Following the Search Engine Strategies Conference held in San Jose this month, an interesting point was raised regarding the best way of making SEO work for the B2B business. It highlighted a misconception that search marketing could only help businesses link with consumers, rather than other businesses.
Epiphany has seen an increase in the number of B2B businesses looking into making the most of their websites, probably linked with the fact that the Internet is the most consumed medium in the UK within office hours, far outperforming radio, TV and newspapers. Recognising the issue outlined above, Epiphany often recommend implementing a 3 month trial project that closely tracks enquiry rates driven by a B2B campaign, to alleviate any of the concerns from a business unfamiliar with what SEO can do. Within this time, a measure of the number of enquiries that are converting into sales is tracked, after which a more heavy-weight campaign can be designed.
At the conference, David Szetela, CEO of Clix Marketing, Jon Lisbin, Chief Strategist of Point It! Inc. and Rick Brown, President of NetTrac presented a case study which highlighted several ways in which B2B businesses could target their audience, tactics that are employed in any professional SEO campaign. One point of note was the inclusion of keywords that extended beyond simply the product name. His suggestions included:
- misspelling
- bad grammar
- brand terms
- wholesale terms
There was also a discussion regarding the value of paid inclusion in aggregators specific to a certain industry, such as Industrial Quick Search. Whilst they were highlighted as often bringing in relevant traffic, there was a question over the metrics that they employed, and their effect on the bottom line. This again emphasises the importance of a trial period, since every customer ultimately needs to see a difference in profits.
[Via Search Engine Watch]