B2B vs. B2C SEO – What's the Difference?
SEO is SEO, right?
Well, sort of.
There is no special algorithm that Google uses to rank B2B queries as opposed to B2C – that's not how it works. A successful B2B strategy focuses on the same four elements as a successful B2C strategy:
• On-site SEO
• Off-site SEO
• Content
• Technical SEO
There is no "extra pillar" that separates B2B search engine optimisation from B2C SEO – that's just not how it works.
In saying that, there is a distinctly different approach in the way that we need to look at B2B style businesses when developing a search engine optimisation strategy.
Targeting users who are searching on behalf of a business requires a different approach and thought pattern than when we target users who are buying for themselves.
Key Differences Between B2C SEO and B2B SEO
The way that SEO works for B2B businesses is not inherently different to B2C.
With that said, understanding the differences is essential for ensuring that your SEO strategy is not just winning clicks, but also driving conversions.
• Extended lead time and longer sales cycle
• Low volume, but high value search terms – quality over quantity
• Lower conversion rates than traditional B2C SEO (in most cases)
• High-value customers and customer lifetime value (CLV)
• Secondary metrics like "brand awareness" and "thought leadership" play a more significant role in B2B SEO marketing strategies.
• More touch points and customer "nurturing" is required to reach a conversion
You'll notice that these differences all share one thing in common – they are not SEO ranking factors.
The sales cycle for B2B sales can take months – or longer. The sales cycle is typically a drawn-out affair that requires "buy-in" from a number of key stakeholders across an organisation. An effective B2B SEO strategy understands the nuances of B2B sales and creates value at each step of the sales cycle from awareness to consideration, and through to the final conversion.
How We Build Winning B2B SEO Strategies
Target market research
Understanding your target market is key. We need to understand who we are talking to before we can think about how we are going to reach them more effectively through organic search.
If you do enough reading online, you'll see that some B2B SEO strategies talk about "buyer personas". And whilst this sounds good in theory, creating buyer personas and separating keywords according to a theoretical persona is more an exercise in marketing theatre than practical SEO.
For B2B SEO, target market research means meeting customer demand and building brand awareness from their first search, right the way through to conversion. We do this by analysing keyword data, researching competitor content and search engagement, and interpreting this data to understand how your target market uses search to find the goods or services that you offer.
During this phase, we also need to understand more about your business and your service offering to properly position you online, including:
• Understanding what makes your product or service unique – your USPs
• Understanding the key decision makers in the sales cycle
• Understanding what matters to your target audience and the points that we need to highlight in our marketing strategy.
• Understand what (if anything) is working for you at the moment and how we can use these insights to get a head start on your SEO strategy.
Keyword research
As opposed to B2C SEO, where search volume plays a key role in determining the types of keywords that we target, B2B SEO uses other factors to determine value.
One of the best indicators that we have when we look at B2B keywords is Google Ads CPC (cost per click) data. CPC data shows the keywords your competitors prioritise in Google Ads. We know that if they are willing to pay top prices for visibility on these keywords in Google Ads, then we can confidently say these keywords are highly valuable for their business.
When we conduct keyword research, we group keywords according to intent.
High intent keywords
High-intent or "buy ready" keywords are the transactional keywords that your target audience is searching for when they are ready to buy. These keywords are extremely valuable; however, they tend to be the most competitive (high KD) and have fairly low search volume (SV).
Informational keywords
Informational keywords, also known as Top of the funnel (TOFU) and Middle of the funnel (MOFU) search terms, are essential for B2B SEO. Whereas B2C SEO strategies may be able to get away without an SEO branding strategy, TOFU and MOFU keyword visibility is vital for building trust and authority in a B2B SEO campaign.
Granted, Google's AIO (AI Overviews) is now cannibalising a lot of the TOFU and MOFU keywords that historically generated a high volume of clicks and impressions for B2B SEO. However, it's still important to produce original, thought-leadership style content around informational search terms.
Content
Content for B2B SEO isn't just about conversions – it's about nurturing the customer through the (extended) sales cycle. Your content needs to be there from the moment the customer realises that they have a problem that needs to be solved, through the decision-making and sales process.
