3 Common B2B SEO Mistakes to Avoid

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The B2B SEO process is ongoing and each step builds off of the one before it. It begins with research and understanding target audience behavior online and what the competition is up to. Once on-site optimization changes have been implemented, the next phase is link building to establish search engine trust and improve visibility amongst target audience members. Making a mistake at any point of the process can negatively impact the entire campaign or result in a campaign that isn’t nearly as powerful as it should be. While there are numerous mistakes that can be made, to follow are 3 of the most common that should be avoided at all costs:

Using the Wrong Keywords

In B2B more often than B2C there tends to be more industry jargon that only those “in the know” understand. B2B marketers make the mistake of targeting these keywords too often. There is certainly a place for them in the mix, but the goal of a B2B SEO campaign is to attract a new audience. A new audience that doesn’t know about your business, products, or services probably also has never heard some of the phrases and terms that you are targeting if they are too specific or technical. While it’s important to prove that you know your stuff and you don’t want to use terminology that is too basic, you also don’t want to alienate potential prospects by speaking to them in a language that they don’t yet understand. Don’t under value the keyword research process.

No Content Distribution

Every B2B company should have a strong content marketing campaign in place. Unlike in the B2C sector, deciding to work with a B2B isn’t a snap decision. Potential clients or customers will spend time researching your business and want to feel comfortable that they have made the right decision. The more content that you produce that establishes trust with target audience members, the better. In addition to improving brand visibility amongst target audience members, content serves a valuable SEO purpose because without content, what is there to optimize? Content is what ranks in the search engines and builds inbound links to your website. Many B2Bs are hesitant when it comes to content marketing. They don’t want to give away the business “trade secrets” or they tend to over think it so much that nothing ever gets accomplished. The goal of content is to provide target audience members with useful information. For example, as part of a software SEO strategy a business may create a video that demonstrates how a particular aspect of the software works or as part of a professional services SEO strategy a business may write blog posts that educate the consumer over time. The content doesn’t need to be anything too fancy as long as it serves a purpose and is of good quality.

Unrealistic Expectations

When beginning a B2B SEO campaign it’s important to understand the nature of the process. It takes time and there won’t be any kind of overnight success. This is especially true in the B2B sector, in which the sales cycle is typically much longer than in B2C. It can take many months to see a return on SEO investment. The key is to be patient and stick with it.

About the Author: Nick Stamoulis is the President and Founder of Brick Marketing, an SEO services firm. For more information please call 781-999-1222 or visit www.brickmarketing.com.

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3 Common B2B SEO Mistakes to Avoid

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