focusing on user experience metrics such as page loading speed, responsiveness, and interactivity. Optimizing these factors improves rankings and user satisfaction. In 2024, visitors will abandon a slow-loading page after a few seconds, knowing that they can easily find the information they need elsewhere.
Google’s Continuous Algorithm Updates
Luckily, SEO experts can learn about some of Google’s algorithm updates and approximate dates when they will occur. To stay up to date with changes, bookmark our Google Algorithm Update History page .
Regardless of the industry, SEO is always evolving, so it’s important to regularly read industry publications (like the Moz Blog), learn from experts, and stay up-to-date with updates so your strategy can change accordingly.
Keyword Analysis on B2B Website Pages
Keyword and phrase research is the foundation of a successful B2B SEO strategy. It involves identifying the queries that potential customers use to find products or services in your industry. To conduct effective B2B keyword research in 2024, follow these steps:
Research your target audience
Create buyer personas and identify their pain points, needs, and search intent. This understanding will help you choose keywords that match your target audience’s interests. It’s important to remember that potential clients and customers know much less about the benefits of your product than you do, and sometimes don’t even know it exists. This is a great opportunity for SEOs to research the audience to create content that meets users’ search queries.
Use Keyword Research Tools
Special services like Moz Keyword Explorer provide valuable data on search volume, keyword difficulty, and related terms. Use these features to find high-potential keywords. It’s also important to examine your own data in Google Search Console or Google Analytics 4 (GA4). These tools will help you do your research more accurately.
Focus on low volume keywords
Long tail keywords are longer, more specific search queries that typically have low competition. Ranking for these keywords will help you reach niche audiences and generate high-quality leads. A B2B product typically serves a niche purpose, so instead of using a product name, try to use keywords that explain a problem or offer a solution.
For example, your company is an iPaaS (integration platform as a service), but you shouldn’t build content around that term. Using keywords that relate to data architecture and application integration will likely get you better results.
To conduct effective keyword research, you need to know where to start. Better target audience identification, high-quality tools, and a focus on keywords that interest users (usually related to a problem or solution) can help B2B SEOs get the right phrases needed to attract more potential customers.
On-Page Content Optimization on a B2B Website
On-Page optimization involves creating search-friendly pages and the site as a whole. Below are the best practices:
Meta Title Tags
Create compelling, concise, and keyword-rich meta titles of up to 70 characters to briefly describe your page content and entice users to click through. We can’t say for sure whether or not you should use your business name in your meta title, but if you have a lot of characters left, add it at the end after the “|”.
Meta description
We recommend writing compelling meta descriptions. This first paragraph on the page tells the reader what your content is about, and is also added to the SERP snippet by search engines. Google is known to change meta descriptions frequently , but it’s still worth writing about 180 characters so that search engines and users understand what you’re talking about.
Tags
Use heading tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) to structure your content logically and improve readability. Add keywords to headings to separate the topic of each section. Subheadings can serve as table of contents (if the article formatting allows it) and improve readability for large pieces of content over 2,000 words. Heading tags are added to SERPs and People Also Ask when used in a question-and-answer format.
Optimizing images for your website
Optimizing images is done by compressing their size (to make pages load better), using descriptive file names, and adding alt text with keywords. It helps search engines understand and index visual content, and makes illustrations more accessible to users with visual impairments.
Site structure
This factor is important for SEO because it helps search engines and users find your website pages more easily. Proper structure improves user experience, increases crawling and indexing efficiency by search engines, distributes page authority effectively, and improves website speed and performance.
H tags, structure, meta titles, and descriptions are valuable cornerstones of properly optimized content that is quickly indexed by search engines and encourages visitors to stay on the page longer. Google constantly reiterates that it is in the best interests of its users, which means it makes sure that content loads quickly, is searchable, and is easy to read.
Building quality backlinks for the B2B segment
Backlinks remain a critical factor in B2B SEO because they signal the trustworthiness and authority of your site. However, it is important to focus on quality over quantity. Consider the following strategies for building quality backlinks.
Create relevant content
Post quality, informative content on your site that will be interesting to your target audience. This way, other sites will link to your pages as a valuable resource. Alternatively, conduct your own research to get new industry data that others will want to share, create infographics, algorithms, and other guides.
Separating content into separate areas (if it makes sense)
This strategy isn’t universal, but if you’re working in a large organization, it may make sense from a site structure perspective because it allows you to separate different types of content.
For example, Moz has an SEO Learning Center and a blog, meaning the strategy and types of content are different for each section. Large companies typically have a press mentions section and a media/PR blog where company announcements or press releases are posted.
This helps media outlets and other organisations analyse and subscribe to the right type of content. And the easier it is for interested parties to find your company’s ads, the faster they will get the information they need and link to your content.
Partnership
Working with other organisations that serve your target audience but aren’t competitors can be a great way to gain more influence and traffic. You can send out a special newsletter with information about another brand to your email list (partners do the same thing) or collaborate on promotions through other marketing channels (blog, directories, social media) to get more leads.
Some SEOs still buy backlinks, but experience shows that this strategy can be risky. Companies offering such services do not always promise links from high-quality resources. In turn, the sites that place the backlink may use dirty tactics (for example, not fully disclosing the links in the content they share).
Partnerships can be fruitful, but the process requires careful planning to build a quality reputation and the ability to recoup the investment for both parties.
SEO optimization of B2B websites to achieve results
SEO promotion is the sum of all components, from On-Page optimization to backlink strategy, and the result of promotion directly depends on their quality. By tracking the above aspects and controlling the income level for each of them separately, you will be able to see where SEO works best for your B2B business .
Understanding this will help you prioritise the next quarters accordingly and adjust your long-term planning. This will help your B2B SEO in the future, as most aspects of it are interrelated to work more effectively. For example, improving your site structure and user experience will likely result in more people linking to your content. Develop a plan and think through every detail to ensure your business gets the best results.
Conclusion
In conclusion, adapting your B2B SEO strategy in 2024 is crucial for staying competitive in a rapidly changing landscape. By embracing new trends, focusing on quality content, and enhancing user experience, you can effectively reach your target audience. Collaborating with the best SEO agency will provide you with the expertise needed to navigate these changes and optimize your strategy for maximum impact.