In B2B SEO, we view content through the lens of your customer to create content that resonates with them at each stage of the decision-making process. Here's how we do that.
Top of the funnel (TOFU)
Top of the funnel or TOFU content is designed to build brand awareness and engage the customer at the first stages of the decision-making process. Your ideal customer might just be realising that they have a problem, and they have no idea how to solve it – that's where TOFU content makes a difference.
TOFU content provides value and establishes trust from the outset. We utilise information-driven content marketing that addresses questions and fosters awareness for your B2B brand.
Middle of the funnel (MOFU)
Middle-of-the-funnel (MOFU) content is about helping your ideal customer evaluate their options and effectively conveying your unique selling proposition (USP) in a sea of choices. Competitor comparisons and product use-case examples can all be used to continue building trust and setting your brand apart in a crowded marketplace.
Bottom of the funnel (BOFU)
Bottom of the funnel or BOFU content is about nurturing your customers through the final stages of their decision-making process. Case studies, testimonials, and pricing pages – these are all examples of BOFU SEO content for B2B businesses that help to seal the deal. Your BOFU content needs to seal the deal and ensure the trust that you have established throughout he sales cycle is rewarded with a conversion.
Off-Site SEO
Off-site SEO for B2B businesses primarily come down to a few key factors.
Backlinks
Building links from industry-relevant, high-value sources that establish trust with search engines and Google. As far as B2B SEO strategies go, backlinks still account for a significant portion of how your brand ranks in the organic search results. And whilst backlinks don't quite carry the same weight as they used to, they still account for somewhere between 20-30% of how your B2B business ranks in the organic search results.
Review management
What your customers say about you may not be the most significant B2B SEO ranking factor – but it is one of the most important factors in determining how your traffic converts. There's no point in having a perfect SEO strategy if your customers are posting negative reviews that discourage would-be customers from engaging with your business.
We need to ensure that you are actively engaging with satisfied customers, building reviews across multiple review platforms – including Google Business, Trustpilot, Product Review, etc. – and also engaging with and providing solutions for customers, even when the reviews are not five-star.
Listicles & Industry Roundups
Listicles or industry roundups are those "best of" and "X best" lists that you see written about your industry. We know from experience that appearing in these lists enhances both SEO visibility and LLM visibility. As your B2B SEO agency, our job is to make you aware of all opportunities and help you to get cited in listicles and industry roundups.
Analytics and tracking
What good is an SEO strategy if we don't track the results?
We put analytics and tracking on a pedestal, which is why we implement extensive tracking across traffic, visibility, and overall conversions from organic traffic.
By analysing your baseline traffic, we can get a good idea of what is already working and how your customers currently engage with your business. From there, we can set out baseline numbers for organic traffic, keyword rankings, conversion rates, and user engagement to track progress and improvements.
We can use data to inform what is working and how your customers interact with your brand. SEO reporting and analytics data can inform the direction of your B2B SEO strategy and provide key insights that can benefit your business.
Our Process for B2B SEO Services
Understanding
Every great B2B SEO strategy starts by understanding your business, your ideal customer, and your customer journey. We don't send out generic "SEO decks" or "SEO proposals", instead, we like to take a considered approach that addresses the unique challenges faced by your business. During our initial SEO consultation, we'll ask key questions that help us to understand your business and your current marketing strategy.
Strategy & planning
Following an initial consultation, we'll conduct a preliminary audit and begin to piece together insights based on your current standings, your competitors, and the opportunities that exist in your market. We look at prospective keywords, site performance, current site structure, and a range of other crucial SEO factors.
Growth
Once we've got a strategy for your B2B business, it's time to get to work. We work on an ongoing basis with all of our clients. All of our agreements are month-to-month – no lock-in contracts. We will outline an initial 12-month strategy, but we don't lock you into a contract – we let our results do the talking.
What sets us apart
From other SEO agencies.
Our SEO thought leadership and research has been cited by global brands.
Our Specialty SEO Services
